getting inspired to cook...

United States
January 29, 2012 9:14pm CST
We have really cut back on eating out, fast food is cut way down. Since I have started couponing I have also started making more meals at home, granted we didnt eat out a ton to begin with due to finances, it is cheaper to cook and then have left overs the next day to go for lunch or such. Food in general has been not sounding good...well at the same foods that we cook and eat every week. So I have been turning to the food network channel, I try to catch a show here and there to inspire me to try to cook new foods. I got a few things this past weekend that I am going to try, I just have to go online and get the complete recipe and go from there. Do you like to try new things when cooking? How do you get inspired to cook what you do? Have you got a recipe lately that you tried that turned out amazing?? Happy Mylotting.
1 person likes this
7 responses
@Thoroughrob (11742)
• United States
30 Jan 12
We were just talking about that last night. We are tired of the same things. I made sloppy jo's with mushroom soup the other night. It seemed to be a hit. It is not something I would want all the time, but good for a change.
1 person likes this
@jillhill (37354)
• United States
30 Jan 12
last time I was invited to my son's for supper they made sloppy joes with the gumbo soup...I hadn't had those in years and it was a very nice change!
1 person likes this
• United States
21 Feb 12
Hey Thoroughrob, I wish I could get my kids to eat sloppy joes...they are the pickiest eaters I have ever met!! :)) I just got my printer up and running again so I am going to print off a few of the recipes I saw on food network to try....who knows, maybe my kids will try something!! :)
@Shellyann36 (11384)
• United States
31 Jan 12
We had lots of financial difficulties in 2011. Due to that we had to give up going out to eat and we had to be strict with our budget for food as well. I have several cook books and magazines with recipes at home so I went through them and created monthly menus. I stuck with basic recipes that did not call for expensive cuts of meat. Chicken, pork chops and hamburger makes up the most of the meats. I always bought these meats on sale and in bulk when I could. I used one of those food saver seal a meals to seal the meats and freeze them. I have made several successful new meals that we enjoy and that are budget friendly. I am very happy with the new meals and I have plenty more to try.
• United States
21 Feb 12
Same with us, financially 2011 was really hard on us....so we tended to eat more of the same things over and over...now food in general just sounds bad. That is why I have been watching more food network, well a couple times a week....to get inspired to try new things. I am looking forward to trying new things and choosing healthier foods for my family as well. thanks for the response and have a great day!! Happy Mylotting. :)
@KrauseHome (36448)
• United States
15 Sep 12
Personally I think that is always the Fun thing is looking online or watching a Cooking show and being inspired to try cooking something you usually do not make. It might even become one of the things you really like, and if it is easy to cook it is really worth it as well. Being inspired to create something New is really worth it.
@jillhill (37354)
• United States
30 Jan 12
I like to try new things when people come but usually for myself I eat the same old thing. Grocery shopping for me is a nightmare...I walk around and don't know what I want to buy....simple quick things as I don't like to take time to eat some days....My sister has gotten into trying new things so its so much fun to go to her house! Something new all the time!
1 person likes this
• United States
16 Sep 12
I pick up what looks good at the farmers' market, and I create meals around that. I am big on fresh and local foods, so we are eating with the seasons now that we are back in the North. When we were in Florida, finding good food was often a nightmarish thing; thankfully, there is an abundance of good, fresh, organic food in the North. I really don't follow recipes. If I see a recipe that inspires me, I will use it as a basic idea and, then, do my own thing with it--use what I feel like and what needs to be used up. There are usually some veggies about that need to be used before they go bad; that helps to decide what gets tossed into the mix.
• United States
30 Nov 12
Beans are my go-to cheap meal. I buy them dry and soak/cook them in bulk to be stored in the freezer. With the right spices and vegetables, they taste great and are filling! Right now I am hooked on chickpeas.
@marguicha (223430)
• Chile
13 Aug 12
I cook with cheap ingredients (all from scratch and don´t throw away any leftover). I have found out that part of the appeal of a dish, even if it´s not expensive, is how you place the meal on the dish. Sometimes is a bit of mint or a wedge of tomato or lemmon, sometimes an olive or even how you put the different foods in the dish. I have discvovered that that is one of a the main differences between a very expensive restaurant and a normal one.