Intuitivekitchenbylizzy

There are just some days when you don't want to spend a bunch of time cooking, but you need to have a home cooked dinner. There are a few cooking cheats I use when faced with a late arrival home, a lack of energy, or a packed schedule. I love breakfast, but I'm no good for anything before 7 am, so a full cooked breakfast is unlikely during the week. So, on days when I'm kitchen averse, I cook breakfast for dinner. My family loves it, it is easy to do, inexpensive, and somewhat healthy.  I cheat breakfast several ways. I keep a box of Bisquick in my pantry (there goes my pantry again!) to mix up a quick batch of pancakes, or muffins with some kind of fresh fruit added in (eg. smashed bananas and cinnamon). My second cheat is cooking bacon. I double line the bottom of a baking sheet with tin foil. I place a cooling rack on top, and coat it with some veggie oil. Then, I lay the bacon on top and shove it in the oven while I cook whatever else I'm having. Turkey or veg...

Marinades are a great way to boost flavor to meats. Marinating meats means a bit of pre planning, because you need to allow time for the marinate to  "work." A short time is better than nothing, however. Besides imparting flavor, a meat marinade makes the meat more tender. Just make enough to coat your meat. Start by using either vinegar,or lemon,or lime, or wine. You can combine the first three, but use wine by itself. Then, add in some flavor, like chopped onion, garlic, pepper flakes, thyme, basil, bay. If I use wine instead of vinegar,I love to use a special herb combo called herb de Provence. ...and always, salt and pepper. Then add some olive oil, sesame oil ,or peanut oil.  Pour it in a plastic food bag, add in the meat. Refrigerate for a day or less. The next step is REALLY important! When you are ready to cook, take the meat out of the bag and THROW OUT the marinade. Don't save it . The meat will have exchanged some of its blood with the marinade, so it is NO...

I thought it might be useful for you to see how I cook intuitively tonight. I got home at around 6:15pm, and thank the Lord, I had asked my hubbie(who was home) to let a steak come to room temperature. My feet hurt a bit, and I was already tired before I began! I planned for a simple quick meal in my head as I set the table, and off I went! Here you can see onions. I split an unpeeled onion in two (left center), then peal it, leaving the root end on. (front left) . Then, I use my knife to cut the onion horizontally, then vertically (but not entirely through). Then, I chop it by cutting downwards. The result is on the right at the front. i chopped the onions into smaller pieces tonight. Usually with steak, I slice an onion into circles, but I wanted to get off my feet, and chopped onion cook more quickly. Then, I used my micro plane to grind some lemon peal on my steak. A micropeal is expensive, and it was many years of cooking before i got one. It is efficient, long lasting, and e...

Sometimes the summer heat evaporates all my cooking ambitions. It's when I roll out the BIG SALAD. Here is when making something in your own kitchen really saves money. Those salad bars are REALLY pricey per pound, and you can save a bunch of cash by building up a salad pantry section of your kitchen. Dump a few of these in a small container (like a glass jar) and stick the mix in the frig to get cold. Make sure to use it by the next day at the latest ! Then, when you are ready to make a salad, add some of the jar to the bottom of a bowl. Start your salad like this: Cut a fresh lemon, add the juice to a bowl with these if you've got them & like them: Fresh cut carrots, fresh green pepper, a nice hard apple (leave the peal, just core & chop), a nice semi hard pear, chopped celery top & all Then add in some of your jar. Here is a partial idea list for the jar: Left over pasta, rinsed and chilled left over kashi,cooked and chilled Raisins,crasins, or any o...

I love roasted vegetables! I was roasting them long before they were trendy, and didn't even realize it could be "a thing."  When I was young, my family did a lot of camping. I learned how to build a fire, and how to cook on it. Roasting veggies is simple, and makes them very sweet and tender. Your kids will love helping you! You can make a whole dinner with desert just roasting! You can do this in your oven, but during the heat of the summer, you can do it outdoors on a grill. The goal with veggies is to roast them until some of their edges are almost black. The procedure is very simple. First, you will need  to make a couple/three of layers of tin foil for each "packet" that is going on the fire. First, make a packet with some chicken pieces. They should all be about the same size. I recommend leaving the skin on, as it protects the meat. Dab all the chicken with some italian dressing , salt and pepper. Let the kids wrap it up and put it on a grill when th...

