Moms Are Really Just Iron Chefs in The Kitchen

I recently caught myself trying to explain mine and Blake’s cooking styles to a group of friends during dinner. The best way I could have ever described it was like this… Blake is a true foodie. He loves to cook all day and give the meal he is preparing all of the love. I poke fun of him but also mean it when I say he is the only person I know that can start cooking dinner during breakfast. During the summer, he seriously starts the smoker at 9 A.M. and can cook meat like no other.

Me on the other hand... that is a different story.

I describe my cooking style as Mom: Iron Chef Edition. My specialties include making quick one-hour meals with whatever I can pull together from the pantry and fridge. I am continuously improvising and the person you can call if you do not have something and need to know what you could replace it with to finish the recipe. I give credit for those skills, and yes those are skills, to my Nannie. She somehow could always figure out a way to make anything out of whatever she had on hand. She was also the queen on hacks to reduce sugar in any recipe due to my PawPaw being a type 2 diabetic. It was with her that I spent many hours in the garden and kitchen learning to cook.

I do not like to be too traditional, though. So, I also have to go back and give credit to my husband on turning me into a person that will try any food once. His continuous push to make me break out of my comfort zone and eat anything is something that I try to press on the boys. To do this, I always put whatever we make for dinner on the boys’ plates. Brussels sprouts, acorn squash, salmon, lentils, mushrooms, they all make it to Cooper and Eli’s plates during dinner time. They may not eat them all, but we at least give it a try. If they despise it, we move on and I don’t force it. But even Cooper has found a few things that he likes that most toddlers wouldn’t touch.

This blend of styles and backgrounds is what makes spending time in the kitchen with my family so much fun. In 2021, we are trying as a family to eat in more. This time we get at the end of the day is the best. Between letting the boys get involved in the kitchen to Blake getting home in time to help plate the food, I think we all love being home together. I am trying to soak it all in now, because I know as Cooper and Eli get older this will change.

To help stick to our goal in 2021, I am going to be posting our weekly meal plans on the blog and my Instagram story. Heads up, if you are super healthy, you may not always like our plans for the week. This goes back to my tendencies of cooking what I have on hand and making it up as I go. I can promise, however, that there will never be a meal on my Monday through Friday plan that takes over an hour and thirty minutes to make. Most will be under an hour. Because let’s be honest, no mom has time or the drive to spend more time than that on a meal after she gets home from work. I’ll include most of the recipes, some videos, pictures, and links to the grocery store for those who want to try out some of the meals. I hope they inspire you to spend more time together with your family in the kitchen and around the table.

Be creative with them! When I say moms are really just iron chefs in the kitchen, I am not talking about being a 5-star, world renown, chef. I am talking about our ability to throw things together from whatever is available that our family will eat. Make it a game. Mix up a recipe. For example, I had my heart set on BBQ chicken tenders Thursday. It was on my plan I posted, and I already knew I had the chicken strips in the freezer. A super easy meal that everyone in our house loves. As I am pulling out everything I need to start, I realize I am out of BBQ sauce… what? It hit me that I have not been buying it because lately Blake has been making his own each time he grills. I went into quick thinking mode. What else could I use. I remembered the bottle of Anything Sauce from Kroger I had just scooted to the side while rummaging through the fridge. Tada! We now have a new family favorite that we are calling Anything Tenders. That is how family traditions begin.

Don’t let cooking dinner each night stress you out. THE LAST THING YOU NEED IS ANOTHER STRESS POINT. I get it. To some, cooking is a chore. Make it easy on yourself. You do not have to cook some extravagant dinner every night. Keep it simple.

Plan ahead. Always keep staples that you know you can build a meal off of handy in the house. Also keep frozen veggies, fruits, and meals stocked. Those two things have made cooking at home more often a reality. Sometimes I just do not have the drive to even prep a meal. I just need something I can sling in the oven and set the timer. Don’t we all? Those quick and easy freezer options (I know not always the healthiest) have been lifesavers for me on nights I want to give up cooking at home and find the next closest drive through.

At the end of the day, you have to do what is best for the season of life you are in. Right now, my family is in the season that we can be at home and cook more. In a few years, it might be the drive through for the fourth night in a row due to ball practices and school programs. Every season is different, the main goal is to find something that your family can do together that you enjoy.

I hope you enjoy and can use some of the meal inspo from my weekly plan. Don’t forget to pour you a glass of your favorite wine while cooking, mama, you deserve it.

XOXO

-Paige