Okay, this month is for all those cooking dads and also for those dads who need to cook on special occasions—hint—Mother’s Day is May 10th!
I have to say it’s true, with me being a chef, of course I do all the cooking at home. But for me to truly call this issue “a meal that even dad can do”—I decided to put the recipe to the test!
My husband, Kenny, is more of a laundry/sweeping kind of guy, but I was impressed with his cooking efforts on this one. I do have to confess that I bought Kenny’s ingredients, and got the crock pot out of the cabinet for him, but he did all the rest…..well the rest for the roast dish. I prepared the side dishes; I would have driven him to the recliner with my hovering if he tried to do it himself!
I once again had the pleasure of going to The Rose Cottage to complete this article. Kristen Mullins Woodard, owner and operator of Rose Cottage located at 813 Oak Street provided all the wonderful serving pieces you see. I also managed to get my son, Garrett McCollum and his friend Miller Mahan to decorate these colorful cupcakes for the perfectly added “TLC” ingredient. Thanks Garrett and Miller!
Those loved ones who aren’t exactly seasoned chefs can give mom the day off from cooking by using products found in any supermarket. This isn’t so much “cooking” as “assembling” the meal.
Moms, leave your Women’s Inc. magazine open where Dad and the kids can find it. Or feel free to email them the link, www.womensinc.net. Hint shamelessly. Then, prepare to be pampered!
Make Mom breakfast:
Bake cinnamon rolls
Use Bisquick and follow the directions on the box to make pancakes or waffles. Jazz them up by stirring in some frozen blueberries, topped with whipped cream.
Grill a ham and cheese bagel open faced in a toaster oven
Serve any of the above breakfast items with a fresh fruit kabob-just line fresh fruit chunks on a skewer
Make Mom lunch or dinner
Toss up a chicken Caesar salad using shredded, roasted chicken breast (from a rotisserie chicken bought at the supermarket), Romaine lettuce, and bottled Caesar salad dressing
Shrimp cocktail can be quickly put together with steamed shrimp from the meat department at the supermarket-ask the meat man to steam it for you while you do other shopping; serve in a pretty glass or bowl with bottled cocktail sauce
For quickie pasta, boil fresh packaged tortellini or ravioli, drain, then serve with bottled marinara sauce or frozen pesto. Serve with cooked veggies and fresh garlic bread.
Make designer pizza! Start with a bought pizza crust and top with bottled pizza sauce; add shredded cheese of choice and toppings such as sun-dried tomatoes, mushroom slices, salami or pepperoni, artichoke hearts, green onion, red pepper slices, pineapple, etc.

Simple Pot Roast

2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 (1 ounce) package dry onion soup mix
1 ¼ cups water
5 ½ pounds pot roast

Place roast in slow cooker. In a separate bowl, mix cream of mushroom soup, dry onion mix, and water together. Pour mixture over roast. Cook on low for 9 to 10 hours.

Traditional Mashed Potatoes

6 medium russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
½ cup milk
¼ cup butter or margarine
¼ cup sour cream
¾ teaspoon salt
Dash pepper

Place potatoes in a saucepan and cover with water. Cover and bring to a boil; cook for 20-25 minutes or until very tender. Drain well. Add milk, butter, sour cream, salt, and pepper; mash until light and fluffy.

Diet Soda Cupcakes

1 Box White Cake Mix
1 Can Diet Sprite
1 container sugar free whipped topping
1 pint strawberries

Line muffin pan with cup cake liners. Mix ingredients together; pour into cup cake liners. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes. Let cool, spoon on whipped topping and fresh strawberry.

Other options:
Diet coke and chocolate cake mix
Diet cherry coke and chocolate cake mix
Diet Sprite and Lemon cake mix
Diet cherry 7-up and white cake mix