Post AOAMashvX1nfMPpxTM by HebrideanHecate@spinster.xyz
(DIR) More posts by HebrideanHecate@spinster.xyz
(DIR) Post #AOAFBrfnXbG1EYxuYS by Blackgendermoderate@spinster.xyz
2022-10-02T17:50:31.559938Z
2 likes, 0 repeats
Spinsters who don't rely on takeout - how do you focus on meal prep? Do you have a weekly menu? I'm sort of trying to create one, but I am find it really confusing.
(DIR) Post #AOAGUj1m0cTLsOnkHo by Sherri_Ingrey@spinster.xyz
2022-10-02T17:56:30.598651Z
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@Blackgendermoderate I have never done takeout in my life. I don't have a weekly menu but I do have certain things that are essentials and I live alone. So I buy whole pork loins with my son and cut them into 3/4" porkchops and small roasts. I buy chicken parts (legs) and freeze those individually. I buy lean ground beef and make a burger/meatloaf blend then freeze for small meatloaf or burgers. We split boxes of frozen chicken breasts (skinless boneless) as well and buy ALL of these on sale. So I can thaw a meat serving overnight and have it for dinner the next day. Other things: bag of cleaned spuds I keep in the fridge, a big bag of frozen french fries, basmati rice. Fresh and frozen vegetables. Eggs. And individual servings of bacon/canadian back bacon/sausage for breakfast. Pasta sauce and pesto frozen for pasta dishes.
(DIR) Post #AOAIxwtPjmWHBVxDBg by Flick@spinster.xyz
2022-10-02T18:32:49.202285Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
@Blackgendermoderate I do weekly menus, I probably have maybe twenty typical dinners that I swap about. The menus tend to be a specific for protein and carbs but vague for veggies, because I’m more likely to need particular ingredients for the former but just buy whatever veg looks good.So, for example, last night’s planned “sausage, butterbean and veg” tray bake turned into sausage, butterbean, squash and purple sprouting broccoli. If I’d had it a couple of months ago, it would have been more likely to include courgette and sugarsnap peas. It is a bit tedious, but it cuts down on waste.
(DIR) Post #AOAJEFhfZGqM9rEbk8 by everlong@spinster.xyz
2022-10-02T18:23:56.028856Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
@Blackgendermoderate I don’t do strict weekly menus but similar to what sherry mentioned, I keep certain staples on-hand like beans, rice, pasta, potatoes, canned/frozen veggies, broth, things like that. Also like sherry, we buy meat based on what’s on sale/most cost effective. Chicken legs are a staple for us because they’re cheap. I love them in the crockpot, they fall off the bone and can be shredded down to make other dishes. My favorite timesaver is cooking a 1 or 2 lb pork roast in the crockpot, it shreds down like pulled pork (I freeze it for up to a week once cooked if there’s too much leftover) and is pretty versatile. I’ll make a roast and we get a few dinners out of it, tacos one night, bbq pork stuffed potatoes another night, etc. Another of my cooking at home hacks is bullion powder, it can make any can of veggies delicious and is my favorite salt substitute. My crockpot has honestly been instrumental though, it’s so easy to throw your meats in and forget about it, by the end of the day you’ve only got to heat up a couple of sides. Wishing you luck on your endeavor friend, weekly menus gave me a headache when I tried it lol.
(DIR) Post #AOAKDBkoriBVZflTAe by HebrideanHecate@spinster.xyz
2022-10-02T18:45:20.458781Z
2 likes, 0 repeats
@everlong @Blackgendermoderate I have a lot of stuff in the freeze and jars of pulses and stockcubes and make a lot of soups too. There’s only the 2 of us sonot much cooking to be done, I usually just pull out what is wantedthe night before or in the morning and make whatever that night. Going to make a lasagne based mince tomorrow for a pasta bakething, less faff than actual lasagne. Don’t use pasta very often though,because it makes me feel a bit bloated if eat too much of it. Himself makes his own chilli if he wants that, he knows how helikes it and it’s hot, too much for my taste, but he makes a big potof it and freezes it in portions. I’m not always very hungry either sosome days don’t eat much, handy for just one meal, take it outand make rice with it. I never use takeaways, not even when livedin town. Although I do wish there was an Indian one here, I’d lovea proper curry every now and then and they never taste right whenmake them at home, not for me anyway.
