More on Cooking Light
I was in the grocery store a couple of days ago buying Greek yogurt, Hoisin sauce, chives, basil, and Kalamata olives. The woman at the cash register asked me what I was making with all these ingredients. Caught off guard, I fumbled around for a second and then explained my new kick. I honestly didn't know what I was making until I got to the recipe and then I was sure to have the ingredients.
What is really great about Cooking Light is that if you are cooking on a regular basis, from a menu that doesn't consist of a lot of convenience foods, you will have a good majority of the ingredients that the recipes call for. I have had to stock some things, like the ones I mentioned, but I figure if I keep cooking like this, I'll have everything I need on hand.
One mistake I have made in the past is trying to substitute ingredients in order to save a trip to the grocery store. That has blown up in my face on more than one occasion. This time I decided I would pay for whatever I needed in exchange for re-establishing my reputation as a good cook.
It helps that my kids are adventurous eaters. I think they've learned that they would rather try it than starve. Last night I made these tostadas and they were awesome. The litmus on my cooking is always Dale, so I was very pleased when he said with a mouthful of food, "This is delicious!" It's worth the little bit of extra effort to win that affirmation.
I want to help if I can because I know a lot of my friends struggle with this very thing. It makes cooking a chore when you know it's not really appreciated. What I do is rip the page straight out of the magazine if I think the picture looks good or that it's something Dale would like. I make a menu and shopping list straight from the pages and then tape each page in order to the inside of the cabinet door above my ingredient pantry. It a little primitive, but it really works for me. Having the pictures and knowing the ingredients are ready and waiting to be used inspires me. After I prepare the meal, I mark on the page whether we liked it or not, and how it needs to be tweaked for the next time. Like I said, if you can't get the magazine, you can get all the recipes from cookinglight.com. I ordered the magazine from a kid working a fundraiser and got two years for $12 or something like that, so you may want to watch for travelling salesmen.
Another thing the women at the grocery store were saying was that they had purchased other books and magazines and the recipes were difficult to prepare or the food turned out badly. So far I have not had a single recipe that I wouldn't make again. If you need a push, email me and I'll send you a list of recipes to try. Now go and have a happy Friday, and be nice to your kids!!!
What is really great about Cooking Light is that if you are cooking on a regular basis, from a menu that doesn't consist of a lot of convenience foods, you will have a good majority of the ingredients that the recipes call for. I have had to stock some things, like the ones I mentioned, but I figure if I keep cooking like this, I'll have everything I need on hand.
One mistake I have made in the past is trying to substitute ingredients in order to save a trip to the grocery store. That has blown up in my face on more than one occasion. This time I decided I would pay for whatever I needed in exchange for re-establishing my reputation as a good cook.
It helps that my kids are adventurous eaters. I think they've learned that they would rather try it than starve. Last night I made these tostadas and they were awesome. The litmus on my cooking is always Dale, so I was very pleased when he said with a mouthful of food, "This is delicious!" It's worth the little bit of extra effort to win that affirmation.
I want to help if I can because I know a lot of my friends struggle with this very thing. It makes cooking a chore when you know it's not really appreciated. What I do is rip the page straight out of the magazine if I think the picture looks good or that it's something Dale would like. I make a menu and shopping list straight from the pages and then tape each page in order to the inside of the cabinet door above my ingredient pantry. It a little primitive, but it really works for me. Having the pictures and knowing the ingredients are ready and waiting to be used inspires me. After I prepare the meal, I mark on the page whether we liked it or not, and how it needs to be tweaked for the next time. Like I said, if you can't get the magazine, you can get all the recipes from cookinglight.com. I ordered the magazine from a kid working a fundraiser and got two years for $12 or something like that, so you may want to watch for travelling salesmen.
Another thing the women at the grocery store were saying was that they had purchased other books and magazines and the recipes were difficult to prepare or the food turned out badly. So far I have not had a single recipe that I wouldn't make again. If you need a push, email me and I'll send you a list of recipes to try. Now go and have a happy Friday, and be nice to your kids!!!
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