When I need a little creative cooking inspiration here are a four sites that immediately give me great new ideas and recipes that I actually feel I have the ingredients and abilities to pull together.
1. realsimple.com -- In each issue of the magazine and on the web site there are great quick meals to upstyle your dinner table. I have been collecting their recipes for years.
2. foodnetwork.com -- This is the first place I go if I want to find a good basic meat recipe or have something very specific in mind. I often merge a couple of different recipes to get the recipe just the way I want it, but it's a great all-purpose online cookbook covering a huge range of recipes and cooking styles. Food Network also has recipes for some favorite recipes seen on Food Network shows - My favorite is
3. thepioneerwoman.com -- The pioneer woman can cook. I'm crazy about her Mini-meatball Sandwiches, in fact I had one for dinner last night. I make the recipe, have it for dinner then freeze two containers for two more dinners and still have enough for a lunch or two after that. I also heard today that her Chicken Noodle Soup is pretty fantastic. I'm trying that next.
4. TastyKitchen -- This is another great collection of great recipes contributed by readers who are great cooks. This is a good place to go to find a great basic recipes with fun twists. I love looking through the different food categories on this site.
5. Talkin'ChowPlayin'House -- I love this site for great food inspirations for the family. I often find great ideas here that I can't wait to try. They have a great selection of healthy soups, salads, main dishes and lots of mouth-watering baked goods.
The next time you're pressed for time and short on ideas, check out one of these sites for new ideas for your dinner table. They are a great resource if you want to start planning weekly menus or need something special for a family dinner or special event. Have a great weekend!
photo from FoodNetwork.com
6 comments:
What a great round-up -- some of these are new to me, so thank you! I use allrecipes.com a lot because the recipes with a lot of ratings are usually spot on (and people have great suggestions in the comments). However, it seems like these sights would be perfect to browse for inspiration. :-)
Thanks. It is so hard to cook healthy and keep it interesting. Great resources.
I love all the pictures with the Pioneer Woman's recipes. I'm not sure if all of hers are healthy, but they are all delicious! The steak salad is one of my favorites and it is sooooo easy!
No. 5 is one I've never heard of so I'm anxious to check it out. And yes, when you cook a lot, which I do since I have two kids, it does tend to get boring if I let myself fall into the rut of making the same dishes over and over. So all the online inspiration I can get is great. I also have about a dozen favorite cookbooks and I do go through them from time to time to try new things and adopt new dishes for my rotating roster.
I love the pioneer woman and tasty kitchen! Have you ever visited food gawker? I'm always getting great ideas there.
Jen, thanks for the great suggestion.
Ann, I'm definitely going to need to try the steak salad.
Kelly, thanks for reminding me about allrecipes. I've used it before and didn't even think of it when I put this post together.
Love all your comments. :)
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