(DIR) Post #AOALJiADNcaNmaJjWa by LostInCalifornia@spinster.xyz
2022-10-02T18:59:09.924356Z
2 likes, 0 repeats
@Blackgendermoderate My menu is protein + veg + starch.; I work in whatever protein is on sale, what veg is in season, and which starch works with the 2.I start buy looking at what’s in my fridge, then what the local market has, and go from there.I also make and keep some basic easy stuff available in the freezer. Chili, pasta sauce, soup, etc. That way, if the menu goes awry, I don’t need to order pizza.Dessert I don’t always do, but I can create from what I have in the larder.
(DIR) Post #AOAMashvX1nfMPpxTM by HebrideanHecate@spinster.xyz
2022-10-02T18:38:39.633002Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
@Flick @Blackgendermoderate That sounds nice, Flick…did you just make it up or followa recipe?
(DIR) Post #AOAN8eITcFf0Vs2CWW by Flick@spinster.xyz
2022-10-02T19:19:34.857457Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
@HebrideanHecate @Blackgendermoderate The tray bake? Just threw stuff in, tbh. Squash first, with some olive oil, when it started to soften I stuck the sausages in, with some ground coriander, black pepper and salt. Nuked the broccoli for a couple of minutes then stuck it and the beans in with a splash of white wine for the last five minutes or so. Very easy, and minimal washing up.
(DIR) Post #AOAZR939DQNOYNRzXs by Gnomeshatecheese@spinster.xyz
2022-10-02T21:37:23.296988Z
2 likes, 0 repeats
@Blackgendermoderate When I lived alone, I didn’t have enough money for takeout. Now I have money, but there aren’t enough interesting takeout places around for me to bother. Besides, I’ve always just liked home cooking better. I’ve never done menus, I just can’t be arsed and don’t really see the point since I get along fine without. When I lived alone, my problem was that I had a very unpredictable schedule, and didn’t really ever know how many nights per week I would end up needing proper food at home. I would cook a bunch of some protein (chicken, fish, etc.), freeze it in portions, and then when I wanted a meal, I’d boil some rice/pasta/etc., throw in a few frozen or fresh veg and some protein, add spices, mix and that’s a meal. Quick, versatile, and won’t go off if I end up not eating at home. Every now and then I’d cook a normal meal, then eat the leftovers heated up for a few days. These days we tend to get a general idea of what we’d like to eat, buy the missing ingredients and then see if we get around to cooking every meal we planned, as we planned. In practice that’ll mean getting something like chicken, potatoes, veggies, etc., figuring out a few meals that can be made with the bought + existing ingredients and then seeing how many times we get around to actually cooking. We tend to always include something easy or non-time-sensitive, such as oven potato with salad in the plan. Plus we keep a selection of “fast food” in the house, which means food that’s quick to get from pantry to plate, and has a long shelf-life. Things like eggs, pasta mixes, bread with long shelf-life, some frozen things, certain kinds of tinned foods, etc. Those are for the times when we’re too tired or too busy to come up with anything else, so that there’s always a back-up. I realise this probably wasn’t very helpful from the meal-prep point of view, but I just wanted to mention that it’s possible to not do takeout and not worry too much about meal prep either. Weekly menus or pre-prepared meals aren’t for everyone, they’ve never really fit my lifestyle. So I found other ways to deal with the problem of making sure I always had warm food when I needed it.
