Living in a foreign country forces you to try new things – especially food! I grew up in a house where global food was Tex-Mex. The only exception was the lutefisk and lefse my Swedish grandfather would bring over. So eating raw fish was a bit outside my comfort zone.

But once I got there I learned that raw fish is sashimi, not sushi, and that it’s quite delicious. Sushi is the combination of rice, seaweed and a filling, which may or may not be raw fish. But Japanese cuisine is much more than raw fish. 

I love yakitori. It’s chicken on a stick with green onion and a kind of teriyaki sauce. Kobe beef is amazing! And every Christmas Eve our family celebrates with a meal of Shabu Shabu – beef, vegetable and noodles we cook at the table. Or try yakiniku. We bought a table top grill and cut some steak. We also cut some veggies and bought some sauces. And then we had a romantic meal at home while we cooked dinner at the table. And it was much cheaper than eating out.

Recipes are all over the internet. They are the easiest way to practice creativity. And it’s practical. You have to eat! Read the recipe, buy the ingredients and give it a try.

I made this Oreo Dirt Pie for a family dinner. It can be a little risky trying a new dessert for a family event. But this was just my husband and kids. The event was meet my son’s new girlfriend dinner. I decided to go for the new recipe – if it was awful I would learn if she was kind enough to say it was good anyway.

The pie is actually a box cake with a lot of chocolate deliciousness added to it. I changed the chocolate fudge for chocolate syrup. That is what my family prefers on ice cream so I thought they would prefer it in the cake and because it was already in my fridge. And I made sure not to eat too many Oreos while I was making the cake so I would have enough for the dessert. I kept my husband out of the kitchen for the same reason.

Thank you to the Frugal Navy Wife for this fabulous dessert. Give it a try. It’s sure to get your creative juices flowing!

One of my favorite restaurants to eat at is an Italian chain. But it’s pricey. Pasta at the grocery store is not. They also took one of my favorite salads off the menu. It was time to make this meal at home. I did some research – someone else liked this salad and wrote about it. I found some pasta recipes that looked like what I like to order and gave them a try. Then I invited over some friends and put it all together. It was fabulous.

If you want to eat some restaurant food at home – here are the steps I followed.

1. Choose what you want to eat – You may want to start with something that is like something you have made before or has ingredients you don’t have to go to a specialty shop to buy. Or go for it and try something new!
2. Research for recipes – Be specific when using your search engine to get your best recipe options. Use the name of the dish and the restaurant.
3. Make your grocery list – If you already have some of the ingredients at home check that you have enough. I often forget that part.
4. Read your recipe a couple of times – I forget this part too. I think I know what I’m doing and then realize I missed an important step and must wing it a little. Don’t be me.
5. Eat with an open mind – Hopefully, you are happy with what you have cooked. It may be the same – sometimes it’s even better. Sometimes it’s not. That’s okay. Try again or try something different.

Making your favorite dishes at home isn’t hard. But it does take research, planning and preparation. And the willingness to act. Cooking, like most things, is a skill you learn to do because you try, learn, and try again. Act and try something new.

I’m not a huge baker. I prefer savory over sweet. And I passed on the baking craze of quarantine. We ate ice cream instead. But this is one of my favorite fall desserts and tastes best with – yep – ice cream. I like it with vanilla bean.  

This recipe is from the first cookbook I ever bought – Six Ingredients or Less by Carlean Johnson. I didn’t start out my adulting enjoying cooking, but I have always enjoyed eating. Since I could not afford to eat out all the time I had to learn. Six ingredients was a good place to start.  

Enjoy this simple Apple Crisp. I know I do. 

Apple Crisp 

4 cups sliced apples 

1 teaspoon cinnamon 

½ teaspoon salt 

¾ cup flour 

1 cup sugar 

1/3 cup cold butter 

Place apple slices in buttered 10 x 7 baking dish; sprinkle with cinnamon and salt. Pour ¼ cup water over apples. Combine flour and sugar in small mixing bowl. With fork or pastry blender cut in butter. Sprinkle mixture evenly over apples. Bake at 350º for 40 minutes or until golden and apples are tender. Makes 6 servings. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream. 

I want the grilled stuff – hamburgers, brats, and steak. Fortunately, my husband is willing to grill all year round, even in Minnesota. It’s always good, but something is missing. Then summer arrives and you realize it just tastes better when you eat it outside.

Last weekend I was invited to a BBQ. I was reading a magazine and it had some pasta salad recipes in it. But when I went to the grocery store I kind of combined the ingredients in my head of two different recipes. So, when I got home, I realized I didn’t have all the ingredients for either salad. And it was okay.

I think my mind just chose what to remember the ingredients I like. So I created a new recipe. And I loved it. And it made me feel creative and full of good food at the same time!

Ingredients

                Half pound of Orzo pasta

                20 grape or cherry tomatoes

                Half a cucumber

                1/4 red onion

                8 Basil leaves

                ¼ cup toasted pine nuts

                Dressing

                ¼ cup olive oil

                4 tbsp red wine vinegar

                1 tsp mustard

                Pepper

Cook the pasta according to the directions on the box. Drain and rinse with cold water and put in a bowl. Cut the tomatoes in half and add to the bowl. Cut the cucumber into bite size pieces and add. Cut the onion and and basil leaves and add them to the bowl as well. Toast the pine nuts in a pan and add to the salad. Mix the dressing in a jar or small bowl and mix. Add to the salad and stir. Feeds 4 as a side dish.