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My New Year’s Resolution is to Cook!
By Elizabeth | January 2, 2008
For the three of you who read this, I thought you’d be interested to know that my New Year’s Resolution is to cook dinner six nights a week! We’ve been slowly increasing the number of fast food and other “quick” meals we’ve been eating, and it’s getting really expensive. So last week while we were sitting at the dinner table, I proposed to my family that we set a goal of eating home-cooked meals six nights a week, and using the money we save to take a family vacation next December. We always have pizza on Fridays, either frozen or takeout, and that’s a family tradition we don’t want to give up.
So, that also means a lot more cooking posts for this blog! I’m thinking a widget in the sidebar titled “What We’re Eating This Week”, with our menus and links to any online recipes I’m using. Of course there might be times when we are travelling or just away from home for whatever reason, I’m not going to set myself up for failure by saying we will NEVER eat out, but as a general goal, I think it’s a good one. I’m planning to stick $40 a paycheck in a savings account, that is approximately what we spend on takeout from Taco Bell or KFC or A&W or on a last-minute trip to the expensive little grocery store up the street each week. I figure with the almost-$1000 I’ll save, we can all spend a few days in Chicago or somewhere next year.
Another goal I have is to increase readership of this blog, so those of you who do read it, feel free at any time to link to one of my posts, or to submit one to Digg or Delicious or StumbleUpon, I would really appreciate it. You can also send me recipes any time!
Topics: Meal Planning, New Year's Resolution |
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12 Responses to “My New Year’s Resolution is to Cook!”
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January 3rd, 2008 at 12:13 am
Good luck! I know I feel better when I eat home cooked meals. I hate to do the dishes! I’d rather be on the internet.
January 3rd, 2008 at 7:34 am
hi Elizabeth,
i don’t know if this interests you, but if you like Indian food, i have some recipes up on my blog. if you wish, you can check it out.
you have me as a reader hence forth for sure :-). And hence, one resolution was helped upon huh??
of course cooking at home saves a lot. as a family tradition, we (meaning most of the women homemakers in our family) have always cooked at home. we prefer keeping our tradition alive too. eat out is mostly on occasions and when i am not feeling well or if we want a change in taste. we are anyways observing strict cost cutting these days. so..
January 3rd, 2008 at 5:44 pm
I have a really awesome cookbook that I always tell people about.
It’s the 3,4 and 5 ingredient cookbook.
It’s a lifesaver!!
Course, you can always add ingredients, but if you’re short on time and short on pantry items, this is really good.
January 4th, 2008 at 7:48 am
Making all (or almost all) your meals at home isn’t too much of a chore. I’ve gotten really used to it; we have some rotating staples like spaghetti, quesadillas, burgers, chili cheese fries, and such. It’s easy to buy things like meats and breads in bulk, cheaply, and freeze them. If your family likes Taco Bell quesadillas, I’ve discovered a way to make ones that taste like the “real thing”: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/443231/just_like_taco_bell_quick_easy_quesadillas.html
Anyway, good luck with your resolution.
January 4th, 2008 at 1:46 pm
Stumbled onto this post from another blog. :-) I write for a living and have to say that the best way to cook daily is by owning a crockpot. It is so easy to prepare something in the morning while the kids are showering or whatever and then let it cook all day while you work.
January 4th, 2008 at 3:50 pm
Good luck!!!!!
January 4th, 2008 at 4:18 pm
Hi! I’m a new reader, and I just thought I’d let you know that I’ll be keeping an eye on your blog, because I am a former vegetarian just learning to cook regular food. I’m a noob! Very much looking forward to seeing your menu plans, etc.
January 6th, 2008 at 6:25 pm
Cooking Accomplished! has been a great find for myself and several of my friends. The concept is simple; you go online, pick the entrees you want and the date you want to assemble them. This comment has been edited at admin’s discretion.
January 13th, 2008 at 10:04 am
I will be watching this blog. I am trying to cook every night too, except Friday which is also our pizza night! There are 6 of us, so eating out is just too expensive! I subscribe to e-mealz right now, but I am going to look at some of the ones you use also! Thanks so much!!!
January 13th, 2008 at 8:36 pm
Chanin-I’m so glad you came by to MomCooks! I agree that eating out is too expensive, but it’s also hard to manage how much food to buy and have either enough for five servings (or more), or not have too much left over! If you have any tips, I’d love to read them!
January 16th, 2008 at 8:24 pm
That’s funny because I have the exact same goal. Our fast food spending has really gotten out of control, and at the end of the day it really comes down to poor planning on my part. I am really trying to make a sincere effort to plan a week’s worth of meals centered around our activities. Hopefully, I will no longer feel compelled to make a run through the drive-thru.
January 16th, 2008 at 8:50 pm
Kymberlyn-Good luck with your goal! I tell you what though, it’s harder than it sounds. I made the menu plan and the shopping list, bought all the food, but then when the time came to actually cook the whole meal, it seemed like such a huge effort. So it is going to be a slow process for me to get used to actually preparing meals from scratch every night.