Mark and I need to save money. In order to do that I have big plans to meal plan. If I'm going to meal plan I actually have to cook something, I don't think : Monday - McDonald's; Tuesday - Long John Silver's .... ect. will cut it. So starting January I plan to pull out the crockpot and dust off the pans.
This will be a tricky feat. Mark and I are second shifters. We don't eat dinner together. We seldom eat lunch together since he's getting up as I'm leaving for work. SO the meals I plan must be something that warms up well. I'll be making use of that GIANT Tupperware stash I've collected. (If you want a GIANT Tupperware stash then become a consultant for a few years. Pretty soon you'll have more Tupperware than your cabinets will hold, or your dad's garage :) )
So I'm collecting recipes. Yes I have a whole cookbook collection but I need real recipes. I need practical, easy recipes that won't cause me to go back on my ppd meds after a week of this plan. I want to use my crockpot. I want them to be semi healthy (I still have 15 pounds of baby weight to shed) and I want my picky eating self to actually eat them. So send me a recipe or a link to your favorite cooking blog. simplynesting@gmail.com
And let the planning begin :)
If your Mom or Grandma didn't teach you to cook, you're unfortunately left to recipe books and celebrity chefs on TV. The problem is neither of these actually teach you HOW to cook.
ReplyDeleteThe Food Network is the MTV of Food. MTV used to play music, now they're entertainment ABOUT music. The Food Network is entertainment ABOUT food, they don't teach anyone to cook.
Neither will you learn how to cook from a book. Written recipes won't teach you to cook any more than having sheet music will teach you to play piano. There are too many variables in recipes that always lead to frustration.
The best way to free yourself from recipes and cook like a chef at home is to examine the basic cooking methods.
When you learn HOW to saute, broil, grill, roast, then you can create your own recipes from what you have on hand.
Knowing HOW to cook anything is a skill that will save you time, money at the grocery store, improve your health, reunite your family over dinner, eat a greater variety of foods, and have this skill for the rest of your life.
Chef Todd Mohr
WebCookingClasses.com
Hayley, my sister has a membership to e-mealz.com and loves it. I've tried some of the recipes and they're really good. The best part is you can choose from a variety of meal plans (2-person, low fat, low carb, etc.) and for a variety of stores (Kroger, Walmart, etc.) and they will send you a weekly meal plan based on what's on sale at your local store. It includes a grocery list that's organized by section of the grocery store and basically makes your whole life easier. It might be a nice way to start and then once you have a bunch of recipes you like, you can stop the subscription and just cook from your trusty bank of recipes. :-) Good luck with your new adventure in cooking!!!
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