More random cooking adventures

Since school began a little less than a month ago, I have gotten into the habit of cooking on weekends so I can have food for the week without thinking too much about it. 

So far I have been sticking to simple things, but hope to soon branch out.  Last week, I made a pasta dish:  Rotini with a creamy tomato sauce (and Roma tomatoes!), with sausage and grated cheeses.  Yum, cheese.  Oh, and onions, of course -- the staple of EVERY dish I make, apparently.   It was a huge experiment that turned into a decent success.  Seriously, I just started throwing stuff in a pot and stirring it, and just kinda made it up as I went along. 

Today, I had a recipe I wanted to try.  I read the ingredients, then started my own. I didnt' look back at the recipe once! ... Oops.  Just made it up.  I didn't quite get the proportions right, but here's a general overview of what I did.  

Sautee in pan: onions, bell peppers (yellow and green), carrots (sliced thinly), and Mexican grey squash (in thin small pieces).  Added spinach.  In a separate pan I browned turkey hot dogs (because they were cheaper than turkey sausage), also in tiny pieces. Then, added cheese and stirred it all together.  I guess it's kinda like a Southern stir-fry.  

If I did it again, I would probably add many more carrots and squash -- the onion to squash/carrot ratio is a little lopsided.  I also need to figure out the smaller end of how much butter or oil to saute things  in.  I just kinda guess and always put too much in the pot, haha.

It's interesting, though, because it's amazing just how far I've come in the cooking department.  A few years ago I would have never tried anything like this, despite the fact that this is very simple.   I have learned recently, though, that I very much like dishes like this -- ones where the meat and veggies are actually together.  Otherwise, I find myself just eating veggies, or just eating chicken -- not both.  

The best part about cooking for a few hours every weekend?  I feel refreshed for the upcoming week, and am much more highly likely to actually eat the leftovers throughout the week.   The other best part is that aside from things like sushi, I feel like anything I cook is probably going to be healthier, cheaper, and tastier than store-bought food.  Side benefit: because of this fun cooking "hobby," I haven't been out to eat since early August, right after I moved here.  I haven't even gone to Subway or Chipotle, which is pretty impressive since they are both directly across from the School of Music.

This coming weekend will hopefully be more stir-fried rice with chicken and LOTS of veggies.  More Mexican grey squash (I haven't figured out how it's different from zucchini squash aside from being lighter in color), lots more carrots, perhaps more peas or some beans...and of course, more onions.

Soon, I will write stories of playing fun music with wind ensemble and orchestra, along with fog machines, pre-recorded thunder, and bagpipers.  It was definitely a good way to spend this past Friday evening, so I will try to update about that evening sometime this week.