Unused Gifts

So, my plan this week was to eat out of the pantry/fridge/freezer and just got to the store for the staple items...you know, bread, milk, fresh fruit, wine :)  The idea was to spend as little as possible on food this week and see where we ended up.  We weren't overflowing with food, but we had PLENTY to get us through the week, so I thought this would be a fun challenge.  Plan?  Challenge?  Budgeting?  Be still my heart...three things that I LOVE...I had set myself up for a great week!  Well, I ran into a few problems...

(1) Because we really had no leftovers and no lunch staples, I ate lunch out with friends three days last week.  I rarely EVER go out to lunch, and it was fun, and I definitely wouldn't change it, but it certainly did not jive with my money saving strategy.  Oops!  (2) I was not excited AT ALL to cook dinner last week.  We ended up eating leftover Seven Layer Dip from the Super Bowl, two soups that were homemade (Creamy Sweet Potato and Rosemary Soup from the freezer and Brunswick Stew courtesy of Julia's Takeaway Gourmet,) Healthy Baked Chicken Nuggets with Roasted Rosemary Potatoes and Lima beans, leftover Bean, Spinach, and Quinoa Burritos (frozen), and pizza.  Don't get me wrong, heating up leftovers and making dinners easy is a wonderful, beautiful thing...I just doesn't really suit me...and here's why:

(1) I really do LOVE to cook.  I love to make things from scratch.  I love to cook with my boys.  I love to make something yummy for my husband to enjoy when he gets home from work.  I love the preciseness of a recipe along with the freedom to change any ingredient to suit my tastes.  I love that I have an activity late in the day that I enjoy and that leaves my house smelling delicious.  I love everything about cooking dinner.  It truly brings me great joy.  (2) When I am bored, I snack more...lots of afternoon snacks were eaten by both me and the kids this past week because I wasn't busy preparing dinners.  (3) I really didn't spend any more "quality" time with my family by not cooking.  Usually the boys are with me in the kitchen or at least right in the next room and the baby is playing with the tupperware.  (4) I certainly didn't save any money :)

The moral of this story is that I will be back on track this week with a menu that I am excited about...
Creamy Tomato and Sausage Pasta
Rainbow Chicken Salad with Almond Honey Mustard Dressing
Pork Verde Tacos with Angel Hair Cole Slaw
Roasted Salmon with Miso Sauce
Lemony Shrimp & Risotto

We all have our different gifts and passions, and although I am lacking in many areas, I can say that cooking is one of my gifts.  I missed it this past week.  Have any of you out there put your gifts on the back burner because of a job, family, stage of life, time contraints, whatever?  If so, I encourage you to dust off those gifts and put them back into use.  I think you'll be surprised at what you've been missing!

Happy Cooking!!