I'm a foodie!

As I was making spaghetti and breadsticks the other night

(Daddy was gone, so it was psaghetti night), I started to think about how far I have come in the cooking dept.

Not the spaghetti, mind you, but the homemade breadsticks are illustrating my point.

I told this story to my Beehives last week as I was teaching a lesson on

sharing work in the home.

When Mike & I were first married, our main dinner every night was baked potatoes. We would also go out a lot (my favorite dinner still is going out). I remember distinctly the day that Mikey asked me if we could maybe have some meat in our dinners!

To tell you the truth, it never crossed my mind!

I didn't learn how to cook before I got married. I could bake. I make killer cookies.

But, not real, nourishing food. My cute Mom told me once that she was sorry she didn't teach me to cook.

No worries, Mom.

I could have asked.

I have been able to take a little food journey for the past little while and I'm really enjoying it! I'm obsessed with Food Network.

I read food blogs constantly.

I'm always looking for something new to try.

I dream about 'plating' food so that my family goes, 'Ooooo, Ahhhh'

Ok, not really. But it's nice to feel appreciated!

I have made a very strong effort to make dinner every night. I also explore different recipes. Some work, some don't.

But, I do feel we are getting some family favorites.

The most fun has been how interested the kids are in helping me!

Whenever they ask, I make sure to let them help me with everything, even though it can make a mess. Sometimes, I enlisted their help. Like the other night.....

The other night, I was busy teaching piano (as usual). We were having spaghetti-like I said, Mike was gone. He doesn't like spaghetti, so it's not on the menu when he's around.

I wanted to have homemade breadsticks. So, I called in the girls.

I told them that they needed to make the breadsticks for dinner. I gave brief instructions and then went back to teaching. After a few questions, they were able to make the dough and get it ready to rise for an hour and a half.

When the dough was ready, I told them how to make the breadsticks and get them on the baking sheet. They even brushed them with melted butter and sprinkled parmesean cheese over the top. They smelled so great baking and they tasted even better.

The girls did great! I'm also liking the confidence they are building. It's so fun to have them in the kitchen with me. Especially when we all wear our aprons.

Brandon loves to help me, too.

I think that it will help them to appreciate all the work that goes into making meals. I can also send them off into the big world knowing that they will have a few recipes under their cooking belts (or under their cute aprons!).