Chez Melisse

It's no secret that Tom is the chef in our relationship. He is great in the kitchen, and he can sometimes get a little possessive of his domain. He hates it if I ask to put the toppings on one of his pizzas. When he made homemade tortillas, he didn't like the way that I rolled them out. Since he prefers--and sometimes insists--on doing the important stuff himself, I've settled into the role of sous chef and my duties usually include chopping onions and grating large hunks of fresh mozzarella. The really glamorous stuff. I'm also really good at hovering in the kitchen, picking up dropped paper towels, putting the tops back on things and being a general dishwasher.

Truth is, I feel guilty that I'm not more proactive in the kitchen, and I genuinely want to improve my cooking skills. So, I decided that every time Tom returns from a business trip at a reasonable hour of the evening, I will make a new dish/dinner. It's a little tough because his ETA home is never entirely certain thanks to airport delays, so the past two meals I've made have been of the one-dish variety. Call them casseroles, if you will.

The first dish I made was Mexican Lasagna, courtesy of Rachael Ray. I'm not a fan of hers, but, as she might say, this is, "SOOOOOOO GOOOOOOD. MMMMMMMMM." Recipe is easy and it makes good leftovers. (I was not raised eating leftovers and kind of hate them, but Tom forces me to eat them and I'm finding it's not that bad.) I know that Mexican Lasagna is not exactly fine dining, but it's sort of a guilty pleasure and probably great to bring to a party or serve to groups. Here's the recipe:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/mexican-lasagna-recipe/index.html

Tonight, I tried to get a little more adventurous, and I'm attempting Cooking Light's Sausage & Bean Casserole. It looks like it's going to be good, but I don't know yet because Tom's airplane is sitting on the runway at DIA, waiting for a gate to open, and I have to wait until he's on his way home to put this baby in the oven. Check out the recipe, though, and see what you think:

http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1673012

Hopefully it comes out good. I'M HUNGRY.