I have a few things that I cook, otherwise my wife does all the cooking.
Texas chili, stack enchiladas with homemade Sonoran enchilada sauce and anything in the smoker or BBQ.
When I make soup I make it 9 quarts at a time. Doesn’t take much more effort to cut up more veggies or whatever. That’s enough for one meal, one leftover meal from fridge, and one meal from freezer.
I grew up in my father’s restaurant, learned to cook there. I do most of the cooking at home, the wife does the baking. Depending on the meal, we sometimes have leftovers.
Lately we’ve been making our own yogurt, which in turn leaves us with pints of whey… The wife had the brilliant idea of using it in pancakes. So we’ve been making dozens of pancakes and freezing them for those early lazy dad mornings.
i TRY to cook just enough for one meal. over the years i’ve gotten pretty good at it, though some recipes can only be pared down so much and it’s just the two of us so sometimes leftovers are inevitable. occasionally i make extra on purpose - leftover carnitas make great easy enchiladas or rolled tacos with queso. if i’m making potato and cheese pierogi (with leftover on purpose mashed potatoes) i’ll make a ton because i can freeze them uncooked. then they become a quick weeknight meal. same with pork and scallion wontons.
street cart chicken and rice, as well as bbq pulled pork, are two of the only things my partner will eat leftover so i make extra of those too, so we can have one “leftovers” dinner night where i don’t have to cook and he doesn’t have to spend money on takeout.
![food][1]
When I cook, I cook to win. From omelettes to burgers to steak to fancy food like chicken cordon blu i eat well.
Here is today’s breakfast. A western omelette with postage hash seasoned with spices from Lanes BBQ. Check out their spices some time. Their House Divided 2.0 is fabulous.
[1]:
Can you use any stamps or do they have to be the forever ones?
All kidding aside, SWMBO and I both like to eat, so we both cook and are pretty good at it as well. Breakfast is our favorite meal, and since the wife started WW we have been doing more low-cal stuff with suggestions from the 'guilt-free gourmet’. My heritage is French… so yeah, food is uber important.
It all depends on the meal/recipe being prepared. Some things lend themselves to large quantities/leftovers, some are done a la carte. My smoker, my sous vide cooker and my instant pot are some of my favorite tools.
Hey you! Are you hungry? Are you also fat? And lazy? And perhaps just a touch concerned that your friends and neighbors find you uncultured?
Then you need some of birb’s Vaguely Indian Bachelor Lentils.
-1lb lentils (brown works, but red are cooler)
-4-6 tsp S&B curry powder (or any of the stuff in the metal can, the box stuff is sad and you should be ashamed to use it)
-6-8ish cups water
-12oz marinara sauce (The garlickier, the better. Preferably something with chunks.)
-3+tsp salt
-Black pepper to taste
Boil lentils in water. Lentils don’t need to soak, so they’re perfect for when you’re feeling a little ambitious, but not too ambitious. Stir occasionally.
When they reach nearly the desired consistency, add the seasonings and marinara sauce. There shouldn’t be much water left at this point; it should be relatively easy to stir them, but not enough to splash. Keep stirring.
You might have to drain them or even add a little water along the way. Lentils are relatively fault tolerant. Don’t forget to stir.
Simmer this mix until it starts to get a little mushy. Again, you can add a little more water and cook it down, but remember to stir occasionally.
Cool and enjoy. Serve in a bowl, or in whatever the cleanest mug in your sink is. Great over basmati rice or sourdough toast.
I adapted my green-bean and asparagus casserole recipe to crock pot form finally. Much better for making in volume for potlucks, family gatherings, or, you know, because I’m a monster capable of consuming two full gallons of green bean casserole without any remorse.
-2lbs fresh asparagus, processed to 2" long pieces, Tough ends discarded or saved for soup. The skinnier, the better. (Can substitute frozen. Do not use canned.)
-2lbs fresh green beans, snapped into pieces. (Can substitute frozen. Do not use canned.)
-3 cans cream of mushroom soup. Can substitute cream of mushroom with roasted garlic of you want, very tasty. Can also substitute one can with cream of bacon or cream of broccoli at your preference.
-3 cloves garlic, crushed.
