learn to cook. Really cook.

so I can entertain guests and make my girl happy :)

Broccoli cheddar soup. Oh. My. Gosh. It was amazing.

I’ve been cooking all summer! Most of the recipes I’ve made have turned out good and I can tell that I’m getting better because I”m starting to “wing it” more and the things I’ve done that with have turned out to be delicious! I guess I’m getting better!! I’ve got to get to the point where I feel confident enough to do my vegan barbeque I’m planning for this summer!

So today I was so proud of myself…. I made chicken strips from scratch. They were SOOO good. But I found the downside to this whole cooking thing – you want to eat all the time. I have to figure out a way to cook without gaining weight.

For a present at one point I decided I wanted to bake my boyfriend a gluten-free cake (*note to self: I owe Jaime a cake) and diligently followed the instructions. I even tracked down a vanilla extract that did not have a trace of gluten in it. The cake itself came out a bit dry and somewhat springy, but not in a good way like a sponge. I must say though my frosting kicked ass. It was this peanut butter cream cheese frosting that I had extra of and slathered over random dessert carbs for weeks.

My boyfriend said he liked it though, couldn’t tell and mentioned that it could of just been the best possible alternative to cake with gluten. The cake itself had yogurt in it to make it moist and looking back I realized that the cake ingredients mixed in quite well and fast, so I think I over-stirred it.

I’ve also heard of some more cake tips. Along with yogurt or sour cream which I already knew, to try replacing the milk to either half and half or whole cream even, to never ever use lard or crisco (as if I ever would) and to try organic unprocessed coconut oil. I also want to try making a honey cake.

I don’t have a lot of time or money to cook big meals, so it is taking me some time to learn, but each time I make something I have a feeling of satisfaction when it is done.

I know for a fact that I can make very good enchiladas, and recently I made my own breakfast bars out of tons of leftover cereals and peanuts, etc that I had in my kitchen. Other than that I can make hamburger helper, scrambled eggs, mac & cheese, etc but thats all easy college stuff!

Thin garlic crust pizza with three cheeses, onions, peppers, and sausage. Made from scratch. Another success!

I’m baking cupcakes for my friend for a housewarming gift! Some vanilla and chocolate ones! Hope they’re good!

Success! Too hot for mom, great for everyone else. It was perfect! My brother is now talking about what I made to his girlfriend. I love strong flavor and perfect texture. That’s why I wanted to learn how to cook better. It’s not as hard as I thought, and it is SO worth it.

Today, I tried a totally new recipe. My friends family eats very healthily, and has some very interesting meals. When I was over there once, they made me black beans, hot peppers, and tomatos over rice. Or, something like that. You see, they didn’t have a written recipe. It took me a while to get a version of the recipe that I could actually use, but I got it, and I made it today. It smells intencely hot! I can’t wait to try it.