For those who don''t cook ...

[LadyBlue]

Date: 12/2/2009 5:54:28 PM
Author: Haven
That''s so funny elro, because I totally grew up in a breakfast-for-dinner family. I often beg DH to go out to Walker Bros. for dinner, it''s a local pancake house. My DH would definitely prefer pasta for dinner, though, so we only go every once in a while.


In fact, we joked about having our rehearsal dinner at a couple of funny places, and my family was pushing really hard for us to have it at Walker Bros.! Oh man, now I really want breakfast for dinner tonight. I was planning on making chili, but I may have to switch.


Did I mention that I make *everything* from scratch--even the maple syrup? MMMMMMMMMMM!

Haven!! You are the dream wife

.

My husband usually makes breakfast during the weekend, but he will make eggs or pancakes or crepes. It would be a perfect weekend if he does eggs and pancakes the same morning

 

[zoebartlett]

Haven, how on earth do you make maple syrup from scratch? Do you have a tap and a sugar shack in your backyard?

We LOVE to go out for breakfast/brunch, and I always get the same thing: eggs benedict (or a variation of that such as crab cake or smoked salmon benedict), breakfast potatoes, coffee or hot chocolate, and water. We were going out once per weekend but we haven''t done that in a long time. If we''re at home, it''s usually cereal/oatmeal, or scrambled eggs, sometimes bacon, and toast for breakfast. Sometimes I make pancakes (by "making," I mean that I pour cold water into the bisquick bottle, give it a good shake, and then pour into a pan.

)

 

[Haven]

Date: 12/2/2009 6:00:31 PM
Author: fiery
This made me laugh so hard because last night I had mac and cheese for dinner!

And making spaghetti IS big night for us!

We are BIG restaurant people and as a result we are BIG people. We don''t cook for two reasons: 1) I don''t know how to so I''m self-conscious about it and 2) I''m so exhausted after work that the thought of cleaning a kitchen after cooking doesn''t sound appealing to me at all.

Surprisingly, we don''t do much takeout or frozen dinners (kind of grosses me out)

My FI is an awesome cook but I''m really picky so he gets frustrated and says forget it. Plus when I say ''let''s go out that way we can have a drink too'' he''s all over it. We''re making more of an effort to cook though and my New Year''s resolution is to cook one new dish a week.

Fiery--We used to eat out a lot more when we were first married. Once I started tracking everything we spent I freaked out about the amount of money we were spending on food and 86ed all the eating out during the week. It really adds up so fast!

As for learning to cook, I think if you *want* to learn it''s really easy. I wasn''t much of a cook a year and a half ago, but I''ve been cooking every weeknight for that entire time and I feel like I''m getting better every day. But I do think you have to enjoy it, because it does take some work.

I''m just too cheap to not cook all our food at home!

 

[radiantquest]

I do not cook. My biggest cookings are grilled cheese or scrambled eggs. Something like that. Since I usually don''t get home from work until 9pm there isn''t much cooking going on at all. He is one of those non-eaters. He will not cook a dinner for just himself so sometimes he has a tomato sandwich or something like that. I like to eat perogis when I get home from work. Just put a few in the microwave. There are few day stretches when our stove doesn''t get used.

 

[Haven]

Ha ha gaby!
It''s only because I enjoy it, we like to know exactly what we''re putting into our bodies, and we''re too cheap to pay other people to prepare our food for us!

Ask DH about my cleaning habits, I''m sure that would ruin my candidacy for perfect wife.

 

[Haven]

You''re right, Zoe, it''s not totally from scratch. I have to use maple extract.
The shame!

 

[wsu12]

Date: 12/2/2009 5:31:01 PM
Author: EBree
My husband''s cooking.

I''ve decided that I want to learn, though. Well, scratch the word ''want'' and replace it with ''need to.'' 2010 is the year I learn how, for real.

Me too! My husband LOVES to cook. In fact he prepares a home cooked meal for the two of us 4-5 times weekly. We typically have a grilled protein (pork/chicken), brown rice and a fresh steamed veggie. We also mix turkey chili into the rotation, sometimes wheat flat bread pizzas, homemade chicken noodle soup, turkey wheat spaghetti....We try to eat predominantly healthy.

 

[elrohwen]

Date: 12/2/2009 5:43:23 PM
Author: ZoeBartlett
For those who DO cook, what do you tend to make? Should this be a separate thread?

I'll admit that I got through lazy periods, and right now is one of them, where I'll typically make the same things every week. I guess I like routine! In addition to these I'll usually do a nice of spaghetti or mac & cheese each week. I also love making pizza, and we used to do it often, but we haven't done it much lately.

