Honey, did ya write that one down?

Do y’all have one of these?

I used to have a very modest 2 inch blue three ring binder, but about a year or so ago it became very clear that expansion was necessary. I upgraded to this hefty 4 inch heavy duty three ring binder. This is my homemade cook book, it contains all the printed recipe that I get off the internet or magazine as well as those that I have made notes on or modifications to. If it gets much bigger it will have to expand into volume one and volume two.

I have my trusted set of cookbook that I work from sometimes, but most often I find myself standing at the pantry and mentally going over the contents while thinking about what I have on hand in the freezer that can be readily whipped up into something quick, easy and satisfying for my family.

After dinner last night the hubs chimed in as we were clearing away the dishes, “Honey, Did ya write that one down?”

It was a very good Chicken with Mushroom & Spinach Gravy that I served over rice. It was very good if I do say so myself!

It was a clear sign of approval for the meal that we had just finished. I don't need a lot in the way of recognition but I will admit to having a wonderful sense of satisfaction in knowing that I have provided something that my family appreciated in the way of a few moment of enjoyment around the dinner table.

After dinner I pulled the binder off the shelf and set down to write out the recipe before it was gone from my head

As we cleared away the dished the girl child chimed in “Ya Mom when am I going to get copies of all your recipes?”

You see this huge notebook not only houses all my recipe searches and all the pending yet to be tried recipes it also holds all the “Honey, did ya write that one down?” section as well.

It is full of what I like to call the “It’s what we had!” meals.

That endless tale of what to do with the boneless chicken thighs, pasta, rice, canned tomatoes….you name it, but you toss in a bit of this and dash of that into the skillet and a few minutes later it’s time to eat.

Sometimes I have to throw in the towel of failure but most times than not I get the “Honey, did ya write that one down?”

I set aside a few minutes every now and again to go through this notebook to toss out the recipes that did not work or that no one liked as well as spend some time just thinking about the times that the DD and I spent to in the kitchen together.

I have a section in the very back where I keep all of my grandmother handwritten recipes, I only have a very few of her recipes that she wrote out by hand but they are some of my most treasured possessions. Sometime I pull them out and just read them over and remember her.

As I was going through my cook book the other day and pulling out some unused recipes and giving them the old heav-ho I thought it just might be time to start putting together the “It’s What We Had – Volume II” version for the benefit of the DD and her future family.

Are you a “it’s what we had” kind of cook or a “follow the recipe to the letter” kind of cook?

Happy Cooking y’all and if you don’t cook happy take out!

R