Trying to cook more

[Radiance]

In my quest to develop a taste for cooking at home I have had a couple of hiccups:

one, I am not ready to improvise, I end up wasting ingredients and , since I am making up the steps as I go, it tends to be messy. Both things frustrates me. for now, I am sticking to a selected recipes.

two, My selection of recipes is too disperse. I am a good cook, my food, when I cook, is very delicious and nutritionally rich. However, the recipes I know are so different from each other than I can hardly reuse an ingredient. What is worse, every time I am to cook, I need to buy the one ingredient that i am missing and that is then in danger of not being totally used before expiration date. (which in turn triggers my need to improvise so I can use the immense assortment of ingredients I end up with in 4 days or less)

You might read this and think I am taking this too seriously. Well, after 3 years of trying to figure out meal planning without success, I am paying attention to what I do, and why.

I'll get there.

[zakity]

I have lots of recipes that use a lot of the same stuff. I cook just very basic things.

Sample menu:

hashbrown scramble - taters, cooked sausage, eggs - diced up the taters, and toss them in a skillet, fry them up, when they are almost done, add in a handful of the sausage, beat a egg or two and pour that over the taters and sausage in the skillet and mix it around until the egg is cooked

chili rice casserole - leftover chili, cooked rice, can of tomatoes, can of black olives-sliced, cheese

herbed parmesan sauce over pasta - white (or bechamel sauce) with 1/2 tsp of Italian seasonings and 1/4 cup of Kraft-type parmesan per cup of milk add in

veloute sauce over pasta- like a white sauce only using broth instead of milk

casserole - handful of leftover meat, leftover herbed parmesan sauce or veloute sauce, noodles, veggie

hamburger rice casserole - cooked hamburger, rice, bullion, spices, veggie - put the rice in a pan and add your water and bullion or broth, add in your cooked hamburger and spices, let the rice cook, when it the rice is almost done cooking add in the veggies - if you use canned veggies, drain the liquid out and use that as part of the water for the rice

taco casserole - leftover taco meat or cooked hamburger if no taco meat, can of diced tomatoes, can of black olives-sliced, spices, cooked rice, corn - add cooked rice and taco meat/hamburger in a pot, add in spices, tomatoes and the olives, warm it up and let the flavors mix and serve

Mexican casserole - basically the same as taco casserole except I cook the rice in tomato sauce and water

homemade biscuits and gravy

chicken, rice cooked in bullion, veggie

casserole - handful of leftover chicken, leftover rice cooked in buillion, veggie

[kork13]

Ditto @ Zakity... I keep a standard assortment of food stuffs, and I can easily come up with a variety of ways to cook them all. Between spices, cooking methods, and additional ingredients, I find it actually quite simple. I use alot of chicken, ground beef, and stew beef, rice, pasta, onion/garlic, diced tomatoes, frozen vegetables, ..... I make chicken and beef stir fry's, chicken curry, chili, various forms of baked chicken, sloppy joes, I make my own pasta sauce, a variety of soups and stews, and so on. Sometimes I just take some stuff I have around and do something. For example, last night I made a chicken/vegetable risotto on a moment's thought, and it turned out really pretty good. Cooking (IMO) is about creativity. Yes, if I want to do something in particular, I may go out for the one or two things I need, but I find that most of my cooking involves stuff I keep around the kitchen normally.

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by Radiance

every time I am to cook, I need to buy the one ingredient that i am missing and that is then in danger of not being totally used before expiration date.

What types of ingredients are you referring to? Are any of them things that could be frozen? Are any of them things that could be purchased in a form other than fresh? How about making a larger batch of whatever you are cooking and freezing the leftovers to have at some later date. So instead of cooking 2 chicken breasts, cook 4. Instead of making a single batch of soup, make a whole pot and freeze it in individual servings.

[Caoineag]

A lot of online recipe sites let you do an ingredient search for recipes (my personal favorite is allrecipes which most people here know). You would be surprised how quickly you can use things up if you keep a basic pantry stocked and look for recipes that use your more exotic recipes.

