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My midlife crisis arrived about twenty years too early. The year was 2001 and I had been working in the modeling industry for almost 15 years — basically since I was a teenager. Modeling afforded me many wonderful opportunities for which I will always be grateful, but it didn’t really fulfill me.

I had always dreamed of going to culinary school, yet the thought of simply abandoning what I had done for so long to start something completely new gave me great anxiety, no matter how determined as I was to find my true calling. I researched several culinary programs but never could commit to do anything more than take a tour. And so there I remained, lost, two years shy of my 30th birthday and entirely too young to be so confused about what I was doing with my life.

I was living in New York back then and had made an appointment one day to see yet another school, the Institute of Culinary Education. The tour date was September 11th and as you can probably figure out for yourself, I did not get to visit the school that day. As it did for many people I know, 9/11 forced me to reexamine my life. I decided within days of that unspeakable tragedy that if I was ever going to follow my dream, that was the moment.

I spent the next year as happy as I’ve ever been, working during the day and going to school at night. As hard as it was, I still romanticize that period of my life for the sumptuous meals (my schoolwork) that I would bring home from my classes for my future hubby and I to enjoy late at night after our long days of work and school.

This all finally brings me to the whole reason for the recipe below. While at I.C.E., I was blessed to meet one of the kindest, sweetest, most talented women I know. At a very young age, Sarah Copeland knew exactly what she wanted to be and she made it happen. A veteran of the Food Network, writer, food-expert, urban gardner and co-founder of Share Our Strength‘s Good Food Garden’s Campaign, Sarah’s most recent exploit is The Newlywed Cookbook. Not only is this amazing book rich in information and stories, it features tantalizing food photography and delectable recipes which are perfect for both the newbie and experienced cook. Below is one of my many favorites from the book. I made it for Kenya’s snack one day and all the kids (and their moms) went nuts for it.

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Rise and Shine Muffins

5 from 1 vote
Servings: 24 muffins
Author: Catherine McCord
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes

Ingredients  

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 375° F.
  • Place the raisins in a small bowl, cover with hot water, and set aside to plump.
  • In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and salt.
  • Stir in the carrots, zucchini, pecans, and pine nuts.
  • In another large bowl whisk together the eggs, oil, buttermilk, and vanilla.
  • Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and mix until just combined.
  • Drain the raisins and stir them into the batter.
  • Fill greased or paper-lined muffin tin 3/4 full with batter.
  • Bake 25 minutes (15 minutes for mini muffins) or until a wooden pick inserted into muffins comes out clean.
  • Serve.
  • *From The Newlywed Cookbook by Sarah Copeland-reprinted with permission from Chronicle Books

Nutrition

Calories: 170kcal | Carbohydrates: 21g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 9g | Sodium: 180mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 12g
Did you make this recipe?Mention @Weelicious or tag #weelicious!

About the Author

Catherine is a mama of three. A Kentucky girl living in California. Here’s what I know: all kids can be great eaters and mealtime must be easy. I create simple, healthy recipes the whole family will love.

Comments

  1. […] breakfast item of the week: rise and shine muffins Muffins that incorporate carrots and zucchini — that the Bug might actually eat? I’m […]

  2. […] Then, I made this: http://b12.ba4.myftpupload.com/2012/03/02/rise-and-shine-muffins-and-cookbook-giveaway/ […]

  3. A peanut butter and jam sandwich the next day for a snack.. first meal was probably a few days later and I’m pretty sure it was chicken fajitas.

  4. It was over 10 years ago now, I can’t remember the exact meal, but I want to say it was either an apple pie or tortilla Espanola since we returned from our honeymoon in Spain and wanted to relive every wonderful bite.

  5. Sweet potato quesadillas from one of the Moosewood cookbooks. Everyone asks me to make that one!

  6. I don’t have the slightest idea. My husband and I have been together since our sophmore year of high school, which was 10 years ago, lol.

  7. I don’t remember our first meal at home after our honeymoon, but I do recall making my husband two cheeseburgers on a George Foreman grill in a friend’s apartment the day we met. We still joke that burgers are a way to a man’s heart. It worked for us, anyway 😉

  8. The first thing I made for my husband when we got married was homemade flour tortillas. He always raved about his grandma’s flour tortilla, how fun it was to make them and how incredibly delicious they were fresh. One day while he was at work, I went searching through town for the ingredients. I got home and got to work. What a disaster! By the time he got home the kitchen was a WRECK and I had made a ton of unsuccessful tortilla’s. I hate to throw anything out but these were inedible. I wouldn’t even let him try them! We still laugh about it to this day! I have come a long way in my cooking but I still have not tried my hand at flour tortilla’s since that day!

  9. I remember we poured over cookbooks together and came out with the spinach and rice dish. Which was cooked by my husband himself. 🙂

  10. The first thing I made for him was a Chinese 3 cup chicken. It’s called 3 cup chicken because it’s so simple- 1 cup water, 1 cup vinegar, 1 cup soy sauce and chicken. I was a novice cook, but I thought this was a foolproof recipe. I brought it to my then boyfriend who was nursing a cold – it was not the most appropriate thing, a chicken soup would have been much better! He still chukles about it but he appreciated it very much!

  11. I don’t recall…but I know that I met him in a safety briefing in a theater eleven years before we married, and I shared chocolate chip cookies with him! That is how he tells everyone we first met.

  12. The first meal I made for my now fiance was in our first (and still current) apartment together after we moved out of my parents house. I made homemade mac and cheese 🙂

  13. The first thing I made my husband-to-be (we had just graduated high school and didn’t get married until after college) was a delicious oven baked chicken with a dijon cream sauce and green beans. I was quite proud of myself:)

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  15. First thing? I don’t really remember…but I’ve made him lots of waffles over the last 4 years! : )

  16. My hubby & I drove from west Texas to Copper Mountain, CO for our honeymoon. We got in pretty late and so the first thing I made was breakfast the next morning. Sausage, eggs & homemade biscuits. That night I made chicken fried deer steaks & mashed potatoes.

  17. The first thing I cooked for my husband was hotdogs. We eloped and were so poor. We lived in a one bedroom apartment that didn’t even have a stove. We had a camp style single burner, a forman grill, and a really old microwave. We ate hotdogs for the first 2 weeks.

  18. Gosh- we were together 5 years before getting married so I don’t recall the first meal I made once we were newlyweds. However I do remember driving home from the airport after our honeymoon. We were both ravenous and stopped at the grocery store for a rotisserie chicken & Bob Evans mashed potatoes (which we never buy). It tasted wonderful and I remember eating it in bed together!!!

  19. Fudge. I coaxed him into the house to have some fudge. It was right after the holidays, and even at a young age, I made a mean fudge. He didn’t even like sweets at the time, but when I asked if he liked fudge, he said “Sure.” just to get the invitation in. 🙂

  20. I made my husband a cheeseburger and my scrumptious mashed potatoes. It won him over hook, line, and sinker!!

  21. The first meal I can remember making for my husband is breakfast. He wanted scrambled eggs, bacon, toast with baked beans. My husband is Canadian and he is the first person I met that enjoys baked beans for breakfast. I have never heard of baked beans for breakfast, but apparently it is popular in Canada. 🙂

  22. The first meal I can recall making for my wonderful husband was grilled sandwiches for lunch and fresh garden tomatoes on the side. He came home for lunch his first day back at the office, and brightened my day like nothing else. 🙂

  23. One of the first things I made for my husband and I after getting married was cream of potato soup with dumplings!

  24. I had no idea how to cook, and so out first dinner night at hone together was my husband teaching me how to make spaghetti- I thought he was a chef extraordinaire! Lol! Now he doesn’t even set foot in the kitchen as I’ve grown and flourished in my cooking adventures in our recentely celebrated 13th year of marriage. 😉

  25. One of the first things I tried to make was waffles using our new waffle iron. I had no idea that different oils actually added taste…I used Olive Oil. Enough said.

  26. Sweet potatoe and red lentils soup. We were living in snowy Boulder, Co at the time! We ate it by the fire!

  27. The very first dinner I made my newlywed hubby were chicken tacos, spanish rice and salsa. I had made the salsa too spicy on accident I used habaneros enough said. He gobbled it up like nothing and never said anything about it. I couldn’t even eat it. Years later I find out about it.

  28. I made my husband this terrible shrimp curry that was a complete disaster. He continued dating me, and is now my husband so I must have done something right!