Currently I make:
- curry with chicken, veggies, etc (I do use a curry mix) and rice
- fajitas with a veggie and rice
- "mexican lasagna" - basically mexican flavored and uses tortillas instead of noodles
- chili and cornbread
- chicken or pork chops, either baked with breading or sauteed, with a veggie and one of those rice mix things
- salmon, usually baked with potatoes and a veggie
- pasta with white sauce and broccoli and either shrimp, sausage, or scallops - my own personal specialty and comfort food

Though I'm feeling bored so I need some new staples. I love making new things, but I seem to spend much more money on groceries the weeks I do this, I guess because I'm buying things I don't usually buy in addition to the usuals.

 

[zoebartlett]

Date: 12/2/2009 6:13:30 PM
Author: Haven
You''re right, Zoe, it''s not totally from scratch. I have to use maple extract.

The shame!

I didn''t even know they made maple extract. That''s a good idea, and one I would happily try doing. Mmmm...

 

[elrohwen]

Date: 12/2/2009 6:18:53 PM
Author: ZoeBartlett

Date: 12/2/2009 6:13:30 PM
Author: Haven
You''re right, Zoe, it''s not totally from scratch. I have to use maple extract.

The shame!

I didn''t even know they made maple extract. That''s a good idea, and one I would happily try doing. Mmmm...

DH''s boss taps his trees and makes it himself. He probably spends at least 3 days of 8 hours each boiling it down (maybe more). He''s a bit crazy. He also owns chickens that lay eggs, so eating at his house is always yummy

 

[yssie]

When I''m home alone it''s too much work to even microwave pasta for myself. I wind up just grabbing something from the fruit bowl.

 

[Shoopy]

When FI does cook, he makes great meals. He has cooked:

-Oven baked chicken with scalloped potatoes (from scratch...I make from box lol)
-Fried rice with a bunch of veggies, shrimp, and chicken
-Chicken nachos with homemade hot sauce and salsa (he whips this up in 15 minutes thanks to the foreman and the bullet

)
-Chicken cordon blu but with turkey instead of ham
-Stuffed shells (my fav)
-Lasagna
-Stuffed peppers or jalapeños

I'm not a big steak person but he has made sauteed steak with peppers and onions before that is really good.

The thing with him though is that he takes *a lot* of pride in his meals and the presentation and in the process creates a mini-hurricane in the kitchen. One time he even managed to make a mess in the living room with kitchen stuff

Oh and an appetizer if you have someone that likes to barbecue: Jalapeño poppers

He cuts jalapeño in half, guts, stuffs with cream cheese, rolls prosciutto and provolone cheese on top, then grills for about 20 minutes

. He doesn't like to use the prosciutto too much so sometimes he'll substitute with turkey bacon and for those that don't like hot, he'll do the same with green pepper.

 

[pinkstars]

BF and I love tasty food! We really enjoy making dinner. A new recipe is so exciting, especially when it''s just obvious that we''re going to like it.
Last night I had BF make Broccoli Beef because it''s so delicious when he makes it, only we couldn''t find any decent broccoli at the store so we had tasty beef with rice!
We''ve been making a nice hash recipe from Alton Brown using leftovers from Thanksgiving.

I''m also a picky eater and sometimes BF doesn''t like leaving something out that I won''t eat. We made chili and he cut up the onions into decent size chunks so that I could avoid them. Even after spending a good 5 minutes trying to get them all out of my bowl, I still kept finding more. I made some chili without onions and he didn''t like that as much, but it as so much easier for me to eat and enjoy.

 

[niccia]

I''ve often wondered about this too. We eat out maybe once or twice a week, but the rest of the time I cook dinner. Tacos are my favorite meal of the week because they are so easy and I can stuff lots of fresh veggies into them. I make them with ground beef or chicken, but I combine that with some refried beans so that my fiance doen''t eat as much meat as he normally would. I love them with fresh avocado/tomatoes/lettuce/geen onions/cheese and sour cream. The rest of the time I mainly make chicken or fish with fresh veggies and rice or mashed potatoes and a salad of some sort. I don''t like anything too fussy. Some of my friends think it must take me ages to prepare dinners but it''s usually around an hour or less. I wish my fiance cooked, but I am probably too much of a control freak to let him in the kitchen anyway.

 

[Vancity]

My mother is a fabulous cook...you name it…the lady can make it. I''m so proud of her.

