Happy Friday to everyone!
So thanks to everyone that posted their favorite go-to meals. Today, we’d like to know what it is about these meals that make them “go to.” Some of you listed preparation time and cheapness of ingredients as factors. What are some others?
Do you typically have these meals’ ingredients lying around your kitchen? Do they require little attention/can you make them on autopilot? Are they meals you grew up on?
Thanks and have a great weekend!
The meals were chosen because I know everyone will eat them.
ReplyDeleteAlso because I almost always have the ingredients on hand.
My mother always made some kind of pasta dish during the week, so I can make a red, cream, or green sauce with pasta to go with or with out some kind of protein without a recipe.
If you plan ahead, most of these meals are fairly economical!
Most important factor for me was the things I chose cooked fast: instant noodles can just sit in my bowl with hot water for three minutes. I can easily just type a message (like this one), and have something to eat once I am done.
ReplyDeleteGarlic shrimp is the same. It takes only a couple minutes, and wah la! Yummy food is ready :)
My meals have become "go to" meals because they are simple. I noticed that when I cook these meals I slip into autopilot mode. They dont require a lot of attention for me to make. By the time I make dinner I am usually tired and hungry so I tend to cook meals that dont need a lot of effort. Eating and cooking is part of my mental break that I need before I begin my homework. I can begin my process of tuning out that begins when I get home from school.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing that I have noticed is that these meals are routines for me that are part of a larger set of routines. I am not sure which one dictates the other, but my cooking and shopping are both linked to this idea of tuning out and eating fast and reliable. There is some wiggle room where I will buy something new to make but I definitely have these staple meals that my routines are shaped around. I often dont plan too much before I get to the supermarket and the supermarket is not a place where I want to get too creative. Because of this I shop for the same foods and end up cooking the same meals. I think when I find meals that are easy to make and taste good they become part of my menu, but these integrations are a slow process.
I think my themes for why I have these meals in my repertoire would be routines, reliability, and time. In that order.
Speed is the most important thing for me. Also important is how long the ingedients will keep. For example I always have Tomato Soup and Life Cereal in the kitchen because I know I can buy a lot and not worry about them going bad.
ReplyDelete