One down, fifty-one to go....

Well, that's one week of this new year under my belt. As far as resolutions go, I think I did pretty well.

My biggest resolution is about cooking dinner at home as opposed to eating out. Pete loves, and I mean LOVES, to eat dinner out. Doesn't matter where - Wendy's and Taco Bell are favorites, but he also enjoys Moe's, Chili's, Applebee's, Five Guys, and any local Italian, Chinese or Indian places, all of which are very convenient to our home. So, he always suggests we eat out, whenever given the chance.

I, on the other hand, enjoy cooking, and think that it's always healthier and more economical for us to eat in. But, of course, that makes a lot more work for me - planning, shopping, cooking and cleaning up. He was "traumatized" by always having to wash dishes growing up, so he won't help with them now. It's just another aurgument for why we should eat out, in his mind - then we won't have to do any dishes!

So, I must admit, I had gotten a bit lazy about cooking in December - with everything going on, and constant evening shopping for gifts, it was much more convenient to just eat out somewhere.

So, I did some planning and shopping New Year's Day, and launched into my first week back cooking. Friday we had a "good luck" meal of pork chops with sauerkraut to welcome in the New Year. Saturday we had BLT's for dinner (Pete's special request). Sunday I made PW's lasagna for dinner. Monday was a bit of a cheat - I brought in take-out, but it was salad, bread and a pasta dish from a local Italian place for only $20. But, as it wasn't fast food, I was happy with that, plus it was enough for a family of 4, so there were leftovers for my lunches. Tuesday we had leftover lasagna. Wednesday I tried a new recipe - Sesame Pork Rice, which we liked a lot. I even snuck extra veggies into it for us! Thursday we had leftover lasagna again (yes, that recipe makes a huge pan!). Friday I made taco soup. Saturday I made Lazy Stuffed Peppers. Guiness Beef Stew is on the menu for today. More planning and shopping today, and I really feel like I'm on a roll....

I'm looking into "once a month cooking" - a concept that sounds wonderful to me. I'll post about that once I know much more - once a month may not be feasible, but maybe twice a month is. Anything would be a great improvement over once a day cooking!