I don't like cooking. Or do I...?

I realized today that I actually do like cooking, though I've been protesting for years that I don't. What I don't like is that I rarely have time to cook, and cook well, so I'm forced to throw together the same handful of easy, boring-ish meals over and over. That adds to the idea that I don't like cooking, since not much that I make turns out that great, anyway. Yes, it's (almost) all edible, and even yummy at times, but spaghetti for the third time in a month... eh.

I don't see this changing any time soon. Even though I'm going down to part time at work soon (hopefully by the end of next week, since that's how far out the schedule is right now), I still have lots and lots of school this summer. I start at my middle school on August 11th (12th?) to help out my mentor teacher with set-up, and the week after that, the kids get there. The way it looks, with me on campus at the middle school four days a week, and at the college campus at least four days a week, with the evenings and weekends devoted to homework for my college classes, and grading papers and doing lesson plans for my middle school class... I don't think I'll be cooking too many spectacularly involved meals for, well, a while.

I am a huge fan of the crock pot. I also like casseroles: cook some rice, some meat, throw it in a pan with some sort of cream of ____ soup and some veggies, and call it good. Grilling is also nice, since Matt does that part, I nuke some instant mashed potatoes and some frozen veggies, and it's dinner. I could probably make spaghetti in my sleep, and there's always the standby of meat- and/or cheese-filled ravioli with sauce from a jar. Since there's just two of us, if I manage to make about four real meals a week, we can live off leftovers the other few nights. And I've even been trying to get us to eat healthier lately, too. I'm excited to check out the weekly Farmer's Market this summer for fresh produce, honey, etc. Currently, not too much comes out of a box or a jar pre-made, though I don't beat myself up if that's my only option, at times.

And I've come to accept all of this. I have other priorities, for sure. But someday, far, farrrrr in the future (maybe; we'll see, I guess), I might actually have time to plan cool meals for my family. When that day arrives, I hope I still enjoy it. I think I will.