For those who don''t cook ...

[trillionaire]

Date: 12/2/2009 10:08:17 PM
Author: 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!

Thanks Haven!

I love the sales ads, and grocery shopping, so I look forward to manning that part of the household and helping to save money. I need to learn some easy crockpot recipes, so that I can do a little less cooking and can give myself a day off, and also save some money! I love making new recipes, but all of these components really add up! I made lettuce wraps, enough for 2 meals each (4 total), but it cost an arm and a leg to get everything. healthy food is really expensive

I think I''m going to try a free trial membership at BJs and see how I like it, or I might have to drag myself to Trader Joe''s once a week. Since there are just two of us, it should be pretty easy to get into a routine. A big pot of soup, or beans each week, and a bunch of chicken breasts could cover most lunch worries for the week. And ITA that it''s harder to plan to feed men! I know how much I will eat, but FI is utterly sporadic, and will eat next to nothing, or the whole pot, with little in between. He also leaves for work before 6am and ravages the fridge for leftovers, so there''s no telling what will be missing by the time I get moving!

 

[trillionaire]

Date: 12/2/2009 10:35:26 PM
Author: ksinger
LOL! Looks like the thread for those who don't cook, has turned into the thread for those who DO!

We are encouraging them!

Me personally, I would encourage them to marry someone who cooks!

 

[Lilac]

Date: 12/2/2009 10:32:19 PM
Author: 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!

Good to know I''m not the only one with the "pancake problem"! Great idea with the domed lid. I actually have something that might work like that, so I think I''ll try making pancakes again and I''ll see if it works for me to at least keep it warm! The blueberry and banana pancakes sound really good... I''ll ask DH if he would like me to try something other than chocolate chips (something a little healthier like your pancakes - he very much enjoys healthy food so I have a feeling he''ll love the idea!)

We also have challah on Shabbat, but I''m not quite brave enough to make my own yet. I have friends who make it every week, but it seems so overwhelming so that''s the one thing I buy each week. My grandmother makes her own challah and I wonder if she would teach me how... she''s coming in from Florida for Hanukkah so maybe I''ll ask her to bake some challah with me!

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

Hmm I''m a semi-cooker I guess. I can do steaks, chicken breasts, tacos, baked mac and cheese and rice and some Korean foods (very basic). I can make stew. That''s about it.

We eat lots of ramen and take-out. I was much better when I lived alone and was only cooking for myself - I ate a lot of rice and Korean dishes.

 

[Rachel9]

I don''t like to cook that much but can''t bite frozen food.....by now it''s predictable:
Homeade Mac & cheese
Lasagna
Stuffed Zucchini or seasonal veggie
BakedTrout with steamed vegetables
Homeade hamburgers or something on the grill ie pizza
We also love Salmon with soy sauce over white rice
Chicken curry
On Sundays we eat brunch with DH''s family so usually we eat a large salad for supper
Stuffed chicken breasts with spinach and white sauce
Lettuce Wraps or a quick beef/shrimp stir fry
Paella once a month
We make lots of soups from scratch: Onion, clam chowder, broccoli, potato & Chicken noodle, etc
My sister is an amazing cook [she also keeps kosher] get lots of ideas from there and Allrecipes

 

[iheartscience]

I don't cook...at all! I can't remember the last time I turned on a stove or used an oven. My husband cooks every now and then (maybe once or twice a week max), so we usually grab take out from one of the many tasty restaurants within a 4 block radius. Usually Thai food, sandwiches from a local deli (that's what we had tonight), or this DELICIOUS red pizza and salad from an Italian place. If my husband isn't around I'll have something like hummus or cereal for dinner. I don't really like what my husband likes! He would eat a baked chicken breast with some kind of sauce on it EVERY NIGHT and I pretty much hate chicken breast. I'm kind of a picky eater...

I'm not a big eater so I don't really care if I have an actual meal. And I don't like to eat breakfast when I wake up, so at most I'll have a yogurt when I get to work. Every now and then I'll get breakfast at the cafeteria in the hospital near my work if I actually have an appetite in the morning. And my work is surrounded by awesome lunch carts so of course that's what I do every day for lunch!

