How do you accomplish your evening meal?

[Orchidflower]

You don't save any money if you have to go far to your local grocery store each day, so factor that in also.
I'm lucky that I have 3 stores walking distance from each other; and my local WalMart I only do 1-2 times a month and is close to other things like Lowes, the Dollar Store and other fun stores. But if these stores were far from each other it wouldn't be worth it.

[unclemick]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ziggy29 Side question: Would anyone who was mostly #3 or #6 admit it here?

Plus I have two women who regularly offer to bring me supper - me being a mere man and all.

I am granted smoking, BBQ and grilling privelages out on the patio - once in a while.



heh heh heh - just kidding - with a little grain of truth but how much? My lips are sealed. .

[audreyh1]

Oh man unclemick, you have it made! No wonder we get all those heh heh hehs outta you!

Audrey

[toofrugalformycat]

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo Of course not! Everyone here eats only freshly prepared grass-fed and/or organic foods prepared in a solar oven using natural stone dishware...

and don't forget the compost pile for the leftovers, which nourishes the organic garden providing food and habitat for endangered species!
Hey, I really try to do that. Except solar power is marginal at this latitude for a lot of the year.
I don't see a smiley with a halo or I'd use it.

[rockyj]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cashflo2u2 When you cook dinner on an average night do you: 2. Go to the store and buy what looks good and hope you have keep whatever other ingredients needed on hand at home.

Interesting to see what others are doing here.

Like a number of others, I like to cook and have a number of basic themes around which various "recipes" evolve. We tend to cook almost all of our meals at home. We eat out only very occasionally or when travelling. Recipes revolve around an assortment of ingredients we try to keep on hand – chicken breast, shrimp, sausage, maybe some steak – onions, garlic, mushrooms, peppers, tomatoes, broccoli and carrots. Also salad – but that’s another story. We tend to stock up once a week, buy meats, etc., when on sale and divide into smaller amounts to freeze. It’s pretty easy then to whip up something different – Italian, Mexican, Chinese – just by picking the right main ingredients - using a different pan, different oils, different spices, salsa, pasta sauce, etc. – and serving it with or on something different - pasta, rice, sandwich roll, tortilla, pizza crust. Leftovers morph in to the next thing as the week progresses . So, following an Italian theme, for example, add some shrimp to the guts from Monday’s Italian sausage sandwiches, and serve with pasta and a side of broccoli on Tuesday. Leftover sauce/peppers/onions/sausage/shrimp goes with mushrooms and cheeses on pizza crust for Wednesday’s lunch. Then it's time to start out the next round with new stuff. So you grill the chicken and serve with rice and salad or vegetable for something simple. Leftover chicken gets cut up , saute some peppers and onions, add salsa, spices, cheese and tortilla for next days lunch. Once you have a couple of themes down, and with the ingredients on hand, it’s really pretty easy to have a lot of variety and not put too much planning or effort into whipping up each meal as you go.

[vicente solano]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cashflo2u2 Vicente, you are a solid, clear cut #7 on my list. The first one I think!

Clear cut 7? Don´t know what that is... Is it a good or a bad thing Am afraid to ask my wife...

[Alan]

7. Just sit down at the table and wait for DW to serve it up.

[vicente solano]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alan 7. Just sit down at the table and wait for DW to serve it up.

Sounds a bit piggish male chauvinism to me.... I´ll have to change my ways, then...

[Alan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by vicente solano Sounds a bit piggish male chauvinism to me.... I´ll have to change my ways, then...

My ways will be changing soon back to how we were before DW ESR'd, when we used to share the cooking duties. This last 5 years have been very nice as DW started doing all the cooking, cleaning and the ironing. I'm going to be more than happy to get back to doing my share of household duties.

[FIREd]

Actually DW would have picked 7. Just sit down at the table and wait for DH to serve it up. DW can't cook to save her life, so I became the cook early on (I have always been a pretty good cook, so it was natural for me to take the lead in the kitchen). When I met her she was surviving on rice, okra and corn. Now, she has become a discreminating foodie and expects some yummy dinner every night...

