No fear

So as I mentioned in my last post, we watched Julie & Julia over the weekend and it's really made me want to work harder on cooking and being more willing to experiment a little more. See I'll let you all in on a little secret, ready for this? I love to eat but...

I don't love to cook. In fact, I kind of dislike it.

There. I said it.

I get easily frustrated when things I'm trying do not turn out and I also find that because I have a small kitchen, I also get a little angst about the mess that comes from making certain meals.

Now Nate just dives in and tries all sorts of weird and different things in the kitchen. He is totally willing to take chances, tweak things to his own liking and totally go off book from the recipe. Me, not so much.

But it's time to change that. In addition to working on recipes from my Betty Crocker book I am also going to try and adopt the "Julia Child" approach when she says "Don't be afraid." To which Julie in the movie says "No fear Julia, no fear."

I need to stop worrying about the messes, the chance that I might burn something or screw it up and just dive in and be willing to try new things. Cooking with no fear.

Last night I took this approach to a homemade Salisbury steak. Other than some guidance from a couple of online recipes, I went completely off book and just did it. And it was fantastic. Nate couldn't stop raving. Proof that sometimes just letting go of insecurities sometimes is a good thing! Below is my basic recipe if you feel so bold as to try it yourself!

Salisbury Steak

Ingredients:
about a pound of tenderized beef round steak - found it at Rainbow already tenderized and it was inexpensive
Brown gravy - pick out your favorite packet from the mix with water gravy selection and go nuts
Mushrooms
Butter
Flour

Directions:
Thaw meat and coat each piece in flour
Heat skillet with about a tablespoon of butter and add meat once it is melted
Brown meat on each side until it is just barely still pink. Pull off of heat and then broil at 450 (I used my toaster oven as it has this option) for five minutes.
Mix gravy according to directions on packet, keep on very low heat to keep warm
Add a little butter back to your meat pan and brown your mushrooms
Mix browned mushrooms in with your gravy
Serve over the meat

We had boiled potatoes on the side, but any veggie would probably be just fine.

Simple and tasty!!

I am going to learn to love cooking if it kills me. Well ok, maybe that's a bit extreme, but that is my challenge for right now!