-Worcestershire sauce
-Soy sauce
-Black pepper
-Ground sage
-Smoked paprika
-Marjoram
-2 cans of french fried onions (sounds like a ton, but hear me out)
-1 1/2 cups of skim milk
-1/4 cup parmesan cheese (stinky powder or grated, your choice)
Blanch the green beans for a couple minutes. You don’t want to cook them, just take a little bit of the edge off of the vegetal texture to make them more like the asparagus. A little variation is fine, but you don’t want half of your vegetables to be mush and the other half to be raw.
Combine all liquid ingredients and seasonings in a bowl, Whisk for about 30 seconds until your whisk breaks, then use the broken off head of the whisk to continue until the lumpiness is gone, because momma didn’t raise no quitter. I go heavy on the worcestershire but you might not. I ended up using probably a full ounce of the stuff, maybe a little more. Soy sauce you can probably be a little more conservative with. Seasonings are your preference. You definitely want black pepper and sage at the minimum, smoked paprika is a must in my book but is not everybody’s cup of tea. And marjoram because Polskej.
Incorporate one can of french fried onions into this soupy mixture with a spoon. You should probably use a big spoon because you might lose a small spoon and that’s significantly less satisfying to bite into than a bay leaf when you find it in the casserole later.
Incorporate your uncooked asparagus bits and blanched green beans into this with your big spoon. Or you can use your hands, I’m not your damn mother.
Dump this entire mess into your crock pot and heat on high. For me this took about 2 1/2 hours. Depending on how juicy your vegetables were, you might need to add a little more milk to thin the sauce out, or you might need to leave the top off for 30 minutes to reduce.
Serves a little squishier than the baked variety, but still excellent. Put a little of the second can of onions on top for texture.
I got a Ninja Foodi pot (not the giant R2D2 one Meh sold a little while ago, unfortunately; but my sister got that at my recommendation!) It’s excellent for cooking a big batch of chicken thighs to use in various ways. I also made a beef stew last week that was unexpectedly great - the secret was using 2 lb. of bottom round instead of that lousy so-called stew meat they sell pre-chopped. Otherwise it was the usual ingredients, but the meat is wonderfully tender. Bean soups have been nice too, so easy in that thing. And a whole chicken, pressure-cooked and then crisped - a lot easier to cook AND clean up than the oven method. So - big batches and lots of yummy leftovers!
/giphy Bulk cooking
Meal prep all the way, the trick is not o do a week, it’s to do a week+2 days at first, the you can build up some variety, then do one week.
Usually just a couple of meals ahead. I’ve done bulk cooking before tho. That’s ok too.
I cook what shows up in the box.
What is this “cook” you speak of?
I don’t cook often, so it has to last a lot of meals.
I have a few things that I cook, otherwise my wife does all the cooking.
Texas chili, stack enchiladas with homemade Sonoran enchilada sauce and anything in the smoker or BBQ.
When I make soup I make it 9 quarts at a time. Doesn’t take much more effort to cut up more veggies or whatever. That’s enough for one meal, one leftover meal from fridge, and one meal from freezer.
@katbyter eating 3 quarts of soup in one sitting is a lot of soup!!
Cooking is for people who eat. Do I look like I eat, to you?
I cook enough to last a week but eat it all in one sitting.
I grew up in my father’s restaurant, learned to cook there. I do most of the cooking at home, the wife does the baking. Depending on the meal, we sometimes have leftovers.
@olperfesser
That would explain why you shower with the sink sprayer.
I bake more often. I love baking.
Lately we’ve been making our own yogurt, which in turn leaves us with pints of whey… The wife had the brilliant idea of using it in pancakes. So we’ve been making dozens of pancakes and freezing them for those early lazy dad mornings.
i TRY to cook just enough for one meal. over the years i’ve gotten pretty good at it, though some recipes can only be pared down so much and it’s just the two of us so sometimes leftovers are inevitable. occasionally i make extra on purpose - leftover carnitas make great easy enchiladas or rolled tacos with queso. if i’m making potato and cheese pierogi (with leftover on purpose mashed potatoes) i’ll make a ton because i can freeze them uncooked. then they become a quick weeknight meal. same with pork and scallion wontons.
street cart chicken and rice, as well as bbq pulled pork, are two of the only things my partner will eat leftover so i make extra of those too, so we can have one “leftovers” dinner night where i don’t have to cook and he doesn’t have to spend money on takeout.
