From Roommate to Housewife

Before I was married, I rarely cooked.  It wasn’t that I don’t know how, it was just because I didn’t have time and my apartment’s kitchen was too small for six girls.  But now that I have the space and a little more time, plus we need to save money, I’ve started making three new recipes for dinner each week!

My sister gave me these Everyday Food magazines (by Martha Stewart :)) and so I rip out three recipes at the beginning of each week, put them on our fridge and get all the ingredients on Monday.  I’ve never shopped for my meals before, usually I just shop for food and make meals from what I have, and that would consist of pop tarts, goldfish, and diet coke.

Anyway, here are some of the recipes we’ve tried!  You should try them out because they’re way easy, delicious, and always make enough for leftovers.

1. Whole-wheat spaghetti with vegetables and peanut sauce

T.J. had never had peanut sauce before, but I swear I’ve never seen anyone consume so many noodles in such a short amount of time like he did.

2. Chicken with coconut sauce: I couldn’t find the recipe for this one online, but all you do is grill 4 boneless chicken breasts on your George Foreman grill.  At the same time, simmer a can of coconut milk for 20 minutes.  When finished, add 1 tbs of fresh lime juice and 2 jalepeno chilis.  Finish by putting the chicken and sauce over a plate of rice with a lime garnish.

3. Grilled Pork Chops with mini cornbread puddings

This cornbread pudding recipe is a lot different that a cornbread muffin recipe, but they’re delicious and the leftovers have made a great breakfast snack.

4. Buttermilk baked chicken with spinach salad

I loved this recipe, especially because the chicken had a great marinade and the spinach salad’s dressing was homemade.

5. Pork quesadillas

This, by far, has been my favorite dinner so far.  The recipe includes a lot of random ingredients, like pickles (which I don’t even like usually), ham, grilled pork, and spicy mustard.  But the combination was delicious.  (Btw, the picture on the link is not right, they look just like a normal quesadilla.)