Have you changed how you cook through the years?

[PrincessFiona]

Some of you may not have as many years to wade through. LOL.

I was thinking about this last night. My cooking has gone through multiple phases. I went through the "incompetent" phase where I had no clue how to cook and what to make. This lasted for most of my marriage. LOL. Then I went through the try out every conceivable german/Indian recipe phase. I created my own family cookbook, made thorough shopping lists, and created culinary delights that only Thomas and I ate because the kids thought it was all gross German food. I even thought about opening a German restaurant because I was so into it. Fast forward to today. It's all about simplicity and making what people will eat. I buy the pre-seasoned/prepared meats at the meat counter that I can pop in the oven for 30 minutes, small potatoes that I can boil in 20, and a veggie. We practically eat the same food every day, but it's predictable and everyone likes what we eat most of the time. I don't hear the "gross, disgusting, I'm not eating that...". Occasionally I make a meatloaf, steak or a casserole to mix things up, but I've entered the happily lazy stage of cooking. It's such a relief not to worry about cooking every day.\


Have you gone through stages?

Kris

[Mrs. MD, Esq.]

Pre-marriage: incompetent - mostly unhealthy microwave dinners, jarred spaghetti sauce, fast food, sandwiches, etc. When DH and I were visiting my parents, I would be his sous-chef

1st year of marriage: had just moved for residency, unemployed, and alone most of the time was the learning to cook phase. Lots of baking and unhealthy foods, desserts, breads, Mexican food--became a decent cook though.

Last two years of marriage: more of a focus on healthy and fresh foods. Technical skill has improved a great deal. The last 3 months I've been super lazy as a cook though (which is a bummer because I love to cook, no time/energy)!

[houseelf]

I've remained pretty steady eddy since college. I cook very straight forward with few ingredients. Ain't nobody got time for anything else and eating out is too expensive.

[Ladybug]

Sadly, I used to enjoy cooking before kids. Now it feels more like drudgery. Especially because their diet is so limited. I'm going to start trying to make more soups for myself. I can enjoy making a large batch for myself to last a few days. It's hard to mess up soup too

[mommax3]

College: rarely cooked, but knew how and enjoyed cooking/baking when I had the chance (thank you, 4-H).

Early marriage: lots of cooking, new recipes all the time, but nothing that was expensive to make. Heavy on the casseroles.

Babies/little kids/residency: simple, kid-friendly meals.

Older kids/sports/full-time work: I rarely cook....no time. We average Subway at least twice a week, Papa John's once a week, and either throw together pasta/sandwiches or graze the rest of the time. I may do something in the crock pot once a week. We always have stuff for salads, pasta sauce, pasta, bread, deli meat/cheese, rotisserie chicken from Kroger, eggs, canned tuna, and PB&J on hand, as well as lots of fresh fruits and veggies. I have a swimmer who gets home at 6:30 every night and a 6' 7th grader who has practice from 5:30 to 7:30....they eat all of the things (all of the time, it seems) and grazing is their preference. I feel like I've lost all control, lol, but it works for us for now.

[WolfpackWife]

In college I didn't cook very often, though I knew how to. I come from a family of cooks and my mother cooked every night, and every baked good that came out of her kitchen was from scratch. I helped some when I was growing up, but it definitely piqued my interest in cooking and I learned a lot from both her and my dad. Occasionally my roommates and I would make dinners, but often it would be cheese quesadillas, popcorn, or something else fast/not super healthy.

After college, DH and I immediately moved in together and I got very into cooking. Because we have no children and I have plenty of time usually - mostly on the weekends - I cook elaborate meals and difficult dishes. This past Saturday's dinner was red wine braised short ribs with parmesan risotto, Sunday I roasted a chicken and red potatoes and made simple green salad, and before we left for Christmas I made an elaborate coq au vin. I love it. On the weekdays I don't have much time to do that but I do try to keep a repertoire of easy, good dishes to make during the week. And I menu plan and shop accordingly so when I stick to our weekly menu, we have a fresh, homemade meal every night with enough left over for both of our lunches.

