A. Simple Cook

[A. Simple Cook]

Hello, everyone! As my name indicates, I am just a simple cook. I'm retired, but my wife is still working. Therefore, I do the majority of the cooking at home. I've cooked off and on for many years, from clear back to my bachelor years, (back in the dark ages.)

But I'm pretty much a "meat and potatoes" kind of guy, and I firmly believe the old saying, "IF IT AIN'T NEVER MOO(d) THEN IT JUST AIN'T FOOD!"

Anyway, I'm kind of bored with the same old things, and I'm trying to "expand my horizons" a little bit. Right now my biggest problem is that my lovely bride is also a "meat and potatoes" person, and not really interested in trying different things. But I'm working on it, I'm working on it.

 

[CWS4322]

Welcome to DC! Baby steps, baby steps. Nothing wrong with meat and potatoes. How're the two of you with vegetables / salad? How do you usually cook your meat/potatoes? Maybe start there by trying different techniques, seasonings. If you like your potatoes always mashed, try baked or double-baked (twice baked). Or try mashed potatoes with carrot or turnip added.

 

[Andy M.]

How do you feel about pork, chicken, lamb, turkey and duck for meat to go with the potatoes?

How about rice or pasta in place of the potatoes?

 

[A. Simple Cook]

Welcome to DC! Baby steps, baby steps. Nothing wrong with meat and potatoes. How're the two of you with vegetables / salad? How do you usually cook your meat/potatoes? Maybe start there by trying different techniques, seasonings. If you like your potatoes always mashed, try baked or double-baked (twice baked). Or try mashed potatoes with carrot or turnip added.

Thanks, CWS! We always try to have a vege with our meals, and I myself love a good salad. My lovely bride, not so much. Potatoes are fried, mashed, boiled, baked. Meat is done depending on what it is and how I feel at the time. Steaks are on a grill, GOOD steaks, (who can afford them now,) are done in a Weber charcoal kettle. I have a gas grill, but I still prefer the charcoal, with soaked hickory chips, for the flavor.
Just a standard cheap, (if there is such a thing,) sirloin, will often get done on an electric grill in the kitchen.

Pork chops are another one that I like to cook in soup in the oven. Brown 'em first in the fry pan, then dump them into a dish and cover with condensed cream of mushroom soup. Cover with "tin foil," (there's something we don't see anymore,) and bake for an hour, to hour and a half, depending on how thick they are.

Chicken I often cook as mentioned above, however I will also cut it up and fix it in an Alfredo pasta dish. Or a chicken Caesar salad. The wife also does an "oven fried chicken," though I don't know the recipe, and if she is feeling really good and loving, she might fix us a stuffed bake chicken, which we both like much better than turkey!

Hamburger we cook as hamburgers, or as a pasta dish, or a meat loaf.

How do you feel about pork, chicken, lamb, turkey and duck for meat to go with the potatoes?

How about rice or pasta in place of the potatoes?

We have done all of the above at one time or another. The one roast duck that we did, years ago, did NOT turn out well. While I've had lamb, it has been a lot of years. Both duck and lamb are quite expensive here, and we are on a bit of a limited income.

 

[CharlieD]

Nothing wrong with old good beef. Take ground beef for example, add a bit of a chilly powder and you have chily, substitute that for Italian seasoning and you have, you guessed spaghetti, what about some curry and all of a sudden it is taste of India in your kitchen.
I am kind of the same way. Meat and potato. But have been experimenting with world cuisine, a little bit, very little.

 

[CWS4322]

I like to make a big salad and then put thinly sliced medium rare steak/grilled chicken/grilled pork on top (to be mixed in). For me, EVOO and vinegar are my go-to, but you could use ranch, Caesar, or the dressing of your choice. I like the steak warm, the salad somewhat wilted. You could add some boiled new potatoes to the salad to get the potato fix or some fried potatoes on the side, just saying.

 

[Roll_Bones]

I am also the cook around here. And we do get into ruts at times.
Cooking whats easy and i know my wife likes it.
She encourages me to buy and cook that I like. But its no fun if i eat something special all by myself.
Her tastes are changing though. She proclaimed last night that the Italian sausage was great! I was shocked and very happy at the same time.
She has always disliked it.

 

[A. Simple Cook]

Nothing wrong with old good beef. Take ground beef for example, add a bit of a chilly powder and you have chily, substitute that for Italian seasoning and you have, you guessed spaghetti, what about some curry and all of a sudden it is taste of India in your kitchen.
I am kind of the same way. Meat and potato. But have been experimenting with world cuisine, a little bit, very little.

I've used beef for chilli, and I've used pork for chilli, and I've used a combination of both. I sort of like the combination better. Used to be "macho" and eat it hot, but due to stomachs getting older, try to keep it a bit more mild now.
I'm not big on a taste of India, and my even less big on the smell of it!

I am also the cook around here. And we do get into ruts at times.
Cooking whats easy and i know my wife likes it.
She encourages me to buy and cook that I like. But its no fun if i eat something special all by myself.
Her tastes are changing though. She proclaimed last night that the Italian sausage was great! I was shocked and very happy at the same time.
She has always disliked it.

IMHO, if you have spaghetti, Italian sausage is a must! I also like a nice Italian sausage patty with eggs and taters for breakfast, and make a decent Italian sausage sandwich. I've got a nice little grill that makes wonderful, (shoot, can't think of what they are called right now,) but they are a hot toasted sandwich.

 

[NAchef]

Hi, from a fellow Utahn.

Tacos are a nice way to switch things up with different kinds of protein & veggies.
Another item that uses both meat & potatoes is breakfast skillets or omlettes.

Good luck, a lot of different threads here that will keep you busy.

 

[Addie]

A nice frittata is nice way to use up leftovers. And it can be very healthy. It is quick and so easy to make.

BTW, welcome to DC. You are going to love it here. All you need is a great sense of humor. And if you have a question, you can count on someone having an answer for you. In fact, you will get more answers than you need or will ever use. All you have to do is ask, "what can I make with....?" Or, "how do you .... with what ever?"

 

[Cheryl J]

Welcome, A. Simple Cook! I hope you get a lot of new ideas here!