I’m sitting here on the couch on a Friday morning, and I’m happy for lots of reasons. It’s almost the weekend, it’s a great Fall day, I’m feeling better after being a little under the weather yesterday, and I woke up planning my run for today. Plus the fact that I got a nice kiss from husband on his way out the door.
But I’m also bummed for several other reasons.
Let’s face it. I have no job. And as someone who has worked since I was twelve, or younger, I feel pretty worthless when my husband leaves for work every morning and I have nowhere to go.
I’m a creative person, and my dream is to work for a magazine. There’s something so magical about the way words and photographs work together on the high-gloss pages to tell an amazing story.
So since I have no outlet for my magazine dreams right now, or even somewhere to feel like I’m being useful (I’ve even applied for part-time retail positions, apparently, no one wants to hire me, I’m either way too inexperienced or have a little too much college degree. Stupid job requirements.), I have turned to cooking.
I love our little apartment, but our kitchen is SMALL.
Nevertheless, whether to impress and feed my husband or to help cheer myself up and give me something to do, I’ve been cooking a lot. And luckily, you guys give me someone to share my cooking adventures with. And you aren’t here to see the mess I make off the approximate 6 square feet of counter space, divided into four tiny spaces.
This week I tackled another package of ground beef (our parents, who are both cattle farmers, keep us supplied with hamburger) and decided to find a recipe for some sort of “gourmet” burgers.
I ended up deciding on feta stuffed burgers, but, as usual, I tweaked the recipe a little bit.
This is how it was originally and I’m sure it would have been tasty, but I know Wyatt likes his food super flavorful, (his biggest complaint is usually, “it doesn’t have a TON of flavor…”) so I decided to up the ingredients a little bit.
I more than doubled the Worcestershire sauce, and after tasting the burgers, I could have added even more.
This is how I ended up making it.
Ingredients
1 pound lean ground beef
2 tsps Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp dried chives
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Italian grill seasoning salt
Directions
Knead the ground beef, Worcestershire sauce, parsley, chives, salt, and pepper together in a bowl.
Form the mixture into 8 equal-sized balls; flatten to make thin patties.
Sprinkle a quarter of the cheese mixture on four of the patties.
Top each of those patties with another equal sized patty and press the edges together firmly to seal.
Cook each patty on a preheated skillet, seasoning each side with the Italian seasoning salt.
Making the patties was fun. I'd never done anything like this before. I was afraid the cheese would melt and come out all over the pan.
And just like the meatballs I made, I had fun using my hands to put everything together. It’s like playing, but it’s cooking. Talk about creativity. (And because of you guys, I also get to write about it, so not all is lost!)
Also, I took Rachel Ray’s tip (Thank you, Food Network) of making a little bowl shape in my hamburgers to help them cook more evenly. (When you cook hamburgers, usually they puff up and make a round top and bottom. But, by making a dent, when they puff up, they end up flatter)
Mmm...smells good! Cook faster please!
I was also making steamed vegetables, which I love. (We eat those a lot. I’m not sure yet if Wyatt really likes them or if he just eats them to make me feel better.)
And when Wyatt got home from work, he jumped right in to help me (such a good husband) and made some fried potatoes.
Almost ready to eat! The only thing that would make these better is if they were cooked on the grill. Maybe we'll break out our little grill this weekend...
It’s hard to imagine since I don’t have a picture of it, but our kitchen counters are SUPER messy right about this time of every night. And our whole apartment takes on the smell of whatever we’re cooking since our oven vent fan doesn’t vent outside, it just sucks air in and then blows it back out into the room.
Yum. I added tomatoes, lettuce, and even toasted and buttered the buns.
And of course, the whole meal was delicious and super filling.
Time to eat please!
And at this time of night, I usually relax, and start to really feel better about my life. I have good food, a happy home, and a husband who loves me. So, even with no job, I get the feeling that my cup really does runneth over.
Plus, it’s hard to be bummed out with a full belly.
Full and happy. I may not have a job, but I can cook!
Hey Melissa! I saw this book recently, Not on Love Alone, flipped through it and it looks really interesting. I really like the writer’s style, and you might find it a nice read and resource for being newly married and sharing meals with your husband–recipes as well as kitchen and quality time advice. Here’s a link to the book: http://amzn.to/qc5OyB
This book looks great! And there are others I found by her and other authors, all about newlywed cooking. I’ll be putting them on my “Christmas list!” Thanks for the idea, and for reading!
I think you need to apply to a Food Magazine or Online Food Blog…you have really “blossomed” into a great cook and your writing makes it all seem so real and “doable”.
Oooooooooooh this looks so good, and you’re right it is pretty hard to feel low when you tummy is near to popping. ^^
I know the way you feel though about the whole job thing. I’m not really married yet, but I do feel strange not having a “real job” like people keep telling me to get. I don’t like being idle, so I started sewing more often (by hand since my machine is kaput T.T) and I’m working on my own home business.
What I mean to say is, you do what you can in your home, and I know your husband appreciates all of it. Plus you keep yourself busy with the things you enjoy. What is important is that you do your best in everything you put your hands to. That picks me up at least, and I hope it helps you too.
It does help. And I take pride in keeping our apartment as neat and clean as I can. (Especially because I know I won’t be such a dedicated housewife forever.) But I still sometimes feel down because I’m not doing what I love, which is to write. I’m trying to be more inspired to just write everything I can, poetry, short stories, blog posts, etc. just to keep myself busy and hopefully happy.
Thanks for reading and commenting! And good for you! I wish I could sew. It seems like a great way to spend time, creating pieces to wear, sell, or use. I guess now could be the time to learn, huh?
Hey Melissa! I saw this book recently, Not on Love Alone, flipped through it and it looks really interesting. I really like the writer’s style, and you might find it a nice read and resource for being newly married and sharing meals with your husband–recipes as well as kitchen and quality time advice. Here’s a link to the book: http://amzn.to/qc5OyB
This book looks great! And there are others I found by her and other authors, all about newlywed cooking. I’ll be putting them on my “Christmas list!” Thanks for the idea, and for reading!
I think you need to apply to a Food Magazine or Online Food Blog…you have really “blossomed” into a great cook and your writing makes it all seem so real and “doable”.
Oooooooooooh this looks so good, and you’re right it is pretty hard to feel low when you tummy is near to popping. ^^
I know the way you feel though about the whole job thing. I’m not really married yet, but I do feel strange not having a “real job” like people keep telling me to get. I don’t like being idle, so I started sewing more often (by hand since my machine is kaput T.T) and I’m working on my own home business.
What I mean to say is, you do what you can in your home, and I know your husband appreciates all of it. Plus you keep yourself busy with the things you enjoy. What is important is that you do your best in everything you put your hands to. That picks me up at least, and I hope it helps you too.
It does help. And I take pride in keeping our apartment as neat and clean as I can. (Especially because I know I won’t be such a dedicated housewife forever.) But I still sometimes feel down because I’m not doing what I love, which is to write. I’m trying to be more inspired to just write everything I can, poetry, short stories, blog posts, etc. just to keep myself busy and hopefully happy.
Thanks for reading and commenting! And good for you! I wish I could sew. It seems like a great way to spend time, creating pieces to wear, sell, or use. I guess now could be the time to learn, huh?