-- Shares Facebook Twitter Reddit Email Tired of those evenings when you inevitably know you'll wind up making the same dinner you always make? Don't fret. You don't need a recipe — just a fresh way of looking at what you already have in your kitchen . Try it out! You’ll never know what you might invent.
Think about a recipe like a roadmap, a GPS app. or a guideline, but to a destination you’ve already been to. It’s cool to lean on and can be a comfort if you get lost — either on the road or in the kitchen — but it’s not a necessity.
Related The most important ingredient in your kitchen is the one you most take for granted Take stock of your ingredients Start by taking a quick inventory of what you have. The only real rule? Cook food to its proper temperature. Everything else is fair game.
I get it— when you're used to thinking of dinner in parts (a protein, a starch, a vegetable), it can be hard to break that habit. But your homemade meals don’t have to resemble a frozen TV dinner, with its segmented tray of meat, an amorphous sauce, a scoop of peas or rice and a mysterious, saccharine lump of..
. jello? Cake? Who knows. Instead of focusing on what a meal is "supposed" to look like, think about what you actually enjoy eating.
No one is legally requiring you to serve a protein, a starch and a vegetable every night. We need your help to stay independent Subscribe today to support Salon's progressive journalism Build flavor with contrast If you’re a fan of fo.