Four for four

Let me first start off by saying I am BAD at cooking. When I was working I felt like I shouldn't have to cook since I was making money and doing the cleaning/laundry/dishes so either Spencer would cook, we would kind of fend for ourselves or eat out. The past about year and a half I have hated cooking because I would get frustrated w/ Spencer for helping/interfering too much/not enough. So recently we have implemented 3 NEW rules that make me feel more confident in the kitchen.
#1 No comments before dinner
#2 Eat as much as you can no matter how much you hate it
#3 THEN you may suggest what you would like done differently next time or mention that you would prefer not to have _______ again
Simple. Now it's like I'm a new wife just learning how to cook. I actually sort of like cooking, especially when Spencer enjoys the meal. I just hate cleaning so I try to use as few pots as possible and keep things simple. The point of this post was that I wanted to share these 4 easy (dummy-proof) recipes that I have made in the last month or so.

This vegetable SOUP is really yummy and filling. You could add chicken or beef to make it even more hearty. I added garbanzo beans and thought that was just right. It's a good basic recipe to play with. I also made these bread sticks but they were not that great but the reviews were good so it was probably my fault.

I was craving something w/ feta and sun dried tomatoes while at the grocery store so I bought some and came home and found this recipe. I didn't have olives so I used capers (put them in the same time as the garlic). Also I had fresh spinach to use and just put it in the same time as the sun dried tomatoes. I also left out the mushrooms b/c it mentally pushed me over the limit in terms of meal cost and it just seemed like too much. Apple juice in stemware was a fun addition.

I wanted a cheddar broccoli soup that wasn't too cheddar-y and this was just right. It was my first time making a creamy soup and it turned out super yummy. I didn't have celery and I reduced the Velveeta and added some shredded sharp cheddar. I also think it would be fine to not blend the broccoli as long as you add more flour to make the cream sauce extra thick. It would have been extra good in a bread bowl.

This one may sound kind of weird but I had some capers and I LOVE lime in lots of stuff.

Anyway I think it's interesting and fun to see what other people make for dinner. Hope you found something new to try!