Less Cooking Stress = More CRAFTS!

Erin and I always love reading your comments and the responses to "What's your favorite blog" are no exception. Though I have about 220 subscriptions in my Google Reader and often feel like I will never catch up with all the amazing posts out there (sometimes I have to Mark All as Read, even though it makes me sad to do so!), I am still always excited to see a blog I haven't before. I'm still trying to get through all of the blogs that you guys pointed us to yesterday. It's funny that blog reading is a bit like 6 degrees of separation. You go to one, read a little, it links to another…you know how it goes!


Anyway, HG commented about her blog, Growing Pains and Spaghetti-O Stains and I went to check it out. I love her quirky way of putting things ("Blowing Groceries" my husband will love that one!) and the name of the blog is adorable. Her little girl is pretty darn cute too, and I'm a sucker for cute kids! I was reading the story of when she found out she was pregnant, and it was so cute that I had to go backwards and see what happened. That's when I found out how cute her daughter was…but I digress. She posted about liking to cook, but not liking to cook on weeknights. I can TOTALLY relate. Well, mostly I can relate. I don't actually like to cook, but I dislike it MUCH less on the weekends and Mondays (my other day off). I really like to bake, because the results (brownies, pie, cookies, lasagna) are usually so much tastier. And, let's face it, most of the time if I use the stovetop the smoke alarm goes off. Holden actually says "Beep. Beep." when he sees a smoke alarm. We're seriously a little bit afraid if we actually had a fire, Holden would just think that I was cooking dinner. Sad, but true.


However, I do love to cook in the crock pot. Most of the things I can cook in there (i.e., pot roast) turn out really good and who doesn't love smelling food as soon as you get home. Call me a man from the 50's but it's nice and it feels good!


So, I follow the link…and it's REALLY cool! Apparently, the author, Stephanie O'Dea has written a book "Make it Fast, Cook it Slow" since she started the blog. She posted a recipe EVERY DAY in 2008, and quite a few in 2009 too! My husband's temporary job ended recently and he's on the hunt again, so we've been trying to plan meals better to save money. So, this couldn't have come at a better time! Thank you HG! You totally made my day!


Is anyone else out there doing more meal planning? Got any tips for me? I'm not really a coupon-clipper as I nearly always buy the store brand. We eat a moderate amount of natural foods with some organics mixed in. We'd like to do more organics, but the cost is a little beyond our reach right now. I'd love to hear what works for you.


Thanks again for all the comments! Keep them coming…Let's see if I can get to 300 subscriptions – LOL!


-Heather


PS-Does anyone else find that when they write they overuse one particular word and have to edit it out about a BILLION times? I say "anyway" too much. I think it's because I'm always getting off topic and find it hard to get back without some sort of transition word. Anyway seems to be my go-to. Anyway, I find myself annoying sometimes. ;)