To cook dinner or not to cook dinner

I was holding a crying toddler as I attempted to mash potatoes in my KitchenAid while talking on the phone to a friend who, hearing the panic in my voice and chaos in my house, asked me why I even bothered cooking "real" meals.


Now that's a good question. It seems there's something very un-progressive about 1) thinking your KitchenAid is cool, and 2) wanting to put a home cooked meal on the table almost every night. Almost is a key word here. Before having to provide 3 meals and multiple snacks every day for my twins, I loved to dine out, and still do. But now, even though their restaurant behavior seems to be fairly exceptional lately, it just seems to make more sense to eat at home most nights.


Maybe it's my own mother's model. Bless her heart (am I now a Southern belle?), the woman had a balanced meal on the table EVERY night. Though my sister and I didn't know it, we didn't have too many luxuries growing up, but my mom was and still is, a master grocery shopper, and always seemed to pick up special treats like artichokes and lobsters when they were on sale at the market. Truth be told it was cheaper to cook at home vs. in a restaurant or take-out, so the latter wasn't even an option, but let's give credit where credit is due, it takes a lot of effort to churn out decent tasting meals every night.


Luckily my husband picks up a lot of the slack and is always willing to help when he gets home. When we have guests, he runs the cooking show, thank God! He's a far better cook than me, and it seems to come naturally to him, which slightly shames me into trying to be a better cook. I have about 5 meals that I cook relatively well (more on that in the future), but even those I have the potential to mess up!

note: Ina's the BEST!

I think the key is organization. For example, I started a Capponata while making the girls breakfast, but this is rarely an option since most days my girls won't stand for anything but my undivided attention. Maybe they're taking a turn, and won't need me to watch Sesame Street with them anymore. Regardless, I'll keep plugging away at my little menus inspired by Ina, Tyler, and Giada and try and hold on to the easy, fast, yet amazing ones so that I can perpetuate my Donna Reed facade.