Supermom Series: THE GOURMET MOM

Yes! The Supermom Series is still alive, it's just moving a little more slowly these days (um...kind of like me). I am so happy to have Christy from What We Eat and A Lil' Welsh Rarebit. I admire the fact that she is working to expand her culinary prowess, and has some really delicious recipes posted on her recipe blog. She's sharing some of her knowledge and recipes with us today. I recently participated in a recipe exchange that proved very successful, so I will be posting some of those recipes in upcoming posts so that we can all "flex our culinary muscles," as Christy calls it. :) Enjoy!

*****

Christy's cute family (Don't they look like fun?):

Hi – I’m Christy, your Gourmand Supermom du jour! I’m thrilled Lyndsay has asked me to guest post on the topic of juggling being a momma and preparing delicious homemade meals for my family. My favorite role in the world is being my daughter’s mother, and I love to eat. I mean, I love to cook! Cooking is a really new, intense passion of mine!

My husband Matt is a scientist by trade, but a chef at heart. Before we had our daughter Fiona last summer I was working my way up the corporate ladder as a business writer and quite content to let Matt do the cooking. We both had demanding full-time jobs, and he loved to cook; it relaxed him. So I was his sous chef extraordinaire and dishwasher. Not anymore! Now that taking care of Fiona is my full-time job, I’ve taken it upon myself to not only prepare our meals, but to come up with fabulously tasty recipes to wow the socks off my husband. And I’m thrilled to report that I’m succeeding: Boursin-Stuffed Chicken and Strawberry Crumble have been declared best dishes ever. High praise indeed! I relish the fact that I am not only able to cook for my family, but totally love to do so! I post all of our favorite recipes on my food blog, What We Eat – and all of the recipes I mention here are linked back there.

So you might wonder how a total nube chef has come up with so many delicious recipes in such a relatively short period of time…well, I scour the Internet for new recipes most weekends and I’m always asking my friends and family what they’re eating. Whenever I’m at a friends’ house or a party and I find something I love to eat, I make sure I leave with the recipe in hand – if they can’t print it out for me I just write it on a slip of paper. And then I try to recreate it immediately. For an example of my obsession with trying new recipes right after I discover them, see my Apricot and Brie Filled Pastry recipe – these work great as an appetizer or dessert, and are on my Valentine’s Day dinner menu.

I’ve never had a problem handling fish, beef, or pork…and once I overcame my aversion to touching raw chicken last year, I started to flex my culinary muscles. Now that I’m confident with chicken, I simply love trying all kinds of new recipes.

Each weekend we plan out the menu for the week ahead, using our recipes to make the grocery list. We do all the shopping on Sunday so I don’t have to run back to the store during the week – it not only saves time, but money. (Before I was a stay-at-home mom we used to prepare several meals on Sunday and refrigerate/freeze as necessary – so if you are in a dual-income family, you might find that this system would work for you too.) Each morning, I get my recipe out for that evening’s dinner, and I do any of the steps ahead of time that can be prepared early. For example, I prepare the stuffing mixture for Boursin-Stuffed Chicken while Fiona is taking her afternoon nap, then I pop it in the fridge until I’m ready to cook.

If you’re interested in trying a new recipe or two this week, I have a couple of suggestions in addition to the ones I’ve mentioned above. If you’re short on time, check out my Super Easy Ziti Lasagna – it’s ridiculously easy and absolutely delicious. Don’t tell anyone how quickly you made it! It’s a great gift too – I give a pan of it in one of those disposable casserole pans to all my friends when they have a new baby. If, however, you’re going to be home for a few hours before dinner, you should try my Mom’s Best Baby Back Ribs recipe – you cook it in the oven for two hours, then baste it every 15-20 minutes for another hour and a half – which might sound like a long time to prepare a meal – but it’s really simple and only requires your attention for about a minute at a time once it’s in the oven.

I’m always on the hunt for great new dishes. My number one personal goal for this year is to master at least one new dish a month, so I’d love to hear from you with your suggestions. I hope I’ve inspired you to cook up something delicious for your family soon!