I’m a food addict.  I’ll admit it.  A piece of my Mema’s beautiful blue and white toile china has the potential to change the mood in the room when coupled with the right foods.  Food makes a statement—it’s all about versatility– contrasts of flavors and textures.  Nothing beats a simple entrée with a rich, bold side dish or a melt-in-your-mouth entrée alongside a basic side dish infused with the subtleness of fresh herbs.  Even the presentation of a completed meal on the plate amuses me.

What trips my trigger even more?  Quick, delicious recipes that don’t cost an arm and a leg.  And, of course, I was raised on crock pots, casseroles and country cooking.  God bless me, I can’t sleep well at night unless I pass some of that on to you.

Thus starts my mission, which I am sharing with the Save Pray Smile team.  We will share our journeys in the kitchen with you– blogging about top-rated recipes (whether they turn out tasty or terrible), cheap recipes, once a month cooking ideas, baking with children and anything else that trips our triggers.   Meanwhile, you will have creative ideas for something quick, cost-smart and delicious to cook (or avoid cooking) tomorrow.  For good measure, we will add in some fancy recipes too.  They may take longer to put together, but special occasions happen to the best of us, and fancy times call for fancy measures!

I am not as presumptuous as to say that we will be your kitchen mentors for the months to come.  I prefer to think of our role as a group of coaches and teammates.  We will come up with some plans, and we’ll all try them out together.

Grab your aprons, freezer-friendly containers, kitchenware and your Food Lion MVP cards, my friends.  Let the games begin!

Heather