Since my travel time will be limited in the next month, I’m trying to find things to write about that aren’t necessarily travel-related. I thought about finding restaurants to write about, and I still might visit some local places in the next few weeks to include here. For instance, as I write this, I’ll take JRS to Breckenridge tomorrow, and I will go somewhere I haven’t been to before, likely a new restaurant for lunch. 

As I’ve mentioned before, I’ll undergo my second hip replacement surgery a week from this Friday. Staying at home when travel is my work feels like I’m a clipped-wing bird, at least for the time being. It’s temporary, but I’ll try not to make myself and those I live with in this house go crazy.

One thing that I haven’t written often about is my cooking. I love dining out, but I equally enjoy creating meals at home. But the main problem with this is I don’t have many people to cook for. It’s only RAS, JRS and me here, and none of us eat that much. Making something for the typical yield for four people often allows us to have leftovers.

There are just a few things I’ve observed with my experience as a home cook. I’m not an expert, by any means. But maybe some tips can help you to enjoy making meals from home.

Follow recipes…then riff

About 80% of the time, I follow a recipe to the letter. But often when there’s some weird ingredient I’ll only use twice in a three-year period, I will substitute or leave it out altogether. I’ll also improvise when I feel comfortable enough to make a substitution – like onions for shallots, especially when JRS is eating the dish, since shallots cause problems for her.  I will also change something when I know it won’t make too much of a difference with the flavor profile.

Go simple

I really like recipes that only have a half-dozen ingredients. Those are usually my go-to ones, not only because they’re easy to make but also because my family appreciates dishes that don’t have too much complexity to them.  That’s not to say I won’t do make recipes that have 15-plus ingredients – it just depends on whether we have those already and if I’m going to use them again soon.

Halve recipes if needed

Another complaint I have about recipes is estimated portion sizes. Often yielding four to six servings, they are often more than generous, and we always have leftovers because it would just be too much for one sitting. So, even if I don’t mind having remaining food, I will often halve recipes just to make the preparation a little easier and to minimize food waste. That will especially be true when JRS no longer lives with us and it’ll just be us two.

Try meal kits

One somewhat low-risk way to cook and minimize food waste is cooking with a meal kit, like Blue Apron or Hello Fresh. While JRS and I liked this option, RAS didn’t, and we only tried it for a few months. NLS tried it too when she was at DePaul, and it seemed to work well. But I would probably do this if my hubby were more open to going this route, because the meals are pretty good. If you’re less inclined to cook, I suggest going for something where meals are already prepared and simply need heating up, like Cook Unity.