NomoreDramaQ1015
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Post by NomoreDramaQ1015 on Mar 20, 2013 11:56:09 GMT -5
But anyway, at least at first I wouldn't expect DH to like everything I make
I've been coooking for years now and DH still doesn't like everything I make. *I* don't always like everything I make. An off day/off recipe it happens. We know it's really bad if even our lab won't eat it.
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Firebird
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Post by Firebird on Mar 20, 2013 11:57:19 GMT -5
Firebird, what types of food do you like to eat? What is yummy to you? milee, part of the problem is that I'm really, really boring when it comes to food. DH says I'm picky - I don't totally agree with that because I've been branching out for the last five years or so, but it's true that I'm perfectly happy to eat the same thing practically forever. That's why I never learned to cook when I was single. I tend to latch on to certain foods for months or years at a time and be fine with that. That being said, here are some of my favorite foods: -My cream of potato soup, which my roommate taught me to make a long time ago. I've since improved on his recipe. This is one of my few stock dishes that I enjoy making, although not often (it's a lot of work). -DH's coconut shrimp (omnomnom). -Pad Thai from almost anywhere. This is definitely on my "things I want to learn to cook for myself" list. -My mom's lasagna. -Pizza, which I also like to make myself. I can make a pretty mean (and surprisingly healthy) tortilla pizza. -Artichoke bread from a certain bakery in Pescadero. I'm sure there are more but those are the first ones that came to mind. I like pretty much anything DH makes, but he doesn't cook that often.
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muttleynfelix
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Post by muttleynfelix on Mar 20, 2013 11:57:50 GMT -5
Don't worry. You will know if your kid likes something or not. Unless they are toddlers and they will love something one day and hate it the next. I seriously have no idea what my son likes or not.
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Firebird
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Post by Firebird on Mar 20, 2013 11:59:34 GMT -5
The hardest thing for me is actually meal planning. Keeping a list of meals that my family likes has helped tremendously on that end.
I'll do the same thing, then, since DH and I can't seem to plan more than a couple hours ahead of time when it comes to food. Groceries are one of our biggest budget busters. I keep telling him how ridiculous our grocery bill is and how we need to plan our meals better and he just gives me this blank look...
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NomoreDramaQ1015
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Post by NomoreDramaQ1015 on Mar 20, 2013 12:02:40 GMT -5
-Pad Thai from almost anywhere. This is definitely on my "things I want to learn to cook for myself" list
I've made one that is like what Thyme said about her teryiaki beef, no where close to authentic. But it works and saves money on take-out.
Depending on what you are shooting for, some dishes like Pad Thai are just easier to save for take out.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2013 12:03:13 GMT -5
Depending on what you are shooting for, some dishes like Pad Thai are just easier to save for take out.
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thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on Mar 20, 2013 12:03:26 GMT -5
I pick 5 things I'm going to make during the week, and then one day we eat leftovers, or eggs.
I write them down, I go to the store and buy everything we need, and then every morning I get up, decide which of those we are going to have that night, and make sure I take anything frozen and put it in the fridge to defrost. And then, I make it. Even if I don't want to. Most of the time, I don't care one way or another. Sometimes I'm excited knowing that my favorite dinner is coming up. And sometimes, I dread the thought of it. It happens.
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Bob Ross
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Post by Bob Ross on Mar 20, 2013 12:04:52 GMT -5
Pfft. Cooking is simple.
You just hew a hunk offa some dead animal, then roast it over an open flame until the center is still raw while the outside is burnt to a crisp. What else is there to know?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2013 12:06:15 GMT -5
Side dishes??!?!
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Firebird
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Post by Firebird on Mar 20, 2013 12:08:34 GMT -5
Okay, everyone, you can stop posting now. Bob Ross has shown me the way (Kidding.)
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2013 12:10:32 GMT -5
Pfft. Cooking is simple. You just hew a hunk offa some dead animal, then roast it over an open flame until the center is still raw while the outside is burnt to a crisp. What else is there to know? how much ketchup to put on it.
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muttleynfelix
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Post by muttleynfelix on Mar 20, 2013 12:12:18 GMT -5
We keep an assortment of fresh fruit and frozen veggies. DS has to choose one of each every night and ta-da side dishes.
