Why "My Year in Meals by Laurel"?

Why My Year in Meals?

I first got the idea to do this blog after getting the cookbook "My Year in Meals" by Rachael Ray for Christmas (the cookbook is great btw, I highly recommend getting it).  Then I found the wonderful world of Pinterest and a whole new set of amazing recipes.  I am someone who tries to eat healthy and thought it would be great to keep track of the meals I am eating throughout the year.  I am also a planner and don't like to wait until the last minute to figure out what to make for dinner so this blog allows me to go back and reference meals I've had and liked.  Most days I am asking my dad and/or boyfriend what they want for dinner and the normal response is "idk" or "food" which are not helpful.  

Why would anyone want to read this blog?

I am not a celebrity like Rachael Ray so there is no star factor but I do love to cook and most of the meals I make are simple enough for everyone to make.  Unlike in "My Year in Meals" by Rachael Ray I will repeat a lot of my families favorite meals. 

A little bit about me 

I am a young, currently unemployed, home cook.  I have been cooking, or helping cook, for a long time.  I developed my love of cooking from my parents and my love of baking from my Grandma (I have a huge sweet tooth thanks to my Grandpa).  I like to cook most meals at home not only because it is cheaper but you can control the ingredients and you get to experiment with different flavors.  As you will soon find out the biggest thing that you will see is missing in everything I eat is red meat.   This is a personal choice (I have never eaten red meat) and I do not think eating red meat is a bad thing I just choose not to eat it.  Right now I am living in a semi finished house so I am doing a lot of slow cooker recipes, or cooking on a double hotplate, or baking in a toaster oven.   I try to keep most of my recipes on hand by using an amazing the amazing Pepperplate website and apps.  I highly recommend using Pepperplate for keeping recipes, it allows you to import online recipes from major sites like Food Network or Rachael Ray; or you can manually import your own recipes.  I am always looking for new recipes to turn into family favorites so if you have a recipe you think I should try I would love to hear about it.