I hate cooking. Really. The thought of making a meal makes me lose my appetite. Bear does most of the cooking around here (which makes me feel guilty because I'm the one with the most free time). I try to find the easiest recipes I can find. I try to find quick meals I can just throw together. But still...being in the kitchen makes me feel like...[insert word that rhymes with "kitchen"].

But I've been wondering...am I going about this all wrong?

What if, instead of looking for the easy way out, I took a different approach? See, here's the thing...there are people who like to cook. Weird, I know. But they're out there. And it seems to me that they like to cook fancy-pants meals. Cooking isn't a chore. Cooking isn't just a means to an end (that end being a full stomach). Cooking is a hobby, an art even. And, as I pointed out, I do have quite a bit of expendable time on my hands maybe I should be looking for exciting, gourmet recipes.

Here's my theory. If I have a recipe that will result in something really tasty, something I can be proud of, something my family will drool over, something that will make leftovers for Bear's lunch that'll make his peers jealous then maybe, maybe it will make cooking fun. Maybe I hate cooking because I feel like I'm not getting much out of it. Oh, woo-hoo...decent meal, full belly. Is that really worth the time and effort? Even "easy" recipes require work. But for a marginally larger amount of effort I could be having meals like mushroom and goat cheese lasagna, or almond nut loaf, or even Jared-style pizza.

Then again, I could just throw that freezer pizza in the oven.