  29. Pizza! Store bought whole wheat crust, fresh cherry tomatoes, basil, red onions, provolone and mozzarela cheese. Needless to say, I used way too much cheese and it covered the baking sheet! It was so delicious though.

  30. The night before the one year anniversary of our first date, I made “Soft Beef Tacos with Salsa” from a bon appetit magazine. He called to say he was running late. I suspected he was ring shopping so I happily let the beef simmer away. He was almost two hours late for dinner, he had indeed been ring shopping as I found out the next night when he proposed. It may not have been the first thing I made for him, but it was definitely the most memorable to me.

  31. The first thing I made was lasagna and garlic bread- I used my mom’s recipe since there is no need to pre-cook the noodles and it was pretty much disaster free and fooled him into thinking I could cook 🙂
    oh how my culinary skills have evolved since then 🙂

  32. I cannot honestly remember as he does not cook so I have pretty much made every meal since we got married! I know that his favourite that I make is pork tenderloin with a greek-inspired marinade, with crispy garlic dill potatoes.

  33. Thai-inspired stir-fry! I make my own sauce and it is so darn good (if I may say so). 🙂 when we were dating, we used to make spring rolls all the time together with a yummy peanut & hoisin sauce.

  34. banana bread.. we combined family recipes with our own ideas to make our very own recipe, a true collaborative effort!

  35. I made a pasta dish with veggies….it was not very good and I am so grateful that my cooking and our marriage is the best it has ever been! 🙂

  36. I won my husband over through food! He loved to eat and I loved to cook. Match made in heaven. It was Spaghetti and Meatballs….his absolute fav! That was 13 years ago. Sadly a year ago he passed away after a long battle with cancer at the age of 35. The reason I say this, is because the last meal I made him as well, was spaghetti and meatballs! He loved it just as much as the first time. : )

  37. I think the first thing I made for my husband just shortly after getting married was shepherds pie. It was so fun to cook and to be a wife.

  38. I made my husband spaghetti and sauce from a jar. I didn’t actually learn to cook for about 12 more years into our marriage!

  39. My husband and I had been friends for 12 years before we started dating and I had cooked for him on a very regular basis during all of that time. I have no idea what the first thing I cooked him after we got married, but I can almost guarantee that he either helped me prep or cook. He is a great cooking partner.

  40. It was probably either stuffed feta shells…that was one of his favorite dishes in our early days 🙂

  41. Barbecued hamburgers at the gift opening! They were delicious by the time we got to get to them!!

  42. I can’t believe how hard it is to remember this, but I believe it was something like peppers and eggs, or pasta–traditional Italian dishes that I grew up with.

  43. Oh wow- i dont remember what I first cooked!

    It probably was Spaghetti. it still remains one of the regular meals he requests.

  44. My husband is actually the cook in the family, I’m the baker. Our first meal he made chicken cordon bleu,saffron rice, and steamed baby carrots. I finished it off by baking a triple chocolate cheesecake. It’s still one of our most memorable meals !

  45. Thank you so much for publicizing the wriitng contests at TheNovelette.com.It has been so great to see the contest grow along with such wonderful submissions from so many countries.The current contest Conflict is open to submissions through June.

  46. I’m pretty sure the first thing I made my hubby was Kraft Dinner! I wasn’t much of a cook back then so KD was a regular meal in our appt! lol

  47. I made Khattay Aaloo (literally sour potatoes) which is a tangy, spiced Pakistani/Indian potato snack which my husband loves!

  48. The first meal I made my husband after we were married was lasagna. It’s something i’ve always been comfortable making and proud of. 🙂

  49. Fresh tomato marinara sauce from scratch! My mother-in-law (then, she was my boyfriend’s mother) had a ton of plum tomatoes from her garden and nothing in mind to do with them. That was the first meal I made for my future in-laws and my future husband.

  50. Hmmm…..I’m pretty sure it was a full breakfast on our honeymoon. Eggs, bacon, biscuits, pineapple, hash browns! Yum!

  51. I remember making spaghetti in our mountain cabin on our honeymoon…over an electric stove that took FOREVER to boil water! I think we ended up eating dinner around 10:30 or 11 that night….

  52. My husband had to have my famous Chicken Pot Pie of course! So easy and healthy to make! Still trying to convince him he can do this on his own to surprise me with dinner one night!

  53. I honestly have no idea…it was almost 12 years ago. But we still love to try new things. And by our taking turns in the kitchen to make meals…leaves the other time to spend with the kids. Love my honey!

  54. The first thing my dear hubby made for me was pasta alfredo with veggies. The first thing I remember making for him was my mother’s recipe for matzoh ball soup.

  55. I worked in a restaurant part time as a line cook when I first started dating my hubby. The first meal I made him was from there (with my own touches). It was a thai noodle bowl with shrimp! He loved it and still loves my cooking!

  56. We came home from our honeymoon and I made sweet corn along with the french bread and cheese we bought on the way home.

  57. Spaghetti…one of his favorites..the same way I had always made it from day one. 🙂

  58. My first meal to him was breakfast- eggs, toast, bacon. His first meal was chicken cooked on the George foreman grill, broccoli, and rice. That was 10 yrs ago and boy have I improved as a cook!!

  59. wow really can’t remember but Im sure it had to be mexican and it probably wasn’t good heh heh

  60. French onion soup with ooey gooey gruyere cheese. He adores it to this day, but says it never tastes as good as the first time I made it.

  61. […] breakfast item of the week: rise and shine muffins Muffins that incorporate carrots and zucchini — that the Bug might actually eat? I’m […]

  62. Stuffed shells with “gravy” which the fight still continues over “sauce” or “gravy” 🙂

  63. Since it’s been over 32 years ago I really can’t remember what the first meal was I cooked for my hubby.

  64. I am pretty sure the first thing I made for my husband once we were married was pasta. Not sure that counts as cooking though.

  65. I believe the first dish was meatloaf. If didn’t come out so great, but he ate it anyway! 🙂

  66. I don’t remember the dish but it was chicken. But i do remember that I needed to quadruple the amount I made! I forgot how much food he needed to eat after cooking for one for so long!

  67. Is it terrible that I really don’t remember! It’s been a while! 🙂 I do remember cooking a full Italian meal of some sort for Valentine’s day in our little apartment after checking out the ice burgs on Lake Michigan. Romantic. Love the idea for this cookbook. My younger sister is getting married this coming June and her and her fiance love to cook. This would make a great shower gift!

  68. I wish I could remember. One of the things I made during that time was vegetable lasagna w/ roasted red peppers. It was so good, but it made a lot and he ate so many helpings of it from the freezer and got so sick of it I haven’t dared make it again!

  69. Nachos! It’s kind of our tradition now. We make them together and enjoy eating them together, too!

  70. My husband (then boyfriend) loves Olive Garden so I decided to make him spaghetti w/homemade sauce and found a copy cat recipe for Olive Garden’s salad dressing. I also made my first attempt at a homemade chocolate pie that ended up being chocolate pudding in a pie crust. ha! It was horrible!! We got a good laught though. 🙂

  71. I made cherry balsamic chicken. It was really the only think I knew how to make…besides spaghetti, eggs, etc.

  72. Chicken wrapped in phyllo dough (he said it was too rich 🙂 Guess he wasn’t raised on the mass quantities of butter that I was!

  73. Black Olive Hotdish. I’m Norwegian-Lutheran so it involves cream of mushroom + chicken soup, sour cream, and shells. Amen.

  74. The first thing I made for my hubby the next day after our wedding was ‘Upma’, which turned out to be quite a disaster since it did not turn out to be nice and fluffy the way my mom used to make but a sticky lump! But he ate it without complaining and said that it tasted nice!

  75. One of the first was homemade ravioli…it was his birthday and my first time making it, and he fell asleep on the couch because it took several hours longer than I anticipated!

  76. I don’t exactly remember since its been a couple years ago but I’m pretty sure we ordered pizza when we got home from our honeymoon. Although I love to cook, we had no food in the house and was tired so we opted for our favorite take out meal.

  77. I’m not sure what my first meal was for him as it was ages ago, but it was probably a veggie quesadilla or a pasta salad…and a big garden salad. I made them often the summer we got married. We lived together before we got married, and we had a wonderful garden the summer we got married. 🙂

  78. Chili which is one of his favorite foods. Unfortunately it was ridiculously spicy. The first thing he made for me was tuna Mac and cheese when we went camping.

