I've always had a different version of what Homemade is, probably because my Mom has always been such a wonderful cook. Unlike most households, I can remember meals from a box being few and far between, with fresh ingredients the norm in our house. With raw meats and fresh vegetables Mom would whip up meals that would put most restaurants to shame.
Growing up I hated cooking, and only rarely would help or try to make a meal on my own. I guess it's no surprise then that when I moved out on my own, my version of cooking at home consisted of frozen dinners and boxed meals. Not suprisingly perhaps, the young women around me had this same method of home cooking.
As I've grown older, acquired cookbooks, and branched out at making my own, I've made the destinction between "homecooked" and "homemade". I've concluded that if you boiled store bought pasta and dumped in sauce from a jar or can that's not "homemade" spaghetti, just "homecooked". Sure, you can even call it "semi-homemade" if you've taken a jar of sauce and added vegetables, meats, seasonings, etc., but you really can't call that a homemade meal in my book.
Today I set out to make Homemade BBQ Pulled Chicken on Sweet Rolls, and yes, it took almost all day. I took a whole chicken out of the freezer, boiled it, stripped the meat off and put it in the crockpot with homemade Peach BBQ sauce. I made my own buns, and we ate it with home canned Bread and Butter Pickles on top. YUM!
(In the midst of all of this, I also made a batch of Healthier Oatmeal Raisin Cookies for this week's sweet. Let me know if you'd like any of the recipes posted.)
Why bother with homemade if homecooked is easier? Because one day, when I have kids of my own, I want them to have the same memories that I have - of mom in the kitchen making something delicious and healthy from just raw ingredients.
And more than that... I want them to taste that one special ingredient that only true homemade cooking has.... Love.
Until next time....
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