Made barbecue chicken last night for dinner for Joe and I and I *thought*I washed the pan correctly but when I put some Superpretzels in there for a snack it started to smell like barbecue. It tasted a little like barbecue too!

• celery


• a bit of onion


• carrots


• barley


• diced tomatoes


• potatoes


• green beans


• a dash of red pepper


• salt


• beef base

it's going to be great. it was fun to make!

I've got plenty to do around my apartment tonight. I made homemade lasagna for the first time tonight. I made a simple mistake and didn't top the lasagna with meat sauce. The noodles on the top were crispy. Everything else, all the other layers were delicious. Next time I will make the lasagna correctly. I ate about a third of the lasagna. It will last me a few days!

What else is going on? Got to clean my apartment, do bills, send out mail, etc. I got post cards from Indy to send out.

I think my poor white kitty Prince is sick with something. He didn't eat his dinner tonight! I might have to take him to the vet in a few days if he doesn't want to eat again.

I'm cleaning and taking time to cut and slice my vegetables I bought from Jewel. I plan on making an omlette tomorrow morning, trying. I bought a new caphalon omlette pan that's non-stick. I could also make crepes, but I'm not a crepe person. I learned a technique for making omletes that I'd like to practice. I'll be cutting up some fresh green and red pepers for it. I also bought homemade pizza crust kit. I'll be making my own dough, spreading the sauce, and placing fresh peppers and mozzerella cheese on top. Then I've got the recipe for Italian Wedding soup. I chopped fresh parsley for the seasoning. I have a large package of chicken broth and a large soup pot. I'll make the delicious meatballs, add the carrots, and add some parsely to the chicken broth soup. It will be as good as the soup we made a few weeks ago.Then I plan on making homemade italian sauce with a touch of red pepper flakes. I've got a fresh baguette from Jewel. I'll cut that up, add some olive oil, toast the bread, and make the brusettea mix (without onions). That is delicious. I should probably set-up a dinner party because it is hard to only cook for myself. I don't have cute soup bowels though.. I'll probably have lots of leftovers. I'm looking forward to cooking the soup. Any of my friends would like to join me for a dinner party. It may be fun to come and even help me cook.

Going to take two short *fun* courses at the COD, college of dupage, to get my mind of depressing things

4 weeks
COOKING--Basic Skills

BASIC SKILLS FOR THE BEGINNING COOK- Hone basic cooking skills and prepare simple recipes from soup to dessert, that are easy yet elegant, tasty yet nutritious. Practice basic cooking methods of broiling, sauteing, stir-frying and steaming; chopping, cutting, mixing and folding; and using seasonings.

2 weeks
COOKING--Cuts of Meat

HOW TO BUY AND COOK MEAT- Avoid standing at the meat counter. Quality, cost, cooking process and nutritive value are a few considerations when purchasing meat (beef, pork, lamb). Learn the different meat cuts and prepare related recipes. Guide to Identifying Meat Cuts included.

With mother's day approaching, I have fond memories of my mother, her cooking, and her cook books. I don't think I'd ever want to throw them away, they are a part that I have to remember her by.

So when my mom passed I took all her cook books with me. I have not had the free time or enthusiasm to try and become a great cook until now. I want to cook foods and improve what I eat.

One of the books that I picked up tonight is called "Great Dishes from the Oven" by Rita Holmberg (1977)

If you're like most homemakers, you use your oven almost every day - for savory brown roats, tender oven-fried or braised meats, ..... etc

A particular hit with young people are "packet burgers" or "packet chicken". These favorite foods are cooked in foil pouches, then served piping hot right from the pouch. And best of all no dishes to wash!

self-cleaning overn (pyrolytic) soil is reduced to a light ash during a separate high-heat cycle. In a continuois-cleaning oven (catalytic), the oven walls or panels are specially treated so that soil is gradually reduced to presentably clean consitions.

Who's more interested in good food that a hungry family at the end of a busy day?

Who knew that oven cooking could be so technical? :0

I grabbed a recipe off the internet awhile back for a crockpot ham. It said to cook it in the crockpot for 7-8 hours.

Last night around 10:30 pm I went to bed with the crockpot going on LOW. I planned to wake up at 6 am to check on it.

Still in a state of sleep, i woke up, flipped on the laundry room lights so as to not to distrub Joe who was sleeping on my couch. He woke up anyways.

I saw that the crockpot was boiling. I freaked out. Ok.. the ham.. was BLACK.. well some parts were..

I got Joe up.. after many requests.. to come and test taste it. It failed. The $12+ stuff I spent on the ham dish was a waste.

I will be brining only a pumpkin pie and whipped cream to the office pot luck. If they ask.. didn't you say you were going to bring ham... I'll have to say "I burnt the ham" :(