photo by lonelysandwich

If any of y’all are anything like me, you are planning your meals days ahead, if possible. It is funny how sometimes this is a little stressful for me. I’m constantly trying to get cooking ideas. You’re thinking, o.k. I need to defrost the meat overnight in the fridge, but will it be poultry, meat or Will I need an extra ingredient? Will I have to run out to the market again because I forgot a key ingredient? Sucks! I never like preparing the same meat two days in a row, especially red meat. I try to keep red meat down to once a week only. I also like having meatless dishes every once in a while. This sequence helps me get an idea on what to cook. However, the most resourceful place for me to get ideas is foodnetwork.com. I love it because you can enter an ingredient, and it will bring recipes containing that ingredient. This is very useful when you overstock on one or two things at the grocery store, and they are about to spoil.

And go figure, I just had an epiphany! Try to focus your dishes around a main component. Think on what the main ingredient will be. If meat is the principal or more elaborate dish, then the accompaniment should be as simple as possible. If pasta is the main thing, then you don’t even need meat. If you decide to have meat, again make it as simple as possible. Hope this is helpful to anyone out there.