Of course I'm not talking about my husband. I love him dearly, in a much more real way than I ever did while we were just dating. (Cheese warning!! Comin' right atcha! Oh, sorry, too late.) No, I'm talking about DINNER.
You can ask my mom - I cooked before. I did. Or, ask my roommates. We had this each-person-cooks-once-a-week thing going for a good while, and it worked out great. See, when you have a week to plan, and it feels special, you can cook pretty much anything.
But now that we need dinner every day? It's terrifically difficult. It's terrificult!
(Dang...that sounds a little wrong. Like a terrible cult or something.)
I really don't mind preparing food - I've been watching a lot of this overproduced competition cooking show "Master Chef" on Hulu.com lately, so the actual preparation isn't dreadful. It's sort of fun, especially pretending I'm an expert and know what I'm doing.
But the hardest part is deciding. Blankly staring at the stove like it's a piece of paper and I have writer's block. Opening the fridge and everything delicious I remember buying suddenly scurries behind a nearly-empty milk carton or bottle of pickles like a cockroach hides from the light. Canvassing the countertops for anything but that moldy tomato or wilted piece of lettuce. Searching the shelves when all I can see is ramen, peanut butter, and Instant Quaker Oatmeal. I want T-shirts that say "WHAT SHOULD WE EAT".
I know, I know - I need to plan my meals ahead of time. Once I get a good repertoire of recipes I'll be better at performing on-demand. Practice practice practice!
Still, ideas can't hurt. Allow me to pick your collective brains: What did you have for dinner tonight? What do you wish you had for dinner tonight?
6 comments:
As I have yet to have a husband I can't say how I feel about cooking for two. I can say however that cooking for one is the worst. I love food and I love cooking but cooking only for myself is such a pain.
My go-tos when there's nothing to be had is breakfast for dinner and pasta. I love a pancake and egg just about any time of day.
And I know you already know, but planning a weekly menu I think would solve most your problems. (cooking problems that is, it won't cure cancer)
captcha: lacrose. I can't think of anything clever I just liked that its an actual misspelled word.
Tonight I ate the last bowl of leftover white chili. It hit the spot after 10 hours of work on campus. Yeah. Wednesdays stink in my life.
Wednesnights, however, are a little more pleasant. I finally get to kick my shoes off, relax, fire up an episode of "Pushing Daisies" (my latest entertainment kick), eat some peanut butter-slathered Oreas, and figure out what nutritious thing I can possibly prepare quickly to supplement my dining experience after my dessert.
My experience:
1. Get a handful of cookbooks.
Go to barnes & noble's discount section/used bookstores/the library. They should be cheap, but pictures are important, because it's a lot easier to flip through things and go "that looks good" rather than try to imagine what the heck a plum charlotte is.
Now you have a quick reference when you need ideas.
2. Learn patterns rather than memorize recipes.
Having a repertoire of recipes hasn't been as important to me as learning patterns of dishes (sandwiches, one-pot meals, slow cooker recipes), and ingredient combinations (ginger+garlic+sesame oil=chinese, coconut milk+peanut butter+sriracha=indonesian, lemon+olive oil+rosemary=italian).
3. Build your spice cabinet.
And by spice cabinet, I mean collection of spices, sauces, oils, and other ingredients to always have on hand.
Shopping for us now mostly consists of buying a meat and a bunch of vegetables that we know are common for several recipes (keeping onions and garlic on-hand, usually it's stuff like green peppers, green onions, tomatoes, and one or more types of fruit).
Your experience may vary.
Just keep it sernpre.
One word:
http://www.bigoven.com/recipes/leftovers
Is that a word? Well it is now.
Our dinner tonight was the world's easiet crockpot chicken:
8 oz. cream cheese
1 packet ranch dressing
a little bit of milk
& chicken
I cooked it in a crockpot over low heat for about 6 hours.
An hour or so before dinner, I stirred it once and shredded up some of the chicken, but that step is totally optional. I served it over mashed potatoes, & it was yummy and super easy :) Literally about 5 minutes of prep time. I love the crockpot!
I do think it does help to plan meals before going grocery shopping, but I am also realistic with my planning. I don't plan 7 dinners a week, because I expect to eat leftovers some nights. I don't schedule certain meals for certain days because schedules & moods change. I just plan 4-5 dinners a week and shop accordingly for ingredients and then I write my meal options for the week on a piece of paper that I hang on the fridge. That reminds me what meals I have ingredients for while still giving me the option of choosing each day what we will have. And most important, I don't try to do too many new recipes in one week. I combine one or two new recipes with a lot of tried & true recipes each week. We have a lot of similar meals because my cooking repertoire is not that big, but in the end the hubby, kids, & I are just happy to have full stomachs... whether or not we are having an elaborate new dish or just plain grilled cheese sandwiches.
You are so married! lol. But in a good way. My mom said that she saw you the other day. I was jealous.
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