Hi, friends! I hope your weekend went well.
How do you decide what to cook? Are you strictly regimented with doing meal planning in advance and having each day planned out? Do you decide based on grocery store flyers each week? Do you just go to the store and decide based on what looks good? Do you just wing it all the time and just go where the wind takes you?
In the winter I am more likely to use the flyers to help plan things. In the summer, it’s more based on my garden and whatever is in season at the farmer’s market.
I stockpile ingredients (dry, frozen, canned, etc.) for specific recipes in order to meal prep. The fresh stuffs I blanch, freeze, and portion.
I just made a soup tonight in 3 instant pots. And one cup of basmati rice to mix with it for a bit of substance.
Generally, I prefer to have 3 or 4 portioned frozen meals in my freezer from which I can choose for lunch and dinner each day.
Three instant pots!! That’s impressive!!!!
Just like mama from the Italian cookery down the street used to make!
My main one was to cook on weekends and prepare enough food for 3-4 days of meals similar to myo (but not anywhere near as healthy.)
Friday was usually a day for gluttony, er, eating out.
Yep, similar boat for me. I would be lying if I didn’t say at least once a week I’m eating cheese and crackers for a meal.
The garden is a factor but Butcher Box is definitely the main factor. Beyond that I tend to go with a combination of what would I want for the week and what new thing do I need to come up with for FYCE.
That makes sense! I don’t eat meat much at all anymore, but when I did the sales at the various local stores were a big weekly variable.
When it’s hot I avoid baking, so that rule out a lot. Kids being around rules out more. Add in a few more conditions and we’re down to ramen.
Yes, for sure! There’s a lot more logistical factors when there’s kids involved.
Not when Mrs Butcher and I were raising the girls. If they turned up their noses at what we were making for dinner we would tell them “the next meal is breakfast, so you can either eat what’s in front of you or you can wait until tomorrow morning.” Once they realized we weren’t fucking around they got the picture and ate what we made.
That’s true when they’re kids. Now they’re big and mobile and have cash, so it involves requires more enticement to get them to stick around.
It’s a free for all here. I’m overrun by my CSA so I’ve been trying to get thru all these veggies every week. This week they gave me a jalapeno with all the tomatoes so I’m going to make some salsa.
Nice! Have you gotten anything truly unexpected in the CSA box? Like had to google how to even cook it unexpected?
Left to my own devices, I would eat the same thing every day. Fortunately, I am married to a woman who does not share my OCD.
Oh, one other thing: TCM is showing Key Largo with Lauren Bacall tonight. It inspired one of the most beautiful songs ever.
Not the Bertie Higgins song from 1981, but the original by the great Benny Carter in 1948.