True confession: some days, I don’t know what to make for dinner. Yes, I am a big fan of cooking at home, but when you do it all of the time, it’s easy to run out of recipes. I mean, really, how many times can you make a stir fry in one week? Because I love saving money, I aim to cook at home as often as possible.
So I have a few websites that I go to when I’m in a bind about what to prepare for dinner. You can check them out and let me know if they help you out with your home cooking.
1) Supercook.com: If you tell this website what you have lying around your kitchen cabinets and refrigerator, it will find out a meal based around what you already have in your home. Food waste is a major problem in America, with the average American wasting $1,200 per year in uneaten food. This recipe is especially helpful if you have some vegetables or any other food in the home at risk of becoming spoiled. On supercook.com, the Acapulco Chicken recipe is a favorite!
2) Whatthef*ckshouldImakefordinner.com: Ok, this website has a super edgy name, but it never fails to deliver the goods. Once you log on, the site has a recipe picked out for you that you can click on to access. If you are a vegetarian or don’t like the suggested meal that’s been selected, you can click on other tabs on the site and keep searching for meals that you like. What I like about the site is that it picks out meals for you, which makes you get out of your comfort zone when preparing meals. If left to my own devices, I would find a way to cook the same type of dish every day and that’s not good. Let this website help you decide what to cook.
3) 5dollardinners.com: This blogger has done an excellent job of gathering affordable dinner recipes. The site is really well organized and the site does a good job of offering up more than bean dishes for cheap meals. The site offers desserts, salads, stews, and whatever else for under $5.
4) Allrecipes.com: The name says it all. ‘Nuff said!
Foodies of the world, let’s unite! How do you figure out what to cook each night? What are your favorite recipe sites? Sharing is caring!
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{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Ooh, thanks for these Natalie. I didn’t know about the first three. I’m especially eager to check out the second one. I really miss Gourmet magazine. I loved trying recipes from that. Luckily, pack rat that I am, I hoarded many back copies of the magazine, so that when it stopped publication, I could use it as a resource. I also like recipes out of Real Simple magazine. I also have a few specialty cookbooks: Mediterranean, Dim Sum and Soul. I try to pull recipes from those as well–really go all out on a Sunday so I have leftovers to carry me through the week. I’ll take the leftovers to work for lunch. I, too, am all about the saving money. Keeping staples in the house is also important. For me staples are Premio Italian sausage, various kinds of pasta, a bell pepper, an onion and sauce. Great post Natalie.
Thanks hon! I’m trying to cook more, too! One thing I do all the time is to cook chicken with a jar of salsa or a can of stewed tomatoes on top, and then serve over brown rice or couscous. Low cal and low cost!
Here are some cooking blogs I like:
cheaphealthygood.blogspot.com
Okay nevermind, that’s all I can think of.
@Stacey: Ok, you are a wonder woman. LOL I also enjoy Cooking Light magazine. I feel SO healthy after one of its meals. I’m going to pick up some of your staples. I never have sauce or sausage around the home.
@GLM: #teamcouscous Do you like Israeli Cous Cous? nom nom!
@Sarah I’m checking out Cheaphealthygood.blogspot.com now. It’s figured out the key to good living, no? Thank you for the tip!
Natalie: Love the name of your blog! I have 4 kids and almost always cook at home too, it’s just too expensive to take 6 people out to dinner! If you looking for more ideas, I have a free dinner planning website, http://www.makedinnereasy.com that provides free weekly dinner menus, family friendly recipes, and an organized grocery shopping list. I promise you, I only feature a stir fry once every 3-4 months!
Crystal
I visited the Whatthef*ckshouldImakefordinner.com website, I just had to given the name and I love it! It’s not the place to go if you are looking for a specific recipe, but I love the randomness and ‘spin the wheel’ feel of it.
so far, it has directed me to the epicurious website, one of my favorites. I visit this website regularly since I stopped subscribing to Bon Appetite, the recipes from the magazine are all on the site!
Lisa
Hi Natalie!
Love your ebook!! A must read for all fabulous women trying to save money!!
For the cheap person trying to make a meal out of only ingredients already on hand, most people can find something to make for dinner out of the 100 easy dinner recipes here http://www.quick-and-easy-dinner.com
Happy New Year to you!
Tiffany