I really love cooking and while I don’t often have time to cook big meals during the week, I like to make big family meals on the weekend.  Coming up with different menu ideas can be a real challenge sometimes. For one thing, we have a vegetarian in the family, so whenever I make a meal that includes meat, I have to make sure there are some good side dishes for her or make an additional vegetarian entree that I’m sure she’ll enjoy. Plus we have food allergies to deal with, so that means avoiding foods with eggs and baking without eggs, which can be pretty tricky.

As challenging as cooking this way can be sometimes, we’ve found ways to be creative with our food and make everyone happy. The hardest part I’ve had to overcome is believing that a meal needs to be based on a meat entree. But I’ve found some great cookbooks and recipes online that have helped me make many great meals that don’t revolve around a meat dish.  However, there are some nights when it seems like everyone is eating a completely different meal, but that’s okay.  I don’t mind the cooking as long as someone else does the dishes!