How many recipes do you USE?

HMM.. Now that I think about it... I'm constantly cooking and eating new things. The only 2 things that I always cook is crockpot chicken and fajitas. Other than that... I'm always trying new stuff. It's probably because I am single and cook for one, so everything I cook goes a long ways. I've actually been eating crockpot chicken since Sunday... everyday for lunch. By the time I finish something, I'm so tired of it that I don't cook it again for a while.

Last month I made freezer meals for the entire month ---Only four recipes lol. Beef Stew, Fajitas, Eggplant Lasagna, Taco Soup.. everything else I ate was super quick, like baked chicken or fish with salad.

I have about 50 recipes on old school recipe cards. I may use each of them once a year. Or less.

Mostly, my husband and I pin stuff on Pinterest that we want to try, and we usually either make the recipe or delete it within a couple of months. The "keepers" get saved to a separate board which I think has about 60 pins or so. If it's something reallllly fantastic we either make it so often that we remember exactly how to do it, or I'll copy it down onto a physical recipe card so we don't run the risk of losing the recipe due to a bad/old link.

So eh...~100 probably. We cook a lot.

It's a surprise every night -- or almost every night. Since I'm retired and cooking for two adults only, I can just google what needs to be used in the fridge or just wander around the web and find recipes to adapt for tonight's supper. Today, for example, I decided to try making up a batch of tahini -- then I had tahini to use so started browsing tahini recipes. I ran across "Spiced bulgur and chickpeas with lemon-tahini slaw" and since I have most of the ingredients I figured it was a good basis for supper.

http://insightanddelight.com/spiced-bulgur-and-chickpeas-with-lemon-tahini-slaw/

You can see my adjustments by looking at my diary for supper today (8/29).

HMM.. Now that I think about it... I'm constantly cooking and eating new things. The only 2 things that I always cook is crockpot chicken and fajitas. Other than that... I'm always trying new stuff. It's probably because I am single and cook for one, so everything I cook goes a long ways. I've actually been eating crockpot chicken since Sunday... everyday for lunch. By the time I finish something, I'm so tired of it that I don't cook it again for a while.

Last month I made freezer meals for the entire month ---Only four recipes lol. Beef Stew, Fajitas, Eggplant Lasagna, Taco Soup.. everything else I ate was super quick, like baked chicken or fish with salad.

I am the same way most of the time, I am single so I eat the same thing for dinner most of the week. Fajitas are one of my go to meals also. I love to cook, but I would get bored with it cooking for myself, but I made a resolution to myself that I would try two ne recipes a month. It seems to be working out pretty well. However, I also don't always follow the recipe exactly, really like the meal, then go to make it again and it turns out different....I need to write my changes down.

I don't have kids, but my wife hates eating the same thing more than twice a week, so we use a lot of recipes. I've entered over 100 in MFP, and I would say that there are 30-40 that I have used regularly over the last 5 years. We're college teachers and time often gets crunched during the school year, so I like to make double or triple batches and freeze leftovers for those times when I just don't have the time or energy to cook but don't want to go out. Tonight we ate a shredded turkey and veggie dish with Oaxacan mole that I made in a slow cooker a few days after last Thanksgiving. It has also been helpful when we invite people over on the spur of the moment, or when a co-worker has a family tragedy and we can bring over a week's worth of frozen meals along with our sympathy.

This summer we have a farm share, so I've been more spontaneous in what I make depending what's in the share. As that draws to a close, I'll probably go back to planning ahead.

We sit down every weekend and plan out the next week's meals—or at least 4-5 days' worth—and then do all the shopping at once, to maximize efficiency.

We have the luxury of a standalone freezer that the previous owners of our house left behind (long story), but even when we were living in small apartments, we froze as much as our freezer would hold. It's a huge time saver, and allows a lot of variety. Pro tip: use masking tape and a Sharpie on your leftovers, to write what's in it, how many servings and calories per serving, and when you made it. I do that when leftovers go in the fridge, so if I pull something out 5 days later and we're not ready to eat it, I can toss it in the freezer. If you don't do the labels with things that go straight in the freezer, you can end up with quite a surprise when you thaw it out.

We go through phases. Sometimes we'll cook something very frequently for a year or two, then forget about it for awhile. Our tried and true standbys are:

-chicken or turkey tacos
-turkey or beef chili
-butternut squash soup
-mushroom risotto
-baked chicken thighs with roasted broccoli or brussels sprouts
-chicken enchiladas
-pasta bolognese
-tortellini with spinach, artichokes, and mushrooms
-swiss chard quiche
-curried lentils
-grilled steaks and vegetables

My husband loves to cook, and once in a while I will too, but recipes sometimes give me a headache. If I can throw a few things in the pan or the oven and not have to measure, shop for random ingredients, or plan days in advance, that is what I'll do.