We're trying to make more of an effort to eat at home lately though, so I've been looking up yummy recipes online. My husband cooked on Monday and Tuesday, but he took a break today. I sent him a few links to recipes I found on the internet and he made those. And on Monday I did put together a salad with arugula, baby tomatoes (that I CUT IN HALF!), pecorino romano cheese and pepper. I copied it from one of my fave restaurants. I always offer to help my husband cook things but he likes to do it himself so I'm more than happy to just do the dishes!

I never really learned how to cook, probably because I played sports every day after school, so I would just come home to a delicious meal my mom made! My mom was always the one to cook-none of us kids would cook dinner. We might help her here or there and we would do the dishes but that's it. One time I tried to make grilled cheese sandwiches for kids I babysat for in high school and I burned them so badly there were permanent toast marks left in the pan. Luckily the kids' mom thought it was funny!

 

[Amandine]

We do cook. Occasionally, we get lazy (or are just too tired) and do take-out or frozen pizza. DH likes mac ''n cheese as his no effort meal.

I do find, however, that I get bored and uninterested in food when we do this. And afterwards, I just feel "meh", whereas after we eat home cooked meals, no doldrums! I used to eat alot of frozen meals for lunch at work (so easy to grab in the morning) but now when I walk through the freezer section at the store--everything is just so BORING!

For those who cannot cook, or rather do not know how, I strongly recommend The Pioneer Woman blog. For one thing, her writing is just funny and wonderful to read. But I really love her cooking section, for every recipe she features she goes step by step through every recipe. With photos of each step. Its wonderful! I am really comfortable in the kitchen, and still find this helpful. She just released a cook book (with the same photo recipes) and I am trying to go to the book signing when she is here in Atlanta.

 

[kittybean]

Thing, I am so happy to find another person who hates chicken breast. I only like chicken if it''s fried and battered beyond recognition, and even then not that much.

I also am not a big eater and will happily eat cereal or oatmeal and some fruit for dinner. Having a real meal is not that important to me, so I don''t usually bother cooking if it''s just for me. DH is really into making us great meals, so I just let him do his thing.

 

[zoebartlett]

Thing2 -- congratulations on cutting a tomato in half! It sounds like that''s progress!

One thing I do like to make every once in a while is tuna casserole (and I think I''m the only one on the planet who still eats this). That and mac and cheese (especially Annie''s white cheddar) are such comfort foods for me, but I don''t have them often.

Oh, another thing I do love to make is shrimp or chicken scampi, but we don''t have that often.

My mom''s mom was too busy doing her own thing to cook, therefore, my mom never learned from her. She (my mom) can cook now, but I''d hardly call her a gourmet chef. She usually makes pretty basic meals, and that''s what I''ve done in the kitchen as well.

 

[rhbgirl24]

I''m curious as well. Both my husband and I cook (him more than me now b/c he is home first) so we were never the take out couple....

 

[purselover]

I don''t cook, but FI does so he always makes dinner. If he''s not around I order takeout or eat popcorn or something else easy like eggs or veggie burgers. Once FI''s out of school I guess I''ll have to learn to cook since he won''t be around to start dinner anymore

 

[elrohwen]

Date: 12/2/2009 10:08:17 PM
Author: Haven
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.

Haven, this is the tricky part! DH can eat as much as 3 normal people, so I''ll often make a ton of food hoping for leftovers, and he''ll eat almost the whole thing! And if I don''t make enough food for him, he runs off and makes a couple hotdogs with baked beans on them to supplement

 

[iheartscience]

Date: 12/3/2009 1:39:40 AM
Author: kittybean
Thing, I am so happy to find another person who hates chicken breast. I only like chicken if it''s fried and battered beyond recognition, and even then not that much.

I also am not a big eater and will happily eat cereal or oatmeal and some fruit for dinner. Having a real meal is not that important to me, so I don''t usually bother cooking if it''s just for me. DH is really into making us great meals, so I just let him do his thing.

YES! Finally, someone like me!

I absolutely hate chicken breast, but I also love fried chicken! (Wings are my favorite!) I don''t even pretend to like the chicken breast anymore for my husband''s sake, so now when he makes it he either makes me a piece of fish or I just eat my cereal or hummus and pita!

 

[iheartscience]

Date: 12/3/2009 9:53:53 AM
Author: ZoeBartlett
Thing2 -- congratulations on cutting a tomato in half! It sounds like that''s progress!

