Sautee Adventures

One of my personal goals for this season of my life is to start cooking. I've been married for two years, and it's finally hit me that it might be a good idea if I knew my way around the kitchen. I've gotten away with it this long because my husband is a foodie. He knows food. He loves food. And man alive can he whip up some really yummy stuff. This is all well and good (and yummy), but there's still some innate need in me to be able to put food on the table - literally - for my family. Don't get me wrong, I have no aims to become like Julia Childs or to even cook all of her recipes. But I do want to be able to come up with a menu, bargain shop for groceries, and put together a decent spread for dinner.

Last night's venture: Chicken Quesadillas. I have to admit, I didn't go into this meal trying to make something fancy. My goals were cheap, quick, and easy. Ingredients: canned chicken, cheese, and tortilla. Doesn't get much easier than that. But then I started thinking of ways to jazz it up a bit. I chopped up an onion (the first onion I've ever chopped by hand, thank-you-very-much) and some mushrooms (canned), and sauteed them. The only reason I even know that word at all is because my husband sautes everything. So I did what I've seen him do a hundred times. A little bit of oil and high heat, throw in the chopped goods, pinch in salt and pepper, give the pan a couple of shakes (and tosses, go me), and voila! While that was cooking, I threw in the canned chicken. Because, really, the whole motivation behind the onions and mushrooms was to cover up that weird canned chicken flavor. And boy did it ever. Add some rice on the side, and we had a great meal. I have to say, that was the yummiest thing I've ever made. Better yet, it seems Hubs really enjoys me cooking for him :)