My grandmother never wrote down a recipe for any dish she made; neither did my dad. They just went into the kitchen and made magic, and both of them were fabulous cooks. My daughter is turning out to be the same way. I did not get that gift.
I don't mind that I'll never be a chef. I'm a pretty good baker, as it turns out. I do enjoy cooking, too, as long as I have a recipe to follow and it isn't too complicated. Since I'm not able to toss ingredients together to make a delicious dish I've collected cookbooks and cooking magazines over the years; enough to fill this baker's rack.
When I was younger Betty Crocker was my old reliable source; most of what I made for dinner dishes came from the big red BC cookbook my mom gave to me when I was a teenager. I still make quite a few for the family, only tweaked to be a little healthier. I now mix in vegan and diabetic-friendly dishes, too, which I'm trying to get everyone to like since that's all I can eat.
Even with my limited skills I still look for ways to be a more inventive cook. I do online searches for recipes I'd like to try, which in the past is how I learned to make things like Bistec de Palomilla (Cuban steak) and 90 second Keto bread. I'm also finding a lot of ideas on Youtube, like Tasty for interesting yet easy ideas for the family, and Pick Up Limes for vegan dishes for me.
These days cooking has definitely become more of a challenge. Any empty nester will tell you that it's very difficult to cook for two, especially when one is a meat and potatoes guy, and the other is a diabetic vegan; I usually make two one-person meals. My guy grills for himself frequently, and we also eat a lot of leftovers. I'm giving myself the day off tomorrow so I don't have to cook a separate meal for myself, but it's important to stay on my diet so I don't have to go back on medication to control my blood sugar.
So that's my take on cooking. Today I'll be doing a lot of that in preparation for the big dinner tomorrow. If you're celebrating Thanksgiving I wish you much success with your meal.
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I gave away almost all of my cookbooks. I had a ton, but never really used any of them. I find it hard more often than not to use a recipe too.
Hubs eats what I eat. I can't cook two meals. At least until he starts Nutrisystem again. Then I'll be cooking for him and having sammies for dinner. Or a little bowl of soup. I lose weight by default.
And right now, the keyboard is working so I'm going to write after all my prep for tomorrow is done. Let's hope it lasts!
Are you having guests or just the two of you? I bought an 18 pound turkey and will be down two now because Thing Two and her husband are going to PA for the holiday. I'm going to have turkey enough for weeks. :/
We're having ten for Thanksgiving dinner, so I took your and Maria's advice and bought two 15 lb. turkeys. I plan to load up everyone with leftovers, too. I usually freeze any turkey we have left for my guy to have in December. Sometimes I make broth from the carcasses, too, but I think I'll be too tired this year.
Making the fresh pumpkin pie for Kat now. I hate pumpkin.
I'm done cleaning so it's on to prepping everything for tomorrow. I'll make my mashed potatoes and green beans today and pop them in the oven while the turkey rests. I'll get the coleslaw ready as well as getting the corn in the pan. Lucky for us, I have an attached garage and it's 40 degrees out so that's my second fridge ;)