![food][1]
When I cook, I cook to win. From omelettes to burgers to steak to fancy food like chicken cordon blu i eat well.
Here is today’s breakfast. A western omelette with postage hash seasoned with spices from Lanes BBQ. Check out their spices some time. Their House Divided 2.0 is fabulous.
[1]:
@bleedmichigan
Can you use any stamps or do they have to be the forever ones?
All kidding aside, SWMBO and I both like to eat, so we both cook and are pretty good at it as well. Breakfast is our favorite meal, and since the wife started WW we have been doing more low-cal stuff with suggestions from the 'guilt-free gourmet’. My heritage is French… so yeah, food is uber important.
@chienfou damn fat fingers. Potato
I cook a BIG ol’ pot of chili when I make chili. I also have a number of light meals that pack well for lunch during the week.
It all depends on the meal/recipe being prepared. Some things lend themselves to large quantities/leftovers, some are done a la carte. My smoker, my sous vide cooker and my instant pot are some of my favorite tools.
Hey you! Are you hungry? Are you also fat? And lazy? And perhaps just a touch concerned that your friends and neighbors find you uncultured?
Then you need some of birb’s Vaguely Indian Bachelor Lentils.
-1lb lentils (brown works, but red are cooler)
-4-6 tsp S&B curry powder (or any of the stuff in the metal can, the box stuff is sad and you should be ashamed to use it)
-6-8ish cups water
-12oz marinara sauce (The garlickier, the better. Preferably something with chunks.)
-3+tsp salt
-Black pepper to taste
Boil lentils in water. Lentils don’t need to soak, so they’re perfect for when you’re feeling a little ambitious, but not too ambitious. Stir occasionally.
When they reach nearly the desired consistency, add the seasonings and marinara sauce. There shouldn’t be much water left at this point; it should be relatively easy to stir them, but not enough to splash. Keep stirring.
You might have to drain them or even add a little water along the way. Lentils are relatively fault tolerant. Don’t forget to stir.
Simmer this mix until it starts to get a little mushy. Again, you can add a little more water and cook it down, but remember to stir occasionally.
Cool and enjoy. Serve in a bowl, or in whatever the cleanest mug in your sink is. Great over basmati rice or sourdough toast.
I adapted my green-bean and asparagus casserole recipe to crock pot form finally. Much better for making in volume for potlucks, family gatherings, or, you know, because I’m a monster capable of consuming two full gallons of green bean casserole without any remorse.
-2lbs fresh asparagus, processed to 2" long pieces, Tough ends discarded or saved for soup. The skinnier, the better. (Can substitute frozen. Do not use canned.)
-2lbs fresh green beans, snapped into pieces. (Can substitute frozen. Do not use canned.)
-3 cans cream of mushroom soup. Can substitute cream of mushroom with roasted garlic of you want, very tasty. Can also substitute one can with cream of bacon or cream of broccoli at your preference.
-3 cloves garlic, crushed.
-Worcestershire sauce
-Soy sauce
-Black pepper
-Ground sage
-Smoked paprika
-Marjoram
-2 cans of french fried onions (sounds like a ton, but hear me out)
-1 1/2 cups of skim milk
-1/4 cup parmesan cheese (stinky powder or grated, your choice)
Serves a little squishier than the baked variety, but still excellent. Put a little of the second can of onions on top for texture.
@Catburd
I got a Ninja Foodi pot (not the giant R2D2 one Meh sold a little while ago, unfortunately; but my sister got that at my recommendation!) It’s excellent for cooking a big batch of chicken thighs to use in various ways. I also made a beef stew last week that was unexpectedly great - the secret was using 2 lb. of bottom round instead of that lousy so-called stew meat they sell pre-chopped. Otherwise it was the usual ingredients, but the meat is wonderfully tender. Bean soups have been nice too, so easy in that thing. And a whole chicken, pressure-cooked and then crisped - a lot easier to cook AND clean up than the oven method. So - big batches and lots of yummy leftovers!