  79. We cooked and baked a lot for one another before we were married (or even engaged for that matter), but the first meal that I made for my husband as a married couple was meatloaf, mashed potatoes (with lumps, which is the only way to go) and steamed green beans. It is our comfort dinner, and even our kids (almost 5 years later) love it.

  80. My husband and I made pho which is beef noodle soup together. It was fun and he has never made it himself before. It was a great learning experience for him and fun for me. The fun part is watching the broth reduced down to a rich, savory broth. Yum yum!

  81. I don’t remember, but since he was the cook back then… I would guess it was along the lines of PB& J or boxed mac n’ cheese? Or maybe spaghetti with jarred sauce if I was feeling daring? I do cook now… and pregnancy opened my eyes to all the junk we were eating, so we’ve come a long way. 🙂

  82. I don’t remember the first meal I made for my hubby, but the first meal we made together was Hamburger Helper and biscuits. 🙂 Thank God we’ve learned how to cook better now! Haha

  83. I don’t remember the first meal I made for my hubby. The first “thing” I made for him was a Giant Heart Shaped No-Bake Cookie.

  84. I don’t remember the first thing I made after we got married, but for our first date I made two-colored (spinach and wheat) linquine with sauteed scallops. For some reason, he remembered my making couscous, but I’m pretty sure I didn’t… ?!

  85. One of the first things I remember cooking is spicy shrimp with red pepper flakes. I didn’t find out until later that he doesn’t like food very spicy!

  86. I’ll never forget the first thing I made for my husband…salted potatoes! I knew nothing about cooking at the time and when I was making potatoes I used 1/2 CUP of kosher salt…he was so sweet eating away, he even asked for seconds, finally I tasted the potatoes and immediately spit them out! He said he wanted to be nice since it was the first time I cooked, I told him to stop eating! I didn’t want to kill him! Luckily I’ve become much better in the kitchen…or so he says.

  87. The first meal I cooked for him was chicken adobo which is a Filipino food. I am a Filipina and my husband is an American. He came over to the Philippines and we got married there. I wanted him to have a taste of the distinct and unusual Filipino cuisine. He apparently loved it. And up to this day, (I am in the US now with him)we have to have chicken adobo at least once a week. If not… well, I don’t know what will happen yet! 😉

  88. What an inspiring story!!..the first dish i ever made for my husband was bbq spaghetti!! and its still his favorite =) i also cant wait to buy this for my friend who is just discovering cooking and getting married soon! (ill keep this copy if i win for myself tho 😉

  89. The first thing I made for hubby was a hamburger gravy over mashed potatoes, a recipe my dad taught me.

  90. Probably his favorite, a BLT salad with a garlic lemon dressing Even though it was only 9 months ago I can’t remember exactly what it was…

  91. I am almost sure it was Lasagna because back then it was my go to dish. The hubby still loves it 🙂

  92. I can’t remember the first meal but I do remember making Iranian food and having to call my mom a million times and try to get her to give me more specific directions than a little of this and some of that. 🙂

  93. I don’t remeber. We lived together for so long before we got married that it wasn’t a special event.

  94. the first thing I made my husband was mexican red enchiladas It was my first day of cooking and I think he like it because he finished all the plate

  95. I think it was “breakfast for dinner” just before we left for our honeymoon!

  96. The first thing that I made my husband was ground beef tacos, I had never really cooked anything and this was the only thing I knew how to make, but he totally loved it.;)

  97. The first thing I made my husband was espresso, because the first present I bought him was an espresso maker! First food though was chocolate chip cookies because we were dating long distance and I wanted to leave him a surprise the day I had to leave so I baked them before going to the airport to head back home.

  98. We were together for years before we got married so I made my usual meal of chicken, rice, and baked broccoli. Nothing to exciting but always turns out delicious.

  99. The morning after our wedding night I got up early and made him biscuits from scratch, gravy, scrambled eggs and bacon. He got up a while later and told me he’s not a big breakfast eater! He’d be happy with just a piece of toast, but I can’t help it! I’m a big eater and I LOVE breakfast! And I love to cook. Now we have a family of 6 and thankfully our kids love breakfast as much as their mama, and their daddy has grown to as well.

  100. “You only live once.” The great justification for bad beohivar. And yet, if people believed they lived twice, it would be all the more reason to screw up this time around. “I’ll do better in the next one” or “It’ll be a learning experience.”

  101. Can’t quite remember but during that time probably hamburger helper or “chow mein” with ramen noodles and s bag of frozen veggies:/ Things have changed=)

  102. It was a beautiful night….I made Homemade calzones and stuffed them with everything he loved (that would fit) and threw in a little more! He LOVED it. And we married soon after!

  103. I made cinnamon frosted zucchini squares. I don’t cook, but like to bake and this was my favorite from my grandmother’s recipes.

  104. Breakfast burritos with potatoes, eggs and cheese. I had forgotten how often we would make and eat this together. I may have to bring back the burritos.

  105. It’s been quite a while since I got married so I’m not really sure but I think it was chicken, rice and salad.

  106. I wanted to impress him, so I made a pork loin with a warm mustard salad & angel hair pasta with lava cakes for dessert. Yum!

  107. The first meal we made together was probably Chicken Helper with green bell peppers fresh from our garden. We always tried to add a little more to it to make it more interesting.

  108. baked pork chops & rice. only three ingredients (beef broth being the third) but tastes so gourmet…

  109. It was a while ago, and we lived together before we got married, so I have no idea what the first meal was. I’m sure it was something vegetarian (back when he ate practically no vegetables), and he probably said it was good just to make me feel good about my cooking.

  110. Sadly, I am having a hard time remembering the first meal I made for my husband. We went out a lot when we were first dating but then I think I started making meals for him pretty regularly after we moved in together just before getting married.

    I made and have been making dinner for him ever since…

  111. I have no idea. I can’t remember that long ago. It was no big deal to me. I started cooking with my mom so long ago that I can’t remember NOT cooking. So it isn’t something that stands out in my mind. I guess it was good enough.

  112. A really delicious vegetarian Mexican pie … which he was a real trooper about and tried, even though he “doesn’t eat vegetarian stuff” … we compromise now, I eat meat sometimes and he doesn’t sometimes 🙂

  113. Grilled cheese and tomato soup. We get much fancier now with our cooking but still love going back to the simple meals too

  114. Ten bucks says most of you don’t remember at all what you made. Or is it just me? 🙂 Thinking back, it was probably something Italian like a bolognese or marinara sauce.

  115. The first thing I made him was his favorite – Shephard’s pie! It still is one of his favorites 🙂 We always have it for his birthday!

    Beth

  116. I made and this sounds so strange… “Hunter’s Surprise” it’s a secret family recipe that my dad made. He loved it and it’s great on cold winter nights. It’s super healthy and so good

  117. It was lunchtime and all I had were tortillas and lowfat cheese, so an incredibly unappetizing quesadilla it was.

  118. It’s been a while, but it was probably rice and sausage…a super easy (and kind of gross now that I think of it) meal with rice, a can of tomatoes, chicken stock and cut up keilbasa…He liked it, but has been the cook in our house ever since. I probably need this cookbook more than I know! Ha!

  119. I am so impressed everyone knows the answer to this! I haven’t the foggiest. After nearly 20 years together, remembering the first thing I cooked for him as newleyweds is near impossible for me. lol. He was the main cook in our house back then…

  120. First meal I made when we started dating was spaghetti with homemade marinara sauce with cheesy garlic bread. I was vegan at the time and he wasn’t but I still made meatballs and sausage to go with the meal for him. Still one of his favorites.

  121. I made chicken cacciatore that I found the recipe for on food networks website. I also made mashed potatoes and a veggie. I remember that we took a picture of it because my hubby was so impressed!!

  122. My husband and I started dating, via Match.com, a few weeks before Christmas. I knew he had a sweet tooth so I made him Monkey Bread on Christmas. To this day we have monkey bread with our two, preschool children on Christmas day. Oh, I should mention, one year my parents surprised me and came to visit. My husband knew they were coming and planned to make monkey bread Christmas morning. He thought with the added guests he should double it. Needless to say, doubling was not a good idea. It took three plus hours to bake!

