PhillyBaby
Our Wedding
Blogs I Love
The Cooking Slump
Somehow for the last two weeks of December I am always in a cooking slump. With lots of evenings to entertain, menus to plan, and nights out, I just don’t feel like cooking on regular nights!
We have been back from RI for a few days and have been living on Christmas Eve leftovers brought with us and other random items from the fridge. And last night I didn’t even make an effort- we went out for a midweek dinner for the first time alone… maybe ever? We were celebrating so I have a good excuse, but we always cook at home.
PB has a lot going on and hasn’t been cooking much (although he promises a full pizza dough post sometime soon), and I just feel too busy to care about cooking.
Who am I?
I am just feeling very laid back about it all… cooking, blogging, cleaning, etc. I’m happy to just be enjoying these holiday days and figure I will catch up later.
Does this happen to anyone else? I am trying to inspire myself to cook, but really when I find inspiration it is for the next dinner party or get together. On a random Tuesday night I’m just not into it. There has just been too much going on. I’m guessing after Armenian Christmas I’ll get my groove back, but until then I need inspiration!
PB has taken to calling me the leftover queen. Que horror!
I’m looking for really easy, really fast, and really healthy dinner ideas. I live with a hungry boy so good sources of protein are needed. And lots of veggies. Please give me some weeknight dinner ideas that will still give me time to prep for all these dinner parties and traveling!
Thanks in advance!!!!
P.S. PB bought a Kindle and I am already plotting how to steal it away…. which will inevitably lead to even less time in the kitchen.
I also am in a huge cooking slump… I wish I could give you an idea… but I’m fresh out!
I feel the SAME way! I have zero motivation to cook and my dinners have been coming from random leftovers or eating out.
We are going through leftovers as well! Last night, we added leftover prime rib to a freshly made pasta, adding freshly cooked veggies and sun dried tomatoes. Easy and tasty! Stir fries are always quick and easy if you’ve got everything pre-cut!
I am in a wicked cooking slump lately too…I have pretty much only been baking cookies and cooking the same old things for dinner…but I tried a new recipe for stuffed peppers last night that was delish and full of veggies. I stuffed it with chicken, shredded carrots, quinoa, and a little cheese. Yum.
I am all about easy and fast weeknight dinners! We also do a lot of “dinner two ways” because we eat differently. Last night we did a big bowl of pasta. My bowl had spinach, olives, tomatoes, onion, cheese. His had chicken, tomatoes, onion, different cheese.
We’ve done simple grilled fish with baked potatoes and steamed vegetables.
We did an Ina Garten chickpea Mediterranean salad with pita for dinner one night. Breakfast for dinner.
Come on over to my Recipe page!
Agreed, I think it’s partially because of the holidays and partially because there just isn’t as much variety of fresh seasonable vegetables to inspire me. I mean, there’s only so much butternut squash a girl can eat (actually, I take that back). Lately, though, I’ve been on a major soup kick. I start with some veggie broth or one of my favorite canned soups and add whatever I have in the fridge. I add some beans for protein, veggies for color, and fresh herbs for flavor and I have a delicious and comforting meal in under 30 minutes!
One of the dinners I’ve been making a lot lately is pureed vegetable soup. There’s a little prep work and it does need to simmer for 20 minutes, but I make a salad and we sit down and eat it while the soup is cooking, so it feels like dinner comes together relatively easily.
My two current favorites are carrot/leek/garlic/coriander seed soup and sweet potato/chipotle pepper/garlic soup. With both, I cook the garlic/onion/leek in a tbsp of olive oil to soften, then throw in the chipotle or coriander and stir for a minute, then add the carrots or sweet potatoes and broth, bring to a boil, simmer for 20 min, then puree and eat. I’ve been adding a few oz of uncooked red lentils with the broth and pureeing them in with the rest of the soup. It gives the soup a little extra protein and fiber, plus makes the texture extra creamy. I add salt, pepper and a little lemon juice or lime juice at the end to the prepared soup to finish it off.
One of my fav go-to dinners is noodles with veggies, shrimp, and an asian inspired sauce.
