The Cooking Miracle

I will be the first one to admit that I don't cook.  While I have been known to actually follow a cooking recipe, the process of cooking is highly stressful.  For example, the first time I made lasagna I remember having to turn the oven off at one point and go back to the store because I realized that I hadn't brought enough of the ingredients that I needed.  When I did cook dinner for myself it usually revolved around chicken....sometimes it was overcooked and sometimes (like the night I invited a friend over for dinner ) it wasn't quite done enough.  Yeah, it's rather embarrassing to have your meal on the plate and start cutting your chicken only to find it still very pink.  Thank goodness for side dishes to start on while you wait for the main dish to be edible!

I also have this need to have to follow the recipe when cooking.  Now I realize that to people who actually enjoy cooking that following a recipe is cheating.  Perhaps this is why I'm such a good baker.  Afterall, you absolutely need to follow those recipes.  It always amazes me to watch Ray cook because he rarely knows what he's going to cook beforehand.  He just buys some meat (he doesn't really care for chicken), throws some spices on it (always a different combo, mind you) and uses whatever other food is around to come up with a creative side dish.  It always tastes amazing!

For some inexplicable reason I found myself buying chicken this week.  I hadn't a clue what I was going to do with it.  Last night, though, I decided that I would break out of my mold of following a recipe.  Ok, in reality any recipe that I had required ingredients not in my apartment and I didn't feel like going to the store to get them.  This predicament forced me to use my creative powers.  I had some Italian breading and a variety of spices.  I decided to throw some breading in a ziplock bag along with oregano, basil, and adobo.  Notice the word throw....I resisted the urge to use some sort of measuring device.  I coated the chicken with egg and then put the chicken in the bag, shook it up, and baked it.

The end result?  I actually managed to cook the chicken, mashed potatoes (from a box), and frozen broccoli all at the same time without having one completely done a half hour before the others.  The chicken was cooked perfectly - white and moist - and tasted delicious!  It was a sheer cooking miracle!

Yep, I still get excited about the little things in life :).