Hi Friends! You CAN and SHOULD cook without recipes on the regular! Its the only way you'll truly experience the economy of your kitchen, here's how! Sign up to get my FREE Pantry Chat Grocery Guide Newsletter Here: tinyurl.com/4nadvnrd.
I asked an older lady from church for a recipe for the dish she brought over when my husband had double knee surgery. The following Sunday she handed me a 3 page letter that ended with "there's no recipe, I just throw it together."
That why it’s called Culinary Arts …. And Baking and Pastries are a scaled science. Chef in the chat! Love this!!! It’s technique and what you have on hand . We did this every Friday ~ into the walk ins to see what needed to be used immediately. This is great common sense as well as no to low waste. I love your content
Amen, AMEN! While recipes are inspiring and can provide confidence with new recipes, I enjoy studying them to see what substitutions can be made with what I already have. Rarely has doing so "botched" a recipe. All taste, no waste!
@@BecomingaFarmGirl Great advice! I'm a recipe addict who never ever makes one of them 😂🤣😂 I have always loved looking through magazines and the like but for inspiration only most of the time. Baking is a recipe... But even then I'm tweaking it, it's never spot on lol. You really should write the type of book your talking about here, your a wonderful teacher and have such a inspiring way about you... And love to chat it up on these subjects, just put these chats on paper! I bet there's someone doing a side gig that could write it for you just from watching all of these! I'm a horrible reader... I fall asleep but would love the audio book format 😘
Hallelujah!! It's about time that someone got real about cooking from your scratch pantry. So few people know how to cook these days, it just bewilders me.
I love the idea of the three bins. Shopping from your own frig and cupboards/pantry first. Oh, Grandma taught me well. You have a fun to watch personality. Well done.
I never learned how to cook until after I got married and I didn’t want that for my kids. I taught them early on and now it’s an absolute pleasure watching them create amazing meals from whatever is left in the fridge. Your style of cooking is honestly the best!
This is so beautiful to hear and when my little ones arrive I'll be doing exactly what you did with yours. Like you, I didn't really start cooking until I was a young adult, and truly, its the most practical skill I use and the time put into every meal is worth it when I think about how many skills I'm able to now stack, which enable us to eat well without breaking the bank. Thank you for sharing!
This video is exactly what people needed to connect the dots. The confidence to throw something together comes from knowing the base formula to do so. Bravo for helping shed some light on the secret so many have been looking for.
Amen, our grandmas knew how to run efficient kitchens that tasted great and didn't waste a thing. The amount of food that ends up spoiling or expiring and can be avoided just by front loading your meal prep by beginning with and planning meals around what you already have.
Amen, Sister! Omg - I hate how some people cannot function without exact ingredients for a formal recipe. It’s debilitating when you want to work with what we have already. THIS is real cooking! Thank you for saying it! 😊
I love the idea of the bin items for dinners of the week. While I ALWAYS shop my pantry and freezer. I often forget to pull the item out of the freezer.
Thank you for a wonderful episode. Did you know that Julia Child hosted the first cooking show on PBS in 1963. Was the first educational personality to receive an Emmy. She passed away 2 days before her 92nd birthday. Her last meal was homemade French onion soup. Happy cooking.
My fellow teachers loved when I brought a crockpot of yummy grits. You need grits, cheese, fat, protein, and seasoning. Bacon, butter, cheddar, salt, pepper is great. American cheese, butter, sausage, salt and pepper is also great. But… pork tenderloin, guacamole (seasoned fat), jalapenos, and pepper jack cheese was my most famous.
Girl, your cooking speaks to my soul! I adore cookbooks and read through them for ideas and then completely disregard them when it’s go time. My problem seems to be when I make something that hits it out of the park, I can’t remember how to recreate it!
Good grief, girl…these look delicious….i got those “recipes” printed out and raided my pantry! My weeks dinner decisions are done! Thank you and I am sending you a big hug❤❤❤
Tara! Always good to see you! I am so happy you shared this because what you did is EXACTLY how I envisioned this could help others see what they can make work in their kitchens. Keep me posted!