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Bob Ross
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Post by Bob Ross on Mar 20, 2013 12:12:59 GMT -5
Pfft. You sound like my wife. To which I'm all like "eat your damn possum and shut it."
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thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on Mar 20, 2013 12:13:18 GMT -5
Pad Thai - 1-ounce tamarind paste3/4 cup boiling water2 tablespoons fish sauce2 tablespoons palm sugar1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar4 ounces rice stick noodles6 ounces Marinated Tofu, recipe follows1 to 2 tablespoons peanut oil1 cup chopped scallions, divided2 teaspoons minced garlic2 whole eggs, beaten2 teaspoons salted cabbage1 tablespoon dried shrimp3 ounces bean sprouts, divided1/2 cup roasted salted peanuts, chopped, dividedFreshly ground dried red chile peppers, to taste1 lime, cut into wedgesRead more at: www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/pad-thai-recipe/index.html?oc=linkback
Holy crap that is a lot of ingredients!!
Most of my recipes have no more than 10 ingredients. After that, it is too much work.
Another problem with recipes that have lots of vegetables, is that you need 1 cup of cabbage, 1 carrot, 1 green onion, 1 clove of garlic, 1/4 cup minced onions, etc. etc. etc. Then I have 1/2 head of cabbage, 1 lb of carrots, 5 green onions, etc. left over. It ends up being expensive.
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NomoreDramaQ1015
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Post by NomoreDramaQ1015 on Mar 20, 2013 12:16:36 GMT -5
I'm horrible. I used the pad thai recipe from Betty Crocker. Not even close to Alton Brown's version.
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Bob Ross
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Post by Bob Ross on Mar 20, 2013 12:16:41 GMT -5
Pad Thai -
The problem with recipes like this one is they contain a gazillion (costly) ingredients, unlike my patented Squirrel Surprise. (The surprise is that it's not really Squirrel)
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thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on Mar 20, 2013 12:27:46 GMT -5
Actually, the good news is most of that stuff probably keeps. I don't know what half of it is, but I'm guessing that Tamarind paste and dried shrimp will keep for a while, so if you make the same recipe often, it will work out. The first time will cost you a butt-load of cash, but the 5th time, you will still have all the same bottles and jars that you bought the first time. This might be a good case where you buy the sauce, and learn to make the tofu and the noodles. Later, if you want to make the sauce from scratch, you can, but after you have mastered the tofu part, without spending a hundred dollars on ingredients like palm sugar and fish sauce. www.foodservicedirect.com/product.cfm/p/25892/Pad-Thai-Sauce-with-Delicious-Tamarind.htm?gclid=CKKd1J3oi7YCFSHZQgodoVgAmw
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2013 12:33:48 GMT -5
Roasts are the simplest meals that look the fanciest. A meat thermometer is your best friend. Salt and pepper to taste, stick in the thermometer and bake at about 375 until you hit the right temp. Add salad and a starch and you're laughing. Prep time is about 15 minutes. The beauty of this is you have sandwiches the next day and soup the 3rd day.
I love making chili since they came out with the prepared seasoning packets.
If you have kids spaghetti can be your best friend.
I also love my sandwich grill. Fast and delicous.
I try to cover the real food groups in my meals; a protein, a grain and veggie each meal with fruit for desserts and snacks. But I'm not afraid to fall back on grilled cheese, hot dogs or mac and cheese when I'm feeling lazy.
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The Captain
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Post by The Captain on Mar 20, 2013 13:03:19 GMT -5
Great thoughts so far. Thanks, guys. My idea is to start out cooking on weekends when I have more time. I'll try one new dish per week - preferably something that I can eat for lunch during the week so it lasts longer. That way I won't overwhelm myself. My weeknights are consumed with caring for Babybird from when I get home at 7:00 until she goes to bed around 9:00 and I'm usually not far behind her. I don't intend to set myself up for failure by planning on adding anything to my usual weekday agenda, at least not right now. (I'm looking for a job closer to home, so hopefully I'll have more time at home in the evenings in the not-too-distant future.) My apologies if this is covered later (I haven't read through the whole thread) but you haven't mentioned DH's involvement in all this yet...It is SOOOO much easier with two working together than just one. During the weekend I do the shopping, meal planning, and cooking (DH usually does the cleanup). DH does the cooking and cleanup during the week since I don't get home untile 7 most nights. If you're getting home that late during the week maybe he can take the lead for cooking on weeknights and you take weekends? It's worked well for us and reduced the stress level on all greatly.
