Thankful Thursday

This week I am thankful for a multitude of things (as usual).  Last night in preparation for getting my crock*pot meal ready for this morning's assembly, I was flipping through one of many..many cookbooks that line my shelves and bookcases (who am I kidding, drawers and cabinets too.)  You see, I love to cook.  To feed that love, cookbooks (and the internet) are a necessity.  I feed my love for cooking quite often, and in turn continue to build by cookbook collection (Jordan ALWAYS knows how to spark my fancy with one as a gift.)  Beautifully covered cookbooks not only are a gorgeous home decor accessory to me.  I read my cookbooks cover to cover over the course of the first few days they are in my possesion.  Yes.. I read and re-read each and every recipe.  I suppose this is why most of my meals turn out a success.  How many times have you gotten halfway through a recipe and realized you were supposed to be adding in an ingredient you don't have.. or its 7pm already and you throw the casserole in the oven only to realize you still have 35-40 minutes of baking time.  Grr.. thats the worse.  This has happened to me on more than one occasion- but not so much, because I do read the recipes all the way through BEFORE starting the cooking process.  I have learned so much from each book to apply to other recipes, as well as develop my own spin- creating something new and different.  Jordan often jokes when he talks about my cooking.. "We have been married 6 years and I can count on one hand the amount of meals I've eaten twice."  Which is even more amusing because I am such a creature of habit.  I have my favorites- BBQ meatloaf.. slow cooker pulled pork.. fish tacos.. but I dont think I make a 'favorite' recipe the same everytime I revert back to the faithful original.  So- today I am thankful for my cookbook collection.  Each book is valuable to me in it's own way- even if their covers aren't so colorful or elaborate, they still have a place in my library.  The tips, tricks, and ideas that have spun from my collection has allowed me to be a successful chef (that's right.. I'm a chef.  You don't have to culinary trained to be one- not in my book, at least.  Just ask Rachael Ray- I think she has done well for herself since her days as a parlor girl, scooping ice cream floats for a living.).  As I continue to expand my collection my foodie brain can only get richer- providing not only benefit for feeding my own personal love for cooking, but for those that get to enjoy my culinary creations.  Just ask Jordan... he'll agree.