I swear I want to move next door to you! I cook by the seat of my pants, my mom is adamant about a recipe. She has a tendency to ask if I have “X” in my home canned pantry (of course I do, lol) but I’m always trying to get her to improvise. Example: she needed a cake mix with the pudding in it. Couldn’t find one anywhere. She had a cake mix AND pudding already in the pantry. A quick google search and she finally agreed she could make her own, lol. A dollar tree cake mix and some pudding on sale was much less expensive than a cake mix already done 🤦♀️. Turned out great by the way. I’m 57 and she’s in her early 70s, it amuses me how “old fashioned “ I am compared to her, 😂. Love this community. Dreaming of my own homestead 🥰💕
59 here, and same. I'm much more old fashioned and "from scratch" than my mother, who is 79. I blame Laura Ingalls Wilder 😂. I loved the Little House books and wanted to learn to make things from scratch from an early age. It has stood me in good stead my whole life.
No recipe?! That requires......skills! Something that was not taught....and I am trying to learn! Like basic skills, how to use a knife, how to saute..I keep trying though!😂 These are skills I "should" have at my age..but classes weren't available.
When I was young I collected recipes and loved to read them. Some of them I cooked following exact orders. Now I am old I have so much skills, almost never go back to a recipe. Only when I try something new. I loved my journey of cooking and it is just my big hobby, and I cook almost twice a day . Want to encourage you to get the skill. Everybody around you will be blessed
Hi friend! It's impressive enough that you have the want to learn and are starting with what you can do. What's fighting against so many is that these skills were also once school subjects (ain't it funny how we'll learn complicated math we'll hardly ever use but the every stuff like cooking, managing a checkbook were totally cut out). I digress, but, just know that with enough time in the kitchen, gleaning wisdom from a solid set of cookbooks, visiting your favorite kitchens on youtube (and even better an in-person friend or family member that cooks) and you'll notice you'll be reaching for measuring cups and confidently knowing how to combine ingredients within time!
@@swissherbgirl2917 when I was younger I had two relatives that really cooked well. I wish I had spent more time with them. Then I was to busy ( careers/ raising spec needs child) Now I have the time, but not the relatives. I hope younger people see these posts, and spend more time learning skills with their elders.
Don't worry about classes. I learned how to cook using trial and error. I started at 6 because my 12 yr old brother asked me to make him something to eat. I begged my mother for an easy bake oven but she refused. Instead she said if I really wanted to cook I could use anything in the kitchen. She showed me how to use all the appliances and the stand mixer and showed me how to measure dry and liquid ingredients. After that she turned me loose in the kitchen to cook unsupervised at 6. She would go to her bdrm to watch TV or take a nap. I was ahead of my time as everything I cooked looked "rustic". This was back in the early 70's. My family used to tease me about how the food looked but said it tasted great. Don't worry about skill. Relax and have fun. Remember, you get to eat your mistakes which are sometimes better than you could've ever planned. 😁
Watch me cook it is my recipe, just like Grandma! It used to frustrate my daughter because she wanted to recreate her favorite meals from childhood but I had no "recipe". She has been in my kitchen with me enough now that she can kinda reproduce those favorites and she has created some new ones for her family!
We live a block away from a grocery store and hubby loves to stop in at least 3 times a week....to say the least we are lucky. He does shop the clearance sales, but he is stuck in the habit of having 3 kids in the house. With us being empty-nesters at this point, gonna try to get him to shop the pantry first with this video!
All I can say is WOW! My mom, grandmother and guard-mother could make a meal out of whatever was in their kitchen! I could never find or see what they saw to cook. And the meals would always turn out delicious. These 6 meals look so mouth watering and appealing to the eyes! This is real cooking! Thanks Cassandra! 🥕🌽🌰🥬
As someone who is on a budget and eats locally as much as I can, thank you for calling out cookbooks for being tone death!! It really helped me to realize that that's the reason I get so frustrated with cookbooks and "never can find anything good in them". I used to cook intuitively and have switched over to adapting online recipes the last few years. You've inspired me to try out cooking without a recipe again.
What a great video, Cassandra!! I am blessed in that my husband isn’t a picky eater and will try anything. It’s so much fun to challenge one’s creativity and make a meal out of items on hand or to reinvent leftovers into something new. Have a great week!!
