Sorta Like Julie and Julia, but Less French.

So, Kirsten and I have been cooking more, as we cut financial costs out of our life, whut cuz mah wife ain't workin' no more an' all. While the downside is that we spend a lot less time at great restaurants like Chimichanga's Mexican Restaurant or The Original Crusoe's, it also means we get the chance to try new things.

Like, say, stew.

Before about a week ago, I don't think I'd had homemade stew in years. My mother has made it in the past, and she's a fine cook, so I know what good homemade stew is supposed to taste like. Still, since I came to college, I've discovered the joy of things like Dinty Moore Beef Stew in a Box ("no refrigeration required!") and, admittedly, the results.

But thanks to the fact that most Targets now carry groceries, Kirsten has become more and more willing to experiment with cooking (right now we have a whole chicken in our fridge, waiting to be soaked in Guinness beer). So a few days ago she bought a pound of stew meat, some veggies, and a whole lot of moxie (not Moxie cola; That stuff is crap).

And today she put all of the ingredients into a crock pot that we bought for just this sort of adventure, set the thing to cook for 8 hours, and voila! Stew!

And I gotta say that my wife did a great job. The meat was melt-in-your-mouth soft and delicious, the veggies were great, and the mashed potatoes we spooned into the bottom of our bowls were the perfect way to add starch.

I just hope Kirsten doesn't cut her hair short the way Amy Adams did for the movie I've referenced in this post's title. Frankly, she was much better looking with her hair long and her clothes mostly not on her.