  123. I can’t really remember, but I do remember one of the first meals I tried to make from scratch after leaving home. It was a mac and cheese for my sweetheart. It didn’t turn out to well! Fortunately, I’ve learned a great deal since then!

  124. Shortly after we began dating it was Valentine’s Day. We weren’t fully at the “I love you” stage yet but were getting there. I suggested we make crepes together instead of tackling an overpriced, overcrowded restaurant. I was alarmed to discover that he had no real butter (some sort of pseudo-healthy margarine) or milk in his fridge…also lacked a spatula. It was then that I learned that I’d be doing much of the cooking in our relationship (and I’m totally ok with that). We had a blast making crepes and experimenting with different fillings. It’s become a Valentine’s tradition for us.

  125. What could you substitute for pine nuts? They ate so spendy! And would soy milk work for buttermilk?

  126. I put a lot of effort into that first meal for my husband (boyfriend) at the time. I had gone shopping at the local gourmet food store, planned everything to the detail (or so I thought). Candelight, hors d’oeuvres and martinis with bossa nova in the background. The ambiance was very romantic, my husband was so pleased. First course was a tomato, mozzarella topped with basil drizzled with a fine olive oil. A good California cabernet sauvignon served with the meal. The entree was filet mignon wrapped in bacon, served with mashed potatoes. However, unfortunately, I had postponed mashing the hot potatoes, and, as it became apparent that I was having some problems in the kitchen, my husband came to my rescue. He took off his jacket, rolled up his sleeves and got to work. We had a great laugh, and it was then that I knew he was someone that I could fall in love with!

  127. We were staying at a Bed & Breakfast and made some black bean soup in a cup in the microwave… made pancakes when we got home.

  128. Sadly, i have no recollection of a newlywed meal but while we were dating, the meal that sealed the deal was chicken thighs braised in a red wine sauce. i’ve never made it for him since, and i think he’s a little sad about that. Maybe i’ll have to go look up that recipe!

  129. My husband and I dated for 5 years before marrying so I had cooked him many meals in the meantime. The first thing I ever cooked for him was Natilla with Buñuelos. I’m from Colombia and this is a traditional Christmas desert. We’d been dating for a month after being friends for 2 years and it was his first visit to my family’s home for Christmas. That night he got to try all sorts of Colombian food my mom and sisters cooked along with my desert. He was so appreciative and has been ever since. Natilla and Buñuelos is a vanilla custard type mouse and corn/cheese round fritters.

  130. I’m not actually sure what the first thing was that I made (I guess it wasn’t that memorable), but I have a feeling the it may have been chicken parm from the Pampered Chef cookbook. I know my husband made our first meal as a married couple – grilled chicken.

  131. I made my husband a pasta dish with a fresh tomato mozzarella sauce sprinkled with parsley or oregano … a relatively quick and simple meal.

  132. After we were married we worked at a summer camp till the fall so it wasn’t until 3 months later till I was able to cook him a meal. We were short on cash so one thing that is a great cheap meal is stir fry and instead of the usual rice I made it with noodles and we’ve never gone back to rice since.

  133. I can’t remember the first thing I made for him. Cooking was just such a natural part of my life and way I show love, that I don’t know that it was anything all that special. I think it may have been some sort of marinated steak on the grill. The first thing he made me was lasagna.

  134. I don’t remember the first thing I made for him but I do remember being shocked that he not only knew how to cook but he liked it and wanted to cook. I came from an all girl family where the only thing my dad ever cooked was a pot of whatever leftovers he found in the frig, sometimes six different meals dumped in to one. Yuck!

  135. The first thing I made was a tuna mushroom pasta casserole. It wasn’t fancy, but it was tasty and one of my favorites. I’ve come a long way in the kitchen since then!

  136. Looks like a lovely cookbook.
    The first thing I made for him was Cashew Chicken with coconut rice.

  137. I probably made something pretty plain. We had been close friends for a few years before we got married. I do remember trying to make salmon one time, and it catching on fire, but it turned out awesome.

  138. I honestly don’t remember — it was so long ago! But we enjoyed cooking together, like making citrus teriyaki salmon 🙂

  139. My husband and I would never get this question right if we were playing the Newlywed Game b/c I have no idea. Maybe a picnic in a park from the Sydney Fish Market when we were on our honeymoon?

  140. We got married in the middle of a hurricane. Determined not to spend out wedding night stuck at home we ventured out in the horrible weather to a grocery store and bought ANYTHING that didn’t need to be refrigerated in case the power went out at our hotel. The power did go out (of course) and we had a buffet of 3 different cereals, chips of multiple flavors, candy bars and so much else. Completely unhealthy, I know! But the restaurant ran out of food and atleast we had something! We watched the horrible weather outside, cuddled together, stayed away from the windows and ate our crazy food for the next 3 days! It wasn’t a very good first meal, but it’s a story for the kids! Lol.

  141. I don’t cook that much, so I’m not sure about an actual meal, but I know I baked him some chocolate chip oatmeal cookies!

  142. I made Biscuits and Gravy and while we ate our meal I left the pan on the stove, with the burner on, with his crappy plastic spatula in it and as I started to smell something burning I went into the kitchen to find a plastic puddle in the middle of the pan….whoops! I was obviously nervous that it would come out ok 🙂

  143. The first thing I made as lasagna! It’s my husband’s favorite, I was a younger bride and trying to cook more! it’s still a favorite in our house!!

  144. I don’t remember what I made for him as a newlywed since marriage wasn’t a big deal to us. We didn’t get married until the tenth anniversary of our first date. But I do remember one of the first things I made for him was a birthday dinner of Chile Rellenos. 🙂

  145. These muffins sound delicious! Can’t wait to try them.
    First thing I made for my husband was Penne with Feta, Tomatoes and Kalamata Olives (and garlic of course!). He loved it!

  146. I made pounded chicken and wrapped it around feta and fresh basil…. I thought I was such a chef at the time… Ha! At least it tasted good.

  147. I honestly don’t remember! But I know early on I made a tater tot casserole that neither of us were impressed with. I’ve come a LONG way since then. 🙂

  148. I made beef fajitas for my husband. He is Hispanic and I wanted to show him I could make an entire delicious meal just like his mom.
    I do have to share a brief story from when we were dating though. This illustrates how little my husband at the time of this incident just boyfriend cooks. He was trying to make me dinner, however it wasn’t from scatch it was leftover spaggatti that his sister gave him. I get home to him VERY frustrated because he put the noodles back into water to heat them up, not even realizing they were already cooked. Needless to say they were extremely soggy and we had to go out. LOL

  149. From scratch chicken & noodles…my homemade egg noodles are the best. My Mom knew that he was THE ONE because I actually de-boned the chicken (I typically just threw it away because I couldn’t stand to touch it). That is still one of his most favorite meals that I make.

  150. The first meal I ever made my husband was Chicken with capers, sauteed potatoes and green beans. It was my go to meal. The only thing I knew how to make perfectly and totally impressed everyone. Now thanks to you, I have a whole army of recipes to choose from that never fail and everyone always loves.

  151. The first thing I cooked for my husband was Chinese Sesame Shrimp, which he requested for our first valentine’s day dinner.. 🙂

  152. I’m sure it was Red Beans & Rice… This is one of his favorite dishes his mom makes and has now become a staple in our house too! Lucky for us, our 2 1/2 year old likes it!

  153. My husband was the better cook. He concocted a sauteed vegetable dish with tofu and mangoes when we were first dating and I knew I loved him then. The first dish I made for him was pasta…he taught me a lot since.

  154. I made my “to be” husband a pasta dish with cauliflower and broccoli – not knowing at the time that he hated both of those vegetables 🙂

  155. Boston Cream Pie – his favorite for his birthday – it took me a while to find a recipe because I didn’t even know it was really a cake!

  156. I made him almond sugar sandwich cookies with raspberry jam in between, shaped like hearts with smaller heart cutouts on the top (showing the jam inside). Having no furniture yet in our new house, I spread a blanket on the floor for a cookie picnic. It was all very romantic, until one of his buddies showed up unexpectedly, plopped himself down, started eating cookies, and wouldn’t leave. Funny now–not so funny then. 🙂

  157. I can’t remember what I made but I remember as an appetizer I gave my hubby mini cucumbers with Italian dressing. He thought they were the greatest thing ever! Lol

  158. Since that was almost 7 years ago, I really don’t remember! I think it was Chicken ‘en Croute! So yummy!

  159. I made my husband baked tilipia (no recipe). I did not know the first thing about it at the time. I made it because he is Catholic and it was a Friday, and I was trying to support that. It turned out awful! Dry as a bone! He was very sweet, and choked it down. We have good laughs about that night now.

