31 Days in the Kitchen - Day 1

For me, the kitchen is a warm, wonderful, homey, loving, fun-filled, creative outlet kind of place.  I know it sounds cliche, and it probably is, but it's true for me.  I love being in my kitchen.  Coming up with new recipes and ideas for foods I love is really my creative outlet.  I will scower the internet for hours looking for recipes and then tweaking them to make them something I think will be great.  Now, don't get me wrong, it doesn't always turn out that way, but I love to give it a try! 
Some might say that it's just genetic, like mother like daughter, and there's probably some level of truth to that.  My mom is an amazing cook and she definitely passed on a lot of her knowledge to me.  I think my love for the kitchen is more than just having a mom that cooked all the time.  Mom didn't just use the kitchen as a place to teach me how to cook so I would be a good little wife and mother.  The kitchen was the place where I learned to work hard to achieve something, and while I was doing that, I was having heart-to-heart discussions that the Lord used to shape much more than my cooking skills.  Anyone can cook, and anyone can learn to cook, but learning how to both cook and be a Godly woman, that's what makes the kitchen a special place for me! 
So here's my plan.  I know there are plenty of cooking blogs out there, and I'm not going to try and turn into one of them.  However, for this month, I'm going to do two things: I'm going to share more of my memories and thoughts on how to make the kitchen a special place for your family and while doing that, I'm going to share a new recipe everyday.  I don't have any particular plan for the recipes, just different ones I like on varying difficulty levels, so if you have something you want to learn to make or a general concept you want to hear about, just let me know!  Blogging everyday is going to be a huge challenge for me, so here's my challenge for you, cook everyday for the next month.  It can be as easy as scrambled eggs for breakfast, or a 3 course meal for dinner.  I don't care what you cook, just try it!  

To kick things off we're going to start with one of the easiest things you'll ever make, and that you can use in TONS of different recipes!  Roast Chicken is probably the number one go to on my list of dinner items.  Some of you may look at the cook time and think, why??  Well, I can roast an entire package of chicken (side note, I can get said package for $5 when on sale) and then use it for multiple meals throughout the week.  The possiblities are endless!  So without further ado, Roast Chicken.

Ingredients:
- bone in, skin on chicken breasts (however many you want or will fit on your pan)
- salt (I prefer sea salt)
- pepper
- extra virgin olive oil

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  Rub both sides of your chicken with the above ingredients and don't be afraid to give it a good sprinkle of salt!  I probably use about a tablespoon of salt (maybe a little more) for an entire package (5 very large breasts), about a teaspoon of pepper and maybe 2-3 tablespoons (give or take) of olive oil.  Rub it all in good and then place them on a roasting pan or a cookie sheet, whatever you've got will work.  Be sure they aren't overlapping or touching, so they will cook evenly and get a nice crispy skin.  Cook for 1 hour and then you're done!

I like to add some carrots and potatoes (cut into about 2 inch chunks) rubbed with the same ingredients and dinner is done.  The sky is the limit for variations.  Switch up your spices and add some rosemary and thyme, greek seasoning, italian, cajun, or brush on barbecue sauce for the last 15 minutes of cooking!  Whatever you don't eat, you can pull off the bone, stick in a ziploc and freeze or refrigerate for another meal later.  I promise, you can do it!!  Now go cook! : )