One thing I do like to make every once in a while is tuna casserole (and I think I''m the only one on the planet who still eats this). That and mac and cheese (especially Annie''s white cheddar) are such comfort foods for me, but I don''t have them often.

Oh, another thing I do love to make is shrimp or chicken scampi, but we don''t have that often.

My mom''s mom was too busy doing her own thing to cook, therefore, my mom never learned from her. She (my mom) can cook now, but I''d hardly call her a gourmet chef. She usually makes pretty basic meals, and that''s what I''ve done in the kitchen as well.

Ha, thanks Zoe! It was progress for me!

 

[kama_s]

When I was younger, I absolutely refused to learn how to cook. Indian womem were expected to learn how to cook perfect meals, clean the house perfectly etc etc to train them for marriage. And like most of my cousins and friends, they get married off between age 20-22. I resisted all that, refused to learn how to boil water, refused to learn how to sew a button (even though it used to be a MANDATORY class in our school!!) and told my parents I will not have an arranged marriage and the guy I marry will be the one doing the cooking and cleaning. I was adament about this, and all our family always thought I would cause big trouble to the family

Now that I'm married, I've let go of my feminist side and I have no problems cooking almost every night (Mr. Kama cooks, he used to coook every night even when he was in university, but I'm a much better cook than him), scrubbing the toilets etc etc. Infact, I enjoy cooking now and try a new recipe almsot every week. My dad is just stupefied at the change!

ETA: forgot to mention, my parents only cook Indian food, so even if I had learnt to cook from them, I wouldn't have been using it. My tummy is sensitive to certain spices and Indian doesn't suit me at all. So we rarely cook Indian food, at most once every month.

 

[LadyBlue]

Date: 12/2/2009 8:54:29 PM
Author: 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!

Hahaha!! When we go out on vacation we miss home cooked meals as well. Except when we go to visit my parents, since we eat my mom''s home made meals

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Date: 12/2/2009 6:24:26 PM
Author: 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.

Pinkstars, do you not care for the texture or the flavor? I ask because you can buy onion juice these days, which would add the flavor but not involve big chunks of onion.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Date: 12/3/2009 9:53:53 AM
Author: ZoeBartlett
Thing2 -- congratulations on cutting a tomato in half! It sounds like that''s progress!

One thing I do like to make every once in a while is tuna casserole (and I think I''m the only one on the planet who still eats this). That and mac and cheese (especially Annie''s white cheddar) are such comfort foods for me, but I don''t have them often.


Oh, another thing I do love to make is shrimp or chicken scampi, but we don''t have that often.


My mom''s mom was too busy doing her own thing to cook, therefore, my mom never learned from her. She (my mom) can cook now, but I''d hardly call her a gourmet chef. She usually makes pretty basic meals, and that''s what I''ve done in the kitchen as well.

Zoe, I LOVE tuna noodle casserole!! With crushed potato chips on top

It reminds me of my childhood, my mom used to make it at least once a week. DH turns green at the thought of it though...

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Date: 12/3/2009 10:35:24 AM
Author: kama_s
When I was younger, I absolutely refused to learn how to cook. Indian womem were expected to learn how to cook perfect meals, clean the house perfectly etc etc to train them for marriage. And like most of my cousins and friends, they get married off between age 20-22. I resisted all that, refused to learn how to boil water, refused to learn how to sew a button (even though it used to be a MANDATORY class in our school!!) and told my parents I will not have an arranged marriage and the guy I marry will be the one doing the cooking and cleaning. I was adament about this, and all our family always thought I would cause big trouble to the family

Now that I''m married, I''ve let go of my feminist side and I have no problems cooking almost every night (Mr. Kama cooks, he used to coook every night even when he was in university, but I''m a much better cook than him), scrubbing the toilets etc etc. Infact, I enjoy cooking now and try a new recipe almsot every week. My dad is just stupefied at the change!

ETA: forgot to mention, my parents only cook Indian food, so even if I had learnt to cook from them, I wouldn''t have been using it. My tummy is sensitive to certain spices and Indian doesn''t suit me at all. So we rarely cook Indian food, at most once every month.