Yes, you are blessed! My husband regularly complains if I alter recipes- even when it’s to help with his health issues! He’d rather have things taste the same each time. 😛
When I saw in your email that you collect cookbooks but rarely cook something from everyone. That confirmed we are kindred spirits!! I have bookshelves full of cook books and the recipes I make are almost never made exactly as instructed. People get mad at me when I tell them this is the recipe the dish was based on. But I don’t remember what changes I made this go around.
Haha, yes-EXACTLY. While I'm happy to share my recipes, A LOT of my recipes are things I never write down and may not look the exact same the next time I go to cook. Breaking free from strictly adhering to a recipe truly is the way to keep meal staples fresh throughout the seasons, it ensures I'm using up what I already have before it goes bad, and along the way, I'm discovering dishes we love and keeping our budget in check. However, I do realize that emerging cooks and canners may be watching, but I want them to keep in mind that we should all be working towards emphasizing a fully rotating kitchen :)
Cassandra, thank you for emphasizing cooking w/o a recipe. I find these meals turn out tge best. Love your channel. Informative and entertaining. Keep up the excellent vlogs.
Hello Hannah! Absolutely! While I'm happy to share my recipe cards for other meals I feature, at the heart of my preservation kitchen is truly using food methods that ensure you don't waste what you've already got and rotate what you do. :) And yes, homemade meals that require you to get a little creativity are my favorite (and it keeps meal time interesting because the next variation might not be exactly the same). Blessings to you!
Other than baking, I rarely use a recipe. I have always done bins, even when it was not popular, in my fridge for future meals. I worked several jobs while attending university, while raising 2 kids, and I had to stay on top of meals and snacks. Both of my kids learned to cook as soon as they could stand safely at the stove; otherwise, they were helping with ingredients by cutting, measuring, or blending in a bowl. They also had to help in our garden! Thanks for another great video!!
What you are saying is the way I've cooked my whole life. My children now they are adults say can you write me the recipe 😮 then I say if you like something sometimes putting them all together, tastes amazing 🎉. Keep sharing ❤
Hey girl! I wasn't a theater kid, but I was an elementary teacher for the first part of my career. My personality is a strong blend of bubbly/dramatic, but I'm actually quite introverted unless I'm talking about something I'm passionate about. :)
I love watching all of your videos and they have really motivated me to move forward with my dreams to feed my family from my own land. I was wondering though, through your connections, do you know anyone like you on TH-cam that is in North Idaho or the Pasific Northwest? Just so they would have more take on local crops and thing that grow here.
Yes yes yes!!! No recipes! I hate cooking by folloeing recipes..only when baking and even there just for very specific things. It is too restrictive and wasteful... having insoiration and some cooking skills should be plenty 😄 And I looove inspiration from your meals, how you use your cannings good and leftovers...just amazing ❤
I'll admit, I'm very recipe dependent despite being a talented home cook who has been making 100% scratch made meals for years. I need to start trusting my skills a lot more. I also want to get into more fermenting. Just haven't found the time. Ps, not to sound like a creepy dude (because I'm a happily married straight woman) but you are so pretty. I don't comment much but I love your channel.
Wow! Girl you done said it! I definitely practice this… my motto is “no recipe recipes! I have created so many delicious dishes or meals for the past 30 years!
My SISTAH!!!!! WISH WE LIVED SIDE BY SIDE THANK YOU SOOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH!!! now i just need to concentrate and make time to do these meals I LOVE YOU CHANNEL N I SHARE LIKE WE FRIENDS THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR KINDNESS AND ADVICE N WISDOM!!!! 😊❤
Great idea reimagining substitute ingredients, saves food, money, time, and fuel while providing some new culinary experiences. I almost always cook this way, but my stuff isn't always so visually appealing
Your style is what i aspire to! I dont want to be a full homesteader: some chickens and a garden kitchen will do, but the homestead style of cooking and shopping/preserving seasonally is my goal. Starting my cooking journey from complete basics but am looking forward to the journey this year.
I have a small fridge but I love the bin idea! Maybe a mini version of this, because my husband is always asking if he can use something that is actually for a “recipe” I’m trying.
