Penne Wednesday

So, for never having cooked before, I mean, not really, I'm tackling the chore with grace, and not sucking on pretty impressive levels.  It's been an exercise in getting 1% better every day.  Better at what?  Better, period.  Like Bo Schembechler said, "if you're not getting better, you're getting worse. You can't stay the same."  So everything from fitness, to health, to lifestyle choices, to how I work, and parent, to how I navigate my life in general, are all open to getting better.  So I'm making them better.  I'm tired of waiting for the world to change when I know that I'm the only one who can make that happen.  It's an easy lesson that I preach each and every day, and then ignore the minute I come home.  Not cool.

So, first...fitness.  I've been biking every night...45 min, no matter what.  Good for my knee.  Good for my lungs.  Good for my waistband.  Good for my daughter to see. Just good all around, and easy peasy.

Second...food.  I'm learning how to cook, all by myself dammit, and not just lame old crap, the best stuff that I can humbly muster.  I'm learning to give a crap about the things that I put into my body. I can partially thank my friend Mel for that.  She's down with the edibles. I want to be too.

Lastly, I want to be much more of a help at home.  There's nothing like a new baby, and a breastfeeding Mom, to make a guy feel like he's not much more than a bystander.  Cooking's a start, but I'll need to do more.

Anyway, tonight was Sausage and Pepper Penne with this wicked baked tomato deal that I stole off of Pinterest.  I'm trying to keep things simple so that my head doesn't explode and I don't throw things across the kitchen.  Don't laugh. It's entirely within the range of possibility.  So the tomato thingy? Parmesan Baked Tomatoes. Pretty simple, even for me...it goes like this...

On baking sheet place 2 sliced medium tomatoes, 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan, fresh oregano, salt, pepper, Drizzle olive oil over top. Bake 450 F for 10 to 15 min. That's it.

Three days down, and two to go.  The deal (that I made with myself) was to tackle dinner every night this week.  I might not have the first clue what to get my wife for Valentines Day but I can start with a better me, and five days of not worrying about dinner.  It's not much, but it's a start.  AND, to make it that much cooler.  Zoey's been a food gobbling machine each night.  Daddy did good.