Recipes # 1,2,3 and 4

The Menu (July 15, 2010):

Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas- pg 84

Guacamole- pg 24

Salsa- pg 30

Chips with bean dip & cheese on top (not in the cookbook, just something delicious and easy my mom used to always make)

Chocolate Krinkle Cookies- pg 122

Riesling- our favorite wine

So, I finally cooked our first meal. It just so happened it was on June 15th, our one month anniversary.  I know, I know... one month.  And I'm not one much for celebrating every month, but it was kind of fun to think we had been husband and wife for a month!  Since it was the first meal I cooked (I know, pretty pitiful it took me a month to cook in my kitchen) and our "anniversary" I wanted to make it nice, although it was not a real fancy meal.  But, I had it all planned out. I would have the table set with candles, new china, flatware, glasses and serving pieces and have it all ready when Daniel came home from work.  I was so excited to actually feel like a wife and cook for my husband.  Well, after a few "mishaps" I figured out it was not going to be an easy feat and I have a lot of learning ahead of me!!  I chose this meal because it was fairly simple, plus we love mexican food!  But, I made a few mistakes before the process even began.  I put the chicken in the freezer and the avocados in the fridge.  Needless to say, the chicken took quite some time to cook and the avocados were a little tough to peel and slice.  Daniel returned home from work way before I had dinner ready, so he offered to join in and help.  I initially wanted to cook dinner by myself, but seeing how little I knew about cooking and the mistakes I had already made, I figured some help may be a good idea.  So, Daniel took over the guacamole while I worked on everything else.  Like I said, the avocados were a little harder than normal since I had put them in the fridge, so it was taking Daniel some time to get them peeled and sliced.  In the process, Daniel managed to cut his finger, thankfully no stitches were needed!  Also as a result of the lack of softness of the avocados, they did not blend very well in the mixer and the guacamole was very thick.  Daniel attempted to fix this by adding more salsa and eventually he even tried a little beer.  Why not, right?  Well, the guacamole ended up looking more like humus and had a little different taste to it, but definitely still edible!  While Daniel was working on peeling the avocados, I was working on everything else while talking to one of my closest friends, Maggie, on the phone.  I opened the oven drawer to get out a cookie sheet for the cookies, and decided I would wait until we finished our conversation to scrummage through the drawer to find a cookie sheet.  There's nothing worse than someone making a bunch of ruckus in the background while you are on the phone with them! So, I left the drawer open as we were finishing up our "good-byes".  I tried stepping over the drawer to walk to the sink, and hit my ankle (right medial malleolus to be exact) on the corner of the drawer.  It sliced my ankle open, and I'm not talking about a little cut.  I'm talking about dark blood quickly pouring out.  I did not want to alarm Daniel while I was still on the phone, so I decided to assume a modified indian-style-like position, to keep the blood from getting everywhere, as Maggie and I finished our conversation.  Of course, being two friends that like to talk, it took a few minutes.  By the time we had said good-bye and I got Daniel's attention, I had accumulated quite a pool of blood.  Daniel rushed over, scared I had seriously injured my leg since the amount of blood made it appear so.  Thankfully, though, no stitches were needed again, although it was a pretty deep cut and does not want to heal! and we cleaned up the mess and returned to our cooking.  Well, by the time we had dinner ready and the table set, it was 9:30! That's right! 9:30 p.m.!! And I had probably began the cooking process about 4:00.  Carrie kept texting me, "How was dinner?" and I had to keep responding, "I'll let you know when we actually try it."  I finally responded to her question about 10:30 after we had finished our meal and cleaned up the kitchen.

The guacamole and salsa are both recipes from Kaisi Cunningham.  She was my mentor all through college and PT school and she and her husband, Andy, did our marriage counseling.  She's always been known for her Mexican cooking, and I will say, they are good!  While the guacamole did not turn out quite like it was supposed to, it is a very good recipe! and the salsa is absolutely delicious!!  Both very easy, too.  The Enchilada recipe is my friend Jessica Kent's.  She was one of my best friends in college and bridesmaid in our wedding.  They were delicious and made for great leftovers for lunch!  The cookies are Brenda Mahan's recipe, and were SO good!!  Brenda and her husband, Bobby, have been like second parents to me, and sang (beautifully I might add!) in our wedding.

Although this might have been the longest, and most interrupted, attempt at cooking a meal, it all turned out really well (with the exception of the guacamole)!  Thank you Kaisi, Brenda and Jessica for the great recipes!  We will definitely use all of them again, although hopefully next time it will not take nearly as long to make them!!  Let's hope our next cooking endeavors are shortened and less painful!

Happy Cooking!