What's for dinner?

Greek inspired dinner; the pic does not do it justice

This is the question I have no answer for lately. I have felt completely uninspired when it comes to cooking dinner, and I have no clue why. To solve this little dilemma, I've decided to embark on a new adventure in cooking and cook my way through a cookbook.

Yes, you could consider it inspired by Julie & Julia; it's not my favorite movie by any means, but I did enjoy it, and probably would not have come up with this idea had I not seen it. I found I just need something to take the unknown out of making dinner. With the idea of cooking through a cookbook, I have a set of choices and all I do is pick one for that night.

I told BK about this idea and he agreed to it without even bargaining about having one of our "regulars" during the week or anything like that. I think he's just ready for dinner by the time he gets home from work. I wouldn't go as far as saying he doesn't care what we have for dinner, but he was game for this activity.

So, I've started cooking my way though Cooking Light Way to Cook: The Complete Visual Guide to Cooking. Don't get me wrong, I do know how to cook, but this cookbook has numerous different preparation methods, and all the recipes are relatively healthy. I like it and would recommend it if you're looking for a new cookbook.

I've only made a few dishes so far, but our nightly ritual has been to have dinner, then I make BK give the dish/dinner a score of one to 10. I've included my scores below with links to the recipes I've made so far. Tonight's dinner was the best one so far (Greek Lamb/Hummus) and something I would highly recommend making. Coincidence that I'm blogging on it tonight? I think not.

Here's what I've done so far:

• Parmesan and Sage-Crusted Pork Chops- served with goat cheese polenta and a sauteed spinach; Score: 7
• Classic Meatloaf- served with smashed potatoes and spinach; Score: 7
• Crab Cakes with Tangy Butter Sauce- served with a large salad; Score: 5.5
• Traditional Hummus AND Greek Lamb and Red Onion Kebabs (link is to the rub I used)- served with pita bread and a Greek salad; Score 9

I've had a couple of people tell me I should blog about every recipe. I'm not sure I can promise that, but I will keep you updated on what we're trying and how things are going. It may get interesting when we get to something that I'm/we're not a huge fan of, such as Olive Tapenade.

So what's for dinner tomorrow night? I have no clue, but I can tell you it will be from this cookbook and I will have it figured out by lunch time so we can go to the store between naps. Hopefully it will be something good!