I am by no means a chef. As a matter of fact, my husband does the majority of the cooking in the family. Don’t get me wrong, I can cook a few things but I was not brought up in a “cooking family” per se, so I never really learned the fine art of cooking anything much that involves heat or doesn’t involve Ramen. So, this year, I have vowed to change all that! I am going to make an attempt to stray away from my staples of crock pot macaroni and cheese and chicken parmesan and learn how to cook something else. With my trusty cook books by my side, I will make an attempt not to make my family suffer too much.

I did learn to can a couple of years ago and found that it was and is quite an enjoyable experience. My daughter painted the inside of our hall closet and my husband installed shelves. *Voila* a pantry was born! There aren’t many things that are quite as satisfying as seeing a stocked pantry and knowing that garden freshness can now be yours year round.

It is also very frugal to cook at home. We eat out entirely too much and it isn’t cheap. I would like to try to be more frugal this year and I think this will be a fun (and perhaps amusing for you, reader) way to save money. My family and I will rate these recipes as we try them, and if they are stinkers we will be sure to let you know – even if the fault lies completely with me.

I will post more about my canning experiences this summer. For right now, I will start with my first recipe *Slow Cooker Barbecued Beef*…

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