At best, I’m an adequate cook. I can follow a recipe proficiently. But I can’t improvise and definitely can’t create recipes of my own. Also, I only enjoy making things like chocolate chip cookies. Dinner preparation is not bliss for me. Nor is eating what I cook. I rarely eat one of my dinners and think, Yummy! It’s usually more like, Well, here’s more healthy sustenance. Since I cooked, at least I don’t have to do the dishes.
His Highness is also an adequate cook. He’s very good with the grill and with fish. But everything else he cooks on the highest heat setting possible. As a result, he almost always sets off the fire alarm nearest the stove, which sends our dog Sam into his fearful, big-eyed mode.
“Daddy’s cooking? Nooooo!” Tremble. Tremble Tremble.
Since I’m home earlier than His Highness in the evenings, most of the dinner cooking falls to me. So what’s a mom of three (who’d rather be reading or watching Fixer Upper or even wrangling laundry) to do? Hunt for very easy, quick, and tasty recipes. That don’t include beef, pork, gluten, corn, soy, dairy, or peanuts thanks to our family’s dietary restrictions. Crock pot recipes are very welcome because making dinner at noon keeps mom a lot more sane than making dinner at 6.
My first recipe source was the recipe book I began compiling right before I married. My mom wrote out lots of recipes for me way back then, and I still have them all.
The old recipe book is looking worse for the wear these days.
I’ve added recipes from friends, family, magazines, and tv shows over the years. The one on the bottom left is one of the ones my mom gave me. 🙂
My first online recipe source was Allrecipes.com. I always choose recipes there that have been very popular with users. And I love that I can search for recipes that contain certain ingredients or don’t contain certain ingredients. Do I want to make Thanksgiving stuffing that contains cornbread? Boom. Do I want to make banana bread but have no butter? Boom. I found this peanut butter cup cookie recipe there and it’s fabulous.
Lately, though, the more active I’ve become on Pinterest, the more it’s become my ‘go to’ recipe source. The beautiful photographs are so enticing! And the tasty titles! White chocolate peppermint pudding cookies. Old fashioned cake doughnut mini muffins. Yes, please.
I’m the first to admit, however, that most of the Pinterest recipes I attempt turn out either okay or, in some cases, downright yucky. Here’s a yucky one I served up just this week…
Whole chicken and vegetable crockpot recipe, you’re a lot more brown and mushy than your Pinterest picture.
Since great recipes are hard to find, I thought I’d share a few of the Pinterest recipes I’ve discovered that haven’t been duds. These are all so good, in fact, that I’ve made them multiple times: Perfect Gluten Free Buttermilk Biscuits, Crockpot Mediterranean Chicken, Greek Avocado Quinoa Salad, Balsamic Marinated Grilled Chicken, and Slow Cooker Ground Turkey Pasta Sauce.
If you’d like to make any of these recipes, head to my ‘Family Food Ideas’ Pinterest board. I’ve pinned them all right to the top. Double click on a pin and you’ll be taken to the site containing the accompanying recipe.
Where do you find your ‘go to’ recipes?
Becky Wade
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We have our family recipes that have been handed down through the generations. The recipe is even more special if it is handwritten. It’s a connection to that grandmother or great-grandmother that the younger generations may not know. I also use the old standards, Betty Crocker, Better Homes & Garden, Campbells, Pillsbury, Kraft & Taste Of Home. Online I like RecipeLion. They have a lot of copycat recipes & you can download their ecookbooks. If I’m using a specific brand, I’ll go to their website to see what recipes they have for that product. I also like the Goosebury Patch cookbooks but more for the stories behind the recipes than to actually cook them.
I hear you about finding good recipes, and especially crockpot recipes. I actually don’t use my crockpot that much because I’m not a fan of the mushy results. Or how you can cook meat in loads of liquid and still have it be dry. One thing I do is to cook a large quantity of the basics…chicken breast, rice, veggie soup, and then I can springboard off the leftovers, and I try not to make them taste like leftovers. The best way I personally can cook chicken breast without it being dry is to slice it crossways into little ovals (rather than like tenders), saute in a frying pan to brown on both sides, this only takes a minute or two each side, then pour chicken or veg stock into the pan (half inch or so), put a cover on and let it simmer for about 10 minutes til done. Don’t let it go dry, so not that high! Turn off, leave the cover on and let it reabsorb some liquid. That works pretty well for me. You might try cooking one day for a couple hours to stock your fridge up on the basics.