Mix 1 lb cooked pasta (or soba noodles) with 1 lb stir fried shrimp, bag of defrosted frozen veggies, and a sauce made from peanut butter/soy sauce/rice vinegar/sriracha sauce.
We had so much food in the house I was determined to make the best use of it and not go to the grocery store – I did pretty good – although since its my Friday today, my husband and I are going out to dinner and a movie – love date nights even after 10 years of marriage! 😀
You’ll get your mojo back next year – and look forward to PB’s pizza dough post!
oh, i get this same way about every other month…and the sad thing is i got nothin’! i usually just wake up one day with tons of ideas…so maybe just have a pen and paper ready for when the ideas start flowing? 🙂
You’ll get it girl! Honor your hunch and take a break so that you don’t get fully burnt out!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
I’ve been feeling the same way – the whole month! I think part of it might be that I kind of feel like I always have to make something exciting and new for the blog…but I’ve been going back to the staples that I love: simple fish and veggies.
Really heathy? Really fast? Really no problem!
Here are some go to’s when I’m feeling exhausted but want GOOD food:
1. Steamed cabbage with butter and salt to taste and chicken sausage, it’s like healthified corned beef and cabbage (and total comfort food!)
2. Quesos using tortilla factory’s wheat variety, black beans from a can, shredded motz from a can, salsa from a can, and fresh chopped cilantro. My husband has a serious appetite too so I make him two.
3. Hawaiian BLTs- I cook up some turkey bacon and while thats going I assemble the sandwich… romaine, avocado, sprouts, tomato, sliced pineapple, light mayo and mustard, and then top with freshly cooked bacon.
Hopefully one of those will work for ya:)
I have been in a cooking slump for the past 22 years! My mom is too amazing of a cook for me to step in!
Off topic: I made those cinnamon buns….I must say, they are fantastic. I wrapped them up and gave them out for Christmas.
A few ideas – we eat a lot of grilled paninis and a side salad (turkey, whole wheat pita, pesto and mozzarella on the panini – pita makes it less bread and more of the good stuff!) or we make pizzas on large whole wheat pitas – pesto, some pre-prepared chicken (I usually boil a few chicken breasts on Sundays – boiled in broth, of course), cheese. Again, roasted veggies or salad on the side.
Some nights it’s quick chili, broiled scallops and veggies on the side, etc.
I don’t have any meal suggestions, but I have slump suggestions. Maybe you could set up a cooking challenge for yourself. Like once a week you will cook with a brand new ingredient or something like that. Last night I went through a cookbook I haben’t opened in awhile and made a list of like 20 things I wanted to make. It made me excited to eat them and therefore cook them!
I resort to frittatas when Im feeling blah about cooking. I havent cooked for weeks though! Blame it on staying with my parents and going out to eat every night!
We’ve eaten nothing but leftovers since Christmas. One night we did get Chinese take out. I’ll be ready for soups and stews in the new year, I hope.
We have 3 goto meals on days when we are too busy to cook or just don’t feel like taking the time… 1)Any recipe in the slowcooker. 2) Sandwiches/paninis 3)Breakfast for dinner.
k this is super easy and healthy too!!! get flour tortillas. mix black bean refried beans (one can) with a couple tablespoons of salsa to taste and a bit of taco seasoning if you wish. smear this on tortilla(s) the sprinkle w cheese. cover w other tortilla. bake at 350 degrees for about 20 min. yummmm!
I’ve been in a slump too. Perhaps due to all of the rich foods we tend to eat from November through December? It’s like I’m hungry, but nothing sounds good. I’ve been drinking more veggie smoothies and veggie juices this past week. The simplicity of pure vegetables has been refreshing and I think that’s my thing. I need refreshment…something bright, light and clean.
So, my recommendation is to try supplementing your daily life with a veggie smoothie or juice. And if you’re in the mood to cook, make soup loaded with veggies and legumes, then serve with a sourdough baguette. I promise, that little bit of baguette makes a difference…it’s chewy and hearty, but it’s a baguette so you’re not going to overdo it and feel ‘heavy’ afterwards vs if you ate a grilled cheese sandwich with your soup.
Ok…I’ll stop rambling! 🙂
There is absolutely nothing wrong with being called a Leftover Queen! 🙂 Please check out my blog for lots of great ideas!