Dear DILs: Life Skills

Dear Future DILs,

As I continue to pray for you and what you need in an husband, it occurred to me that it might be nice if your husbands can assist you in the kitchen.

I say this from experience. I despise cooking. I really do. I think I do a decent job…I mean, no one in the house really complains…however that might be due to the “if you complain about a meal which someone has taken their own time to prepare for you, then you will be the one fixing dinner for the family on the next night”.

That may have something to do with it…possibly.

Regardless…no one has died yet from my cooking. At least that I know of.

And all this rambling to say: I would love love love it if Mr. AR was more confident and could help me just a touch more than he does.

Frankly, he’s really not so helpful when it comes to the kitchen. I don’t think he even had home ec in school…this makes me sad for so many reasons. He also does not know how to sew on a button. Seriously? Who doesn’t know how to do that?!?

But I have digressed…

Now that I have put together such a rousing plug for my cooking, I shall inform you that I am teaching my boys (aka your future husbands) how to cook. Mind you, ladies…this will not be haute cousine. Nothing fancy schmancy about this. We are simple, basic people…in many ways.

Don’t judge.

But our food will surpass edible. It will be good. That’s the goal anyway.

But right now, it is summertime. I kind of loathe summer for one simple reason: there is no schedule. I am ready for school to begin again in the worst way. I mean…I am ACHING to start. All this slovenliness…sleeping the day away.

Getting up at 7:30…unbelievable, right?

But I promised the PBA that we would wait until fall to start up school.

Ha!

See, that’s funny b/c “fall” is now July 28…over a month before the pool closes. At least two months before leaves begin their transformation to glorious colors other than green (sorry to all you green lovers out there…green is ok, but not really my favorite color; don’t judge).

But…we all will have had PLENTY of time off and will seriously need to get back into a routine. Things will have been silly around here for long enough. Time to get to work.

It will be at that point that we will begin our “Life Skills”…and this year, it will involve cooking. OK, it will BE cooking…not just involve it.

They will either copy down the recipe, or will write it as I narrate it and put it in their “cooking binder”…a new-to-them recipe each week.

Please be advised, when I say “cooking binder” what I actually mean is a small photo album I picked up at Goodwill for $.99 and then covered with some duct tape. They each have their own which I am fairly certain they will treasure all the days of their lives.

 So…I have included below my list (thus far) of that which I am planning to teach them. Please remember…we are NOT fancy. So if you are, that’s all fine and lovely for you…and your husband may not be as helpful as you might hope. Though he won’t be paralyzed as Mr. AR sometimes is when I ask for help beyond making a salad (which, as an aside, the PBA can currently do reasonably well...especially if I buy bagged salad; I don’t mean to brag here).

This list is in no order whatsoever, and is simply a jumping off point for us/me. And most of them are not difficult in the slightest. And some of them build off another item (i.e. boiled eggs one week, deviled eggs the next).

But the whole reason I include the list here is to see if there are any additional items which you’d like him/them to know how to make.

Without further delay, I give you the list:

• Baked fish               
• Quiche (chef’s choice on kind)                     
• Biscuits                    
• No bake cookies      
• Artichoke dip           
• Salsa                      
• Blondies
• Meatloaf
• Chili      
• Mashed potatoes       
• Tacos     
• Brownies
• Pound cake              
• Coffee cake             
• Pulled pork              
• Pancakes                  
• Quick bread (baker’s choice on type, but fingers crossed it will be pumpkin)
• Sloppy joes (which will include how to brown meat…ground beed, turkey, chicken, etc…the options are limitless!)
• Pigs in a blanket
• Spaghetti (pasta in general actually)              
• Chocolate chip cookies                
• Mac & cheese (from scratch)       
• Guacamole              
• Hard boiled eggs
• Deviled eggs            
• Pie        
• Roasted chicken and homemade chicken stock 
• Chicken noodle soup 
• Baked potatoes         
• Stir fry (chef’s choice on type…except tofu…I refuse to let that stuff enter my house…and yes I have eaten it so I’m not making an uninformed judgment about its level of disgustingness)

If there’s anything you think MUST me added, don’t hesitate to let me know…via comments below, on FB or send an email. I have no preconceived ideas that this list is all-encompassing.

Love,

Your Future MIL…and also someone who hopes and prays that you are an ah-mazing chef.

  

Follow me on Facebook!