My Approach to Cooking at Home
As a newly married wife, I knew how to cook one thing intuitively: a grilled cheese.
Ben knew this about me, and had no expectations for me to be an amazing cook. But when your husband’s momma is basically Pioneer Woman, well, you can imagine the shoes I felt I needed to fill. π Not to mention, we were both working ministry jobs at the time, and simply couldn’t afford to eat out every night.
So I set out to figure this cooking thing out. I flipped through pages of cookbooks gifted to me at my wedding showers. I scoured Pinterest for recipes and organized numerous boards by cuisine. And I learned through trial and error! Ben ate a lot of strange concoctions through those years β bless him.
We had people over to the house, too β young couples and LOTS of college students. It gave me good practice, I faked my way, and started to feel slowly more confident in the kitchen. I made many mistakes β they were all such great guinea pigs! I’ll never forget when I tried to brew iced tea in the coffee maker and forgot to remove the coffee grounds from that morning. That flavor was definitely interesting, and you can imagine the surprise upon our guests faces (and mine) at that first sip. Ha!
We later went on to trying HomeChef, Blue Apron and HelloFresh meal subscriptions. All of these allowed me to explore several new cooking methods, cuisines and foods I just would’ve never tried before on my own. I collected recipes from them, and searched Reddit for their pre-mixed seasoning ingredient lists. We eventually canceled our subscription because our family had grown to 5, and the ingredients weren’t organic.
On the heels of our subscription cancelation, I began to deep dive into the research of food quality and found that organic was the way to go. In the height of my daughter’s eczema battle, we switched over to grass-fed butter and beef, air-chilled organic chicken, cage-free-free-range-organic eggs (it’s gotta be all 3!), and a variety of colorful organic produce to fast-track her healing. We saw a noticeable difference in our health, and the flavor was truly unmatched.
After 11ish years of cooking under my belt, I feel like I’ve finally figured it out. I have a handful of recipes that I use out of cookbooks, and visit Pinterest every once in a while. But I have a few systems now and fail-proof methods that have helped me to not only create tasty meals, but do it efficiently in the midst of a busy, full and blessed household.
When I’m in a Cooking Rut, I Think About What I Would Want at Certain Restaurants and I Make That!
I have come to enjoy making the food I’d normally get out at a restaurant β but with organic ingredients. There is definitely a peace of mind when it comes to knowing what’s actually in your food.
Here are some of the things I like to make that I usually crave from restaurants that I just make on my own more often now:
- McAlister’s Club Sandwich and Bacon-Cheese Spud
- Gloria’s Latin Cuisine Steak & Chicken Fajitas
- Hopdoddy-style Cheeseburgers + Fries
- Ruth’s Chris’ Filet Mignon with Mashed Potatoes and Green Beans
I Make a Menu We Can All Look Forward To And Put It On The Fridge Marker Board
A few years ago, Ben bought me a minimal magnetic marker board for our fridge. This is where I put our menu each week. I enjoy hand lettering, so I usually have fun writing it out and both my husband and oldest kiddo eagerly read it each week. It has been so helpful to have a weekly dinner guide, and to be able to look forward to the meals visibly planned. I try to have a balance of favorites, and new things to taste that sound good. I’ve found that on the weeks I don’t make a menu, we tend to eat out way more. There is decision fatigue, I have less motivation to cook because I don’t have a plan, and we can’t remember what we bought at the grocery store. If there isn’t anything to look forward to, Ben’s first thought is, “Let’s go out,” and I gladly accept. π That being said, it’s really important to fill out that marker board to keep us on track with our health and food budget.
I Don’t Make a Grocery List Based on Recipes
I try to keep a decent stock of the following items every week. If I’m out, that’s what I’m getting at the grocery store this week. Here’s what I try to have on hand at all times. Keep in mind that all of these are organic!
- 2 lbs of fresh chicken breasts
- 2 fresh filet mignons
- 2 lbs of fresh ground beef
- breakfast meat: sausage or bacon
- fresh fruit
- frozen fruit
- in-season greens: lettuce, broccoli, green beans, zucchini
- yellow and purple onions, garlic
- potatoes: russets, golden, or red
- carrots, celery, a lemon, 1-2 avocados, a lime, mini bell peppers
- dairy: milk, creamer, plain greek yogurt, block of cheddar cheese, butter, cream cheese
- at least 36 eggs
- grains: all-purpose flour, bread flour, rolled oats, sandwich bread, hamburger buns, tortillas
- pantry staples: jasmine or basmati rice, spaghetti noodles, Rotel, canned beans and corn, marinara, chicken broth, sugar, agave, vanilla extract, maple syrup
- condiments: mayo, mustard, dijon, tΓ‘mari sauce,
- nut butters: almond and peanut
If I have all of these things to choose from every week, I can basically make anything, from American cuisine, to Greek to Mexican to Asian. These versatile ingredients give me lots of options and I keep my meal planning simple by serving primarily whole foods. This is actually way better for you anyway. Processed stuff (like casseroles and packaged, pre-cooked foods) isn’t something we should eat regularly. I also want to note that with the exception of the meats, fresh greens and berries, the majority of this list stays fresh and stable for a few weeks and longer!
I Grow My Herbs Instead of Buying Cut Herbs
I am fairly new to this, but I’ve found that herbs are generally low maintenance and they’re SO cute. I like to grow and keep basil, dill, and cilantro on hand. You can usually buy the full plant in the grocery store for like $4 and they produce super well. I cannot tell you the amount of times I’ve bought cut herbs from the store, only used a few in a recipe, and the rest of it went on to die in the fridge. I’ve tried growing from seed, but I’ve found that transplanting some from the store is easier, faster and seems to yield more. I’m still working on my green thumb though. π
I Have a Magnolia Journal Subscription
Okay, so I know JoJo has cookbooks, but her magazine!! That’s where all the golden, show-stopping recipes are. The ones that are quick, produce a normal amount of food, and are, for the most part, simple and from scratch. I keep a stack of my favorite editions on my open shelving in the kitchen so I can easily grab them when I’m cooking one of her recipes. I think my favorite recipe of hers is her 20 minute buttermilk biscuits that she published in one of her first runs.
I look forward to sharing my recipes with you all! I feel like I have so many simple dinners to share, but I wanted to start with this post first so you can see an overview of how I operate in the kitchen. Thanks for reading, and I look forward to taking you on my future cooking adventures via blog posts and social media soon!