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Firebird
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Post by Firebird on Mar 20, 2013 14:06:39 GMT -5
My apologies if this is covered later (I haven't read through the whole thread) but you haven't mentioned DH's involvement in all this yet...It is SOOOO much easier with two working together than just one.
DH is currently the sole chef in the house. He's a great cook and enjoys making me food, he just hasn't had a lot of time to do it lately. I do the cleanup when he does cook.
So I'm hoping that if cooking can become an activity we do together (and later, with Babybird) then it can become more of a regular thing and we won't eat out as much. I like the idea of us both taking certain nights. If I know I'm making dinner Monday, Wednesday and Saturday I can plan for that in advance and decide what I'm going to make.
That can be part of our meal plan.
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Sum Dum Gai
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Post by Sum Dum Gai on Mar 20, 2013 14:38:27 GMT -5
To start with I'd keep it really simple. Plan to cook 5 nights a week. Scrounge from the pantry one night. Breakfast for dinner is a big hit at our house. And eat out one night. Now double that.
So you have 10 meals that you can make, 2 nights of eating chocolate chip pancakes and omelettes, and two nights of take out or going out. You grocery shop every other weekend for the vast majority of your needs. One of you stops in after work once in a while if you need fresh produce, run out of milk, or whatever. Even if you set it up so that you just rotate through the 10 recipes over and over, you'd only repeat a meal every two weeks which ain't bad.
I'd start filling in your 10 meals with the staples you can already make. Learn as many dishes as you need to get up to 10. When you've both got those 10 meals down, you can learn a new one and add it to the rotation, taking out your least favorite of the current 10. Keep learning new recipes together as you have the desire. It should hit a point that you have a recipe box (or most likely recipe file on your computer) that's pretty stocked. You get together every two weeks and pull out the 10 you're going to make over the next two weeks, write out the grocery list you'll need to do so, and you're done.
To start with you can cook meals you already know 5 nights a week, have new recipe Saturday, and scrounge up something easy on Sunday. Do that for a few months to find the recipes you need to get up to 10.
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formerroomate99
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Post by formerroomate99 on Mar 20, 2013 15:55:32 GMT -5
I hate, lothe and despise cooking, but bit the bullet and learned how to do it anyway back when I was in school because I knew it was a good way to keep my body and my finances healthy.
Dh has taken over much of the cooking duties since he's a SAHD. Our grocery budget and waistlines would be a lot smaller if he didn't insist on waiting until an hour before dinner time to think of what to make for dinner. I'm getting close to convincing him that meal planning won't make him spontaneously combust.
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muttleynfelix
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Post by muttleynfelix on Mar 20, 2013 16:16:14 GMT -5
DS has really gotten into helping me in the kitchen. We don't let him help with the stove or the oven or sharp objects, but we try to incorporate his help - he picks out what kind of vegetable and what kind of fruit we eat. If something needs to be mixed up, then we give it to him and let him have a go at it. He helps load and unload the dishwasher. He really really likes to help mix things and we've incorporated him helping us (us being me and my mom while she was visiting) with any baking we do.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2013 16:39:41 GMT -5
I don't much enjoy cooking but with four kids (well, two still at home now) I do plenty of it lol. One suggestion I don't think I've seen is that when you do make something, make plenty of it, and freeze half. Since there's only two of you plus bebe, that's easy.
My family doesn't love eating leftovers but if half a pot of chili or half a lasagne is frozen and pulled out two weeks later, it doesn't feel like leftovers anymore.
Other suggestion, is use the same type of meat for different things. For example if you buy chopped meat, you can make chili, meatballs, meatloaf, or hamburgers. Eat a hamburger or meatloaf one night, then freeze the chili and meatballs.
With chicken breasts you can make salad with chicken, chicken fajitas, or chicken breasts. Eat one of those one night, then freeze the chicken for the other meals.
It takes a bit of thought / planning to get started on this, but then you'll always have things in the freezer and within a couple of weeks you won't have to cook from scratch every day.
