I Can't Cook!

There. I've said it. I can't cook. Now I'm not saying that I'm a complete idiot in the kitchen and that I can't cook a single thing, because I can. I am just not confident in the kitchen. I like recipes that tell me exactly what I need to do, preferably with pictures. Lots of pictures. Even then, I'm very hesitant to even try them, and rarely do.  Needless to say, my diet is unexciting.  Usually when I want to try something, I call my mom for one of her recipes and get step by step directions. AND I call her fifty bajillion times while cooking. I'm surprised she still answers the phone when I call.  Like I said, I'm not confident in the kitchen.

Today I decided to try grilling. It wasn't a complete failure and I only called my parents 3 times (I think!) for some troubleshooting.  I opted for boneless chicken breasts marinated in Ken's Light Options Sweet Vidalia Onion Vinaigrette served with a side of steamed green beans. I was using a charcoal grill and a chimney. No lighter fluid for this girl! I think my only problem was that I didn't use quite enough charcoal. I only filled the chimney 2/3 of the way. Things were going great until I flipped the chicken breasts. I got some great grill marks on the first side and it smelled wonderful.  Now I know what you're thinking...she dropped the chicken in the coals?! I didn't! The second side just didn't cook quite as well as the first and no lovely grill marks. I left the breasts on the grill for an extra 10 minutes but no luck. Fortunately they did cook all they way through and they were quite tasty.

For my first grilling experience, I'd call it a success. The Ken's dressing was a great choice as a marinade and I highly recommend it for that purpose. The chicken was juicy and had a lot of flavor. I'm slowly working towards the grilled pizza.