Recipes
I am planning to add recipes to this blog and already have had a couple of requests. Please bear with me as I explore the best ways to do this. I am going to start with the basic version of Word Press Recipe Maker and see how that works. I am trying to keep my expenses as low as possible and will try to avoid adding advertising to help cover the cost of the site. I know that a lot of people whom regularly follow the food bloggers would like more information about the nutritional values than I plan to include so I’m going to explain a little about my philosophy on recipes. I also do not currently do a lot with social media due to my time constraints with work, so I am not how that functionality will work out.
One of our resolutions this year is to eat healthier and lose weight (about 30 pounds +/- each). The weight just doesn’t come off as easily as it used to. As far as meal planning goes, I have to watch what I eat to monitor my blood sugar and my salt intake for my blood pressure. My husband can’t have artificial sweeteners (especially aspartame), caffeine, or preservatives. Because the salt level is reduced, I do tend to add additional seasoning. Our pantry is arranged by yours, mine and ours sections. My primary shift is night shift, so we have flexible eating schedules and do not restrict ourselves to traditional meal items for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Since most of our meals are prepared from scratch, I am always looking into ways to reduce the amount of time that I spend in the kitchen.
I look at recipes as a starting point. I believe in following a recipe as written the first time I make it unless I need to make a substitution because of a food sensitivity, dietary requirement, or taste profile (when that is an option during preparation – Ex. when recipe calls for adjusting seasonings). After I have made a recipe is when I will usually make adjustments to ingredients or modifications in cooking method if desired. I may take inspiration from a published recipe (or recipes to combine) and/or adapt it to local ingredients or how is is cooked (oven vs. air fryer or stove top vs. instant pot). As mentioned above, I’m trying to reduce the time spent cooking, and if I can convert a recipe that takes 6-10 hours in a slow cooker and cook it in an hour using an Instant Pot, that’s great. Yes I could be doing other things while the slow cooker does its thing, but if it’s a night I’m preparing food for several days, that’s one less spot on my counter for workspace.
If I utilize a recipe from a published source, either cookbook or online, I will reference the original source. The recipe posted online will be my version. If an active online link is available, I will attach it to the recipe. Because the choice of ingredients can vary (Ex. cottage cheese can be purchased as fat free, low-fat, or regular from different brands or can even be homemade) and what is available is variable, I do not feel comfortable doing a nutritional analysis for recipes. Plus I have noted a number of people who have posted comments on food bloggers websites that modified the recipe during their first preparation of the recipe which reduces the effectiveness of any information provided.
My recipe collection is eclectic and covers recipes from family, restaurants, different US and global regions, and cooking styles. I may periodically do a roundup style post of recipes that I would like to share “as is” and do not feel the need to modify. I also have several bloggers that come up regularly on my recipe searches, or have niche recipe collections such as gluten free, that I might post about.
I hope to have my Lasagna recipe post up either later today or tomorrow as my “trial balloon”.