Cooking intuitively must include a big decision- whether to include meat in your meals. I have cooked vegetarian and even vegan. Vegan cooking can be delicious, but speaking personally, I have found that a vegan meal (especially those that contain a protein or meat substitute) can take much longer to cook, include specialized ingredients, and become expensive. I do include veggie meals in my cooking, but I save those for a weekend or day off.  When I want a special treat for dinner, but don't want to spend too much time in the kitchen, I choose steak. The ABSOLUTE best steak I have ever had is grass fed, dry aged organic steak from Whole Foods. I bought it for a special birthday barbecue, and it was unbelievably expensive per pound. I have only bought it that one time!  But as a monthly or bi-monthly treat, I do sometimes buy a big steak. I know my family will love it, & I know I won't need much time to cook it. Here is what I have learned about buying steak: 1)...

It is really easy to pull together a meal when you deliberately cook with leftovers in mind. Of course, if you and whomever you cook for are not used to leftovers, it will be a major adjustment to cook this way. I generally don't think it is a good idea to disguise your leftovers in an attempt to pass them off as a new meal. My policy of home cooking includes an absolute rule of "eat what is put in front of you." This is a difficulty when you are trying to feed picky eaters. But if you cook after a hard day's work, in my opinion you are already nominated for sainthood and no complaints should be forthcoming! Anyway, what do leftovers and measuring have to do with each other? If you are cooking intuitively, you may find yourself either overestimating or underestimating how much you should cook. I myself still have to adjust from cooking for four starving teenagers and their friends to cooking for us two empty nesters.  Habits are hard to break! Food waste drives me b...

How exactly does anyone who has a full time job, and perhaps a kid or two find the time to grocery shop? No matter where you live, you have to spend some time just getting to the place where you shop. Most working folks must take time out of their weekend to do it. Crowded parking lots, crowded isles, and long check out lines are the typical weekend scene around me. When my gang of four kids was home, our budget for food felt as big as the national debt. I drove all day on Saturday , shopping at places like a discount store that sold expired baked goods, an off brand grocery store & more. I felt then, and still feel that it is better to spend my time hunting for bargains than standing in a check out line. So what does this have to do with intuitive cooking? If you start with a pantry of basics, and add on to it as you discover what kind of cooking works for you, you will find grocery shopping less frustrating. And you won't start a meal and discover you are missing some ing...

Intuitive measuring is one of the skills you can cultivate as you learn how to cook. Why do I want you to learn intuitive measuring? Because the less fussy you become in the kitchen, the quicker you cook . You will rely on your pantry more, and have to shop less. I want you to enjoy being in the kitchen, as a place where you can relax, cook good meals, and not worry too much. There are proportions you can learn by sight as you cook. For example , I make my own meatballs in one massive Saturday effort, and then freeze them. I know that for my large ten pound batch ( I am lucky enough to have a real butcher! He discounts the price if I buy ten pounds) , I will need about three cups of my fresh bread crumbs,which in my case fills up my blender....then I use three to four eggs, and three good palm fulls of italian spice blend. I know my "measurements" are right by how the meat looks before I shape it into balls. Or , for cooking rice, I know that rice doubles as it cooks. I k...

Holding down a job while raising kids is an exercise in juggling time. A crock pot can help you fix intuitive meals if you do it right. The advantage of a crock pot is that you can grab a pile of ingredients, dump them in the pot, and leave it to cook while you are at work. I am no good in the morning, so I have a crock pot with a removable center. I pile in my ingredients into the removable center, pop in in the frig., and then , in the morning, all I have to do is pop it back in the base in the morning. I leave it out on the counter during breakfast, then turn it on before I leave. I have this one. I like it because it comes with a temperature gauge: https://www.amazon.com/Hamilton-Beach-Programmable-Temperature-33969A/dp/B00EZI26GO/ref=sr_1_25?ie=UTF8&qid=1497533591&sr=8-25-spons&keywords=removable+crock+pot&psc=1 I mostly use my crock pot in colder weather. Why? Because crock pot meals make everything in them soft. So they work best with soups, stews, or pulled...