A bit of background...when I was around 11 years old, Mum asked me to stir the gravy, as she was busy preparing something else. I did as she asked, and after about 3 minutes hovering over the stove, I started to feel sick…hot…queasy…light-headed... and then it happened...I fainted. Dropped to the kitchen floor like the proverbial hot potato. Like the old adage says, "if you can''t stand the heat, get outta the kitchen"…and so I did...from that day forward

. I also passed out in Family Studies class, watching the film of a woman giving birth (strangely though, that hasn''t kept me outta the bedroom?

)

Compared to the majority here, I really don''t cook (is microwaving and using the toaster considered "cooking"? Cause that''s about the extent of it for me.) For FI and I, our biggest meal of the day is a hot lunch out - made by someone other than ourselves

 

[Octavia]

Date: 12/2/2009 5:50:51 PM
Author: Kaleigh
I would imagine getting take out every night, or eating out would be very $$$$$. I cook most week nights. I am making chicken breasts, steamed asparagus and new potatoes as I type. But the weekends, I am off duty...

It is soooo expensive. I keep trying to impress on DH that we could have bought a house by now with the amount we''ve spent in restaurants since we started dating, but he doesn''t really care. Since we got married, he''s been much better about wanting to eat in -- but not any better about helping with the food prep. I don''t mind eating out for things we won''t prepare at home (I''m no sushi chef...) but paying $12 for a bowl of spaghetti really irritates me. If I can make it at home, I''d rather do so.

 

[Haven]

Date: 12/2/2009 8:08:20 PM
Author: Octavia

Date: 12/2/2009 5:50:51 PM
Author: Kaleigh
I would imagine getting take out every night, or eating out would be very $$$$$. I cook most week nights. I am making chicken breasts, steamed asparagus and new potatoes as I type. But the weekends, I am off duty...

It is soooo expensive. I keep trying to impress on DH that we could have bought a house by now with the amount we''ve spent in restaurants since we started dating, but he doesn''t really care. Since we got married, he''s been much better about wanting to eat in -- but not any better about helping with the food prep. I don''t mind eating out for things we won''t prepare at home (I''m no sushi chef...) but paying $12 for a bowl of spaghetti really irritates me. If I can make it at home, I''d rather do so.

My DH didn''t believe we were spending much eating out when we first married, so I started keeping a spreadsheet. After showing him the amount we were actually spending, that changed his mind really quickly! Try it, you can''t argue with numbers!

 

[ksinger]

The hubs and I are bonafide foodies. We try to eat seasonally as much as possible. We have every condiment and spice known to man I think. We cook often, and have complementary skills. My cooking is a bit more natural than his since I learned earlier, meaning I have a better feel for basic sauces, do any and all baking, and have a better feel for cooking anything involving cheeses and eggs. He kinda lacks the touch with those. I also make salads, and handmake ALL salad dressings. Lord, don''t get me started on the bottled slop. I make homemade white balsamic vinaigrette, and homemade ranch with mayo, buttermilk, and buttermilk powder, as pretty much fridge staples. The vinaigrette is often used as a marinade for thinly sliced leftover meat that might go in a salad, or as a dressing for a cold pasta salad. We also make almost all our own stocks and freeze them.

He usually does the ENTREE. Men like to do that it seems: more MANLY!

He really is pretty good at it though, grinds up his own spice blends, makes exotic marinades, and makes a killer pan sauce, usually using cognac or brandy to finish. He also makes pretty good rice. He even keeps his own little cookbook where he writes every recipe that''s a "keeper".

Basically we''re both good cooks and like doing it. A good combination. But there ARE those days. He hates my favorite - tuna salad - calls it bait. I hate his comfort food, Kraft Mac and Cheese with the gloppy packet of orange plastic goo. (shudder). So some nights we retreat to our respective corners with our lazy food fave, and mock gag at the other''s choice.

I can''t imagine not being able or willing to cook. I thought I was going to die of sheer culinary boredom when we had the kitchen remodelled and were totally out of commission. That eating out stuff got old FAST!

 

[trillionaire]

FI would rarely cook if left to his own devices. He's very lazy about it, and would eat tuna (yes, just tuna, no crackers or bread), salad, frozen dinners and if he cooks, beans and rice, pretty much every day. When we are not together, I ask him every day what he is eating for dinner. He will forget to eat and think nothing of it.

That being said, I am breaking this man in! He WILL participate in cooking, and I'm aiming for 3 days a week. It might work out to be me cooking 3, him 2, and 2 days of leftovers, but I need to get my system down. Haven is my inspiration.

