Wednesday, January 8, 2014

The Joys of Cooking

When I was a young girl, I loved to cook and bake.
When the hubs and I were dating, newly married and
when the boys came along, I spent many joyful days in the kitchen.
Even better were the evenings at the dinner table sharing a meal 
and hearing everyone's stories from their day.
 
At some point, I got so busy, the boys were even busier.
The hubs was working 12 hour days at the business we started together.
I worked along side him while the boys were in school,
and became the "rock star/hard core" mom after school hours.
Cooking took a back seat and more then that,
I just didn't enjoy it. 
 
My rekindled love, cooking!! Let me share what I have been making.

December 6th 
I made a super easy meat loaf, one of my favorite comfort foods.

The meat loaf is huge, so the only thing I make with it is mashed potatoes,
and lot's of them.
 
I made chicken stew in the crock pot on December 7th,
 
it was delicious!!
My favorite slow cooker meals are those where 
the entire meal is in the crock pot.
 
On December 19th I made homemade chicken noodle soup,
in the crock pot...
 
served with a big chunk of bread,
 
this was my favorite!
 
So how about all of you guys...
If your bunkered down with cold weather,
do you find yourself cooking more.
Around my house, it isn't fancy stuff, just good ole' comfort food!
 

33 comments:

Beth said...

Yes, I do cook more in the winter. I am always ready for a reason to turn on the oven.

Your meatloaf looks delicious. Do you use all ground beef or do you use 1/2 sausage? I have made it both ways!

Joop Zand said...

That looks delicious Debbie ....can i make a reservation ?

Greetings, Joop

Ida said...

I love homemade soups and stews. I must say these look mighty tasty. I fluctuate on enjoying cooking. I love to try new dishes but sometimes I get tired of trying to figure out what to fix night after night.

TexWisGirl said...

um, what was that line you recently uttered to me? 'you're a regular martha stewart'. ;) although in this case, it fits. :)

S. Etole said...

It all looks delicious, super delicious.

Nancy said...

Love the bowls!

MarmePurl said...


I can almost smell all that goodness right through the computer lines.
I love cooking comfort food. Well, I just love cooking.
And eating.

Ela said...

Debbie, it look delicious.
Greetings

Maude Lynn said...

That all looks so good!

Elizabeth Edwards said...

i have not made meatloaf in a while. need to do that again soon. your meals look yummy good. i agree with the others - i will take a reservation for one please. the hubby will not make it - because i would be afraid he would eat more than his share. ha. ha!! ( :

Elizabeth Edwards said...

i have not made meatloaf in a while. need to do that again soon. your meals look yummy good. i agree with the others - i will take a reservation for one please. the hubby will not make it - because i would be afraid he would eat more than his share. ha. ha!! ( :

Adrienne said...

OH, I'll have to check your pinterest for the chicken stew and chicken soup...it's crock pot time for sure! I'm slowly getting back to cooking...since I'm still not home until 5 or 6 every day it's not exactly fun...but I'm getting more mindful. Today there's pork and sauerkraut in the crock pot - such a good feeling to know dinner will be waiting for me when I get home!!

DIMI said...

Dear Debbie,thank you for sharing,with us,all those sweet memories!You are a master chef!!Your meatloaf and your soups,look delicious!!!Make a reservation for me too!!Thank you for your comment!!Hope you're warm and safe!Have a lovely evening!
Dimi...

Andee said...

What's for dinner??? That is always the question in our house. All the food you make looks delicious!

Julie G. said...

Yummy! Looks like you have been cooking up a lot of comfort food. Perfect for the winter season. With windchill temperatures between -14 and 4, I have been spending a lot of time indoors baking and cooking. Beef barley soup, chicken noodle soup (mine looks similar to yours!), chocolate chip banana bread and pound cake have all been on the menu of late.

Lisa Gordon said...

Salivate.....
Gosh, everything looks so yummy here, Debbie.

I am a pretty good cook, but I think I like to bake more than cook. Could it be because I soooo love sweets???

Muffie said...

I just made chicken noodle soup last Thursday! My two boys love it, and that's the night they visit. When they come tomorrow, I'll be making poached salmon with lemon and dill. I do enjoy cooking and baking now that I have no other obligations.

Our photos said...

The food looks Yummy!!!

Jackie See said...

Love, love meatloaf! I will be right over with the twice baked potatoes and chocolate pie! Yummy! Debbie, your photos are so real... I could have licked my laptop screen, amazing how you get them so beautiful! I got discouraged with my new camera (Christmas gift) as most of my holiday photos came out blurry or terrible colors. But I will keep trying, but now, you have me in the mood to cook!

eileeninmd said...

Debbie, your meals all look delicious. We also had a meatloaf..hubby is the mashed potato maker..And today a lasagna. I love soup on a cold day! Have a great evening.

Bonnie said...

Debbie, I love to cook. I would spend all my time in the kitchen cooking if possible. I detest grocery shopping. I need an errand person.

Michelle said...

I like to cook and with the cold weather we have all been at home. It has been like running a diner.

Ruth Hiebert said...

Each of these meals is a winner in my eyes.All my favourite foods.

Unknown said...

I absolutely adore cooking! Billy opens a bottle of wine, I cook and we chat about our day. We've even been cooking in Aruba, which is so much fun with extended family!!!!

Montanagirl said...

I made a Crockpot full of home-made Chili the other day, with Cornbread. Yum!!

Tina Fariss Barbour said...

Your meals look delicious, and your dishes are lovely! I love pretty dishes. I wish I had a love for cooking. Maybe someday . . .

Grandma Barb's This and That said...

Yup, I've been doing a little cooking these cold days. I made a beef stew in the crock pot and roasted vegetables in the oven. That's about it though.

Karen @ Pieces of Contentment said...

The food looks great but your plates look even better!
It's mid summer here so more salads and cold meat. I've taught our children to cook so the workload is now well shared.

Dianna said...

These look so delicious! I used to cook, but not any more.

The next time you make that meatloaf, Motor Man will be right over!! ;)

Anonymous said...

I must say your meals in the crock pot looked better than most of those I just looked at in our crock pot. I do like meat loaf but when I was growing up my mother added bits of little green onions and other things, like cracker crumbs. That was back during World War Two. Nowadays it is just straight meat with ketchup or something like that added to your taste. I seldom look forward to it but like appointments at the dentist I realize what I'm getting when I sit down in the chair and suffer through it.

Muffy's Marks said...

I love to cook, and it has taken a toll on my 'Dutch belly" Ah heck, one of my favorite quotes is; "Never trust a skinny cook!"

LeAnn said...

I love comfort foods; so you just gave me a good menu of them.
Thanks and blessings to you!

Kay said...

Your photos make everything look wonderful!