Planning

[tim]

How do you?  Or do you? This is directed at those not in daily 'employ'. Like instant m/wave meals. And children.  And husbands!
Do you plan a day or week ahead? Do you look in the fridge - or larder ( lucky you - and us) - and see what needs using? Like 'bubble & squeak'?
Do you use your own tested ways - or do you look up recipes in your many books to fit? Or use the net?
Do you record what you have done - and use that for future help?
Or do you wake up with a 'thing' which says "I must have curry today"? = Tim

[Ragged Robin]

Planning, ummmmmm.......... depends....... usually do a pre-weekend shop, go around thinking oh that 'll do for during the week; or ii'll put that in the freezer for emergencies.
however tend not to remember if littl'uns got friends coming to tea, when only fish- fingers will do, or if she's out and have only got myself to please.
So planning can be haphazard or needs to be flexible, for instance, a piece of steak might end up quickly fried or in a casserole.
Quite lucky as Littl'un has fairly varied tastes, loves stews and casseroles, salads, and veggies,and pasta so no fads to contend with.

    by the way pulled some over-wintering carrots for lunch today absolutely delicious!

[Muddy_Boots]

Whew Tim!

As a cook and trained at that, have lost all interest in food cooking!  However, still love the taste.  Now think on daily basis, probably cos of mood.  Somedays have a good meal, sometimes don't quite manage it!  Somedays try to make an effort that doesn't quite work, others, don't really try and sometimes it works!  Psychology of that?  Beyond me!

Kate

[Mrs Ava]

Well, as head chef and bottle washing in this humble abode, I like to think I plan, but it doesn't always work.  I was brought up on fresh grub so don't by ready meals or freezer meals, except frozen fish things.  Try to be healthy, Ava and I are on a constant health kick, so loads of fresh fruit and veggies.  The kids, well, somedays they eat me out of house and home, others, just want rubbish!  Shopping day is Friday ready for the weekend, so Thursday nights tend to be use up whats left followed by a Friday of something yummy.  Have stacks of cookery books, but really only refer to 2 more for weights when baking cakes or making pastry, and that is the Delia complete cookery course, and The Dairy book of home cookery.  I also have a journal that I write other peeps recipes, recommendations and own 'inventions' in.  

[aquilegia]

As hubby and I both work, we do the big shop once a month, get loads of veggies and cook up huge batches of pasta sauces that then get frozen in portions for the two of us. that's our idea of convenience food. then during the week we just have to defrost and cook one of them. I just make sure we don't have the same thing two days in a row.

At weekends, when there's more time, I usually cook something from scratch. Usually I make up a recipe or adapt something from a recipe book.

During the summer, it's a case of seeing what's ripe, and cooking that.

[budgiebreeder]

About the same here, it depends on the season.when vege ,fruit etc ready in the garden they certainly dont get wasted other wise i always make a meal.Dont do ready meals never have even when i cooked for 5 and worked full time there was always home cooked food for the family .Home cooked tastes entirely different to bought and doesnt take much longer to prepare.Could go on forever about this it is one of my pet subjects

[Applejack]

What a great topic Tim, everybody loves food.
My husband & I (sounds posh doesn't it) work from home, so I have plenty of time to prepare meals. Today I made an onion & mushroom soup. I always make sure the kids have something wholesome after school, their mates think it all looks too healthy, but it is only because at school the general diet consists of pizzas, chips & fizzy drinks, then because parents are busy its more chips etc. for tea. I think everybody could do with more time for cooking & planning. Great subject.

[allotment_chick]

I've never really thought about it before, but I do a bit of all the things you mentioned!

I'm still turfing round in the freezer counting the number of bags of last summers tomatoes that are left...(not enough, sadly!) and then I usually come across something that needs using and that comes to the top....I've been to the shops this afternoon and bought the basics of enough meals to last through to the weekend but they may yet end up in the freezer if a dose of the 'must haves...' descends upon us.  

I'm very bad with the storecupboard .. I have yummy things in it that I use often but I also keep finding things that are VERY out of date  

Like aquilegia, I love to make things make in bulk and freeze them ('teriyaki' sauce, cheese sauce, soup base, cake base) - and love the challenge of making something appetising out of very little indeed.

I turn to the good folks on this website for recipes (like your goodself Tim - many thanks!) and I love Nigella Lawson's approach to cooking - she provides me with a lot of inspiration which I can then  customise to suit my 'picky' family.  

Now, whats for tea today..?  

[Tenuse]

As my partner and I both work, I try to do "batch cooking" and then freeze the extra as future meals. So every other weekend (about) I will make 6 or 7 dinners on a Sunday afternoon and freeze them, then I don't have to bother during the week.

This Sunday I made:
- Wild mushroom soup (2 meals worth)
- Cottage pie (4 meals worth plus some mince to go into a lasagne or another cottage pie)
- Pecan pie (mm! yummy! won't last much longer!)

These have all gone into the freezer (apart from one cottage pie which we ate!) and will reappear over the next fortnight.

Can't WAIT until it's tomato time. I am collecting recipes for different kinds of pasta sauce.   My aim is to never buy a pasta sauce again.

Ten x

[mysticmog]

I live on me own and can't be ars*d to cook v often - I live on cheese sarnies and micro meals for 1, but every now and again I go mad and create masterpieces of culinary delight for either myself or friends.  

The need to cook is far outweighed by my need to eat, right then, right there...

As you may or may not have guessed, am a very impatient person..

The best thing every invented was pasta cos it takes approx 7 mins to cook (including making the sauce...) - that and stir fry.

Planning wise, I eat stuff till I run out, then I go buy some more of it  

Would love to be organised, but all organisation effort gets used up at work...none left for real life.

[Doris_Pinks]

I too have chef'd in me past, it was easier to cook for a restaurant of 30 instead of a family of 4!!
I am the what do I fancy for dinner tonight...look in fridge, throw that in, add that , taste n serve! So long as it involves masses of veg, we are all happy! I am quite happy pootling around in my kitchen all day (creating my own recipes which I usually forget to write down, much to the dispair of me other half!) when I can't be outside...shame the housework has to be done!
I do use the net for recipes, I usually tweak them to suit, and I have LOADS of cookery books to trawl through, and once the word curry has been mentioned in this house....nothing else will do!

Hmm time for lunch.....any ideas for me pork chops tonight??!!

[clare]

I tend to buy whatever takes my fancy when I'm at the supermarket then we decide what we're having for dinner each day.  It depends on what kind of mood we're in or if we have to eat quickly before going out.

We never have ready meals.. I hate them with a passion.. so plasticky and the portions are never big enough!!

We use loads of fresh veggies and this year will be our first harvest so hopefully I'll be making fewer (or no) trips to the local veggie market.

We don't really plan our meals in advance and often surf the net for new recipe ideas if we have loads of something to use up.