Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day, Mom!

Growing up, we always ate meals around the dinner table as a family.  At the time, I don't think I appreciated it as much as I do as an adult (please, please, please, Dad hurry up and get home so we can EAT! Mom, can we page him again??).  Now I look forward to preparing a meal and enjoying it with friends and family.

Part of the key in a dinner coming together is meal planning, and if there is one thing my mom kicks butt at, it's planning.  I can only hope to be as organized as she is one day, although I doubt I'll ever get there.  She's probably got one of the largest recipe collections there is.  Now that I am grown up (ha!) and living on my own (Editor's boyfriend's note: technically I do not live on my own.  Editor's note: in terms of meal planning, I may as well), I often call her and ask for recipes that I remember eating as a child.  Without exception, within 10 minutes Mom has found the recipe, scanned it into the computer and sent it in an email.  Amazing!

I used this recipe for Easter dinner this year

I love the idea of having my recipes written down on paper or in a notebook, but more often than not, I just end up saving them on my computer.  Maybe one of these days, I'll take after Mom and organize my collection like she has.  Afterall, isn't that what moms are for?  Learning from?

Another thing Mom used to do (and still does when the kids come home) was plan meals for the week.  We always knew where to look on the fridge for the list of the week's meals, sides included.  This, again, is something that I wish I was better at doing.  Looking back, this was probably just as much for her sanity as it was to placate us kids.  Deciding what to eat 5 minutes before you're ready-to-gnaw-your-arm-off hungry and then realizing you have nothing at home to make it with isn't the way to go.  My idea of meal planning is having this recipe for Chicken Tamale Casserole open on my desktop for a week and a half and swearing I'll make it one of these days (I think tonight's the night!). 

So here's to striving to be a little more like my mom every day (well maybe not every day).  I'm glad that I have an arsenal of recipes that we have made together over the years that I can dive into when I'm feeling uninspired.  Over time I hope to share many of those recipes on this blog so that you can enjoy them with your families and friends as well!