I have a confession to make. And I have a feeling many of you are in the same boat. I might share homemade recipes, pin 1,000’s of them on Pinterest, and collect cookbooks like they are going out of style, but I really only use or follow a recipe once or twice a week. So I guess that makes me a no-recipe meal kind of cook!
I’m a big fan of no-recipe meals. Why? Well for starters, I’m horrible at following directions. Do you know what happens to cupcakes batter when you forget to add eggs? Yeah, they don’t rise or fluff! Hence why you don’t see many baked goods in my recipe index. Plus, a no-recipe meal is the reality of my life right now. I’m juggling a 15 month old and a somewhat fussy, but adorable infant. And a big appetite [thank you breastfeeding]. As much as I love perusing Pinterest and other food blogs and websites, I sometimes fly by the seat of my pants when it comes to cooking dinner. And this week, the result of this flight was DE-licious.
What Momma Loves about No-Recipe Meal Ideas
Who am I kidding. A no-recipe meal is basically a recipe. There are steps, ingredients, and a process to follow. But it’s not a big deal if you add too much or too little of one ingredient. YOU can decide amounts based on your personal taste. Plus, you can easily swap ingredients for what you have on hand in your stocked pantry, fridge, or freezer. At least that’s what I expect from my no-recipe meals and guarantee to share with you. And I promise I won’t insert my crazy cooking lingo into my no-recipe meals instructions, like “drizzle-drazzle” or “shake ya groove thing.” I’ll save that for when I’m cooking meals with my toddler… cooking is entertainment for both of us!
A Recap of No-Recipe Meals
Sunday:
Ok. I followed a recipe. Italian Beef Tortellini Soup. On to Monday…
Monday: Whole Chicken in a Crock Pot [cooked and served with potatoes and carrots]
Tuesday: BBQ Chicken Salad
Wednesday: Leftover Soup from Sunday
Thursday: Easy Taco Salad
And now that it’s Friday, all I can think about is the pizza I plan on making. I’ll share a picture of that tonight! And yes, I don’t follow any particular recipe for that either- except for the homemade pizza sauce. We buy the dough at the store, add the toppings we are in the mood for, and bake at 500 for 13 minutes.
TGIF FRIENDS! Now the biggest question is what cocktail I’ll be enjoying with that pizza…
Who else has a go-to healthy, no-recipe meal on their weekly menu rotation? I’d love to see it and I know fellow Mom to Mom Nutrition readers would too!
I can totally relate to this post! I love no-recipe meals – that’s actually how most of my recipes start out! And totally with you on the baking, which is why you don’t see a lot of those recipes on my blog either!
For me baking is harder to make healthier too. I’ll leave that up to other blogging friends 🙂
I find my cooking style to be very similar! I love love love cookbooks but kind of make things up as I go. I tend to make a lot of similar meals and just change it up depending on what we have.
Exactly!! If I’m cooking for a crowd I’m most likely following the recipe… But for the family, nope! 🙂
I could eat that whole chicken in a heart beat! ha ha 😉
It was so tender!!