[Orchidflower]

She's one lucky lady, FIREdreamer! Wow...you were a catch!

[Maurice]

Some combination of 1 and 4. We usually buy fresh daily what we'll eat that night. However we don't often have to consult a recipe because most of our dinners are pretty simple. (e.g. grilled fish and fresh vegetables).

[Tesaje]

I cook up a bunch of meat at once then package it in single meals and usually freeze it. Sometimes, I'll make a big pot of soup or stew and do the same. I've also taken to baking a more or less solid omelet that I cut into 12 pieces for breakfasts. Then I just grab out of the freezer, nuke to thaw, add a bit of a vegetable and that's it most of the time. I get home cooking with all the ease of pre-packaged and none of the garbage the food industry puts into them.

I have a freezer full of garden produce and meats I buy mostly when the food coop has the owners day - 10% off. During summer, I go out and grab fresh veggies and herbs. I have dozens of herbs on hand so I can vary the flavorings at a whim.

After some 45 years of cooking, I rarely use a recipe anymore. Mostly, when I cook, it is based on what I have and my mood. I shop 1/week to get a few perishables and sometimes the staples. I have in my mind lots of different flavor combinations so when I cook it is often a creative endeavor.

I think I will probably continue most of this pattern after I retire because I enjoy cooking but not everyday. When I'm focused on an activity and get hungry, I just want to eat and get back to it. Shopping everyday isn't really an option because I live too far away.

[Dawg52]

Tonight......I scooped up a cup of Iams dry dog food, put it in a bowl, added a little Purina Pro Plan salmon and rice wet food as a topper and walla.....a scrumptious meal fit for a king. Or at least my lab thinks so. Gulped it right on down. I on the other hand had a roast beef sandwich. Will have an apple later for desert. Being single I don't cook much. I usually pick up something at lunch that is somewhat balanced or eat at my mom's. First of the year I will be eating salads at night. Try to get back to my old college weight. Not way over weight but would like to lose 10-12lbs. I saw some low cal med's in the store the other night, something like 55 calories per 12oz. Forgot the name but might have to give it a try, next year.

[ejman]

Ask, very sweetly: "Honey, what's for dinner?"

[Kronk]

I wish I liked to cook. "Ignore it and hope it goes away" is one response to dinner. I'm not a bad cook, but I would much rather read a book, watch TV, play on the computer or something along those lines rather than cook. It takes me a lot of mental energy to cook, even if it is something fairly simple.

DW and I cook and eat separately almost all the time. With my martial arts schedule and her class schedule, we're eating at different times most days. Maybe we should change that up again, though. Throw some recipes in there for the two of us for nights we are both in.

[Kwirk]

If my wife, who enjoys cooking, prepares something then we enjoy that. I do most of the after-dinner cleanup and any grilling. Otherwise, we discuss which restaurant to visit.

[TromboneAl]

In our house, whoever cooks doesn't have to clean up. At all. Since I much prefer cooking, I almost always prepare dinner.

[FIREd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Orchidflower She's one lucky lady, FIREdreamer! Wow...you were a catch!

That's what I keep reminding her!

[Walt34]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cashflo2u2 7. Just sit down at the table and wait for someone to serve it up.

I tried that once and nearly starved.

Actually we're both about the same on the "cooking skills" ladder, which means we can read a recipe but rarely do so and keep meals simple and short. I make a once a week shopping trip with sometimes an occasional extra trip thrown in for something we forgot. Stores are 10-15 minutes away. I do the shopping because I'm better at sticking to a list than she is, and she dawdles so much and goes off on a tangent so often I get impatient. I'm from the "stick to the list, hunt it down and kill it and get out of there" school while she likes to go exploring. In a grocery store?

We keep a list on the kitchen counter and add to it during the week as we remember or run out of stuff.