Cooking Talk

I think it is common to be in an upsetting cooking-rut. Cooking the same things every week and getting bored... wanting to try new things... but what to try? Well- I ordered a Bountiful Basket (http://www.bountifulbasket.org/) two weeks ago so I could get 20 lb. of peaches for canning. It was full of all sorts of things I usually don't buy. It allowed me to expand my horizons!

Sweet potatoes: Normally only eaten on Thanksgiving. 1) roasted with apples, brown sugar and cinnamon  2) shredded in breakfast casserole  3) boiled and mashed

Mangoes: Honestly I have never bought them at the grocery store-intimidating. 1) used in place of pineapple in chicken salad  2) new recipe: steak and mango salad (http://www.ourbestbites.com/)  A flip-flop would taste amazing covered in the marinade!!  3) soon to try mango pico de gallo. We LOVE cilantro at this house!

 

Cabbage: when I as a little girl we would have cabbage casserole, it seemed like, every week. I loved it! My sister, Whitney, hated it. (In fact one night my dad made her sit at the table till she finished it all. She missed TGIF she sat there so long...) Cason isn't much for cabbage casserole-but I can't just let the cabbage go to waste! So no new cabbage recipes, I am selfish and make what I love.

Cabbage Casserole
1 small cabbage               2 c. milk
3 TB butter                      salt/pepper to taste
1 chicken boullion cube    rice
3 TB flour

Chop cabbage, steam, and drain. Place in greased 9x13 baking dish. Combine butter, flour, and boullion on medium heat. When paste is formed, add 2 c. milk gradually, forming a thick sauce. Sprinkle in a little salt and pepper. Pour over cabbage and bake at 350 for 30 minutes till bubbly. Serve over rice.

Doesn't sound like your thing? That's ok. The only reason I like it is because it's a childhood memory.

Romaine lettuce: So much fancier than iceburg, it makes a beautiful salad. Cason's favorite food? SALAD. NO LIE. He loves to order a salad or salad bar when we go out to eat. Strange-I thought it was in a man's genes to love meat and potatoes.

Bananas: Creighton LOVES bananas. So much so he has recently been eating one for breakfast and for dinner. Even with all of this banana eating I still had six that went black. BANANA BREAD! Recently I have been loving banana bread and trying new recipes. I think it stems from never having it as a little girl. My mom despises banana bread. I found a keeper recipe from Emeril Lagasse. (http://www.foodnetwork.com/)   He knows his banana bread! (It is the most basic recipe I have ever tried) I was able to make 3 loaves and froze two of them. Note: Banana bread is extra delicious after being frozen and then thawed. WEIRD. I KNOW.

 Not only am I in a cooking-rut, but a baking one as well. I have always baked cookies. That's what we did at my house when I was little! But Cason doesn't have a sweet tooth. And if I make anything it sits untouched. (OK-he'll usually humor me and have one.) Creighton and I wanted some cookies so we made some a few weeks ago. PITIFUL. Cookie making really is a skill I guess and one I've lost. They were flat, burnt and raw (same cookie!) and just plain unappetizing. It was so sad. Since Cason works nights, I often surf baking blogs (see my blog side-bar). I've seen some delicious looking treats... but maybe it's not a good idea to try any of the recipes!

When in a cooking-rut the best thing to do is... GO OUT TO EAT! Cason has an addiction to eating out. Actually, I think he is just addicted to Costa Vida. It is his restaurant of choice! I don't mind-what a relief to not have to think of what to make, prepare it, cook it, and THEN clean it up. Cason usually does clean up though-he's so sweet!

Couponing has been helping me decide what to make! But the last little while the only thing I've gotten steals on is junk food. A few days ago I got pop-tarts and cereal for a bargain. Breakfast is served! I am stocked on frozen pizzas and Kraft Macaroni and Cheese- my boys LOVE pizza, even cheap pizza. Snacking foods are great for Creighton. (CEREAL: I have that for dinner a lot since Cason works nights.) But I am lacking in the "real" food departmet. "Real" food CAN be bought with coupons (anti-couponers say it can't)-I just need to be focused on those items... (BTW: Couponers, do you do what I do and take pictures of your food? I do-I like to show Cason when he gets home from work and I ask him, "HOW MUCH DO YOU THINK THIS COST ME?) http://www.fabulesslyfrugal.com/: LOVE IT.

A few weeks ago a friend of mine, Jenny, was telling me she HATES to do laundry, so she reminds herself, "I am grateful to have SO MANY towels, clothes, etc. to wash. I am SO BLESSED!" I guess it is that way with most things, like cooking. Instead of grumbling about what to make, or that something has to be made I can be glad that I have food in the house, that I can buy my own food, and that I am a decent cook.

How's that for counting your blessings?