Cooking Burn Out?

I agree a lot of the cooking rut comes from not being able to cook different things because of the price of food now adays. We are on a fixed income so when I shop, there are certain things I can not afford to buy, beef especially. The price per pound is out of site in our area. So we buy the same thing month after month, and we try our best to not make same thing. One of the things I have done is go to the internet and look at recipes that are cheap to make and that are different. There are many sites on here that has cheap meals, or meals that only take a few items to make. Although I love chicken, sometimes I wonder if I can stomach one more bite of it. But I am always looking for a new way to use it in a recipe.

When I feel that way I cook with the seasons! ^_^ Fall is especially fantastic for learning new recipes because the fresh produce is abundant and cheap! I just learned a new recipe for sausage and apple baked squash, which honestly didn't turn out great. However, I know I can make it suit our tastes better by altering the recipe a bit. If I take out the onion and sage, and add brown sugar and maple syrup, it'll make it a sweet and savory meal perfect for a hot breakfast or sweet supper! Also, it reheated rather well. I know, I was forced to eat the leftovers. ha ha ha * Sausage and Apple Baked Squash * 2 acorn squash halved and seeded 1 pound ground sausage 1/4 cup brown sugar 1/4 cup real maple syrup 1 red apple finely chopped * * * Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Brown sausage in skillet and drain grease. Add apples, maple syrup, brown sugar and cook until heated through. In a large glass casserole dish lay squash halves open side up and stuff with sausage mixture. Bake at 400 degrees for 45 minutes or until squash is tender. Covering it for the last 10 minutes of cooking time will help keep it moist and not overcook the tops of the sausage mixture. * (If you have a really new oven 350 degrees may be hot enough. My oven is at least 10 years old so I cook on a higher temp)

I get tired of cooking easily. My son is so darn picky about things that I really have to make simple things to get him to eat. My daughter will eat most anything though, but I really do not feel like making 2 meals most days. Some days though like yesterday I had chili which neither kid will eat and I just had to make something else for them.

Oh yes, I get cooking burnout. I am burnt out right now. I am the same as you, sick of cooking and eating the same things all of the time. So I now have some cookbooks and I am trying some new recipes and they have all turned out really good but I still am sick of cooking. I don't know why I get this way sometimes because I usually do lots of cooking, like cabbage rolls and soups and perogies. And then I also do lots of canning every fall, like pickled cucumbers and beets and peppers. But last year I didn't even do any canning. I am sick of doing all kitchen stuff these days. Maybe I need to hire a cook. lol

You need some little changes to put some life into your cooking! Experiment with sauces. With a simple white sauce you can add spices or cheese to perk up a meat dish. Throw in some pineapple, applesauce or cooked apples. One really yummy and cheap dish I used to make is turkey kielbasa in the crockpot with diced apples, applesauce and diced onions. Add some potatoes and green beans for a delicious meal!

WHen your budget is limited i really agree with you but for me, i can be creative because my kids also get bored with the same meals even if i tell them a hundred times that we have this budget and we have to be wise and save. I am proud to tell anyone that i am a creative cook because i can make simple dishes for my kids that are they find delicious and i get a grade A from them. I also use extenders, seasonings and other flavoring to add zest to the dishes.

I just get tired of preparing the meal, serving the meal and cleaning it up. And of being at home with a meal. I need a change of pace sometimes!

Well, that's the thing that's so much fun with cooking, isn't it. There are endless possiblities as to what you can do to the most various ingredients! Food is such an integral part of our lives and I'm glad more and more people are turning to become cooking experts themselves!

I'm pretty lucky that I have a pretty high tolerance for eating the same foods over and over, my roomie and my client are always looking for flavors or tastes that are, maybe, a bit different. I'm like.. is it safe for me to eat again - okay, its easy of course I don't have to worry about young minds and bodies either

Yes it happens to us from time to time. Especially when we're real broke and trying to keep our meals as cheap as possible. Thankfully though hubby and I are rather good at using our imaginations when it comes to cooking, and sometimes being broke is the best way to come up with something new. That's what happened when hubby created his potato dish that we all ended up loving so much!! We were super broke and had had salt potatoes the night before. Hubby took the last few that were left, and sliced them. Then looked in the fridge to see what we had, and started adding a bunch of different left over things to it. We just loved it, and it used up left overs we normally wouldn't have used!

I just love cooking, so I never run out of "new recipes" to try! It took me a long time to learn to experiment and be adventurous in the kitchen when cooking, but now I just love creating new things. Plus, since I have a very understanding husband, I never get criticism, even with the recipes that we don't like! (We just agree to toss that recipe!)

I totally relate to this. My husband CANNOT cook...lol...and anyway, I am home mostly while he works all day, so I do the cooking. I was saying to him, its not that I mind cooking every day, in fact I enjoy it mostly, but its just the fact that I have to come up with something everyday! I also am on a tight budget, I was laid off from my job so I know what you mean about thinking about things you could have but having to cook the cheap option! Another thing I struggle with is that I have diabetes so I have to find cheap, interesting AND healthy as possible and low carb. I do pretty well with cheap shopping and I look on linefor recipes and adapt them - I use recipezaar.com a lot, where you can put in ingredients and see nutritional info, and choose recipes with categories like diabetic or whatever. Often when I am stuck I will put the meat I have in the site and see what it comes up with.

i know exactly what you mean. my husband and i were just talking about that the other day. so i recently went on kraft or some other recipe site because i had a taste for chicken fried steak. we downloaded the recipe and my husband cooked it yesterday. it sure was good. its all gone now im wondering what to cook next. Luckily i want have to cook probably until tuesday of next week. we are going out of town for the holiday and my husbands family reunion is monday on the day we return so i will be kitchen free for a few days. I love it when i don't have to cook. i always tell my husband anytime were reflecting back on why we married each other years ago, i say i never told you i enjoy cooking but i said i no how to cook.