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Welcome! I've designed this blog to simply be a cooking blog. Whether or not it turns into more, only time will tell. But before I start, you must know, I am not a chef or a French pastry artist. I am simply a new wife with one goal: learn to cook [better]. Since I seem to naturally have kind of a "knack" for it, I've decided that expanding my horizons would be an excellent way to fill in some of the down time during my post-college job hunt. Needless to say, my husband agrees! I will shamelessly admit that I don't try recipes that are not accompanied by a picture so I will always take pictures of my finished product to post with the recipes.

With all that said...whether you are a new wife, old wife, mom, college student, any, all, or none of these, whatev- and you share the same desire with me to cook [better ;)], you can use my experience as a handy resource knowing that the recipes have actually been tried AND taste yummy [because you know I wouldn't post them otherwise!]. Again, thanks for stopping by and hope you come back soon!

PS) I was going to wait until I found a cute blog design to publish the first recipe but I just can't wait any longer! Summer is almost up (everyone from Texas thinking praise the Lord!) and I have the most YUMMY summer recipe to share with you. I made these for my friend Meagan who came to visit for the day and I have to admit this is one of the BEST recipes I have ever tried. AND it's healthy!! Double points, right? Hubby went on and on about it when I heated up the leftovers for him. I hope you enjoy this as much as we did! I found it at Sing For Your Supper and the original recipe is by Cooking Light. Here it is:

Chicken and Summer Vegetable Tostadas 
cookinglight.com

1 tsp. ground cumin

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper

2 tsp. olive oil

12 ounces chicken breast

1 cup chopped red onion

1 cup fresh corn kernels [I used frozen] 
1 cup chopped zucchini

1/2 cup salsa

3 tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro, divided

4 (8-inch) fat-free flour tortillas

cooking spray

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese [I used Monterrey Jack cheese]

[I also added 1/2 can black beans and diced tomatoes and shredded lettuce]

Step 1: Preheat broiler.

Step 2: Combine first 3 ingredients [in small bowl], stirring well.

Step 3: Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the spice mixture evenly over chicken. Add chicken to pan; saute' for 3 minutes. Add onion, corn and zucchini [and beans, if using] to pan; saute for 2 minutes or until chicken is done. Stir in salsa and 2 tbsp. cilantro. Cook 2 minutes or until liquid almost evaporates, stirring frequently. 
Step 4: Working with 2 tortillas at a time, arrange tortillas in a single layer on a baking sheet; lightly coat tortillas with cooking spray. Broil 3 minutes or until lightly browned. Spoon about 3/4 cup chicken mixture in the center of each tortilla; sprinkle each serving with 1/4 cup cheese. Broil an additional 2 minutes or until cheese melts. Repeat procedure with remaining tortillas, chicken mixture, and cheese. Sprinkle each serving with about 3/4 tsp. of remaining cilantro. Serve immediately. [You can top with lettuce & tomato after broiling OR place underneath chicken mixture before broiling]