This is why I don't cook...

You know that expression about too many cooks in the kitchen... well that happened to to us yesterday over chili dip... chili dip of all things!

So, here's a look at what it is sometimes like in our kitchen...

I’ll preface this by telling you first that years ago, my husband used to be a chef’s assistant in a hotel’s restaurant... He is a very, very good cook and I appreciate that and don’t mean to minimize or take anything away from that... but we both just "cook" differently (for instance, if I want chicken soup, I'll open a can of Campbell's or a package of Lipton.. My husband, on the other hand, will make it from scratch)

Well over 10 years ago, before I even knew my husband, I obtained a chili dip recipe from a friend... It’s not a gourmet recipe, it didn’t win awards... it’s a can of chili, cheese and a microwave and that’s it! So, for years I’ve been making that chili dip. Friends and family have loved it... my sister craves it! Again, it’s something anyone could make, no special schooling or skill required, but my sister and friends have told me it just always tastes better when I make it.

So, yesterday, I was going to make my chili dip. (I have made this several times for my husband so it's not like it was something new)

I had visions of us eating this with tostitos and other snacks while watching the big games on tv... Life is good!

I take out the can of chili and a bowl. My husband proceeds to take out a pot and place it on the stove. I ask him what he’s doing. He informs me that the pot is to cook the chili in... I look at him strangely and tell him that I’ve never "cooked" the chili on the stove... it’s all done in the microwave. Hubby says that he ‘thinks’ the chili cooks more thoroughly when it’s cooked on the stove, but… "it’s your recipe, you do what you need to do"...

I proceed to open the can of chili under the watchful eye of my husband, who again asks me if I’m going to cook the chili on the stove and he’ll help!!! (I don’t need any help… it’s chili and cheese for goodness sake, not a rack of lamb!!)

I decide that I’ll cook the $%^&* chili on the stove to warm it up, shut my husband up, who is apparently withering away from hunger right before my eyes, and then finish doing what I need to do in the microwave... no big deal... I've never prepared it that way in the past, but it will still be good!

Almost game time... chili dip coming up... Life is good!

The chili is now in the pot on the stove with a low flame… My husband gets the shredded cheese out of the fridge (I’m thinking he’s just helping me) and then he starts talking about putting the cheese right in the pot to melt it and this and that...

(He's now in full blown Iron Chef mode, ready to take on Kitchen Stadium!)

At that moment, I just lost it. We begin to argue about the $%^%&* chili dip and how I’ve been making it the same way for years and although I appreciate his help, guidance and assistance in the kitchen... I can manage this one dish just fine. My husband states that he wasn’t trying to tell me "how to make my chili dip" and "it’s my recipe" but he "just thought"…

So, with that, I immediately remove the pot from the stove and pour the chili into the bowl so it can go into the microwave (since it's my recipe) and, after 10 minutes of back and forth bickering/discussing the chili... the $%^&* chili dip will finally be done and then we can eat it...

I pour the chili into the bowl and I am just about to put it in the microwave when my husband says… "aren’t you going to cook that on the stove?" (And, although he did say that in jest with a smile on his face… I still chased him out of the kitchen)

The chili dip was perfect (as usual)! And, I didn’t hear one ‘complaint’ from my husband as he ate it like there was no tomorrow!

(And, visions of me dumping the chili dip all over his head soon replaced those wonderful 'life is good' visions I had had earlier)

The next time I want to make something in kitchen... I’m locking him out of the house!!