  160. Gosh, I have no idea! We probably ordered a pizza or picked something up for our first true meals as newlyweds, but I have a baked salmon dish I was making a lot so I’ll go with that

  161. I think we made supper for each other, actually! He took care of the salad and I made pasta that night. Nice and simple.

  162. I don’t remember the very first meal as a newlywed (I cooked homemade meals every meal and we were living together) BUT I do remember the most memorable night I cooked for him for one of the first times after we met. I made fresh spring rolls, potstickers, and steamed broccoli salad. He is a carpenter and had an issue at his jobsite so he arrived later than planned. I had already cleaned everything up from cooking and kept the potstickers warm in the oven. Everything else was room temperature. After eating about half of his dinner he asked where I had gotten the amazing take-out food from? I laughed and said I made it! He couldn’t believe it. The kitchen showed no signs of me cooking which is what made him think that way in the first place.

  163. My first meal was rice and beans and chicken. My rice was salty, my beans were runny and the chicken burnt. I was so upset about our meal that we ended up ordering take-out food.

  164. the first meal I ever made was after marriage – for my hubby. It was a simple comfort meal – lentils with saute potatoes served with steamed rice. Blissful .. but that was 13 years back!

  165. The first thing I made for my husband was a tomato sandwich- fresh homemade bread, beefstake tomato right out of the garden, homemade aioli and a pinch of seasalt & pepper. Simple yet amazing

  166. I don’t remember, but he always says that my homemade jam, I gave him as a Christmas present after we met made him decide to marry me!

  167. I don’t quite remember the first thing I made, but I think that it was either salmon patties or spaghetti. I do remember the first thing that he ever made for me though. It was chicken breast cooked on a George Foreman Grill and a salad. Melted my heart!

  168. I made him my Ukrainian Potato Soup with a side of corn muffins. He loved it & it’s still his favorite!

  169. The first meal I made for my husband as a newlywed was sweet and sour meatballs. It was part of our wedding supper.

  170. The first meal I cooked I can’t remember but I do remember the first thing I ever baked for him when we were dating in college and it was peanut butter blossom cookies on our first Valentine’s Day together. They are his favorite!

  171. The first meal I made for my partner was very simple.
    It was a oven roasted chicken, asparagus sauteed in
    olive oil, a little butter for extra flavor and rich-
    ness, and fresh rosemary, and sweet potato mash with
    mashed roasted garlic and greek yogurt for a little tang.
    She loved it and so did I.
    I will try your recipe for these very healthy rise and shine muffins and share them at church this Sunday. I am
    also a graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education. I studied pastry arts there and actually attended at a time
    when I needed a change/something new and exciting in my
    life after 27 years in the medical field. The experience at ICE was very fulfilling, and I am happy that I gave my-
    self the chance to try something different. Thank you for your wonderful website.

  172. I think it was whole wheat pasta with jarred sauce and sauteed onion and red & yellow peppers and some chicken sausage.

  173. I love to cook now but the 1st thing I made my husband…?! I ‘made’ him go pick us up something 🙂

  174. My husband and I got married very young, and money was tight those first few years, but we were happy. I always loved cooking, but grew up in a household where everything came from a box. I made my new husband BBQ chicken legs and boxed pastaroni and salad. I have grown tremendously as a cook since then, and enjoy making meals for my husband and our beautiful daughter.

  175. I made burnt Lasagna. I had made it great many times before, and it was just awful this time. To the point we ended up eating the bread and salad. We are going on our 8th year of marriage next week!

  176. Oh, that’s a good guess b/c that was almost 12 years ago. More than likely, it was home fries – a staple in our diet back then. 🙂

  177. Two meals come to mind… mashed potatoes & gravy that turned into mashed potato soup and enchiladas (I didn’t know what enchiladas were, but I really wanted to impress my fiance) so I tried to make them, he ended up helping me and we had enchilada filling all over, they turned out ok, but I’ve since revamped my recipe and they are just as good or better than our favorite restaurant in Arizona serves!

  178. I believe the first thing I made my husband was chili, but it’s been awhile so it could have been something else 🙂

  179. after dating for seven years! when we got married, i had already been cooking for him for a long time, but i decided that because buckeyes are his favorite, i’d make them every christmas for him. i’m sure i made many other things in between, but this sticks out as something he loves and consistently requests.

  180. We lived together before getting married, so the newlywed meal doesn’t stick in my mind. The first real meal I made for him was a Thanksgiving for just the two of us. Turkey, all the fixins and he loved it.

  181. Chicken marsala. I’m not really a fan of it, but its one of his favorite. He loved it! I still make it for him on our anniversary!

  182. Teriyaki chicken with broccoli over white rice. Gosh, I haven’t made that in sooo long. Takes me on a trip down memory lane. I’ll have to make it again soon, but with brown rice now. 😀

  183. At the time I had a huge vegetable garden so I made a vegetarian pasta with fresh baked bread. It was good!

  184. Ha, mine is not so special but it is our favorite easy go to meal! Buttered pasta with bacon bits and onions topped with Parmesan cheese. This meal was from back in our college days, but we still eat it all the time!

  185. Gosh, I don’t even remember the first dish I made for my husband. I’m going to go with spaghetti, since it’s in our regular rotation. Would love to win this cookbook- thanks for the wonderful opportunity!

  186. We cooked a wasabi crusted tuna steak together on our honeymoon. Cooking has always been something we love doing together.

  187. I am very impressed that you all can remember the first thing that you made for your husbands as newlyweds. Sadly, I have no idea.

    One of my favorite stories to tell people though is how I tricked my husband into eating a little healthier. He is NOT an adventurous eater and is notorious for snubbing new foods just by the look. Turkey sausage was definitely not in his repetoire of foods, so I started cooking them and telling him we were having polish sausage instead. He loved it! I made them a few more times until it got to the point where he would ask for it. One time he asked and I said “oh, you mean turkey sausage?” and pulled out the package to show him that he had unknowingly been eating a little healthier. The LOOK I got!!

    I think he was impressed with my super sneaky healthy cooking and he will now willing eat–and enjoy–the turkey sausage.

  188. The first thing I made was homemade, all by hand Perogis! My husband is from Poland and Loves them! Spent time with his mother to learn how to! Everyone loves there moms cooking!

  189. I attempted to make a chicken, cheese and tortilla casserole. It took 4 hours to make and almost destroyed the kitchen. He loved it and was gone in 5 minutes!

  190. Breakfast is my husbands favorite, so it must have been waffles, eggs, and potatoes. Our first special dinner though (on Valentine’s Day) was heart-shaped chicken parmesan and steamed broccoli.

  191. Chicken Bangkok Soup. Still his favorite 6 years later – And now my 2 and 5 yr olds FAV too!

  192. I made chicken alfredo with mushrooms and broccoli. My guy loved it and almost 5 years later still talks about how delicious he thought that meal was! I think I was the first girl to ever cook for him!

  193. I don’t really remember the first meal, but the first treat I made him was chocolate chip cookies!

  194. I’m pretty sure I made steak for one of our first meals. It was the only thing I really knew how to cook. Could have used this cookbook back then 🙂

  195. I can’t remember the 1st recipe, but I used to make Rachel Ray’s 30 minute meals from her tv show. I’d write down the recipe and it would always take longer than 30 minutes as I had to prep the ingredients myself and I’m no master chopper! My future hubby always said he liked what I cooked. I guess anything was better than a frozen meal or canned soup, his idea of cooking!

  196. My husband and I fight over who cooks. I think our first meal we made together was his favorite: steak and ‘tatos

  197. I made meat lasagna and it required a chainsaw to cut through. I didn’t know you needed quite a bit of sauce to keep the pasta moist. To this day, he still teases me. 🙂

  198. After 9 years and two pregnancies, I don’t remember the first meal I made him! Plus, my husband does much of the real cooking– hence my marrying him : )

  199. It was some type of rice/veggie stir fry with pine nuts and balsamic vinegar…2 ingredients that were new to me then. I put them in everything back then!!!

