Day 6: Betty CROCKer

“The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.” To the person behind this saying, “Thank you for making my life that much more difficult.”

I clean incessantly. I organize like a champ. I find a deal wherever I go. But, I am not known for cooking. I’ve made a few meals from scratch before, and have never received rave reviews. A date once told me that I should make it a goal to try one new dish each week. I thought his idea was brilliant. My first attempt following our conversation was “Lemon Pepper Chicken.” The result: the chicken was overcooked and super sour… instead of 1 tsp lemon juice/1 cup chicken broth, I used 1 tsp chicken broth/1 cup lemon juice. After that, I decided to give up on cooking altogether. Since then, it’s been pork chops with Shake ‘n Bake, chicken breast with Wish Bone Dressing, salmon with Lawry’s Marinade, and pasta with Bertolli Sauce every week for the past year or so.

So, I decided to give cooking a try once more, and ended up making my very first Crock Pot meal today. When I bought my condo 2 ½ years ago, I received a Crock Pot as a housewarming present; up until last night, it was still in the original packaging. Last Christmas, I received a Crock Pot cookbook from a co-worker; as amazing as all the meals looked, I was afraid to try making anything because I didn’t want to fail. Today, I wasn't going to be afraid to mess up. The meal I decided to make was Dijon Mustard Chicken with Artichoke Sauce. I picked up all the ingredients at the grocery store last night, and prepared the meal before I left for work this morning; I cut the ingredients in half, because the intended recipe was for 8 and I cook for 1. Other than that, I followed all the instructions. When I arrived home from work, I found that the artichoke “sauce” was more of an artichoke “soup,” and the dijon mustard was no longer coating the chicken. Ughhh. While the meal was edible at best, it didn’t turn out the way that I had hoped… but that’s ok. I learned how to use a new kitchen appliance today, and I look forward to trying more meals in the future.


what it was supposed to look like

what it actually looked like

And just so we’re clear: the reason behind learning to cook (and all my other “60 Things”) is to become a better version of me. Somewhere along the way, I became lost in the idea of what and where my life should be by now. I put this added pressure on myself that was starting to take the fun out of my 20s. It’s in trying something new or different each day that I feel a sense of excitement, pride, and accomplishment. While I may joke here and there about guys and relationships, my goal ISN’T to find myself a boyfriend through any of these experiences. My goal is just to find me again.