[PrincessPerky]

When I got serious about saving money, and being debt free, I cooked without the missing ingredient, sometimes it was a disaster, but mostly it was fine.

Now that we are mostly debt free (house still) I have found you can freeze onion, and pepper, and just decided to see what happens to cooked mushrooms (husband doesn't like them, so I can't use them up as fast as other items) I don't know what else can be frozen, but that is what I am trying to learn. (of course you can freeze meat before or after you flavor it)

Pasta rice and potatoes do not in my opinion freeze well, but they also don't go bad before cooking.

I know that fresh herbs taste better, but I also know that a really cheap meal can be made with dried, and those don't go bad fast. Sometimes it is more important to have decent nutritional food than the best flavor.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

I usually plan for the week and cook based on preplanning recipes.

For meats I pick a meat and different ways to prepare. I cook a wide variety of ethnic cooking.

Curries (Indian, Japanese, Thai) all with beef, shrimp, lamb, chicken. I also make casseroles - baked ziti tonight, eggplan parmigian, shepards pie, lasanga. I like to make chinese food for the week, usually potstickers, couple of beef and pork with veggies. I also sometimes make korean bbq and Japanese. Simple american dishes are pizza, mac and cheese casserole, pasta.

When it's summer my DH loves to bbq as well. Easy to eat hot dogs, sausages, ribs, salmon, steaks. We have a smoker to boot.

And I keep all my spices. The thing is that we rotate through a set menu of recipes, so they end up getting used eventually.

[MonkeyMama]

It takes time.

People ask for tips all the time because my dh has been home cooking, pretty full-time, for about 7 years. & it has become an art.

But it's a process that takes time. It's not like in one month you can cut your grocery bill in half and be efficient with leftover ingredients, etc. We are 7 years and still learning, here.

Just hang in there. It's like dieting. You won't see immediate results. But with time you will see substantial grocery savings. Keep trying!

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by MonkeyMama

It's not like in one month you can cut your grocery bill in half and be efficient with leftover ingredients, etc.

Very true. Also, keep in mind that even if a portion of what you buy goes to waste, you will still be saving a ton of money by cooking from scratch as compared to eating out or buying convenience foods. I don't mean to encourage waste, but I think with a lot of from-scratch cooking, it is kind of inevitable that some stuff simply won't get used.

Of course, there is always soup or stew to use up bits of this and that.

[wincrasher]

The trick to saving money is not to shop to fill a menu.

Instead fill you pantry according to the deals you get/coupons you can use.

Then build a menu based on what you have.

If you have to run to the store more than once a week, you are doing something wrong.

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by wincrasher

If you have to run to the store more than once a week, you are doing something wrong.

I'd say an exception to this is produce. Lots of things don't last a week. We eat lots of fresh fruit and veggies and shop for that stuff at least twice a week.

[snafu]

for expiration dates...check with your local home economist for specific information. Many of these dates can be stretched a bit. Dried spices for example, lose strength so it is efficient to increase the amount. In many cases the date can be interpreted as 'best before.' You can use common sense, if it looks bad, smells bad or tastes bad...trash it.

If you like to use exotic ingredients, invite friends for the meal and spread the enjoyment. Alternatively, shop at the ethic store, they often sell items in the exact weight or size you need.

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

Radiance, You have mentioned that your parents live in another country. Do you cook at all like your parents did when you were growing up? If you often cook as your parents did, I bet you will be cooking in an inexpensive, nutritious way that uses some of the same ingredients for many different dishes.

[Radiance]

Do you cook at all like your parents did when you were growing up?

yeah, that is the thing, I certainly ate the food at home growing up.
But I never learned to do groceries, cook, or meal plan. I was not allowed on the kitchen nor did I participate in the meal planning decisions.

So whatever mom did was like magic to me. Besides, I was not a good eater so I was often forced to eat.

I don't cook any of her recipes because I don't have them, they are all on her head.

My recipes are mine... and I am very good at inventing ones, is the rest of the equation that continues to scape me.

Last night I did a rice and chicken to die for!

I am reading through your responses and will be working on this full steam. Now that my budget is in place, my priority and focus is on figure this out.

