Whatcha got cookin?

Long time readers of my blog may have noticed, that I'm not exaccctttlly the next Barefoot Contessa (see here).

I have a litany of excuses as to why I don't cook....

I travel too much. I work too late. I don't have time to go the grocery store. I never learned how. I'm not good at it. Blah blah blah.

It's a character flaw.

But recently I decided that the only way I'm going to become better cook is by actually cooking!

So last week I planned out all of my meals, went to three grocery stores to get everything (Whole Foods, Albertsons, and Costco), and then cooked up a storm!

Also, I've realized that I'm a visual learner, so when someone blogs a recipe and shows how to do each step, it really helps me out. So I took most of my recipes from a few of my favorite cooking blogs.

Here is a list of what I made, how it turned out, and what I learned.

Saturday: Homemade Pizza
Recipe from: My head (I just bought dough, sauce and toppings and baked it)
My cooking grade: B
What I learned: You need to pre-heat the crust when you bake on pizza stone.
Next time I make this I will: make my own dough (see recipe here) instead of using the processed Pillsbury dough for a tastier crust.

(Photo from Pioneer Woman)

Sunday: Chicken Spaghetti Casserole
Recipe from: The Pioneer Woman Cooks
My cooking grade: A
What I learned: Casseroles are delicious and great to make for later. I was able to bake half of the recipe in small dish for dinner immediately and freeze the other half in another small dish for a later time.
Next time I make this I will: add more chicken and veggies and less pasta for a healthier dish.

(Photo from Pioneer Woman)

Monday: Green Bean and Tofu Stir Fry
Recipe from: Made it up
My cooking grade: C+
What I learned: This dish is really bland unless you add a ton of sauce (which I ended up doing)
Next time I make this I will: Invest in rice cooker so I don't have nasty soggy rice that took over an hour to make.

(Photo by me)

Tuesday: Slow Cooker Pot Roast
Recipe from: Finding Thyme to Cook
My cooking grade: A+
What I learned: It's actually really easy to make a delicious pot roast.
Next time I make this I will: Repeat the recipe exactly! The Mr and both LOVED this.

(Photo by me)

Wednesday: Blondies! (Well that and Pot Roast leftovers)
Recipe from: Finding Thyme to Cook
My cooking grade: A
What I learned: Blondies are a fun alternative to the typical brownies and are a lot easier than brownies to make from scratch.
Next time I make this I will: Add more pralines for a nuttier bar.

(Photo by me)

Thursday: Simple Lemon Chicken
Recipe from: Finding Thyme to Cook
My cooking grade: A-
What I learned: This recipe called for chicken cutlet, I used chicken breasts, which meant it took a lot longer to cook through. Broccoli tastes amazing with this dish.
Next time I make this I will: Make some basmati rice to go along with it.

(Photo by Finding Thyme to Cook)

Friday: Mediterranean Style Chicken in a Foil Pouch
Recipe from: Culinary Disaster
My cooking grade: A-
What I learned: This is a great way to make tender chicken breast that don't get dried out. Don't double wrap the chicken pouches in foil, it will take twice as long to cook. Also, these taste great with couscous.
Next time I make this I will: check to make sure that the onion I have at home isn't rotten so I can be sure my pouches have onion in them!

(Photo by Culinary Disaster)

A whole weeks worth of cooking! I never would have thought I could have done it! I'm so proud of myself!

What are your favorite every-day recipes? Favorite step-by-step cooking blogs?