Yeah, we did sort or like they do on the "Iron Chef" show. My wife would pull some sort of meat/fish/poultry out of the freezer, and then it would be up to me to decide how to fix it. I BBQed a lot, and we always had Cream of Mushroom, French Onion, Tomato, and Cheddar Cheese Campbell's soup on the shelf. Cook the protein, pour soup on it, add a veggie or pasta or rice, poof, dinner.DW & I had a similar arrangement for a couple years. I worked 7-3:30 and she worked 10-6:00. She'd get dinner "lined up" in the morning & I'd have it ready when she got home. Then, our schedules basically flipped, and she's been doing the cooking ever since.
I can cook, and I do it almost every day, but I hate to cook. I'll be glad when the kids are out of the house. I swear I'll eat cereal for every meal....
"Thank you!" said as I shuffle my feet in the dirt, LOL.That croque en bouche looks great. I'm always hoping someone will make one during the holiday. I know I'm a terrible baker so I think it'd be a disaster if I tried making one. I just drop hints to the good bakers in the family. Unfortunately, that hasn't worked yet so no croque en bouche for me.
To answer the original question. I'm a pretty good cook. Baking is a whole different story.
I have a few things that I cook well and people request. Mostly though, I can follow a recipe. (I'm not great at "freestyle" cooking.) I don't really enjoy cooking that much so I tend to stick with simple meals. And, it always seems to taste better to me when someone else has made dinner.
I do enjoy baking. It's just hard to find the time.
I'm a good cook, but I hate the clean up and cooking for one is kinda a pain. I mostly meal prep now and freeze a week or two of meals.
Despite disparaging the man's cooking skills (he once asked me why I had so many spices and herbs. Huh?!?) I have to say he is wonderful at clean up which makes our lives so much easier. It has also taught me to be ...more considerate about how many pots and pans I use. I read new recipes and cooking techniques, evaluate them and try to figure out ways to uncomplicate them beforehand.I'm going to steal that "freestyle cooking" term! - That's me. Recipes are only guideline in my kitchen. But I have to be in the mood to cook, or I don't really want to do it.
And I think you've hit on why - a lot of what frustrates me is the mess. Some is also trying to find things that both DS and DH like/can eat.
I did recently learn to grill, and am pretty proud of that.
Congrats on mastering the art of grilling! I'm partial to Steven Raichlen's books and various websites like BBQ Pitboys. And I'd be lost w/o my ThermoPop. Do you have any references to divulge?
As far as I'm aware, no one had ever died or gotten violently ill from something I prepared, so I guess that qualifies me as a good cook.
I'm good at it and love it! I've never used a grill though, because I'm clumsy and people who love me like me uncharred.
ETA: I don't trust crock pots.
Well, I wouldn't say I've "mastered" it yet - so far I mostly use the tip sheet that came with the grill:
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But thanks!!
Yes, I am a good cook and a good baker. People compliment me so I assume they like it too.
That is how I started cooking. I would gather a couple of recipes and the ingredients. (They didn't have dinner kits when I was learning.) Then I would give it a try. Sometimes the pork chops were cooked so much they were like rocks, Dad took me out to eat that night. (Mom was in the hospital, and I was trying to be a good daughter.) Once the casserole was pretty bad, but somewhat edible. My husband and I ate that mess. I can still remember how it smelled. We ate more than our fair share of really, really bland meals.I can cook by recipe only. I don't have that talent of looking in my fridge and figuring out what to make, I'm so envious of that! I think my food generally looks ok...I really like using Blue Apron, because they do the thinking for me. If I look to my family for ideas, I get nothing. What I like best about it is that they include those little things that usually keep me from trying a recipe on my own. Last year, I made a whole Thanksgiving dinner w/ an apple pie from scratch by buying a dinner kit from Martha Stewart
While making the crust gave me palpitations, I think it came out pretty good. I don't even like apple pie, but I was happy to make one since my husband likes them.