I anticipate that I'll taper off the elaborate cooking when/if we have a kid, but for now I love it and I love cooking for friends or for family. We have dinner parties and go all out! When it comes to food, we don't usually half ass it. Case in point - while DH was on his research rotation in Oct/Nov, the attending he worked with was one he'd worked with previously and we'd had the lab staff over for dinner where DH prepared a Boston butt for pulled pork sandwiches. They devoured every morsel of it and took a leftover sandwich to the attending the next day, who proceeded to lament that he couldn't go/they didn't bring him more pork. DH promised there would be more pork in their future. So one week during his rotation, he stayed up all night on a Sunday smoking a pork butt so it would be ready at 8:30 Monday morning. He slept for an hour at a time and would get up to put new coals on. he shredded the pork at 8:30 am and brought it in (along with cloeslaw and brownies I'd made) for lunch...only the docs and lab staff descended on it and ate it all for breakfast/brunch. I didn't even get any! OR a brownie!

[Thirteen]

I cook now, and I really didn't (even just 5 years ago) before. 😄

I like learning: thai, indian, and korean cuisine. Thank you, Internet!


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[JustRightKelly]

I love cooking but mostly experiment on the weekends. Having dinner together has been difficult recently as I work 1-9pm. i used to prepare meals in the evenings 5-6 times a week but now i have a few staples like chili, veggy pasta dishes, enchiladas, burritos, crepes and rice dishes that I make in large quantities and DH eats as he comes and goes. sometimes I take something out in the morning and cook it when i get home but it's hard to get motivated to cook much a few hours before bed time.

[Thirteen]

Less grain overall.


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[MrsK]

More freezer cooking and crock pot meals. When I was single, I ate out a lot. Before kids, I had more time to cook.

[rufflesanddots]

I went through a cooking phase in my early and mid 20s. I burned out on it in my late 20s. Since I work from home I handle most of the cooking but I tend to stick to simpler stuff. We're pretty budget conscious and I don't like having to do a ton of clean up, so I love stuff like chili, pastas, and roasts.

I do use my rice cooker with steamer tray several times per week. That thing is legit.

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[medpedspouse]

College years were tough because I did not know how to cook but I also hated prepackaged foods...never had them growing up. So, meals consisted of simple stuff like salads and I ate a lot of breakfast for dinner. But I could definitely bake. I have always loved baking.

Marriage got slightly better because DH is a good cook. The gingham cookbook I got as a wedding gift was my go to. I would also call DH's grandmother to walk me through the steps. Still, food was very basic because I did almost burn down the house trying to make beans (to this day, I only buy can ) and we were both in grad school in a foodie city where eating out was cheaper. However, I began collecting cookbooks hoping to replicate all the different type of foods we were eating from various countries and regions - but if it required more than 5 steps I skipped over that recipe.

It was not until post training that I feel I really came into my own in the kitchen. So, 8 years ago. I ditched the cookbooks and began experimenting. I think the timing has to do with having more resources and being able to afford kitchen gadgets, spices, cooking classes when we travel, etc. Still, my food has always consisted of fresh ingredients made or grown as locally as possible. For example, I still make Spanish tortillas for dinner like I did fresh out of college but now I pair them with better wine.

[Howfunitis]

Let's see.... Incompetent person over here!!! I'll be 30 years old this year an just learned how to make decent rice!!!

Pre marriage. I did not know how to cook at all. Was to poor for food so only had whatever lunch was provided by work and when I went to school just are whatever was there. I love to bake so my meal consisted of whatever I made that day at school.

1st year of marriage, experiments and had recieved cookbook recipes from my brid and birthday so I would follow those and started to get better at it.

Now that I had a child, it's wet friendly toddler food and healthy. I'll usually cook more adult foods on the weekends when hubby is home.
Pretty proud how far I've come.
I still bake which hasn't hanged but love to try new recipes from my books. Just the other at I tried Carnitas!!! [MENTION=4278]WolfpackWife[/MENTION] I want to come over!!!

Oh.. I always go big during holidays!!!
This past thanksgiving, I made food to feed 8 people and it was only 3 adults! It's go big or go home


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[Vanquisher]

Have you changed how you cook through the years?

Yes, I've gone from no cooking to some cooking to really elaborate cooking to some cooking and now I'm back to almost none! LOL.

I love to cook, but I don't have the time/energy right now. In the beginning, I didn't know how and taught myself. Now I just don't have the time or ambition.

[OrionGrad]

I love to cook, but I don't have the time/energy right now. In the beginning, I didn't know how and taught myself. Now I just don't have the time or ambition.

This is me right now. I really enjoy cooking, but I go through phases and right now I just don't have the energy to cook anything elaborate. Plus, if the sun is out here in the PNW I'd rather be eating at a food cart pod than being stuck inside.