  200. What a great answer! I think about all the tinghs I would do differently in my second marriage (if I would ever get the chance to do this with a wonderful man), as opposed to some of the crap I did in the first one. Lessons learned. That’s one of the questions I always ask guys I meet/date, what did they learn from their marriage and what would they do differently.

  201. Considering that I was in college…I microwaved cous cous, steamed carrots, and grilled chicken (on my trusty George Foreman grill). He loved it!!!

  202. I love to bake so I made him a ton of treats, brownies, cookies and cupcakes and then had it delivered to his office! It was a big hit. It was Valentines Day too. He loved it and thought it was great that I would have it delivered to his office, it was a great surprise.

  203. Enchiladas, my favorite. Too bad I didn’t know he hates olives. He sat there picking them out…

  204. I’m pretty sure it was my famous baked macaroni and cheese. Nine years and two kids later and it is still his favorite comfort food!

  205. I think the first thing I made was my mom’s delicious homemade lasagna. It’s a family favourite.

  206. I made him shitake mushroom ravioli stuffed with goat cheese and topped with a homemade tomato sauce all from scratch. He was hooked 🙂

  207. We cooked together a lot when we were dating. He was the cook back then. I remember making a lot of not so good lasagna the first year we were married since that’s his favorite. Now, I’m the cook in the family!!!

  208. I used to make this luscious Mac & cheese recipe for us…then my husband became lactose intolerant!

  209. My friends and family had given me a recipe box full of their family favorite recipes.

    The first one I made for my then husband was a dish my mom used to make called Yankee Franks and Noodles. It was horrid. We ordered pizza. :-/ I’ve grown a lot since then

  210. Portabella mushrooms in balsamic served on top of angel hair pasta and a salad. Turns out he dislikes a lot of balasamic, but he ate it with no complaints!! I only made it a few more times, he eventually told me it “wasn’t his favorite”.

  211. I made guacamole …..I know this doesn’t count as cooking, but I was scared of my oven and stove for anything other than rice. I started to ” domesticate” myself once i married my husband.

  212. I love all your recipes!! So super easy and I always seem to have the ingrediants needed, and I hate to cook but you make it fun!!

  213. Oh and the first thing i made him (not as newly weds since we are engaged, see above comment.) Chicken Merango. He thought I was a chef, it was an awesome feeling.

  214. Enchilada casserole. He loves it, and after every deployment he’s been on, that’s one of the first dishes he wants to eat when he gets home.

  215. Hi, I love your website, we use it at our childcare (we cook our own meals) and I recently just got engaged a week ago, and think this book would be awesome to have! I felt it fit me perfectly. I have been doing wedding stuff, and it’s been super stressful, I saw this on your facebook, and it made me smile! thanks for brightening my day! Ps, loved the muffins they were yummy

  216. The first thing I made for my hubby when we were married was Mac and cheese. From a box. We didn’t have much money and it was (and still is) his favorite meal.

  217. One of my twins had such a horrible teacher last year that we started “Muffin Monday” this year. I bake muffins every Monday morning and send them into school just because we are so happy with this year’s teachers. I will be making these this coming Monday!

  218. I recall a very unfortunate baked fish with miso–so salty that it was nearly inedible but he ate it regardless and now it is still an ongoing joke. Fortunately my cooking has gotten much better…

  219. eggs, we got home very late from our wedding and starved! The honeymoon had to wait for grad school to end.

  220. for us it was a homemade garlic spare ribs, his favorite. He had never cooked before we got together and had no idea how easy it was to do at home.

  221. it was the summer solstice and we shared a lovely garden salad. so crisp and clean it captured the moment of a “fresh start”

  222. Roast chicken and vegetables. I used too shallow of a pan and the grease splattered and caught fire in our gas oven!

  223. Angel hair pasta with feta, fresh basil, tomatoes, and shrimp sauteed in garlic and white wine…still a favorite, even with our kids!

  224. I made sesame chicken – never had done it before and we were still in college in the dorms so it was definitely an adventure!

  225. I have no idea what I first made for him, it’s been too long. I do remember our first Thanksgiving together and we’ve come a long way since then…. the bird is now fully cooked when we pull it off the bbq and the potatoes are smooth and creamy, no longer from a box.

  226. I don’t even remember. I was working as a restaurant manager, so I wasn’t even home most evenings. I remember baking a German Chocolate Cake for my mom’s birthday and inviting my parents over to eat it and take a look at my wedding photos that I was putting together for the photographer to put in a book.

  227. I have known my husband for 13 years, since we were 19! In college I don’t remember doing much cooking. Probably the first thing I really made was a full Thanksgiving Dinner that I served to my best friend (future husband) and the rest of our college friends!

  228. the first thing i made for my boyfriend was a tofu scramble which he ate and it turns out he hates tofu and bell peppers!! as a newlywed the first thing i made hime was meatloaf! turns out my meatloaf cooking skills are lacking and it was slimy and burnt but still delicious and he ever so kindly ate it anyways!!

  229. I made a chicken limone which we now joke about as Pucker Chicken. (TOO tart–I added too much lemon).

  230. A green olive and chicken dish from Guiliano Hazzan’s cookbook — I can’t remember the exact name… but he loved it!

  231. The first meal I made as a newlywed was BBQ beef brisket, roasted vegetables and roasted rosemary red potatoes with salad and rolls. It was delicious! He was pretty impressed too! 😉

  232. I’m pretty sure the first meal I made my husband was a spicy pork and green bean dish, but a better story is the first one he ever made me when we first started dating. Pork chops. yup, that’s it. No vegetable, no rice or potatoes, just the meat. He pulled out a can of green beans to microwave up. I STILL make fun of him for that one 10 years later, so clearly he needs a easy-to-follow cookbook! 🙂

  233. I cooked for a family during college but once I got married I got nervous. I remember buring pork chops right after we got married and my hubby thought it was so funny but I was so ready to climb under a rock

  234. Tinolang Manok (Chicken Tinola, a Filipino soup)!
    The first night we met, a group of our mutual friends went out for cocktails. As nights in NYC often do, one drink turned to many, and my future hubby suggested a late-night slice of pizza. I was like, “Pizza? Why don’t you come over and I’ll make you a batch of homemade soup?” A tita (my friend’s mom) introduced me to the recipe (which uses garlic, ginger, fish sauce, chicken, spinach, and chayotes). Needless to say, it was love at first bite!!!

  235. The first meal I made my hubby was my version of spagetti which consisted of boiling noodles draining them and then adding cold Ragu sauce. (i grew up eating it this way) He thought it was the weirdest thing ever 🙂

  236. My husband is Danish, I don’t know what I first made him, but I know it was something American. Probably cheesey hash. 🙂

  237. The first meal I ever cooked for my husband was pasta with Italian sausage and the most yummy homemade herb bread. The pasta was good, but it was the bread that sealed the deal, we have been married for 7 years and he still remembers that meal!

  238. I made him a steak … with gloves on. I dont eat meat and hate to touch it. Now I keep a box of latex gloves in the kitchen for when I have to handle meat 🙂

  239. We were married in early November and had a destination wedding. We decided that year to have Thanksgiving alone (strange, I know) and that was my very first attempt at making a turkey! It turned out great, but I dropped the pumpkin pie as I was taking it out of the oven. Almost seven years later, my husband still mourns the pie he did not get that year :).

  240. The first thing I made was some “wagon wheel” pasta and garlic bread with jarred sauce. I had no idea he hated pasta. we were married 6 years late and have 2 awesome kids LOL!

  241. I made my hubby the only thing I really knew how to cook- mexican rice and tacos 🙂 I’m so glad I have more than 2 dishes to offer up now!

  242. I can’t even remember. Probably Hamburger stroganoff. My favorite….he hates it. I make it and eat it for lunches for a week.

  243. I made a beef and corn burrito, pretty simple but yummy. I knew mexican food was the way to his heart 🙂 Our favorite thing to do has always been cook together. This would be a fun book for us.

  244. It was a broccoli, ham, and cheese noodle casserole from my Grandma’s cookbook. He loves comfort food!

  245. That’s a tough one, I believe it was pot roast in the slow cooker. He couldn’t get enough of it!

  246. The first big meal I made for my new hubby was linguine with clam sauce, which is something I love. A couple months after I learned that he really didn’t like seafood, but he never mentioned that after I had prepared the meal for him. He didn’t want to hurt my feelings so he just ate it! That’s why I love him so much!!!

