Tuesday, August 22

Retired and Cooking

In 2015 when my wife and I retired, she declared that she was no longer cooking meals, except for maybe at Thanksgiving or Christmas.  Therefore, if I wanted to eat, I needed to start cooking myself.


It would have been easy to buy TV Dinners from the grocery store and would not have cost that much more money to do so...  but, after a while, one is going to get tired of those kinds of meals.


My first direction into my cooking journey revolved around making breakfast.  Those early breakfasts included omelets, quiche, and casseroles.  I don't include scrambled eggs, pancakes, or waffles in that journey.


My next direction took me into cooking meals that I would eat for lunch and dinner and were usually composed of some kind of soup.  I played around will all kinds of meats and veggies, and this sometimes included a submersible blender.


Most of my cooking starts with the following:

  • onions
  • bell peppers
  • mushrooms
  • celery
  • garlic
  • leeks
To this I will add olive oil, black pepper, sea salt, and other herbs and spices that harmonize with the meats and veggies I will be using.

I have also limited my protein intake to chicken, fish, turkey, and beans.  I have found that dried beans are cheaper than cans of beans.  They can easily be cooked in an INSTAPOT in 13-15 minutes without soaking them in water overnight.

My starch comes from potatoes, rice, and angel hair pasta.

Very seldom do I use a recipe...  I usually look at recipes to see what is included but pay no attention to the amounts.

My veggies include:
  • peas
  • limas
  • broccoli
  • cauliflower
  • squash
  • lentils
  • zucchini
  • carrots
  • kale
  • cabbage

Recently, I have found an AMISH store about 30-40 miles north of my location that has SOUP STARTERS.  Every once in a while, we will drive up there and I will buy 5-6 containers of different kinds of starters.

I don't mind cooking but sometimes it is a hassle what I try to do is minimize the number of pots and pans I use, so that I don't have to spend time cleaning them.  I am particularly fond of ONE POT MEALS.


 

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