The culinary ramblings of a picky eater.

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Stuff Even My Husband Can Cook- meal #4

It is amazing to me how much frozen food you can get now-a-days. And the best part is that a lot of it actually tastes decent; as in, not like cardboard. Haha. It's also amazing the contraptions these food companies think up to help cook that frozen food in a microwave. Insanity. Little browning trays and pedestals and all kinds of craziness.

To try to help my hubby out, I bought some frozen Chicken Pot Pies that he could just throw in the microwave. I was a little worried that the crust would be soggy or the middle of the filling would be lukewarm or downright cold, but I was pleasantly surprised. Those crazy frozen food fiends did it again, making some paper carton that doubles as a nice little oven toaster thinger for the microwave. The crust was browned and crispy, and the filling was hot all the way through. And it was something my wonderful hubby could manage. All around victory, I say. :)

Don't get me wrong...I like freshly made food whenever possible, but in some instances...this is just necessary. Haha. Some days, we all just need a break.

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Stuff even my husband can cook- meal #3

Frozen pizza is a God send. I make it relatively frequently because Friday is pizza night in the Picnic house, and a lot of times, I want the day off from cooking. So this is a great option for those people who might not have a lot of culinary experience but need something for dinner.

My husband can make frozen pizza, but he doesn't think he's very good at it. Haha. He once told me that even if he follows the directions to a tee, it still seems like his pizza comes out weird, but every time I make it, it comes out perfect. I don't know what he thinks is so different, but I'm glad that I can even impress with a frozen pizza. Haha. Anyway...another hubby success!



Thursday, August 25, 2011

Stuff even my husband can cook- meal #2

Have I mentioned how much I love my husband recently? Oh, I have? Ok. Just in case, though- I love my husband. Just saying. :)

This meal was a joint effort. I had some russet potatoes leftover from another meal, so I just wrapped them in foil and baked them for an hour at 400 degrees F in one of my rare bouts of energy.

Then there's this amazing thing at the grocery store called the deli/ready made meal section. In it you will find all kinds of wonderful things, like already made BBQ pulled pork. Pop it in the microwave according to the package directions, and top a baked potato with it, and voila! Instant dinner. I actually did this once before (see BBQ Stuffed Baked potatoes), so it's not really new and exciting, but it was easy and yummy. If you don't feel like BBQ, topping the potato with steamed broccoli and cheese sauce or just butter, cheese, and sour cream are great options.

East meal, very little effort, very tasty. Success!

Monday, August 22, 2011

Stuff even my husband can cook-meal #1

I in no way mean to demean my wonderful husband. He is incredibly thoughtful and does a lot for me, especially right now while I'm battling pregnancy fatigue. The fact that he actually asked if he could help me cook until I start feeling more chipper should prove that.

Having said that...my husband's prowess in the kitchen is not...well...as developed as it is in most other areas of his life. So to help him out, I bought some "easy" meals that he would have no trouble putting together or heating up. Haha.

The first meal- frozen lasagna. It's easy, it just takes a little while in the oven. Once it's in the oven, however, you can pretty much just set the timer and walk away...as long as you're within hearing distance to hear the beep when the timer goes off. This was a successful meal, because it was hot all the way through, wasn't burnt anywhere, and was satisfyingly filling. Hooray for my hubby! :)

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

I have an announcement to make...and an apology. :)

Ok, so I realize that I haven't posted in a little bit. I shall explain why shortly. First, let me just say that I'm sorry for the lack of posts. Just bear with me, and soon I'm hoping things will return to some semblance of normalcy. I hope.

Now for the announcement...
My husband and I are expecting our first child! That's right. We're very excited. :)

At the moment, food is not my friend, as you may well imagine, so it's been difficult to cook much of anything. Also, I have absolutely NO ENERGY. So even if food was appetizing, I probably wouldn't have the motivation to actually stand in the kitchen and cook for any amount of time. However...

I'm reaching the end of my first trimester now, and I'm hoping that some of the fatigue and food aversions will fade a bit so I can get back in the kitchen and post yummy recipes once again. In the meantime, my wonderful husband, God bless him, made a suggestion. He asked me to come up with a meal plan for the week, of stuff he could cook so I didn't have to. What a sweetheart! Unfortunately, my husband is a bit...culinarily challenged...so coming up with things he could put together was pretty comical. He even told me..."Most of it will probably be frozen dinners, but at least I can heat them up for you or something." At least he has a good sense of humor about it. Haha. And at least he's thoughtful enough to want to try.

So...for the next few weeks or so, I won't be posting recipes so much as I'll be posting funny stories of my husband's attempts in the kitchen. Perhaps I should call the series of posts, "Stuff even my husband can cook," or some such witty fun. It should be entertaining to say the least. Haha. Thanks for bearing with me as I go through this lovely little adventure!