Kama-forgive me if I''m making a generalization of all Indian people eating korma, but do you have a good recipe for chicken korma?? It''s my fave. I could eat it for B/L & D!

 

[Octavia]

Date: 12/3/2009 11:44:19 AM
Author: Hudson_Hawk

Date: 12/3/2009 9:53:53 AM

Author: ZoeBartlett

Thing2 -- congratulations on cutting a tomato in half! It sounds like that''s progress!

One thing I do like to make every once in a while is tuna casserole (and I think I''m the only one on the planet who still eats this). That and mac and cheese (especially Annie''s white cheddar) are such comfort foods for me, but I don''t have them often.



Oh, another thing I do love to make is shrimp or chicken scampi, but we don''t have that often.



My mom''s mom was too busy doing her own thing to cook, therefore, my mom never learned from her. She (my mom) can cook now, but I''d hardly call her a gourmet chef. She usually makes pretty basic meals, and that''s what I''ve done in the kitchen as well.

Zoe, I LOVE tuna noodle casserole!! With crushed potato chips on top

It reminds me of my childhood, my mom used to make it at least once a week. DH turns green at the thought of it though...

I love tuna noodle casserole, too, but I usually make it with a bechamel base rather than canned soup -- it''s not much harder to do, but it seems more "gourmet" (haha). I usually add some cheese to the sauce and make a sort of hybrid between tuna casserole and mac n'' cheese. Yummy yummy. But I only eat it when DH is away, he HATES canned tuna and thinks my concoction is the most disgusting thing ever.

 

[kama_s]

Date: 12/3/2009 11:47:40 AM
Author: Hudson_Hawk

Date: 12/3/2009 10:35:24 AM
Author: kama_s
When I was younger, I absolutely refused to learn how to cook. Indian womem were expected to learn how to cook perfect meals, clean the house perfectly etc etc to train them for marriage. And like most of my cousins and friends, they get married off between age 20-22. I resisted all that, refused to learn how to boil water, refused to learn how to sew a button (even though it used to be a MANDATORY class in our school!!) and told my parents I will not have an arranged marriage and the guy I marry will be the one doing the cooking and cleaning. I was adament about this, and all our family always thought I would cause big trouble to the family

Now that I'm married, I've let go of my feminist side and I have no problems cooking almost every night (Mr. Kama cooks, he used to coook every night even when he was in university, but I'm a much better cook than him), scrubbing the toilets etc etc. Infact, I enjoy cooking now and try a new recipe almsot every week. My dad is just stupefied at the change!

ETA: forgot to mention, my parents only cook Indian food, so even if I had learnt to cook from them, I wouldn't have been using it. My tummy is sensitive to certain spices and Indian doesn't suit me at all. So we rarely cook Indian food, at most once every month.

Kama-forgive me if I'm making a generalization of all Indian people eating korma, but do you have a good recipe for chicken korma?? It's my fave. I could eat it for B/L & D!

Yes yes, I do! I'll post it when I get home tonight

ETA: Forgot to mention, North Indians don't usually make korma at home on a regular basis. It's a very heavy dish (filled with cream and nuts), usually made only for parties and such.

 

[zoebartlett]

HH -- potato chips on top of tuna casserole...huh. I''ve never thought of trying that but I just might some time. I usually just sprinkle bread crumbs on top but they don''t get crunchy. I make mine with onion flakes (or a cut up onion if I have time and feel like crying as I''m chopping), low(er) fat cream of mushroom soup, cut up pieces of baby bella mushrooms, shells (and they now make whole wheat shells

), and mozz/cheddar cheeses. Mmmm...

Octavia -- I''m glad you like it too! That makes three of us! My husband won''t touch it either.

 

[kama_s]

Date: 12/3/2009 11:44:19 AM
Author: Hudson_Hawk


Zoe, I LOVE tuna noodle casserole!! With crushed potato chips on top

It reminds me of my childhood, my mom used to make it at least once a week. DH turns green at the thought of it though...

That''s what we do as well

That, or bread crumbs. I love the top being crispy/crunchy and the bottom gooey.

 

[zoebartlett]

Kama -- how do you get the bread crumbs to get crispy? I just sprinkle them on top with a little cheese, and while they brown, the bread crumbs don''t form a crunchy crust.