Hi, Cassandra! The fridge bins are a good idea and time saver for sure. Recipes are more like 'suggestions', really. Do you ever use your canned chicken to make Ugly Pizza? So yummy! Gotta love the sound of a canning jar being opened 🙂
Girl, I love your ways and I wish so much I was your neighbor! Of course you'd get tired me cause I'd want to hang out with you everyday in the kitchen. You are an amazing cook, I mean chef! ❤
🤣 I grew up wanting to be a research scientist. My kids would ask me "What's for supper?" And I'd say "It's an experiment!" Fortunately for them, I made most of my mistakes before they were born! God bless all of you.
What a fun video :) I very often have a recipe but deviate at lot because I don't have all the ingredients and I always add more seasoning!! My mom hardly ever had recipes as well which means it is interesting trying to make something she has made LOL. I like your idea of meal prep with bins. I need to give that a try :) My hubby and I hate wasting food so we are careful about finishing food up, or get it in the freezer. When it comes to veggies and fruit, if they are looking sad we give it to Bacon, our minipig (he is 25 kg / 55 lbs and fully grown :) ) To round up our zoo, we have Bacon - 4 yr old minipig, Raphael - 7 yr old Hermann tortoise, Rascal - 3 1/2 yrs old short haired cat, and Tex, almost 3 yr old deaf Dalmatian. Never a dull moment :) Love your videos, keep up the great work :)
I love you video! Cooking with what's in the fridge-freezer-pantry is exactly my talent! I call it my version of the Food Network show called "Chopped"! Thanks for sharing your talents!
All these “recipes “ look delicious! My mom, dad and grandma always taught us to cook with whatever we had. However when I was in high school, I’d use the recipe cards that I got in the mail to try new recipes, which then became family favorites! Love making new things! One time as a single parent of four kids, I made a meal from the very little we had in the cupboard at the end of the month and it was one of the best meals we ever had! My kids asked me to make it again and I couldn’t recreate it, as I forgot what I used, as I was just making do with what I had!
I taught all five of my kids (two girls, three boys) to cook. My son, currently a bachelor, came over one night to visit and whipped up an experimental pasta dish. He'd wondered what would result from a tomato-based pasta sauce and an Alfredo being mixed. He browned meat, threw in a couple pounds of chopped fresh spinach, various other veggies, spices, added the two sauces and BAM, a delicious pasta meal packed with veggies. We've made it multiple times with all different veggies based on what was available or needed to be used. It's become a favorite meal!
My hubby is retired so we make a menu every week. This really helps to use up my bits and bobs left in the fridge and focus on what is in our pantry. I have to say that having home canned protein on my shelf along with beans. I can tell you milling your own flour will save you a ton of money.
There's an Kitchen Aid attachment that works just like your hand cranked one, and if you can find the older style one, you'll be able to use the cones from the hand cranked one on the Kitchen Aid 😊. I know this because my first MIL gave me a hand cranked one similar to yours. I rarely use recipes when I cook. Canned chicken is so versatile! I use it to make chicken and veggies in gravy that also works as a pot pie filling. Thanks for this video. I've never had an organized refrigerator. Mine are a mess and stuffed with who knows what. I haven't ventured into the back of my kitchen refrigerator in so long that I've probably got a bunch of science experiments gone rogue in there.
I use recipes as suggestions or ideas on how to use an ingredient in my pantry that needs used up. I am well known for not having a recipe for the things I make. LOL I make something and folks ask for my recipe and I tell them what's in it but cannot tell them how much or how many. LOL
I will be beginning my cooking journey in February when i become the main cook after my wedding. I was gifted a collection of recipes for my Shower and have requested a copy of our family cookbook (family favorites from multiple people on my maternal side). One of the great things about recipies is that they help give you a base of favorites to start building off of, for example my grandpa's white bean chicken chilli is going to be a toss-together staple (cant wait to batch cook & can this one after getting a canner). Once you understand your ingredients you can "level up" to tossing things together but it is hard to do that when you dont have any sort of baseline ingredients to work with. After that you can figure out how to use those random ingredients leftover from trying new recipes.
