DH and bear both were in transports over the chicken tikka masala they had for dinner tonight. I found it somewhat depressing. The sauce was Tesco Tikka Masala Cooking Sauce and cost 75p. I might have a chance of making something similar, or something equally tasty, but not at that price. Tomorrow DH is having a pasta bake out of a jar. He really loves that pasta bake, and it's incredibly inexpensive from Aldi. I can't match it. Bear and I will be having baked potatoes with baked beans, and enjoying them a great deal.
I'm definitely feeling underwhelmed by my cooking skills. I can cook, but I don't have the patience to be a good cook. I still fail at frying eggs, though I can usually make a roux without much problem. It's not so much the skills, though. It's the will to work out something that will taste okay, not be too expensive, will work with bear's food issues and also the family's various dietary requirements. Tonight's meal cost around £1.20 per head, including the frozen potato product and peas, and the men almost licked the plates.
I know what we'll be eating for the next two days, but after that I may try a few experiments. I think I'll have a look on the Jack Monroe site and see what comes up. If anything exciting happens, I'll share.
Hugs and good health to all.
We have a few dietry issues going on - I have a garlic intolerance which makes any bought meals difficult as these days garlic is in everything. We have no problem cooking our own at home as we just don't add it to meals. It is more difficult when we have the grandchildren who have acquired picky habits apart from Sweetie who just eats anything and everything - so refreshing. I treat cooking like a maths equation and try to find the common denominator and work from there so we can all eat more or less the same.
ReplyDeleteI think cooking depends on your temperament. My husband could be a good cook, because he follows recipes meticulously, but he gets no joy whatsoever from it. On the few occasions I've been incapacitated he'll do exactly what I say and produce a great meal - including once dinner for 11 when I was too sick to stand. But he has no interest and if I wasn't here would probably live on protein drinks, crisps and cheesecake. I'm sure that if he had to do that every day of his life he wouldn't get any idea of what goes together, how to fix taste issues, any of the stuff that someone who likes cooking seems to absorb.
ReplyDeleteIf your family prefer the bottled sauces I see no reason not to give those to them and save your energy to cook something you like for yourself. It must make it a lot easier to cater for their dietary needs and foibles if you can mix a carb and a sauce and get a meal out of it.
I love cooking but there are days when we have beans on toast or a pilaf made with rice from sachet and tins of beans and veg because I can't be arsed to start chopping and simmering. If I didn't enjoy the cooking (and the eating!) it would be a huge chore trying to put together meals that are balanced and fulfil the dietary requirement we have, and each extra requirement makes it even more of a chore, so I feel for you. You're gluten free I know, but what else do you need to avoid/don't like? Maybe some of your readers will be able to come up with some ideas.