Just Getting Started

Welcome to my brand new blog, BunGirl Cooks.

I've been learning the art of cooking over the past few years and I love to try new things, so I thought it might be fun to share with the world. In this blog I plan to feature recipes, tips and tricks, and cooking-related product reviews.

As a kid, I never learned to cook. My mom says she had to keep my sister and I out of the kitchen because we both thought raw meat was "gross" and we'd refuse to eat it if we saw it before it was cooked. I'm still not a fan of the slimy feeling of raw meat, but I've gotten over it enough that I can handle it and cook with it.

Then I got married. My husband grew up in a single-parent home, and as the oldest child he did a lot of the "cooking" for his younger brothers. From what I gather, this mostly involved reading and following the directions on the back of the package. Neither of us had the slightest idea what real cooking was. For too many years, we'd eat fast food, hamburger helper or canned soups almost every night. If it required more than "open package, dump in pan and heat up" we did not do it.

Not too long ago, I started learning about nutrition and diet and what America's over-processed, a-bit-too-convenient food culture is doing to our health. I decided that it was time to start incorporating more fresh ingredients in my diet, and time to learn just what it is I'm putting into my body. Note: this is NOT a healthy food blog. I don't do low fat or low cholesterol. I don't avoid carbs. I love cheese, red meat, and pasta. Some of my recipes are healthy, but many are not. For now, I'm less concerned with proper nutrition and more concerned with reducing my reliance on overly-processed packaged foods.

Since my hubby's job keeps him working odd hours, and often I don't know exactly when to expect him home, I rely a lot on my crock pot. I love making soups and stews from scratch because it doesn't matter if they cook an hour longer than I expected. In fact, sometimes they're better that way! On the nights he's not working late, I like to do quick and easy meals so I still get to spend time with him instead of spending all evening in the kitchen. Often these are one-pan type meals.

I've also learned to love the art of meal planning. Every week I plan out 4-5 dinners (there are only two of us so we eat a lot of leftovers) and compile a single grocery list so I don't have to run out last minute to get an ingredient, nor do I have to wonder what to make for dinner tonight. This has made life so much easier!

On this blog I plan to share all of this and more. So I invite you to join me on my cooking journey and try some new things yourself!

photo credit: Truffle Box via photopin (license)