  247. Oh dear! I don’t remember since it was almost 20 years ago!:) I probably made casserole or stir-fry dish.

  248. My husband and I are highschool sweethearts. We’ve been living together since we were 18 years old. So I”m pretty sure the 1st thing I made my future husband was spaghetti with jar sauce. Oh, the easy days.

  249. The first thing after we were married was probably a nice breakfast at the cabin we were staying at, including fruit that was leftover from our wedding. (I had brought a small cooler on the plane.) The cabin had a nice kitchen, and we enjoyed cooking a few meals together.

  250. I attempted to make whole salt crusted sea bass….too bad getting the fish cleaned and gutted wasn’t part of the instructions 🙂

  251. it had to be a chicken dish. I was much more comfortable with chicken back then. However, my husband is a great guinea pig & let’s me be creative all while he finishes his plate.

  252. The first thing I made my husband after our honeymoon was biscuits and gravy!! He has since perfected my recipe. LOL! I taught him how to cook, and now he’s FAR better than me. I don’t complain, I just reap the Yummy benifits!! Yay!

  253. back then @ 18? Hamburgr helper was it! My mom never taught me to cook. But pretty close to 20 yrs later and we do mostly organic/grass fed/raw/and natural! YAY!!

  254. We were living apart and he was working long hours, so I made and sent him a package with meringues and peanut butter cookies with Hershey kisses. He had been diagnosed with celiac and was gluten free then.

  255. We were going to the pool at my apartment that day, and I made sloppy joes, buttered corn, and homemade mac n’ cheese. I also remember the first thing I cooked for his parents: chicken satay, rice, and steamed mixed veggies….I was nervous!

    Thanks for making me recall those memories. I look forward to checking our the Newlywed Cookbook.

  256. I am engaged but when my baby daddy and I started dating we cooked all vegetarian meals for our first month together. We made a potato and rosemary pizza together…..totally yum. 🙂

  257. I don’t remember our first newlywed meal (NOT italian, as we had just returned from Italy and couldn’t have replicated that food!). But I do remember our first meal we cooked together dating – pasta with pesto, shrimp, and asparagus. At 23 and 24 years old, we felt very sophisticated!

  258. Ched. Broc. Soup. First time using our new pans in our brand new house…kinda runined it by having the heat too high and having soup boil all over. Ya ALL over.

  259. I made my husband Shepherd’s Pie and I even forgot a key ingredient! He ate it with a smile though. 🙂

  260. I am pretty sure one of the first things I made for my dh was barbecue chicken pizza. I’ve thankfully come a long way since then

  261. we got back from our honeymoon right before thanksgiving and made thanksgiving for our families together! I brined a turkey for my first time and i think the hit was sweet potatoes with a brown butter sage sauce. Everything was great but the gravy was a big fail. we used the brown butter sage sauce. huge hit!

  262. It was a busy week for me with school and work, so I didn’t have a lot of groceries in the fridge. I made miso soup with tofu and scallions, sesame soba noodles with cucumber, and mushrooms with sake. Little did I know that when my husband was touring with his band, that was the kind of food he found comforting. We’ve been happily married for seven years now. 🙂

  263. I made him a homemade coconut cake for his birthday. I hid it in another room and half way through dinner his dog came in wagging her tale with white frosting all over her mouth. She had eaten 3/4 of the gorgeous cake! Quit a laugh.

  264. Hmmmm… between the two of us, I’m the cook, but I remember better what he first made for me – veggie stir fry with tofu! 🙂 (And he is a serious meat eater)

  265. One of the first things I made for my partner was a fish dish with a sweet and sour sauce. I remember him turning to me and saying, “You’ve got to cook this for me at least once a month!!”.

  266. Actually, my husband is who got me cooking. When we first got married he did all of the cooking, but I think what got me started was making stir fries or pasta with Alfredo sauce with sun dried tomatoes. Now I’m totally in love with cooking and have been researching culinary schools myself. Thanks.

  267. I can’t remember . . . but I was definitely not a cook!! I’m sure I picked up bagels somewhere and served them with cream cheese! He was from Texas and had never eaten one until he met me!

  268. The first thing I made for my husband was a caprese salad. We had just returned from our honeymoon to Capri and could not get enough of the simple salad. 7 years later, and now we make it with fresh tomatoes and basil from our garden in the spring and summer.

  269. I can’t remember the very first thing I cooked him as a newlywed. I wasn’t a cook back then (still more of a baker than a cook)! But there’s still a running joke that because I was pregnant when we got married, I made the worst mac and cheese he’s ever had. I had added BBQ sauce to it because I craved BBQ sauce on everything. 9 years later, he still trusts me in the kitchen. lol

  270. angel hair pasta with marinara and shrimp. hmmmmm haven’t made that in awhile…might make it this weekend.

  271. i will never forget this to the day but I made some sort of something like chicken or fish & then velveeta shells n cheese. but the kicker was I was so nervous and drank a bit too much wine that when I was draining the noodles I spilt more than half of them in the kitchen sink. I scooped up the noodles threw them back into the pan and added the cheese like nothing had ever happened. I was silently mortified yet laughing histerically at myself!!!!!

  272. i can’t remember!!! how sad is that?

    he loves lasagna but his mom makes it for him so…maybe something like breakfast? or baked chicken?

  273. Our first meal together as newlyweds was made by my husband. Since we were married in August, the weather in Chicago is perfect for grilling. He made us steak on the grill-it was delicious.

  274. I am always cooking! But the first thing I made him after our wedding was probably what I call Fish in a Bag. It’s halibut, kalamata olives, big white beans, cherry tomatoes, garlic, basil, and white wine all wrapped up in a pretty foil package. We still eat it 8 years later!! My 4 year old lives it too.

  275. I honestly don’t remember the first thing I made as a newlywed since we had been living together beforehand and I cook at least 5 out of the 7 dinners a week. I’d probably have to say chicken fajitas, everything from scratch except for the tortillas and sour cream.

  276. Grilled ham and cheese sandwich and a can of tomato soup! I am a far better cook now but I have to admit still a comfort meal for both of us:)

  277. Pasta, broccoli, chicken and Italian dressing. Blech!! Why he didn’t run screaming, I’ll never know! 🙂 Thank goodness I’ve gotten better since then!

  278. When we got married, we were short on time and money. So we ate a lot of pasta! Now, we actually cook and spend a lot of time in the kitchen.

  279. I honestly can’t remember what I first cooked for my husband. I just remember he has never disliked anything I have cooked for him except for some carrot soup which he said wasn’t his favorite. He likes my meat loaf and lasagne.

  280. I believe our first meal made together was BBQ. He grilled and I made the sides. We still love to BBQ together!

  281. A delicious Corn Cake with called “Arepa”. We still make this 14 years later. This recipe is a family tradition.

  282. Do mimosa’s count? 🙂 But seriously, the first thing I probably made him after we tied the knot was a sandwich (not very labor intensive at all!), BUT we love a good sammy!

  283. No idea what the very first was. But…the very first thing we cooked together as a couple was crab stuffed trout for our first married Valentines Day. Delicious.

  284. I can’t remember the *first* thing I cooked, but the first thing I made at his request that I was excited about as beef stroganoff. Yum!! This cookbook looks great, thanks for the opportunity!

  285. The first real thing from scratch was one of his Mom’s Bar-B-Q sauce recipes. Of course he failed to tell me not to put my face over it when I took the lid off and it about knocked me down from the steam of the vinegar in it, LOL. It was awesome if I do say so myself. That was 31 years ago.

  286. Been married for 9 years this year and we cook together on a rare occasion. ONly b/c we end up wanting to kill each other in the kitchen 🙂

  287. I can’t remember the first meal I made him as a newlywed, but I do remember making him chicken parmesan that he absolutely loved!

  288. Since I’m not a cook, I’m assuming it was pasta and jar sauce! We’re still married! It’s pretty obvioius I need some help!! 🙂

  289. When I was pregnant with my daughter (started thinking about all the stuff I would make for her), I developed an interest in cooking. I used to watch Food Network all the time and from there started my passionate relationship with food. I love to cook, it gives me such peace and joy. I owe it all to my darling daughter.

