OK, so… I’m not a chef. I’m just a 26 year old elementary school teacher with a wonderful husband and two precious dogs that I treat like children (the dogs, not the husband…).
BUT, I simply LOVE to cook. I attribute my love of cooking to growing up in the south and being surrounded by amazing women who showed their love to me by making sure there was a delicious home cooked meal on the table every night. I wouldn’t know how to boil water if it weren’t for the patience and nurturing of my wonderful mom, grandmothers, and aunts.
Cooking is my therapy. The stress of the day starts to melt away the second I start perusing my pantry for inspiration. At the end of a long day, there is just something cathartic about chopping, dicing, and shredding that makes me feel centered and happy again.
When I cook, I like to use a good mixture of fresh ingredients and store-bought items. Why not take a little help from the store? Not only does it help get dinner on the table faster, but if used wisely, it can help make meals WAY more economical.
But I would have to say that my favorite part of cooking is the scrounging! I try… TRY… to grocery shop once a month, with a few small trips here and there for milk, eggs, and other basic essentials that don’t typically last an entire month. Shopping only once makes cooking more interesting and the grocery bill less shocking. The typical “What’s for dinner?” question forces me to be more creative with food and it helps me reinvent leftovers into very different, and often delicious concoctions. You might notice that my recipes might follow a pattern or use a certain ingredient several times. This is because that is what I was able to stock up on during that particular trip to the store.
My only issue with scrounge-cooking is that I rarely follow a recipe and I can never remember what I’ve made. My husband will ask me to make a dish over again and I will have no clue what ingredients I used.
So, my solution is here. I am going to blog about the dishes I make so I can keep better track of what goes in to everything and I can revert back to them when I need to!
If you get hungry, come on by and check out what we are having at my house. I will NEVER guarantee anything… but I’ll let you know how it all turns out.
Happy Cooking!
Pantry Chef 
I am so excited to have found you!! I love your idea of shopping once a month. Of course, it’s a world away from the way I do things, but it’s a great theory!
Thanks Chris! It took awhile to figure out the once a month shopping and few nights of pb&j before I worked out all of the kinks but out of pure financial necessity, I stuck with it and now, I love it!!!
I like to cook for a lot of the same reasons… growing up with parents who both cooked and who always made meal-time important family time. And with my job in IT, at the end of the day I need to create something to feel right and centered again. Great stuff!
Your mom just told me today about your blog. Wish you were here to identify the reddish substance that’s in my freezer–chili, cranberry sauce, tomato sauce ????? I’m not good at planning around a surprise ingredient. Sign me up for the blog! Love ya.
yay Sunny! So looking forward to you telling me what to cook!
Love your blog name! Whip up a meal using whatever you can find in the pantry 🙂
Thanks! It is a lot of fun figuring out what to make!
So, my dear Sunny. Seems we have a lot in common from reading this About section! Good luck with your blog, and it seems like a great way to keep track of the recipes for the hub!
Love your blog. I am new to blogging – check mine out at pallyjane.wordpress.com. I am blogging about recipes, crafts, sewing and life in the the south!
Great recipes! 🙂
Thanks! I’m glad you like them.
Love your blog–creative cooking is one of my favorite things!
I’m passing the Versatile Blogger Award to you!