Aaaahhh, this is so how I want to learn to cook! I’m not sure my family is adventurous enough to deal with it, especially my picky kids, but it’s still my goal. I’ve been rereading through the Laura Ingalls Wilder books, and this reminds me of the food descriptions in those.
you are speaking directly to me on this one LOLOLOLOLOL. I go to the grocery store legit every 2-3 days to get something i "need for a recipe". UGGGGGH the grocery bill 😩
Sing it from the rooftops, my friend! I am beginning the journey to learn to cook this way. I am going to see if I can track down that book you were reading from. I wanted to pull up a chair and listen to you read it. 😂. Here’s a thought about how to help drive this idea home, when you recap your recipes, you can also talk about it in terms of proteins, carbohydrates, vegetables, etc. Thanks, Cassandra, I absolutely adore the way you cook and I pay special attention whenever you are using your fermented foods.
Ooooo you are speaking my language. I have struggled on my videos with putting recipes together. I use a pinch of this and dash of that. We think alike. If I buy it 'we gone eat this food' 😂😂😂. Until it's gone 😳. Great meals, as always❤
I'm happy to show you what I've learned, Patricia. It truly is amazing what you can make with just staples, isn't it? It'll free you from being beholden on much of what they sell in the grocery stores because the possibilities become endless in your own kitchen!
I am making your pea puree from the February 6th recipe cards to have on my breakfast toast instead of avocado this week. I am sure it will be fabulous. Thanks for another great video.
Hear! Hear! Cassandra! LOVE that you’re encouraging not using recipes! I’ve always cooked by rules, not recipes. I may even give a go at breaking the rules for a wee bit of rebellion fun! 😂 Sriracha on chocolate ice cream? Yes! Salt on bananas? Yes! God put all this things together on one planet. It’s our job to find out how to make them work. Don’t be afraid to fail. Just fail forward. 😊
I love it!. Yesterday I made lentil soup with leftover turkey thighs and carrots and onions that needed to be used. So flavorful and easy. I love those old cookbooks. Just common sense advice. I've also been using my sourdough discard to make pancakes for dinner, pretzels etc.Thanks again for another super informative video. Love ya Cassandra!
I discovered you last week and I'm addicted to all your videos. This one is my favorite and I've already watched it at least 3x. I loooove all your flavourful recipes.
This video was the bomb full of nuggets of gold! Flavor overload! 😊 The last one for breakfast, I could taste through the screen. I envisioned adding an egg for kicks! Girl, I would subscribe to your channel everyday repeatedly, if it was possible! I’m a fairly ok cook and find more and more, even when following a recipe, adding and veering off on my own. I make it a bit of a game to go to the fridge and see where my imagination takes me! This video was spot on! Thanks and prayers and blessings to you!!! 💜🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽 ps: I can’t wait for your first take on the freeze dyer!!! 🤗
I like the way you're thinking, honey-EXACTLY. The way you're starting to use recipes is the way it should be done and I just want to encourage more folks to do that because it makes your kitchen, your ingredients, your budget the center of the meal and doesn't keep you tied down or like you're missing out if you do something different. You are well on your way!
I’m sharing your link on my Mama’s Kitchen Facebook page. We have been looking at ways to use pantry items to make a meals Thanks for sharing all of these tips and ideas:)
When my children were all mostly little (there's a 14 year age gap between oldest and youngest), I did what I called One-of... Casseroles: One bag of frozen veggies, one box of pasta (or one batch of rice), one can cream of... soup, one can/jar of protein of choice, one cup/baggie of shredded cheese, plus whatever seasonings my heart desired. Sometimes I made them in a big pot on the stove and sometimes I put everything in a casserole dish, but either way supper got done and everyone got their bellies full.
I am with you! Its not very often that I use a recipe to cook a meal and to be truthful some of these YT'ers that dole out measurements precisely drive me nuts ! Who on the world is going to put in an eighth of a teas. of onion powder?? LOL When my kids were growing up they would run in and say, "Momma. what's for dinner? " They quickly became use to the reply of me saying a "concoction!" But they know that ole Mom never let them down and they always had a good and delicious meal. I am now teaching them the "tricks of the trade!!" LOL God bless Cassandra
I rarely cook with a recipe. My mom taught me to cook from my pantry before I was 10 years old. A great skill to have...knowing what works and what doesn't. What I end up searching on the internet is oven temp and time. Lol.
