How do you cook?

[Cinisajoy]

Another thread got me to thinking about this question.
Do you make one pot meals? Are they skillet or stock pot meals?
Do you cook extra and freeze it?
Do you measure everything first or measure as you go along?
Do you make sides and desserts?
Do you prefer to small appliances cook or stove and oven?

My answers in the next post.

 

[Cinisajoy]

1. I make some one pot meals but they are mostly soups or chicken and dumplings. (Pie crust not American biscuit dough)
2. Depends on what I am making. I also make extra soup or beans and some casseroles.
3. I always measure first. Dry stuff goes in the plastic measuring cups or spoons, sticky stuff in metal cups or spoons and liquids in the glass cups. If I have multiple seasonings, they get measured with a plastic spoon then on to a very small plate or plates if they go in at different times.
4. I nearly always make a main and 2 sides. Minimum of 3 cooking vessels.
I sometimes make desserts. I also make my own bread except in the summer.
5. I prefer my small appliances in the summer. Oven and stove top in the winter.

 

[Cinisajoy]

I guess the question is does your kitchen reflect your cooking style?

 

[Yorky]

I guess the question is does your kitchen reflect your cooking style?

If it didn't, I have only myself to blame as I designed it. Yes it does.

Another thread got me to thinking about this question.
Do you make one pot meals? Are they skillet or stock pot meals?
Do you cook extra and freeze it?
Do you measure everything first or measure as you go along?
Do you make sides and desserts?
Do you prefer to small appliances cook or stove and oven?

My answers in the next post.

I do occasionally make one pot meals on the gas stove. Rarely in the stock pot.
Yes, I cook extra and freeze it if it's a dish that freezes with minimal detrimental effect.
Measure as I go along although if more than one spice is required at one time, I grind them all together.
Sides, yes. Desserts, no as I rarely eat them.
Majority of cooking is done on the stove top and I use the oven as required.

 

[Cinisajoy]

Oh stock pot just means a big pot you put on the stove.
I make a lot of soups.

 

[Yorky]

Oh stock pot just means a big pot you put on the stove.
I make a lot of soups.

Sorry, I thought you meant "slow cooker".

 

[Cinisajoy]

Sorry, I thought you meant "slow cooker".

Thanks, I learned something new. Although I am inclined to reheat the soups in the slow cooker to prevent sticking to the bottom of the pan.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

I cook in a variety of ways really, but there are a couple of constants.

I will always chop and measure out things in advance, so when a recipe says add this, cook for 2 minutes, add this, I am prepared. I will also measure out all the herbs & spices that go in together into the same container and effectively pre-mix them. The same with all the veg & other produce, so if carrots and celery go in together, then they will be chopped and stored in the same container.

I won't necessarily stick to the quantities of herbs & spices, or for that matter the veg. I'm not one for 1 cup of chopped onions. 1 medium or 2 small onions chopped is fine by me. The same for most things 250g of mushrooms when I have purchased 300g is not going to happen, all 300g will get used. If I have 25g of pasta left over in a packet, it will get added with the rest of the pasta the recipe asked for... and so on.

I virtually always cook for more than 1 day. Few recipes are 2 person recipes and it makes life easier if more than 1 meal is prepared at once. So if we are having an stew, and it serves 6, I will cook for 6. We will eat it hot that night, then reheat 2 portions the following day, and 2 more the next. I won't reheat all 4 portions on the 2nd day (hope that makes sense).

If it is a main meal that isn't soup/stew/casserole (UK version) etc, then I will sometimes cook a side (though I don't think of it as this) to go with it. So lasagne can or can not be served with additional stuff. It depends largely on what is in it and how many nights I want to 'pad' it out for.

Dessert - that depends on what is planned, how big our main meal is and how filling it is going to be. It varies but usually there is no dessert simply because I watch our calorie intake like a hawk at the moment very aware that neither of us are cycling or doing much extra activity compared to how we normally are (we are, minus broken ribs that is) normally very active but this last 2 years have been difficult with my back and the paralysis and coming to terms in the change in our lives).

One pot meals or multiple pots - again it depends on what is being prepared. We plan our meals out in advance the week before. So if I plan an Indian dish that needs 4 pots, all 4 will be used (I have been known to need more than the 4 rings and have to reheat things or keep them warm in the oven). I often prepare something instead of sliced bread to mop up soups/casseroles/stews or to go with an indian meal such as homemade chapatti - really easy to do, vegan naan bread or even just an experiment with a new recipe like last week when I made the spelt bread with orange juice.

Small appliances or the stove? Well I don't have any small appliances that cook meals - everything is the stove or the oven, end of story (the only exception could be classed as the pizza oven we have outside now we live in this house but it is neither small nor an appliance, though I have cooked our meals in it or my Excalibur dehydrator when in summer I make 'cold' meals for evening meals.) I don't have a slow cooker, I don't have a rice cooker, I don't have....

I also very rarely freeze anything that is additional because of the way we cook and eat. I certainly wouldn't cook and freeze veg unless it was a case it was going bad that night and needed cooking to keep it 'eatable' and we already had something cooked, but I would consider that to be bad planning on my behalf tbh.

