every time you close your eyes

here's a dilemma. i've mastered about 10 things without a recipe.. white chili, chicken divan, becca's mom's chicken and rice, spinach lasagna, shepherd's pie (which i made tonight), chicken noodle soup, chicken and dumplings, chicken picatta and pork tenderloin. they're all fine, but they're all really easy/casserole things.

now i want to learn how to make more complicated dishes and difficult techniques. i was goinggg to start with bread, but we simply don't have room in our fridge for a giant tub of bread dough. i haven't eaten a whole lot of meat for the last year so maybe i'll focus on veggie things. and rissoto! i've wanted to learn that for a long time.

i'll leave you with my recipe (it's not really a recipe at all) for
cheater's shepherds pie
1 lb ground beef
1 package frozen mixed veggies
1 small box of mashed potato powder stuff
1 package of gravy mix
milk

defrost veggies. brown beef. make gravy.. be careful it doesn't explode in microwave (whoops! lesson learned). mix veggies, beef, gravy and spread in the bottom of a glass dish. make potatoes and spread evenly over top. bake at your favorite temp in the 300s for as long as you want. i guess since it's all already cooked/hot, there's no need for the oven at all unless you want to melt some cheese on top.

i supppoooose it could be made the hard way, but i got home at 8pm and it cost $6 and took 20 minutes to make. i did use fresh corn and it's the only veggie that stands out.

p.s. design crisis was really good today. they had a guest writer who i find really hilarious and her house is just my style. if you have 2 extra minutes, just scroll through. how pretty are those slate colored walls?