HI PRETTY GIRL 😊 I BROUGHT THAT COOKBOOK THE HARD COPY 😊 I GOT IT WHILE LOOKING AT YOUR VIDEO! THANKS FOR THE HEADS UP ❤ SIS CONTINUE TO ENJOY LIFE THE ALMIGHTY IS WITH YOU AND YOUR HUSBAND 🥰🥗
Hi Friends! You CAN and SHOULD cook without recipes on the regular! Its the only way you'll truly experience the economy of your kitchen, here's how!
Sign up to get my FREE Pantry Chat Grocery Guide Newsletter Here: tinyurl.com/4nadvnrd.
ALWAYS❤ A FUN /INFORMATIVE SHOW💕☕️👋💐
I asked an older lady from church for a recipe for the dish she brought over when my husband had double knee surgery. The following Sunday she handed me a 3 page letter that ended with "there's no recipe, I just throw it together."
❤❤❤❤
My Gram told all of us how to be "Rooter Cook". You just root through the kitchen to see what you have and make a meal with it.
“Rooter Cooker” 😂😂 I LOVE IT!!!!❤❤❤❤❤❤
Excellent! Smart Gram!
Some wisdom, no matter how "old" never goes out of style- and being able to cook from staples is one of them!
Oh, I LOOOOOVE this. Grams had it right!
My Grandma called it Farm House Cooking. I love Rooter Cook better though. ❤
That why it’s called Culinary Arts …. And Baking and Pastries are a scaled science.
Chef in the chat!
Love this!!! It’s technique and what you have on hand . We did this every Friday ~ into the walk ins to see what needed to be used immediately. This is great common sense as well as no to low waste.
I love your content
Amen, AMEN! While recipes are inspiring and can provide confidence with new recipes, I enjoy studying them to see what substitutions can be made with what I already have. Rarely has doing so "botched" a recipe. All taste, no waste!
@@BecomingaFarmGirl 💯 %
Recipes are suggestions and techniques
@@BecomingaFarmGirl
Great advice! I'm a recipe addict who never ever makes one of them 😂🤣😂 I have always loved looking through magazines and the like but for inspiration only most of the time. Baking is a recipe... But even then I'm tweaking it, it's never spot on lol.
You really should write the type of book your talking about here, your a wonderful teacher and have such a inspiring way about you... And love to chat it up on these subjects, just put these chats on paper! I bet there's someone doing a side gig that could write it for you just from watching all of these!
I'm a horrible reader... I fall asleep but would love the audio book format 😘
Hallelujah!! It's about time that someone got real about cooking from your scratch pantry. So few people know how to cook these days, it just bewilders me.
I love the idea of the three bins. Shopping from your own frig and cupboards/pantry first. Oh, Grandma taught me well. You have a fun to watch personality. Well done.
I never learned how to cook until after I got married and I didn’t want that for my kids. I taught them early on and now it’s an absolute pleasure watching them create amazing meals from whatever is left in the fridge. Your style of cooking is honestly the best!
This is so beautiful to hear and when my little ones arrive I'll be doing exactly what you did with yours. Like you, I didn't really start cooking until I was a young adult, and truly, its the most practical skill I use and the time put into every meal is worth it when I think about how many skills I'm able to now stack, which enable us to eat well without breaking the bank. Thank you for sharing!
Lol, my family lovingly jokes that a recipe is more of a guideline or suggestion to me because I always say oh but this would work better in it lol.
A non recipe card for every non recipe needing recipe 😂 LOVE IT 🥰
Cassandra, your personality always makes me smile! Thanks for always making engaging videos 😊
Hey Jean! Aww, thank you honey. By now I know that you and others "get me" and truly, I'm the same hot mess in real life :)
This video is exactly what people needed to connect the dots. The confidence to throw something together comes from knowing the base formula to do so. Bravo for helping shed some light on the secret so many have been looking for.
This reminded me of my grandma. She never followed recipes, used what she had, and created gourmet every time.
