Last month I talked about another attempt to get organized. Like a wave washing up the shore as the tide comes in, each time I try I get a little better. Unlike the tide, eventually I hope to get there and stay. (although I guess with erosion and rising sea levels, it could–ahem.)
Last year (gulp) I talked about learning to cook more. It’s another wave thing, but these waves come slightly more frequently than the get-organized ones. Probably because eating out is expensive and bad for me. (pretty certain it’s the expensive part that keeps me coming back.)
Since last year, I’ve given up my Jamie Oliver cookbooks. I still like to watch him cook, but I don’t make the recipes in the cookbooks, and I’ve been watching Marie Kondo, so…
Turns out the recipes were a little…odd…for me. Unfamiliar measurements, unfamiliar ingredients, and results that made the whole family go “…umm?” When you’re just not sure if it’s supposed to be like that, it’s hard to figure out if/where you went wrong. Also I’ve discovered that I really enjoy hunting recipes across the internet. So. Meal planning is a major step for me. I’ll do it the way I like best, to encourage further exploration.
I’ve found it’s actually easier when there are limitations. Roomie can usually cook two nights a week, but she won’t use the Instant Pot. Kid can cook another night, but it has to be an easy recipe and I have to be available to answer questions. Oh, and it needs to be a recipe she’ll eat (only fair, but we don’t worry about this other nights because we like things like ginger and curry powder and cumin. And onions.) so it can’t have onions in it. At least, it can’t have onions she knows are there, so if she’s cooking–yeah.
So I have some idea what I’m looking for, when I go out into the wide world-web a-hunting.
Kiddo has made this tortellini bake twice now. Each time she’s invited a friend to come eat what she cooked, she’s so proud. She’s been resistant to moving on to a slightly more difficult recipe, but I’ll get her there, hopefully. If I can just help her fall in love with a hand-made mac and cheese instead of the one in the yellow box, I think I can win…and then she’ll know how to make a roux. Double-win.
For roomie’s cooking night, it needs to be something not too hard since she’ll be doing it after work, but still something that she can tinker with. She’s cautious of the Instant Pot and won’t use it, but she also doesn’t like the slow cooker. Once I left her with a slow cooker dump recipe* and came back four hours later to her sauteing the last of the five ingredients. So I know–a number of ingredients, but not too much effort, and she has to be able to tinker with it. Here’s a meatloaf she’s working on perfecting.
As for me? I love love LOVE my Instant Pot. I bought a second liner for it, so I could use it even if one liner was in the dishwasher. Roomie and I love this coconut chicken curry. We buy naan to dip in it since we’re not huge fans of rice. And we are big fans of naan.
This pesto chicken pasta has become one of my last-minute, oh carp the plan won’t work, go-to’s when I gotta get dinner on the table. It’s. So. Easy. I can even make it with frozen chicken. I just have to make sure that I have a sturdy pasta to stand up to the longer cook time. (pro tip: with the instant pot, you don’t set it to cook longer with frozen ingredients. It will just take longer to come to pressure. So you don’t even have to adjust the recipe! You do want to be aware of things that will go to mush if they cook longer. Like wimpy pasta.)
We like the organic pasta that we buy at Costco; it does pretty well. One day we’re going to see if this recipe makes whole wheat pasta soft enough for our uncultured, outlandish preference of “softer than al dente, please.”
There are actually a number of super-quick-and-easy Instant Pot recipes I’d recommend. Try this balsamic chicken, and take the extra step to make the reduction. You won’t regret it.
Try this orange-ginger chicken. Even the kid who won’t eat any spice ever ate this! Oh, and salsa verde chicken…
Oh, and one more–tonight’s success, Sweet and Sour Pork. This one practically brought a teenage friend floating out of the kid’s room.
Have I made you hungry yet? Got any recommendations to share? We’re getting experimental over here.
*dump recipe–dump it in and go, come back later to food. Like this. But roomie doesn’t LIKE to not tinker. Lesson learned.