I don't spend a lot of time in the kitchen. Cooking/baking, etc. is just not something I really enjoy (though I do kinda like baking), but every once in a while I get it in my head to make manicotti or stuffed shells or lasagna -- it's all pretty much the same recipe for me...er, if I used one. I just kind of throw whatever I have in the fridge into a big mixing bowl with some ricotta cheese and stuff it in the pasta. I used jarred sauce, jarred garlic, fat-free ricotta, low-fat mozzarella, lots of spinach and cheap, canned pasta sauce. And, yes, it's usually pretty gross...my husband eats the minimum required the night we eat it for dinner and then I eat the rest of the pan all week long until I get sick of it & throw it away.

Of course, I got it in my head to make it this weekend -- Sunday. You know, the day it was 85 degrees and humid.

Also on the agenda -- make a bit pot of salsa and can it in a steam bath.

And, cook up a batch of chicken breast to throw in my lunch all week.

Suffice to say, my kitchen was a virtual sauna on Sunday afternoon.

And, all I have to show for it is 8 jars of salsa, a week's worth of rubbery chicken and 3/4 of a pan of disgusting manicotti which someone has to eat.

And none of my friends understand why I abhor cooking.