Amen, our grandmas knew how to run efficient kitchens that tasted great and didn't waste a thing. The amount of food that ends up spoiling or expiring and can be avoided just by front loading your meal prep by beginning with and planning meals around what you already have.
Amen, Sister! Omg - I hate how some people cannot function without exact ingredients for a formal recipe. It’s debilitating when you want to work with what we have already. THIS is real cooking! Thank you for saying it! 😊
Please don’t judge 😂😂
I love the idea of the bin items for dinners of the week. While I ALWAYS shop my pantry and freezer. I often forget to pull the item out of the freezer.
You are going to love the bins in the fridge hack. I'm telling you, its odd on the surface but solves soo many problems!
I love reading cookbooks! Especially those that have historical value. Can you just imagine standing beside these women in their kitchens?
You cook the same way I do! My family doesn’t call leftover meals leftovers, they call them “redo’s”.
Thank you for a wonderful episode.
Did you know that Julia Child hosted the first cooking show on PBS in 1963. Was the first educational personality to receive an Emmy. She passed away 2 days before her 92nd birthday. Her last meal was homemade French onion soup.
Happy cooking.
My fellow teachers loved when I brought a crockpot of yummy grits. You need grits, cheese, fat, protein, and seasoning. Bacon, butter, cheddar, salt, pepper is great. American cheese, butter, sausage, salt and pepper is also great. But… pork tenderloin, guacamole (seasoned fat), jalapenos, and pepper jack cheese was my most famous.
Girl, your cooking speaks to my soul! I adore cookbooks and read through them for ideas and then completely disregard them when it’s go time. My problem seems to be when I make something that hits it out of the park, I can’t remember how to recreate it!
Good grief, girl…these look delicious….i got those “recipes” printed out and raided my pantry! My weeks dinner decisions are done! Thank you and I am sending you a big hug❤❤❤
Tara! Always good to see you! I am so happy you shared this because what you did is EXACTLY how I envisioned this could help others see what they can make work in their kitchens. Keep me posted!
I swear I want to move next door to you! I cook by the seat of my pants, my mom is adamant about a recipe. She has a tendency to ask if I have “X” in my home canned pantry (of course I do, lol) but I’m always trying to get her to improvise. Example: she needed a cake mix with the pudding in it. Couldn’t find one anywhere. She had a cake mix AND pudding already in the pantry. A quick google search and she finally agreed she could make her own, lol. A dollar tree cake mix and some pudding on sale was much less expensive than a cake mix already done 🤦♀️. Turned out great by the way. I’m 57 and she’s in her early 70s, it amuses me how “old fashioned “ I am compared to her, 😂. Love this community. Dreaming of my own homestead 🥰💕
awesome!! you go girl!!
59 here, and same. I'm much more old fashioned and "from scratch" than my mother, who is 79. I blame Laura Ingalls Wilder 😂. I loved the Little House books and wanted to learn to make things from scratch from an early age. It has stood me in good stead my whole life.
8:30 yep I love those 'recipes' that I basically use what I have
Like I make chili with whatever beans I have and whatever meat and veggies I have
No recipe?! That requires......skills! Something that was not taught....and I am trying to learn! Like basic skills, how to use a knife, how to saute..I keep trying though!😂 These are skills I "should" have at my age..but classes weren't available.
When I was young I collected recipes and loved to read them. Some of them I cooked following exact orders.
Now I am old I have so much skills, almost never go back to a recipe. Only when I try something new. I loved my journey of cooking and it is just my big hobby, and I cook almost twice a day . Want to encourage you to get the skill. Everybody around you will be blessed
Hi friend! It's impressive enough that you have the want to learn and are starting with what you can do. What's fighting against so many is that these skills were also once school subjects (ain't it funny how we'll learn complicated math we'll hardly ever use but the every stuff like cooking, managing a checkbook were totally cut out). I digress, but, just know that with enough time in the kitchen, gleaning wisdom from a solid set of cookbooks, visiting your favorite kitchens on youtube (and even better an in-person friend or family member that cooks) and you'll notice you'll be reaching for measuring cups and confidently knowing how to combine ingredients within time!