Becky, I fully agree with you! I love those hand-written recipes. Thanks for mentioning RecipeLion. I hadn’t heard about it. I’ll definitely check it out!
Connie, I love your tips and ideas. Thanks for sharing those with me! I cook oodles of chicken, and so I’m always in search of new methods and recipes.
Oooh, I love getting new recipe ideas!Thanks for the suggestions! I usually turn to Pinterest, or sometimes my friends and I will send out a group text and everyone will share their latest go-to recipe. It’s a fun way to try something new that you know has been tested 🙂 This is my latest husband-approved Pinterest recipe https://www.pinterest.com/pin/406942516310608077/
Magazines or The Food Network for recipes, but I love to improvise. When my kids were growing up, I loved to cook and come up with new things. They were adventurous about trying things, too. I always allowed them to spit the bite out if they had to, but the were required to at least taste it. That worked well for me, and one became a chef. And that works well for me now, since I no longer love to cook. Or better, I no longer like to think up what to cook. I much prefer it when he calls and says, “I’m bringing your dinner.” I know. I’m a brat.
“I always allowed them to spit the bite out if they had to, but the were required to at least taste it.” Yes! That’s the same rule we have around here, Ane. We call it a ‘polite bite’ and the kids are required to take a polite bite of things they don’t think they’ll like. It’s strange because my kiddos like some things a lot of kids don’t — like fish and sushi. But they don’t like a lot of things most kids do. And there’s almost NO meals that everyone in the family likes.
It must be very hard to cook with all those dietary restrictions, Becky! After nearly 46 years of marriage, I’m tired of cooking. Now that hubby is retired, I’m trying to train him to cook, especially when I’m writing all day. He’s not enjoying it, either. Basically, we have a list of favorite recipes (healthy but easy) that we just cycle through. Two nights ago we both resigned from the kitchen and went out to eat.
I don’t blame you for being tired of cooking! About two years into my marriage, I’d already hit that point and we hadn’t even added kids at that time. 😉 There are a lot of nights when my husband and I both ‘resign from the kitchen’. I’m with you!
Taste of Home … their recipes are reliable!
Good to know! Thanks, Bobbi.
I find a lot of my recipes on facebook and pintrest
Becky, you make me laugh and smile. I see your voice here, like in your books. It’s sweet. I don’t like cooking. I love baking though. I don’t clap over my cooking either … unless it’s spaghetti … with Parmesan … that always makes me clap … hard to go wrong, and I love spaghetti. Pizza. Baking though … oh, girl … I found the best peanut butter cookie recipe. Three ingredients … three.
One cup peanut butter
One cup sugar
One egg
Bake at 350 for 9-1/2 minutes. If you want them to remain gluten free, which they are, make sure you use sugar on your fork to make the criss-cross pattern, instead of flouring the fork. 🙂
These cookies are so soft and yummy … and SOOOOO easy.
xoxoxo
Bless you, Shelli! You’ve made me hungry for those peanut butter cookies. I love peanut butter cookies and that recipe certainly sounds simple enough for me to tackle.
Yeah, I wouldn’t be thrilled about cooking too with all those restrictions. I’ve had my share of dud as well from Pinterest. My go-to site for great recipes is Mennonite Girls Can Cook. They are proven recipes that aren’t weird. They also have a large section of gluten free recipes. My teenage son told me not to bother trying recipes from other sites because the ones from MGCC always turn out the best!
Mennonite Girls Can Cook! What a cute name. I like the site already.
I’ll definitely seek out and try some of their gluten free recipes. Thanks, Gaylene!
My recipes come from my daughters, friends and magazines. A fabulous one from allrecipes.com is for Grilled Tilapia with Mango Salsa….a new favorite of mine!
Suzy Clem is my mom, everyone! And wow — she’s not only a great mom and a very sweet person but a wonderful cook.
yep, not a huge fan of cooking and I get bored. I just don’t care, until it’s time to eat and four kids and a hubby are looking at me with what’s for dinner in their eyes.
Exactly, Cara. Exactly!
My hubby bought me the latest Pioneer Woman cookbook (Dinnertime) for Christmas at my request. I asked him to look through it and tell me what ones he wanted me to try. After reading through it, he said, “work your way from page one to the end.” I’ve tried about a dozen recipes and they’ve ALL been delicious! She has some vegetarian options and plenty of chicken dishes, so it might be worth your time. 🙂
We’ve had some success with Pinterest and allrecipes. My husband is more proficient in the kitchen than I am but I make a mean batch of cookies so he keeps me around 😉