 

[Nutri HBC]

Another thread got me to thinking about this question.
Do you make one pot meals? Are they skillet or stock pot meals?
Do you cook extra and freeze it?
Do you measure everything first or measure as you go along?
Do you make sides and desserts?
Do you prefer to small appliances cook or stove and oven?

I make one pan meals (if that counts) like my one pan chicken dinner (glass pan in oven)
I alwayz cook extra, but I don't freeze it, it's leftovers for the weekend.
I measure as I go along, but I rarely measure things. I grew up learning to cook free hand.
I'm not much of a baker so I don't make desserts, but I do make sides.
I use my stove, mostly oven and my air fryer. Crock pot on occasions.

 

[Yorky]

I virtually always cook for more than 1 day. Few recipes are 2 person recipes and it makes life easier if more than 1 meal is prepared at once. So if we are having an stew, and it serves 6, I will cook for 6. We will eat it hot that night, then reheat 2 portions the following day, and 2 more the next. I won't reheat all 4 portions on the 2nd day (hope that makes sense).

There are only effectively three meals that I cook "in bulk". Chili con carne of which I used to cook sixteen portions in the UK (because we were a family of four) but now, given that three years ago my wife gave up eating beef, I only cook eight. However much that I like chili con carne, I could not eat it for more than two days in succession so I freeze 7 of the portions.

Another is standard chicken curry which I normally cook 6 portions and freeze 4. I eat one, another stays in the fridge for 2 or 3 days because I normally cook accompaniments as two portions. The other is beef stew for the cold dark winter evenings experienced here (sic). I cook the seasoned beef and onions in gravy (usually OXO) for about 1 hour and then freeze 3 portions. To the remaining portion, I add the potatoes, carrots, etc and complete the cooking process, adding suet dumplings toward the end (if I have suet). Defrost another portion as required, add the vegetables, and similarly complete the cooking process.

 

[Berties]

As I don't eat at home much ,I buy food when I'm hungry to cook ,food rarely gets frozen due to the mammoth appetite of my boys,
We buy food most days so no massive shops and as we get veg boxes delivered can be like ready steady cook
Only weigh sweet items and pastry products
I prep as I work at home but will gather ingredients in a tray so I'm not looking for things

 

[Caribbean girl]

I do make one-pot meals, but only occasionally, this is not the norm. I use a large stainless steel pot for this.
Some days I will cook extra for the next day and freeze, especially on Sundays.
I usually measure as I go along, but there are times that I would also measure first. No hard and fast rule here.
I do not make sides and desserts. Any dessert I have would be bought ready made, like ice cream or cake for instance. I don't have dessert after my meals very often these days except for special occasions.
I prefer to use the stove and oven rather than the smaller appliances.

 

[Lullabelle]

Another thread got me to thinking about this question.
Do you make one pot meals? Are they skillet or stock pot meals?
Do you cook extra and freeze it?
Do you measure everything first or measure as you go along?
Do you make sides and desserts?
Do you prefer to small appliances cook or stove and oven?

My answers in the next post.

We make 1 pot meals
We Cook extra and freeze
We measure/taste as we go along
We don't make desserts or sides
Much prefer an oven.

 

[summerdays]

Another thread got me to thinking about this question.
Do you make one pot meals? Are they skillet or stock pot meals?
Do you cook extra and freeze it?
Do you measure everything first or measure as you go along?
Do you make sides and desserts?
Do you prefer to small appliances cook or stove and oven?

My answers in the next post.

Sometimes I make one potmeals, possibly once a week.
I don't often freeze leftovers, mostly there isn't left overs or we use it up the next day. Occasionally I make extra soup and then I put that in the freezer to take to work for lunch.
I certainly don't measure beforehand, and I only ever measure if I'm baking, the rest is just guessing. Sometimes we have a bit too much, sometimes too little, but you can always top it up with bread or fruit.
I don't make side dishes. And only occasionally deserts just because I like them too much.
I mainly cook on the gas hob, with the oven used occasionally.

I sometimes don't even know what the finished dish will be when I start cooking, at least this week two have changed during the cooking stage as I realised I didn't have the ingredients for what I was thinking of cooking. I haven't even thought about what tonight's will be.... might be based around salmon if I get it out to start defrosting soon.

 

[MrsDangermouse]

Another thread got me to thinking about this question.
Do you make one pot meals? Are they skillet or stock pot meals?
Do you cook extra and freeze it?
Do you measure everything first or measure as you go along?
Do you make sides and desserts?
Do you prefer to small appliances cook or stove and oven?

Yes I sometimes make one-pot meals, but not that often really. I do make a number of two-pot meals though (ie. sauce plus pasta/rice/potatoes/etc.)
Yep all the time - especially chilli, spag bol, stews etc. basically anything that benefits from slow cooking in a sauce. I also freeze rice - its great for a quick lunchtime fried rice dish.
Both - it depends on how many ingredients there are, whether its something that needs cooking quickly or if its something where you have time to prep the next step whilst the previous one is cooking
Depends on what we're having: I don't really think of "side" dishes as a separate entity, its all just part of the overall meal. We don't eat deserts very often but I do enjoy making them.
Both....it depends what I'm cooking. I mostly use the hob and oven, but I also regularly use my Instant Pot (pressure/slow cooker) and the Airfryer (shortly to be replaced by an Actifry) for specific things.