 

[elrohwen]

Date: 12/3/2009 1:36:39 PM
Author: ZoeBartlett
Kama -- how do you get the bread crumbs to get crispy? I just sprinkle them on top with a little cheese, and while they brown, the bread crumbs don't form a crunchy crust.

I'm not Kama, but I would recommend using Panko style bread crumbs and also turning the broiler on high for about 5 minutes (just watching it like a hawk so it doesn't burn). That should give you a nice crispy crust!

 

[zoebartlett]

Thanks El! I''ll try panko bread crumbs next time. I keep hearing about them (and have used them in the past for other things), but I haven''t tried them for tuna casserole.

 

[kama_s]

Date: 12/3/2009 1:43:25 PM
Author: elrohwen

Date: 12/3/2009 1:36:39 PM
Author: ZoeBartlett
Kama -- how do you get the bread crumbs to get crispy? I just sprinkle them on top with a little cheese, and while they brown, the bread crumbs don''t form a crunchy crust.

I''m not Kama, but I would recommend using Panko style bread crumbs and also turning the broiler on high for about 5 minutes (just watching it like a hawk so it doesn''t burn). That should give you a nice crispy crust!

Panko ones turn out yummy! But if you''re using regular bread crumbs, just put the bread crumbs on for the entire baking time and then put the heat on 375/400 for the last 5 minutes with the casserole on the top shelf of the oven.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Date: 12/3/2009 12:54:56 PM
Author: ZoeBartlett
HH -- potato chips on top of tuna casserole...huh. I've never thought of trying that but I just might some time. I usually just sprinkle bread crumbs on top but they don't get crunchy. I make mine with onion flakes (or a cut up onion if I have time and feel like crying as I'm chopping), low(er) fat cream of mushroom soup, cut up pieces of baby bella mushrooms, shells (and they now make whole wheat shells

), and mozz/cheddar cheeses. Mmmm...


Octavia -- I'm glad you like it too! That makes three of us! My husband won't touch it either.

To make your B crumbs crispy, toss them in melted butter first and then put them on your casserole. My mom always used wise potato chips. I suppose any kind will do, but they retain their crunch well.

 

[soocool]

I''ll eat some soup and right now I am craving some WonTon soup, or cheesy crab. Hmmm! I''ll stop at our local supermarket and get some and just heat it up. Quick and easy and works in a pinch when I have no time to cook.

 

[luckystar112]

Here were my issues with cooking:

1) I just didn''t know how! I am the most uncreative person in the world when it comes to cooking and I HATE recipes that have more ingredients than my normal grocery list. Plus, I don''t have a lot of kitchen gadgets so when a recipe calls to "puree" something (or a million other terms) I get really frustrated.

2) It''s just me and DH and I feel like we waste a TON of food. I mean, I''d guy out and buy a ton of produce only for it to go bad in my refrigerator by the end of the week. Things were always expiring before we got to eat them...I recently did a thorough cleaning of our pantry and got rid of SO much food.

I solved these dilemmas by signing up for emealz. I don''t know if any of you have heard of it. I was really frustrated and googled "grocery list for two" and it popped up. Basically it''s a service that you subscribe to, and every Friday they post a new meal plan/grocery list for you. So I will have one sheet with everything I have to buy, and another sheet with the recipes for each day of the week. I''ve only been doing it a few weeks but I feel like it''s saving us a lot of money, and it''s allowing me to learn to cook slowly. Some of the things we''ve made so far include pepperoni loaf, chicken pot pie, american chop suey, etc. Tonight I''m making taco calzones! lol
I''m starting to sound like I work for them so I''ll leave the praising at that. Truth is, some of the recipes are blahhhh and I think I may switch to the low fat version in the future to see what it''s like.

Oh, another thing that bothers me about them certain things in the recipes they assume are staples in your pantry. Like the other day I was making a chicken recipe that called for ritz crackers, and the crackers were considered a staple. I don''t know, just seems weird...does everyone always have ritz crackers on hand? lol. Those ingredients ARE listed in the grocery list (in italics) but we aren''t supposed to include them in the overall cost of groceries (because their goal is to create a shopping list that averages less than $50 a week, just dinner).

Anyway, no one even asked me to elaborate but in case you were interested, there''s my novel.