Another meal we like a lot is split pea and ham soup. That freezes well too. Fresh bread and salad make that a meal.
We make homemade pizza too, but I buy the dough ready-made (quicker and less mess). DH makes his from scratch (longer and messier).
Pasta's easy too. You can buy sauces or make your own.
DH does really good stir-fries but somehow they never taste like they do in the restaurant lol.
I also keep an variety of frozen veggies in the freezer to use as a quick, healthy side. And frozen berries for weekends, to put on pancakes (which DH makes from scratch).
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hoops902
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Post by hoops902 on Mar 20, 2013 16:45:22 GMT -5
::Unfortunately, I'm kind of like doxieluvr. :: Kind of? I've always thought of the two of you as kind of twin-like. I'm answering mostly on behalf of my wife who does most of our cooking: 1. How much time do you spend cooking on average? On what days of the week do you devote the most time to it? (about an hour per day. Rarely cooking much for lunch, mostly for dinners on nights where she doesn't work. which on most weeks is just saturday and sunday) 2. How many "staple dishes" can you make and how much do you experiment with them? In other words, do you have a bunch of standbys that your family enjoys and will eat consistently or do you have to be creative about it and come up with new stuff all the time? (She probably had 10 or so staples. Very rarely experiments with those dishes. Very often finds totally new dishes online and tries them. It's probably very similar to experimenting with current dishes. Instead of potato cubes with ranch and bacon, it's potato cubes with parmesan and chives. She might experiment until she finds a combination we both like, but once it's approved, it's in the books and that's how it gets made. The only real experimenting at that point is usually "I wonder how this would taste if we added bacon/more bacon) 3. How much do you consider health when selecting dishes or ingredients? (Almost not at all to be honest. It's hard enough to find dishes we'd both like. Any health considerations are mostly done via portion control) 4. Does anyone else in your family cook, e.g. partner or kids? Is it something of a family activity? (That's what I'm hoping to achieve in our house.) (I don't really "cook", a few things maybe. It's kind of a family activity though. I do a lot of prep work like cutting vegetables or meats while she mixes stuff in bowls that I don't understand. Most of our stuff goes into the oven at some point, so the prep is family time, but the actual cooking is her. Sometimes I'll make a dish that's a precursor to a dish she makes, like mashed potatoes which end up in some twice-baked mashed potato casserole. Not really family activity as much as 2 independent activities.) To be honest, cooking with the kids sounds more like a nightmare than anything. I can only imagine my attitude would be about how i can keep them away from the knives, the hot stove, the oven, not tossing scraps to the dog, not staining anything, etc.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2013 16:48:09 GMT -5
I wonder how this would taste if we added bacon/more bacon)
Doesn't everything taste better with bacon / more bacon?
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Firebird
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Post by Firebird on Mar 20, 2013 16:48:27 GMT -5
::Unfortunately, I'm kind of like doxieluvr. :: Kind of? I've always thought of the two of you as kind of twin-like. THANK YOU!! Being like Doxie has actually been my goal in life for the last two years. Having someone else validate that means I can now die happy and personally fulfilled. Time to go celebrate by buying a new truck. One that costs twice what I make in a year.
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hoops902
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Post by hoops902 on Mar 20, 2013 16:51:58 GMT -5
I wonder how this would taste if we added bacon/more bacon)Doesn't everything taste better with bacon / more bacon? Yes, but at some point of bacon saturation it is no longer worth it to cook the accompanying food, because there is so much bacon that you might as well just cook bacon. Which is typically my suggestion, but so far the "lets just eat a pack of bacon" has not been successful as an every-meal event.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2013 16:54:19 GMT -5
LOL!
ETA: We just finished having roast chicken but now I'm craving bacon!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2013 17:01:04 GMT -5
Also, FB, I agree with Later about the roasts.
Very easy, and good for several meals. I do roast beef, roast chicken, roast pork filet and (when I can get it) roast ham. I also do "fish and chips" which is super-easy.
ETA: There are some very easy marinades you can do for the roasts to add flavor. For chicken, I do honey and lemon. For the pork, soy sauce, mustard and honey. (You can use maple syrup instead of honey but it's much more expensive here.)
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