What's For Dinner???

Every day, it's the same question, "What's for dinner?"

I used to say, "Lirocatchamella," and smile. I know, what in the world is liro-catch-a-mella (broke it down so you could pronounce it)? Short version, it's a word my Grandmother used to use when my mother and siblings would ask. It means none of your business.

I can no longer use lirocatchamella on my children, the cute factor wore off a few years back. It doesn't keep them from asking every.single.day. Now I just answer, dinner, or food. When I tell them I hear, "I don't want that," "I don't like that," or the one I hate the most "Not that again."

Mr. Husband asks every blue moon, but it doesn't keep him from huffing, rolling his eyes, or asking, "This is dinner?" Recently he's eaten a bowl of cereal after I've cooked.

I.have.had.enough!

Every once in a while, a woman feels like she has to reinvent herself. And this is one of those times! I love to cook, but lately I've run out of ideas, and my family is no help. When I ask what they want to eat, when I'm making my menu, before going grocery shopping, no one has any ideas. Twelve year old middle daughter always says macaroni and cheese.

I love cooking shows. When my family sees me taking notes, they immediately chime in, "We don't want that."


Rachael Ray, Paula Deen, the Neely's, are a few of my favorites, along with Top Chef, Emeril, Martha Stewart, and a few others.

I relate more to Paula, and the Neely's style of cooking. I like a lot of what Rachael does, and aspire to cook like a Top Chef. Martha's food is always pretty, and I like pretty. Some of her dishes, I'd never cook. In the South, we don't eat dandelion greens, we mow them. And collard greens are not steamed, but slow cooked for hours! But, I like her style.

Sunday, I was watching Rachael Ray, and I guess I was too into it, and Mr. Husband says, "Don't even think about it." He tells our friends I use them as guinea pigs. If he had it his way we'd have pinto beans, plain white rice or mashed potatoes every day.

Because I've run out of ideas, cooking hasn't been fun for a while. It's becoming more of a chore. I want to try new things, and the old things new ways. I want out of this rut! While in Wal-Mart I ran across a cook book, Rachael Ray's Book of 10. This book has more than 300 recipes. With 333 days left in the year, I'd never have to cook the same thing twice.

If I cooked three new dishes a week for the next 47 weeks, (including this one), from one source or another that's 141 new meals. That's doable! Project What's For Dinner is in affect, starting tonight!

My friend Leslie and I have the same problem, and we're doing this together.

I'll keep you all posted through blog posts once a week, Twitter and Facebook. This is going to be fun. We'll see how many nights, Mr. Husband eats cereal. Get ready guinea pigs!