Columnists
 By  Melissa Cason Published 
7:54 am Saturday, May 15, 2010

Cooking can be time consuming

When I was growing up, I never really wanted to learn how to cook. In fact, when my  mom would ask me to help her cook, I would complain and tell her I would never have to cook because I wasn’t having kids or anything so I’d just hire a maid.

 Oh my, how times have changed. Because of my lack of interest as a child, I am having to learn about cooking the hard way-through trial and error. And, believe me there are plenty of errors in my kitchen.

I remember when Jimmy and I first married. I loved Hamburger Helper, and chili mixes. You know the easy stuff that any idiot can make.

As we started adding children into the mix, I began having to improvise in the kitchen. Since then, I can cook a number of things. But, my absolute favorites are chicken spaghetti, chicken rotel, and cheesy chicken enchiladas. As you can see, I love chicken.

I like these meals because they are casserole type meals that can bake in the oven after assembly. Once the dish is done, viola, we have an instant meal.

I subscribe to cooking magazines and visit the Food Network website frequently to find new desserts that are easy  to bake and delicious to taste.

My absolute favorite is chocolate anything. I have a recipe for Mile High Chocolate Pie. It’s a pie with a homemade brownie crust with lots of chocolate and even more whipped cream.

During the summer, I love baking with fruit. My favorite summertime dessert is strawberry shortcake made my way. I take a light fluffy white cake, and add crushed strawberries and whipping cream, and top with fresh strawberries. This dessert is amazing.

I also like ice cream anything. I’ve made ice cream cakes homemade using candy bars and ice cream. It’s amazing.

I also enjoy making wonderful drinks during the summer. I love flavored teas but my absolute favorite drink is cherry limeade. To make this drink, all you need is limeade from the store, Sprite, and cherries. Mix together for a refreshing treat anytime day or night.

Whether you like cooking large meals, or making delicious desserts, it’s important to remember to have fun in the kitchen. Cooking shouldn’t be a chore. It should be fun. So bon appetite.

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