For as long as I can remember, food has always been my mom's love language. She only speaks Vietnamese, so whenever she wanted to show her gratitude, she would make food. Food for our neighbors. Food for our friends. Food for our boyfriends turned husbands. I would watch my mom spend hours making Vietnamese dishes by hand, rolling out every single piece of dough for the dumplings and then wrapping them into individual banana leaves. She would make hundreds of them at a time, just peacefully humming to herself while we kids just went about our day, not even recognizing the amount of work and love she poured into every single dumpling.
I didn't realize it then, but this same act of love would transfer itself to me. Regardless of my day, I look forward to cooking for my family. I put on some music, Grey and his dad play out back in the yard, and I just kind of zone out. And when it's all done and ready, I put that same amount of love into plating the food. Because for me, just like my mom, food is love.
And while I'd love to say that I have time every single day to make an incredibly delicious and time-consuming meal, I don't. And that's just the reality of being a parent, especially one who also works from home and is trying to raise both a toddler and a dog, lol. This is why I've partnered with MyFoodandFamily magazine— they have a huge catalog of recipes that are easy, delicious and many that only require staple items, things you've already got in the home. Grey and I made the Sheet Pan Chicken Quesadilla and the Sheet Pan Magic Crust Pizza and they were both SO easy and totally greyandmama approved. I've honestly never tried to make my own pizza crust, but who knew it was so easy! Most importantly for me, though, is that these recipes only required items that I already had in both my pantry and my fridge. No need to run to the store or get groceries delivered - and I just omitted the things I didn't have. I think it's important to do what fulfills you, while also making sure it's still manageable.
Link to Sheet Pan Quesadilla:
Link to Sheet Pan Pizza: https://www.myfoodandfamily.com/recipe/220944/sheet-pan-pizza-with-magic-crust?utm_source=blog&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=influencer2020&utm_content=greyandmama