Friend Makin' Monday - Cooking Habits

If you’ve taken part in FMM then you know the rules. If you’re new, please take a moment to answer this week’s question on your own blog then add your link in the comments section at: www.alltheweigh.com so we can all see your FMM questions and answers. Feel free to add your links there too so everyone has to opportunity to be seen. The idea is to connect with other awesome bloggers so take a moment to post your own FMM post and comment on a couple of other posts. Now it’s time for this week’s topic!

FMM: Cooking Habits

1. What is your favorite meal to prepare at home?  That's a hard one... Breakfast - scrambled eggs, griddle toast, and hash browns.  Dinner - probably a toss up between sauteed shrimp and grilled chicken.

2. Do you like to experiment in the kitchen, or do you prefer to stick to the basics?  I kinda like to experiment.  I am not one to go hog-wild and not use a recipe as a base, but I will "doctor" recipes.

3. What is your favorite cookbook?  I used to have a ton of cookbooks and I never used them.  I get most of my recipes off blogs and websites.  Some of my favorites are:  Skinny Taste, Eating Well, Elly Says Opa, Healthy Slice of Life, and way too many more to name!

4. Do you have any tricks to share that help you reach your fruits and veggies goal for the day?  I have found that having things cut up and/or portioned before the work week helps a ton.  On Sunday afternoon, I cut up bell peppers, cucumber, etc. and put them in plastic containers in the fridge. I also go ahead and measure my hummus or dip.  A little "trick" for fruit is to make "fruit salad" - strawberries, blueberries, clementines, etc.  This helps the hubs and me from getting bored with choices!

5. What’s the most interesting thing you made last week?  Unfortunately, last week wasn't terribly interesting.  I guess our recipes aren't ever really that interesting.  We did fix a new recipe called Spicy Chicken Rigatoni that was supposed to be a Buca di Beppo knockoff.  It was delish!

6.  How often do you watch cooking shows on TV?  Occasionally...I am not one to sit and actually watch a show, so it is more on for the noise.

7. When you’re hungry, where are you most likely to look first? The refrigerator, or the pantry?   Fridge (or fruit bowl)

8. List a few healthy staples that can always be found in your kitchen.  We always have:  chicken breast, a few bags of frozen shrimp, apples, baby carrots, hummus, "natural" applesauce, Greek yogurt, almonds, and reduced fat cheese sticks.

9. Are you motivated to cook at home even when you’re eating alone?  Sometimes... If I am eating alone, I tend to just end up fixing a salad though.  It just isn't as fun to cook for one!

10.  How often do you try new recipes? I set a goal to try at least one new recipe per week this year (52 new recipes).  So far, we have had at least 1-2 new recipes per week.