My First Blog Post!

I admit, I am a blog-aholic!  I like nothing more than sitting down at my laptop with a cup of tea, catching up on my cooking blogs.  The geek in me also subscribes to the Search Engine Land blog, but that's another story.  Anyway, I've wanted to start a blog of my own for a while, but really didn't want to be just another cooking blog.  That's where a book, of all things, sparked my idea!

A few months ago I picked up a great book by Steve & Annette Economides, called "Cut Your Grocery Bill In Half - with America's Cheapest Family".   I don't know about anyone else, but as someone who works full-time, has two kids, a house, a husband, pets, etc., I RARELY have time to read.  So yes, it took me more than two months to finish this book.  Anyway, I digress.  I finished the book Sunday evening, and let's just say that it changed my entire outlook on grocery shopping, cooking, and organizing my life.  The premise of the book is simple:  with a little planning, you can cut your grocery bill significantly, and simplify your life in the process.  I HIGHLY recommend this book for anyone!

One important aspect of the book is that Annette Economides has a repertoire of 100 "go to" recipes she uses.  She keeps her pantry stocked appropriately, so she's always prepared for dinner.  No more running to the grocery store, just for a can of cream of chicken soup.  After reading the book, I thought to myself, "I can do this".  Certainly, as someone who loves to cook and bake, I easily have hundreds if not thousands of great recipes standing by, just waiting to be whipped up in my god-awful kitchen (we'll get to that in a later post).  When I finally sat down to pull together this list of 100 recipes that would put smiles on the faces of my family each night, I realized I could only think of 15!!  Oh, this will just not do!

That's what lead me to my quest.  I need to pull together my "100 recipes", just like my new hero Annette Economides has, so dinner is not always a frantic 3-ring circus.  Suddenly...ta da...I have a subject to blog about!

Over the next few months, I'm going to find, and/or create, recipes that are easy to prepare, made with "normal ingredients" that I plan to keep in my pantry, and are easy on the budget.  I hope you'll join me on my journey.

And, if you're like-minded, go buy "Cut Your Grocery Bill In Half".  You won't regret it.  We'll talk soon!