(DIR) Post #AOBWUJB7uNQu8CxXN2 by Cousin_Isobel@spinster.xyz
2022-10-03T07:51:29.918281Z
2 likes, 0 repeats
@Blackgendermoderate I do weekly menus by planning five or six meals and filling the remaining one or two days with ingredients that are left over from the other meals (more cabbage, carrots, or potatoes than I needed, frozen vegetables, rice, etc.) That way, I don’t go to the store with vegetables still in my fridge.Ingredients that would wilt or go bad quickly are used for meals one and/or two. This includes fresh herbs, certain greens, etc. Root vegetables are used later in the week.This is just how I prefer to do it, especially when cooking for kids. I think it would also be okay to just get enough proteins, vegetables, grains, and seasonings for the week and just make sure to use the most delicate ingredients first. Always have extra frozen vegetables around, too, in case you accidentally don’t buy enough fresh.
(DIR) Post #AOBmHS4P8Y5pD5hrdY by Raunchel@spinster.xyz
2022-10-03T08:12:45.240322Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
@Blackgendermoderate I don't cook all that often to be honest. Sometimes when my housekeeper isn't available or the like, but that's it. I'm not that great a chef and feel like I have better things to do with my time. We keep a general agenda so she knows who is available and she then proposes meals, open to suggestions of course. Generally, the planning is a couple of days in advance.
(DIR) Post #AOBrS1plWQM2nRipIe by HebrideanHecate@spinster.xyz
2022-10-03T12:32:03.185619Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
@Flick Was thinking of you when Landscape came in on Saturday,another mushroom based recipe 😁 Chicken in a creamy garlic and mushroom sauce.
(DIR) Post #AOBrUIBvfzGk6jAVHc by Flick@spinster.xyz
2022-10-03T12:34:21.240344Z
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@HebrideanHecate Sounds lovely, but I don’t think my stomach would approve!
(DIR) Post #AOBs6hGssUystana4W by HebrideanHecate@spinster.xyz
2022-10-03T12:35:57.080312Z
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@Flick Oh, you’re dairy problematic, aren’t you? What sub do you use?
(DIR) Post #AOBs6hrkfQTIjw31XM by Flick@spinster.xyz
2022-10-03T12:41:17.008992Z
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@HebrideanHecate Lately, I’ve been doing pretty well with using the Arla Lactofree range. It’s not ideal, as it’s more expensive and the cheddar is rather dull, but for what I use it’s ok (I can still get away with small amounts of butter, thankfully). Don’t think I could justify buying a pot of the cream for one meal, though, especially as alliums are one of the things on my “might also be your fault” list.
(DIR) Post #AOBtNQq5KGLKoDo75k by HebrideanHecate@spinster.xyz
2022-10-03T12:45:14.836308Z
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@Flick Have you had tests or are you just going by trial and error at home?
(DIR) Post #AOBtNRKDWERiJfuB3g by Flick@spinster.xyz
2022-10-03T12:55:31.021345Z
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@HebrideanHecate Trial and error, but it’s sometimes very obvious what the problem food is!
(DIR) Post #AOD3KoOOUYdbgoCjT6 by ducc@spinster.xyz
2022-10-04T02:21:07.508239Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
@Blackgendermoderate i quite literally just make whatever my girlfriend feels like having for the night lolwhen she can't choose and i don't care, i just make chicken feet, two batches since she can't handle spicy - one in soy sauce and one in pepper oilwhen she's working late i make pork belly, since it takes a looooong time to cook (minimum 2 hours), and i can finish up whenever she gets home. recipe i use is basically blanched pork belly braised with a bunch of cinnamon, soy sauce, cooking wine, star anise, white peppercorn, sichuan peppercorn, dried orange peel, dried shiitake mushrooms, and fennel seeds, then turn the heat way the fuck up for the last 10 minutes to thicken the sauceif i know it's going to be a busy week, i make a bunch of either mapo tofu or penang currypoint is, you should have a few go-to recipes on hand that are good in certain situations, and past that just learn a good variety of dishes so you get better at cooking over time