Learning the Joy of Cooking

I have a recent obsession: COOKING.

As most Americans, food is a passion of mine. I enjoy finer food, but as mentioned in an earlier post, I am also completely satisfied with Coney Island fare or Taco Bell on occasion. Regardless, one thing I've learned over the past few months is there's just something so satisfying about making a meal on your own that actually turns out the way it looks in the cookbook.

Thoughts of cooking all started when Jason and I moved into our house last year. We decided that with an official "big kid" kitchen, we needed to start utilizing the space for something other than a spot to throw mail. Although we still do have empty cupboards, we're getting there.

It's really tough to find the time to cook and since we generally don't get home until about 7 p.m., we need to make dinners that are both quick and tasty.

Enter Kraft Food & Family magazine. We only get the mag because the prior home owner got it and let me tell you, it's a lifesaver! Although we're fans of Top Chef, it's virtually impossible to cook quickly and on a budget with the ingredients needed for the extravagant meals they create.

Instead of going gourmet, we've made all kinds of things from the magazine's simple pages plus many others from additional cookbooks...recent meals have included tuna pie, beef stroganoff, chicken and biscuits, chili, bruschetta chicken bake, garlic ranch chicken...and the list goes on.

I highly recommend giving the mag and cooking in general a try. It truly gives you something to look forward to each day...and provides a great escape from daily stress.