Dear Abby,
I love cooking. I really do. I may complain about raw chicken, but in the end, I don't mind cooking with whatever materials will make a delicious meal!
For some reason, however, I've been having a struggle thinking about WHAT food to make. I feel like sometimes when I think of cooking, I only think of time-consuming meals that stress me out because of the lack of time I have! At the end of a long school day, I want to come home and cook for 20-30 minutes and end up with a delicious meal.
I have plenty of fresh ingredients in my kitchen! With WINCO so close, we go to the grocery store often enough to have a plethora of yummy ingredients. The hard part for me is what to do with them. I stare in the fridge and my mind goes blank. I'm hungry and need something fast. What to cook?
This is why I need HELP. I own 5 cookbooks, I subscribe to a few cooking blogs and even have some recipe ideas saved. The few times I've planned out my week's meals ahead of time made my life SO MUCH easier! However, it's hard to find the time to search through recipes, especially ones that will utilize similar ingredients.
I would appreciate any ideas on meal planning and making relatively easy meals.
Sincerely,
Stressed in the Kitchen
4 insightful comments:
Have you seen the ourbestbites website? It's pretty good and some friends just gave me their new cookbook. It is AWESOME! One of my favorite things about it is they list rollover ingredients on the side of the recipe so if you have something you need to use it leads you right to a recipe with it.
Why don't you start out making a menu for the week for things that you know are simple and easy, that you've made before. Then each week, try one or two new recipes on days you know you'll have more time, like Saturday or Sunday. You could also make a meal that is large or double a recipe, so that you'll have leftovers for the next day, so you won't have to cook.
We like to plan out our menu for the week on Sunday, then I usually go shopping on Monday or Tuesday. I've also found that when we plan out a menu, we have a lot of the ingredients already, so I don't have to buy that much at the store.
It's hard, I know how you feel. Weeks where we don't plan out a menu, we don't eat as well and I'm feel like I'm at a loss as to what to make. I think the key is making time to plan out a menu. Maybe you could make that your FHE activity or something. Or after church, etc. Find a time where you can do it each week. Viel glueck! :)
Also, do you have a crock pot? That would be a real time saver. Get everything in there the night before, if possible. Then start it in the morning on low and it will be ready when you come home from work! Things like chili, soups,etc. :)
sorry, no real good advice.... except i have been making huge salads a few times a week and eat them every day for lunch. you can always throw some grilled chicken, kidney beans, or cottage cheese on it for protein. just don't put real juicy veggies like tomatoes otherwise it will sog out the salad. good luck.
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