I will certainly include my son on the meals with age appropiate fun tasks. ..
I will make mistakes too, my mom did the best she could. She thought she was protecting me by not allowing me in the kitchen. She also believed that because I was going to college I would be able to afford hiring help at home, so no need for me to learn, right?

I will figure this out, somehow.
Step 1, collect recipes..

[PrincessPerky]

Originally Posted by Radiance

yeah, that is the thing, I certainly ate the food at home growing up.
But I never learned to do groceries, cook, or meal plan. I was not allowed on the kitchen nor did I participate in the meal planning decisions.

I will make mistakes too, my mom did the best she could. She thought she was protecting me by not allowing me in the kitchen. She also believed that because I was going to college I would be able to afford hiring help at home, so no need for me to learn, right?
.

Now that is an oldfashioned thought!

Now a days a home cook makes more than my husband (adequately paid computer tech)

No longer is there a collection of folk wiling to do 'menial labor' for minimum wage. And heaven forbid you hire someone under 16 to do tasks I was doing at 11....

[Radiance]

Agree, but you need to consider this is affordable even now in countries like India and many latin american countries....Back there I always had some type of help. If not for cooking, for cleaning.

[mom-from-missouri]

Originally Posted by snafu

for expiration dates...check with your local home economist for specific information. Many of these dates can be stretched a bit. Dried spices for example, lose strength so it is efficient to increase the amount. In many cases the date can be interpreted as 'best before.' You can use common sense, if it looks bad, smells bad or tastes bad...trash it.

Many items don't carry an expiration date--many are "BEST BY" dates. There is a difference, or in our area our milk has a "SELL BY" date. Many times I have seen people misunderstand those dates and dump good food.

Some bad items can still be used--sour milk?? Good for a sour milk cake or you can google for more recipes.

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by mom-from-missouri

Many items don't carry an expiration date--many are "BEST BY" dates. There is a difference, or in our area our milk has a "SELL BY" date. Many times I have seen people misunderstand those dates and dump good food.

The dating laws vary by state, also. We live in NJ. Our milk cartons are dated with one date and then below that, it says, "In New York, sell by ..." with a date several days sooner.

[mom-from-missouri]

I think you need a "rotating menu". I owned/directed a preschool & daycare center years ago we had one so that we had no leftovers.

For example:

day one you might have chili
day 2 would be chili dogs (that would use up the remaining chili) and you add the hotdogs and buns
day3 would be beenie weenies (to use up any leftover hotdogs) and cheesy bread (made with the leftover buns)

We had it designed so that all would either be gone by day 5 or the leftovers from day 5 would be frozen into individual servings for staff at a later date, or for a child who came in late after meals were done but needed to eat, or for our "buffet night" when we had training once a month after work and we would eat down the freezer.

We had 6 weeks of "rotating menus" that a nutritionist helped us with.

We tried to not have any leftovers, but you never knew who may not come due to sickensses and such. Also, we served family style so kids coulds get seconds. Parents could also pay and eat with us (sign up the day before) but some were bigger eaters than others so we always couldn't judge portions accuractly. When we switched to rotations, our waste came to a halt.

[cptacek]

Radiance, I feel your frustration!

I am trying to do the meal planning thing. I did great last week, and doing fine this week. But like you, I am afraid of wasting food.

For instance, last week, I made meatloaf, and in my recipe, I use carrots. I don't really eat carrots by themselves, so I was afraid that they would go bad. So, this week, I used them in chicken noodle soup (made my own broth and everything. Go me!) But to make chicken noodle soup, I needed celery! So I got the celery. Now what to do with the extra stalks? When I was sauteing the carrots, celery and onions for the broth, it smelled like some type of Chinese food. So, I got a $.99 spice packet and made Kung Pao Chicken with the rest of the carrots, most of the celery, and chicken I was going to use for another meal.

I am like you, in that I was never 'trained' in the kitchen, or home management. I worked outside on the farm with Dad, and if you worked outside, the people who got to stay inside did the inside work. I definitely believe that managing a household is a skill someone has to learn...but eventually, things like this will seem like second nature, and we won't have to think about them, so long as we learn the lesson.