  290. this recipe looks great!!
    regarding the first recipe i made my husband, i have no idea. however, i do remember that when we were dating, i planned a dinner that i was going to cook for him. i was so nervous that i would mess up that i ended up ordering carry-out and tried to pass it as my own. that lasted about 5 minutes, then i told him what i did 🙂

  291. wow !! I guess Im in the same situation as you in 2001, let’s see what happens !! 🙂

    I made some blueberry muffins (he LOVES blueberry) .. but they turned out all purple !!!! I used frozen blueberry and they colored the whole dough! But he said they were good 🙂

  292. I introduced my hubby to many new foods when we were newlyweds. I think a homemade basil pesto over tortellini was there first and his favorite.

  293. I have no idea! We eloped after already having a one year old and living together. Plus he works evenings so he’s rarely home for dinner!

  294. Not married, yet, but my first meal as an engaged couple was a shrimp, feta, and tomato pasta dish we both love.

  295. My husband is the cook and has been since day one :). I can’t remember but he probably made our first meal together. The first thing I made for him, however, was potato leek soup.

  296. Mussels. He loved it and still asks for it but claims it is never quite the same. It was 10 yrs ago – I am not the same dish either lol.

  297. I think the first thing I ever made was salsa, my family’s recipe. It was delicious enough to win him over.

  298. Pot roast, twice baked potatoes, homemade bread, roasted carrots, onions and parsnips. Seems so long ago! 🙂

  299. i think the 1st thing i made for my hubby after we got married was fish tacos 🙂 we still have them today; but he cooks the fish now…

  300. Definitely a stirfry – I was the queen of stirfrys when we first started cooking for each other. Luckily we have expanded our recipes after 10 years together!

  301. Don’t remember the first thing I made for him, but I remember clearly the first thing he made for me! It was quesadillas. The recipe came from a cookbook called: “A Man, A Can, And A Plan”. I sooooooo need to win this cookbook!

  302. Honestly racking my brain to remember but I am clueless! Probably some type of pasta and if I was going all out, a pot roast and gravy, one of his favorites.

  303. Spaghetti squash with homemade marinara – he was impressed and we’ve had it many times since!

  304. Steak with a blackberry butter sauce. It was his recipe and we made it together. We could have made anything and it would not have mattered. We were just so happy to be together.

  305. Thank you incredibly slatsantibluy for your exciting text. I have been looking for these types of message to get a definitely very long time. Thank you.

  306. We were already living together before we were engaged. I didn’t know how to cook then…at all, so I am sure that I made a ton of those wonderful frozen heat and eat meals *blush*

  307. I’m not exactly sure, but I do know that lasagna is his favorite. Being that his birthday wasn’t long after we got married, I probably made him that.

  308. Tamales oaxaquenos for his birthday. He’s Mexican and had never had this kid of tamale. He loves them, and I make them every year for his birthday (except this year because we just moved and I don’t know where to get banana leaves).

  309. My family recipe for Lentils and pasta! SO easy and SO yummy. We still eat it often and the kids love it (most of the time).

  310. I made my husband lasagna. At the young age of 20 I ended up burning the entire thing! So he ended up taking us out for dinner! 13 years later I do make a much better lasagna!

  311. What a special memory to think about! The first thing I made my husband was an omelet with a side of bacon and toast on our honeymoon. We have pictures of us enjoying our breakfast looking out over the Rocky Mountians from the deck of our cabin. Oh how I wish we could relive all life’s special moments like that 🙂

  312. I’m pretty sure it was lasagna. The first thing he cooked for me was chicken parmesan …so good!

  313. Too long ago to remember!!! But most likely stuffed peppers. Can’t mess that meal up too bad!!

  314. Well funny story..we met at the grocery store when he asked me what I am going to make with the leeks I was buying. Months later coincidentally my first meal I cooked for him was chicken with leeks! He also ended up proposing at that same store years later:)

  315. It has been so long I can barely remember. But it must have been something Italian like baked ziti….

  316. The first thing I made for my husband was homemade chicken ettuccine alfredo. It was his favorite meal and I had never made it before. I had always bought the pasta and sauce, but I decided I was going to make it from scratch. The pasta was like lead and the sauce was like glue, but he ate it anyway! What a guy.

  317. Shortly after we got married, my husband had to work late. Usually he made dinner, but we’d be eating way to late if he had to do it after getting home. It was my first time making a full meal on my own! (I’m more of a baker!) I made sautéed pepper, chicken breasts, and mashed potatoes. The chicken was a tiny bit dry, but everything was very tasty and I became more confident in my cooking skills!

  318. Hrm. I have no idea, but I do recall making chocolate chip cookies with him. He had never made cookies before!

  319. A ham and cheese sandwich! I remember packing his lunch for the first time after our honeymoon.

  320. I don’t remember from when we were newly wed, but I do remember he talked me into making gallons of plum preserves the day of our ceremony at the courtroom. We had our wedding a week later, but had a good friend perform the ceremony. It was easier to do it that way than to get him legalized for ceremonies.

    I imagine it was something with plum chutney or sauce.

  321. My first meal for my husband was French Onion Soup, made just the way my father likes it… I found out much later, that the way my dad likes it is just too “French” for my darling husband…nevertheless, he suffered through 2 bowls of it (I suffered too, I am allergic to onions so I had to take precautions when making it…LOL).

  322. I think one of the first meals I cooked was shepards pie. My husband loves shepards pie and is very specific about how it’s made!

  323. This first thing that I made was breakfast tacos. He loved them and i still make them for him to this day.

  324. Cooking for my husband has always been one of the ways that I have been able to show him love. I made him his favorite spaghetti and meatballs.

  325. baked chicken and rice…….but he cooked for me first—stuffed turkey–with meat stuffing,veggie rice,hot and spicey pineapple……

  326. ~Stuffed Peppers~ I had never made them before so I had NO clue what I was doing and it turned out amazing! Since then I have messed up very very few things and even if it doesn’t turn out just how *I* want it the dish always seem to garner rave reviews.

    It was always my dream to attend Culinary school and took every single business and cooking course in my high school (and eventually took college business courses while in high school still). I never attended a Culinary secondary education, though, my children (all 4 going on 7 of them!) do call me a Chef!

  327. Since he does most of the cooking, I’m pretty sure my first meal cooked for him was along the lines of a bologna sandwich! But DH makes a meatloaf that knocks my socks off and I love acting as his sous chef in the kitchen!

  328. I think Google has conversion charts for weighing and metric. I used them when I was in Europe. I am sorry I can’t say more. I do know that at most temperatures that one bakes at,you just take half of Farenheit to use Celsius. Good luck. 🙂

  329. Hi there. I have a small request. I was wondering if you could possibly state the measures in the metric system too? We don’t use cups or Farenheit in Europe and it would have so much more of a broad appeal internationally if you could put them in brackets following the US measures as the whole appeal is that your recipes are quick and easy. I often give up on an “off the cuff” recipe of yours as with noisy kids around etc. I can’t face factoring in the calculations which occasionally change the recipe so that it fails. Many many thanks!

  330. Cooking together was one of the ways my now husband and I saved money on date night. One of our favorites was a modified recipe from Alton Brown’s Good Eats show–Baked chicken nachos. Each chip gets some seasoned, shredded chicken and cheese then bake until bubbly. We then add toppings that we each like–salsa, sour cream, onions, etc. Still a favorite at our house.

  331. Stuffed peppers. I make them very healthy with a grain; brown rice or bulgar or barley. Add loads of veggies, tomato sauce. He loved it and still does!

  332. My husband and I have dated since college so the first meal I made for him was monte crisco sandwiches from my on campus apartment.

  333. I “made” him order pizza. Oh, that’s not what you meant! He makes brocolli cheese soup with homemade bread bowls and I am known for blank casserole– casserole with noodles cheeses spinach and creamy mushrooms, so I am betting it was that

  334. Lasagna was the first dish I remember making for my then boyfriend. It was a mess but he ate it with a smile. That is why I love him so much.

  335. I made SPANAKOPITA!!! I am German and he is Greek we live in Hong Kong and now our two kids were born here!!!!!

  336. The first thing I made was frozen tortellini with jarred sauce for my future husband . . . and he still married me! :). Eleven years later, both the meals I cook and our relationship get better each day. My husband is the one who has taught and encouraged me the most about cooking. Food is love!

  337. The first thing i made was a full Indian meal. It was quite an undertaking and I was so proud of the accomplishment. My husband and I are both Indian-American and I wanted to show him just how culturally in-tune I was with our Indian roots….looking back, I am not that sure it was very good, at all….I am a way better Indian cook, 7 years down the road!

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