FI can cook, he just prefers not to. He's good for breakfast on the weekends though, pancakes, omelettes, eggs and bacon, you name it... with mimosas!

FI cooked his first lasagna tonight, and you know what? Even if it tastes like garbage, I'm going to tell him its the best thing I've ever eaten.

Last week, he made sweet potato pies for thanksgiving, and some other stuff, but there wasn't a LOT of cooking happening. I also got him to make a 3lb meatloaf recently!

I really enjoy cooking, but not every night. I see it as taking care of the other person, and I will not stand for someone expecting me to cook and not expecting to reciprocate. (my dad and brother both cook, and pretty much every other man in my family!) I respect everyone's right to feel differently, but it's a dealbreaker for me if a guy won't cook. Then again, I would certainly not protest someone cooking for me everyday.... so I guess I'm a hypocrite.

ETA: Eating said lasagna... DELISH! I would have seasoned the sauce a bit, and diced the mushrooms, but those are not serious complaints. *nom nom nom* He's a natural.

ETA2: I'd also like to add, that FI has always cooked for me, I'm not trying to change him in that respect, we've just never lived together, so he wasn't used to doing it on a routine basis. I'm not quite the bully that I sounded like. We actually used to host pot lucks and dinner parties in college all the time! The other day, he said he'd really like lasagna this week. I said, that sounds good, you should make some. And that was it.

When he doesn't feel like cooking, we end up at Chipotle, Boston Market or Panera, which I don't really mind...

 

[SparklyOEC]

In the last 6 months or so (due to moving twice) we''ve gone out to eat pretty much every night. But, I miss my home cooked meals, so even though my time is still "booked" to the second, I''m trying to use our slow cooker more. Throw everything in and *poof* you have an entire meal by the time you get home from work. Plus, when I use the liners, there is very little cleanup.

 

[kama_s]

We cook at home every night except for Friday. Friday nght is our ''date night'', we go out for a meal, have a bottle of wine and then browse through a bookstore!

I think 90% of our friends don''t cook. They eat out EVERY SINGLE NIGHT. I could never do that. We miss our home cooked meals when we''re away on vacation!

 

[JSM]

When I go out to eat now I have to be careful, I''ve been ''cooking'' so long sometimes the restaurant stuff is too rich and it gets me sick.

DH is big on protein (carnivore from the midwest!), so the main is usually a meat (beef, pork, chicken, turkey). He''ll grill occasionally, we both love it! There is always a veggie for the side, sometimes raw, sometimes steamed, sometimes grilled, sometimes seared. Other sides can be rice, pasta, potatoes (his preference), mashed, baked, or fried. Sometimes it''s just a big spinach salad with homemade dressing and whatever leftover meat we have! We also like to make chili and soups, but those usually last for days so we don''t make them more than a couple times a month.

When he isn''t around I make more complicated meals (chicken cordon bleu, fish stir fry) because I know he won''t eat them!

So I''m definitely not a gourmet cook by any means, but I have found that most of the stuff we would order out I can create at home, or he can grill on the weber.

Tonight was plain ''ol spaghetti and meat balls... sauce was from a bottle, but I haven''t quite perfected the homemade sauce yet. It''s still missing something. Plus I''m getting over the flu and was lazy.

 

[Haven]

Trill--You can do it!

I picked up my little weekly planner pad from Michael''s for a $1, it''s so cute and it makes everything so easy to plan out. I bring it in the store with me and check things off as I buy them. (If you''re really serious, I also organize my shopping list based on store layout, that helps, too!)
It doesn''t hurt that we live right near my grocery store of choice, so going three times a week isn''t a bother at all.

I''m still working on making the *right* amount of food for us. DH will usually eat two portions'' worth, and I eat one, but sometimes he surprises me and he''ll eat much more than expected.

I find that planning it out on Sunday has really helped me cut expenses because then I can plan to use extras from one recipe on another night.

As much as I love cooking, sometimes all I want to do is go out on a weeknight and have someone serve me my dinner. What a luxury that is!

 

[Haven]

ksinger--We started making our own dressings about a year ago, what a difference! We''ve always done our own salads because those bagged salads are so expensive, but making our own dressing has made all the difference. We usually just do a basic oil and balsamic vinegar dressing, but I made a honey dijon last week that was so delicious. We will never buy the bottled dressings again.

 

[ksinger]

Date: 12/2/2009 10:10:27 PM
Author: Haven
ksinger--We started making our own dressings about a year ago, what a difference! We''ve always done our own salads because those bagged salads are so expensive, but making our own dressing has made all the difference. We usually just do a basic oil and balsamic vinegar dressing, but I made a honey dijon last week that was so delicious. We will never buy the bottled dressings again.

