My Love/Hate Relationship with Cooking

I love cooking. No matter what my checking account may suggest.
I love the sight of a clean kitchen ready to be used. The organization of a pantry (or mine at least). The way butter sizzles when it hits a hot pan (yes I use real butter, my mom and grandmother would have nothing less). The smells of baking bread or bacon frying for that matter.

But here is the problem...I hate cooking for one. It seems like a lot of work to do for just one person. Picking out the menu, going to the grocery store, prepping the ingredients, cooking the meal (only to have more work putting away the leftovers), and then cleaning up. Seriously, am I worth that? (To those of you saying "Of course you are!" I do realize I am.)

I suppose there are some practical solutions to this problem. I could cut the recipe in half or have leftovers. But,  I hate leftovers. Period. I am not exactly sure why and I would love to like them for my budgets sake, but it just does not work for me. Also, for those of you suggesting I cut the recipe in half do you realize just how many halves or fourths my fridge would be filled with? Not my cut of tea.

So how do I plan to solve this dilemma? I have resolved to cook for others more often than I have in the past. Every now and then I will cook for the boyfriend or offer the other half of dinner to the roommate, but I want to be more intentional about my time in the kitchen. I want to plan dinner dates and parties for my friends and family. I want to explore all the recipes that my many cookbooks have to offer. I want to practice my skills and learn new ones. I want to bake (yes friends I said bake) and take it to others.

So here's to offering my love of food to others.




What about you...do you have any recipes you love to cook for others or others have cooked for you?





I already have two dinner dates set up this week :)






PS. I cooked a full recipe last night for myself, The Pioneer Woman's Meatballs with Pineapple and Peppers. Delish! I will also be having it for dinner tonight. Maybe leftovers aren't so bad after all.