{cooking mishaps remembered on the FIRST glorious day of spring}

Welcome to Foodie Friday, hosted by Gollum, from Designs by Gollum.

This is my first week of participation, and it just happens to be on the week slated to share cooking mishaps or Foodie Friday Trainwrecks! Oh, I have several of those, ...but a few in particular that my dear husband will never let me forget! :)

My "culinary career," {which I say loosely}, had a very rocky beginning.

My mother was an excellent cook, and often we were served three home-cooked meals a day, including a delicious breakfast. But she did not like or allow, anyone in the kitchen while she was cooking. Too distracting, she would say. I was only permitted in when it was time to set the table and pour the sweet iced tea. So, I unfortunately did not benefit by learning from her.

When I went off to college, my roommates and I tried to cook meals at home, to save money, but they were very feeble attempts! One roommate in particular loved grits, and at the beginning of one fall semester, bought a 25 pound commercial bag of grits. We stored grits in every container imaginable, the refrigerator was full, as well as all the cabinets of our tiny apartment kitchen. That was cheap eating, and it took us a year, but we ate every last gritty little grit. It is a wonder I can stand the sight of grits today.

Soon after college, Kevin and I were married. I had two really embarrassing mishaps very early in my marriage as a new homemaker, that I will unlikely ever live down. The first substantial meal that I served Kevin was Sweet and Sour Chicken out of a Hamburger Helper {Chicken Helper} box, served over instant MASHED POTATOES! I was young and naive, so proud of my meal, setting the table with our fine wedding china, freshly unwrapped from tissue paper and silver boxes. As I waited for him to get home, the mashed potatoes grew soggier and soggier. It was awful! What was I thinking combining mashed potatoes and sweet & sour chicken. {...and all from a cardboard box! LOL!}

My skills didn't improve for quite some time. Not long after that disastrous meal, I left a whole chicken on to boil, while we worked in the yard one Saturday. When we entered the house, the most disgusting, sickening smell filtered through the door. I had left the bag of innards in the chicken. I had no idea they were to be removed before cooking! Fortunately, through much trial and error over the last 16 years, I have greatly improved!

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To celebrate the First Glorious Day of Spring, I am headed out to tour a few nurseries and have lunch with my Garden Club. ...can't wait! :)

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! ~Rhonda