Try this one:
1/2 C WHITE balsamic vinegar (the better the grade, the more mellow the dressing)
1 1/2 C oil (any light variety)
1 T dijon mustard
1/2 T. honey
2 shallots
salt and pepper to taste

in blender or food processor until well-blended and creamy. This one is from a local high-end restaurant. This is actually one of their house dressings. We got it from the chef...
Try it, it''ll become a staple.

 

[Lilac]

I''ve been slowly cooking more and more since we got married. Recently I also realized how much we spent going out for dinner twice a week and I FREAKED out. I *hate* the idea of spending so much money when I can cook and save money!

- I usually make stuffed shells or manicotti, lasagna, or baked ziti once a week (I switch off which "pasta dish" I make each week). That''s usually 2 nights of dinner (one night when I make it and then another night of leftovers from it).
- I steam vegetables.
- Sometimes I just cut up vegetables, lettuce, and make some dressing and we have a big salad.
- I make salmon - sometimes teriyaki salmon, but recently I bought a great sauce from Costco that I can just pour over salmon and it looks amazing and tastes great! I served it to guests when we had friends over and it looks like I put SO much effort into the sauce, but really it takes about 30 seconds to prepare before sticking it in the over! It''s really great.
- Some nights we do have macaroni and cheese or penne a la vodka (but I don''t make the vodka sauce myself so I put it in the same category as macaroni and cheese - although I would love to learn how to make my own vodka sauce!)
- I recently started making MorningStar Farms "chicken strips" (they''re soy/tofu) with peppers, onions, and tomato sauce. DH absolutely LOVES when I make this. I don''t particularly like tofu so I don''t eat it, but he really enjoys it so I make it for him sometimes.
- I also love the concept of breakfast for dinner, and DH enjoys it too. Pancakes, waffles, scrambled eggs (I usually make either cheese or mushroom omelettes or lox and eggs).

Every Friday I cook for the Sabbath - so I make chicken soup, fish, a type of chicken, cranberry apple oatmeal crunch, cauliflower quiche, or whatever else I think would be good so we can eat it on Friday night and Saturday lunch. Every Sabbath I alternate what kinds of side dishes I make (sometimes I''ll make something one week and try something entirely new the next), but there''s always fish, soup, chicken, and two or three side dishes. DH takes leftovers to work for lunch so he doesn''t have to buy anything at work. Lately I''ve been kind of lazy and haven''t tried new chicken recipes, but I think next week I''ll try something new!

 

[Haven]

Thank you ksinger! My mouth is watering just looking at that recipe.
We''ll be trying it this Friday, I''ll let you know how it goes!

 

[Lilac]

Haven - you said you make pancakes, so I have a question. Every time I make pancakes for dinner (or breakfast, but mostly I make them for dinner), I can only fit a couple in the pan at once to cook so I have to do it in a lot of "shifts" - I make 4, then take them out, then make 4 more, then take them out, then make 4 more, etc.... so by the time I''m done making them all, most of them are cold! Do you just reheat the pancakes when you''re done making all of them? Or is there a way to keep them hot while you cook all of them? I keep avoiding making pancakes recently because I don''t like reheating them but I don''t like cold pancakes either!

Also - do you ever make different kinds of pancakes? I started making some plain and some chocolate chip. DH *loves* my chocolate chip pancakes. He added some M&Ms once when I made them and they got all pretty and rainbow-y.

 

[Haven]

Lilac--I have the same pancake problem. I can usually only fit three big ones in my pan at a time, and I plate them and put a domed metal lid over them while I make the next three. They only take a minute or two to cook through, though, so ours are usually nice and hot still by the time they''re all ready. (I wait until the pan is hot enough to sizzle a drop of water, it''s my test.) Do you have a warming drawer under your stove? That might work, too.
DH loves blueberry pancakes, and I love banana pancakes, so I usually make half and half. I always make mine first so DH''s are hotter when we eat, but mine are always still hot, though. I''ve made chocolate chip pancakes, healthy pancakes from a Body-for-Life recipe, and buttermilk pancakes. M&M pancakes sound yummy and pretty! I bet my DH would go nuts for those.

Your shabbat dinner sounds so delicious! Growing up we always had chicken, challah, herbed new potatoes, and green beans and carrots for shabbat dinner at camp. New potatoes still bring back amazing memories every time I eat them!

 

[ksinger]

LOL! Looks like the thread for those who don''t cook, has turned into the thread for those who DO!