Getting comfortable enough around your kitchen to cook intuitively does take some practice. In the mean time, you need to be able to keep cooking ! That means keeping things simple. And making sure your food tastes good, and is good for you. And staying safe is always a good idea!  Even the best home cook can forget the safety stuff! Here are ten brief tips: 1) Wash your hands with soap before you cook 2 )Wash all veggies and fruits before you eat them 3 ) If a surface, your hands, or your knife touches raw meat, wash before they contact any other foods. 4) The same principle in #3 applies to raw eggs (when opened)  & raw seafood 5) Turn the handle of your pot or pan so that it faces away from both the heat source and the end of the counter 6) Get a fire extinguisher that works in a kitchen ( for type A B & C fires) https://www.amazon.com/Kidde-FA110-Purpose-Extinguisher-1A10BC/dp/B00002ND64/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1497462934&sr=8-1&keywords=kit...

One of the ways to get more flavor in your food is to have home made salad dressing on hand. Especially in warmer weather, a cold salad of fruit, cold pasta, or lettuce can become a meal. And salad dressing is so easy to make, and become completely intuitive if you remember these tips: First, get yourself a pint canning jar. You can find these by the dozen (the cheapest way per jar, and save the other 11) or singly. The advantage of a pint canning jar is that you know exactly how much it can hold, so you can make dressing in the correct proportions without measuring cups. Wash and dry your jar, the flat lid, and the screw top. Second, get vinegar and plain oil. . For the simplest dressing, pour vinegar in the jar up to one third of the jar. Then, pour in your oil up to the part of the jar right under the neck. Cover with the flat metal top and screw the lid down. Shake. Done.Vinegar and oil dressing. As long as you keep the proportions, (two thirds oil to one third vinegar), you...

If you have the basics in your pantry I have listed in previous posts, you are ready to cook your first meal. It will be of necessity, simple, inexpensive, and flexible! The first thing you are going to do is get everything out you need, and put it near your cook top. You will need: a medium sized pan with a lid, a knife good for cutting, and these ingredients: one can of beans (black beans, garbanzos,red kidney, whatever you have), white or brown rice, one onion, one or two cloves of garlic (optional), one fresh green pepper, tomato paste, veggie oil, & water. You are going to create a version of a pilaf, which is a simple rice dish with lots of flavor. It is good to eat alone, or with other food. The way you will cook this dish will feed two people or so, but you will see how you can make it to feed more...You should know that you can cook this more quickly over high heat, but if this is our first time cooking, don't. Cook it all over low heat so you don't burn ...

Building to the ability to cook on the fly begins with an inventory (see my previous posts). Part of the inventory you should add is herbs and spices. If you are a fast food, prepared food, or restaurant eater, you may be shy about herbs and spices, especially if you "don't like spicy things."  I am going to tell you WHY you need "flavoring things" in your cooking, and how to pick them out. One of the reasons you find pre prepared foods are good to eat is right on the labels. Canning and freezing food, especially for a long time, tends to take some of the natural flavor out. So most companies that produce fast food (or frozen meals etc.) put flavor back in with salt, fat, sugar, or chemical substitutes for them.  As a home cook, you are going to want your food to have flavor! And a healthier way to get flavor in your food is to use herbs and spices. I am going to urge you NOT to buy the ones in fancy glass jars. Look for dried herbs and spices in chea...

What you got?                Yesterday I suggested that you take an inventory of the general state of your cooking space, if you have one. The goal is to be able to build your skills to the point where you are able to kick out a meal on the fly. This happens to be the kind of cooking I like to do. I get really itchy when I have tried those meal planning ideas; and believe me, I’ve tried a bunch.                If you are lucky enough to have a full kitchen, you are really set. But even if you only have a hot plate or a microwave, you can do some very simple cooking.                SO why even try to cook , when you either don’t know how , or hate to? Try to think of it as a way of expanding your world. There are all the usual practical reasons, of course. For example, you c...

The first step in cooking at home involves no cooking at all.  I want you to take inventory! Print out this list, and take No More than five minutes at a time listing.  I don't want you to get overwhelmed before you start! What you got?               Do you have a full kitchen, with a stove,oven,sink,counter space , full sized frig? Or are you a microwave and hot plate minimalist? Make a list (yes, you have to really look at your space. Don't try to remember it) . Your equipment will determine just how much you can cook right now, without buying a thing. While you are at it, estimate each thing for age, size, and ease of use.                Do you have pots, pans,knives,spoons,measuring spoons mixing bowls? I will recommend some types of each of these if you don't got them. But once again, just list each and evaluate the condition of each. 2. What do you eat?    If ...