Y’all. Why, why, why don’t you believe in yourself?

Every week when I post a food picture or two to our social media accounts (okay, our IG page because I don’t spend too much time on Facebook) I get some great, encouraging, positive comments. I love those! Thank you for them! They make my day.

But I also get the comments like, “I wish I could do that” or, “I wouldn’t even know where to begin” or, “I am the worst cook”. Those don’t make my day.

Stop being unkind to yourself! Stop thinking you can’t do something because you can do anything you put your mind to. (You’re remembering that fifth grade teacher, aren’t you?)

And just like your fifth grade teacher I’m going to say that “practice makes perfect” and “can’t never could” (I never really got that one).

I read in an Anthony Bourdain book once (I believe it was Kitchen Confidential) the best cooks are known for their consistency. Not crazy creativity (although that’s not outlawed in any kitchen of course!) but consistency. You know what made your mom or grandmother a good cook? Knowing the chicken needed to roast for an hour at 350 degrees. Then she played around with the spices, marinades and brines. After she figured out how to consistently put good, nutritious, Whole Foods on the table and feed her family and those she loved. I mean how often do you need a solid roasted chicken and veggie meal versus a marine-life party theme or all-purple dinner theme?

So let’s talk about biscuits. Biscuits. I struggled with biscuits (and all bread really) for years and years. I bought canned biscuits. I bought frozen biscuits. And then I buckled down and decided it was time to practice my biscuits and breads and get good at the basics, no matter how long it took. So I did. I took a few Saturdays and practiced until I got my basic biscuit recipe down pat. Now I can fancy them up a bit if I want but my family really does love plain old cat head biscuits. Same with pancakes and breads. Day in and day out they want bread for sandwiches and pancakes with syrup. Sometimes I do blueberry or chocolate chip pancakes and sometimes my bread is cinnamon or banana but it’s because I became consistent and successful with my basic recipes.

And you can, too! You can make outstanding meals for your people in a short amount of time, especially if you have a tiny amount of foresight. Take this week for example - Tuesday we unexpectedly had a crazy day. It was 6:00 and I hadn’t even had time to think about dinner. I had no idea what to fix! But I looked in the fridge and remembered I had the foresight that morning to pull out some sweet Italian sausage to defrost. So I sautéed it, added some canned tomato sauce I did about a month ago, threw in fresh veggies and some cream, cooked pasta and sliced some bread. The guys LOVED it. Barry actually said it was “restaurant worthy” and it took me 20 minutes. That’s it! It was so easy. It didn’t take any expertise and it certainly wasn’t some crazy original never-before-seen meal. It was an average Tuesday night dinner. Regular old ingredients I had in my pantry and fridge.

That’s it. Consistency. If I can do it so can you. So just do it. Just keep putting dinner on the table for your people. Slice the bread, open the wine, spend some time.

Thanks for sharing your time with me! Let me know how it goes for you - I KNOW YOU CAN DO IT!