Ashley Burns Things

Hi! I'm Ashley! And I am quite possibly the worst chef ever. The "food" that makes its way out of my kitchen is either undercooked, burned, tastes funny, or simply looks so weird nobody will touch it. It's not like I'm ill-equipped either! I have a serious habit of buying kitchen tools that borders on psychosis. Is it a kitchen gadget? Is it pretty and shiny? Does it convince me that I can make that pretty picture of food on the package? Then it's in my cupboards.

I'm just bad at it. Very, very bad at it. That's why recipes make me so very happy. I try one, and if it comes out inedible (it's probably not the recipe's fault) then I chuck it. So my final-cut recipes will pretty much be idiot-proof. (for this idiot) Because if even I can make it, then you all can cook the wham out of it. (and make julienne fries!)

I also have a short attention span. So while I like to cook/bake, (in theory- I definitely like to eat) I lose interest if it takes too long. I also nix ones that have crazy ingredients I've never heard of before; thus forcing me to ask the pimply teenager at the grocery store. (humiliating... and most likely futile anyway... dude probably just stacks the bread and that's it) I'm so scatterbrained my cart usually only ends up filled with 3/4 of what was on my list to buy. So the fewer ingredients the better.
(because I'm easily distracted by doughnuts) So there you have it, my kitchen philosophy.

And now you're probably wondering, "so why are you on a cooking blog, Ashley that burns things, and doesn't sound like she likes to cook anyway?" Well! I've found that children (especially mine) like to eat once in a while... and when a husband gets home from a long day, he also enjoys sitting down with a big pile of food on his plate. And so, I'm kind of forced to. Not that I'm anything close to a 50's housewife, but I have to use the kitchen this house came with. So I need recipes to help me do this.