@@BecomingaFarmGirl thank you for the positive response. I will keep trying! :)
@@swissherbgirl2917 when I was younger I had two relatives that really cooked well. I wish I had spent more time with them. Then I was to busy ( careers/ raising spec needs child) Now I have the time, but not the relatives. I hope younger people see these posts, and spend more time learning skills with their elders.
Don't worry about classes. I learned how to cook using trial and error. I started at 6 because my 12 yr old brother asked me to make him something to eat. I begged my mother for an easy bake oven but she refused. Instead she said if I really wanted to cook I could use anything in the kitchen. She showed me how to use all the appliances and the stand mixer and showed me how to measure dry and liquid ingredients. After that she turned me loose in the kitchen to cook unsupervised at 6. She would go to her bdrm to watch TV or take a nap. I was ahead of my time as everything I cooked looked "rustic". This was back in the early 70's. My family used to tease me about how the food looked but said it tasted great. Don't worry about skill. Relax and have fun. Remember, you get to eat your mistakes which are sometimes better than you could've ever planned. 😁
Watch me cook it is my recipe, just like Grandma! It used to frustrate my daughter because she wanted to recreate her favorite meals from childhood but I had no "recipe". She has been in my kitchen with me enough now that she can kinda reproduce those favorites and she has created some new ones for her family!
We live a block away from a grocery store and hubby loves to stop in at least 3 times a week....to say the least we are lucky. He does shop the clearance sales, but he is stuck in the habit of having 3 kids in the house. With us being empty-nesters at this point, gonna try to get him to shop the pantry first with this video!
Yet again, you fail to disappoint 🥰 Am I the only one who gets sad when the video is over? I need more Cassandra time! 😛😁🤣
4:40 I love that approach!
All I can say is WOW! My mom, grandmother and guard-mother could make a meal out of whatever was in their kitchen! I could never find or see what they saw to cook. And the meals would always turn out delicious. These 6 meals look so mouth watering and appealing to the eyes! This is real cooking! Thanks Cassandra! 🥕🌽🌰🥬
As someone who is on a budget and eats locally as much as I can, thank you for calling out cookbooks for being tone death!! It really helped me to realize that that's the reason I get so frustrated with cookbooks and "never can find anything good in them".
I used to cook intuitively and have switched over to adapting online recipes the last few years. You've inspired me to try out cooking without a recipe again.
Just found this channel. You are my kind of channel...love it❤❤❤😂😂😂
Giiirrll, I am sooo glad I found your channel!!! Lol 😂😂😂 love it!!!
What a great video, Cassandra!! I am blessed in that my husband isn’t a picky eater and will try anything. It’s so much fun to challenge one’s creativity and make a meal out of items on hand or to reinvent leftovers into something new. Have a great week!!
Yes, you are blessed! My husband regularly complains if I alter recipes- even when it’s to help with his health issues! He’d rather have things taste the same each time. 😛
Cassandra!!! I couldn't click fast enough! So excited for this chat and looking forward to taking advantage of Frozen Food Month next month ❤
It is on next Month for Frozen Foods (hence why I'm sorting through what I have on hand now to make space for other goods)! Good to "see" you friend!
Liked before i even got past the first minute. Lol ❤❤ Off to keep watching !
When I saw in your email that you collect cookbooks but rarely cook something from everyone. That confirmed we are kindred spirits!! I have bookshelves full of cook books and the recipes I make are almost never made exactly as instructed. People get mad at me when I tell them this is the recipe the dish was based on. But I don’t remember what changes I made this go around.
Sistah is back ❤
Haha, yes-EXACTLY. While I'm happy to share my recipes, A LOT of my recipes are things I never write down and may not look the exact same the next time I go to cook. Breaking free from strictly adhering to a recipe truly is the way to keep meal staples fresh throughout the seasons, it ensures I'm using up what I already have before it goes bad, and along the way, I'm discovering dishes we love and keeping our budget in check. However, I do realize that emerging cooks and canners may be watching, but I want them to keep in mind that we should all be working towards emphasizing a fully rotating kitchen :)
You are a woman after my own ❤️ heart! Great video.
Cassandra, thank you for emphasizing cooking w/o a recipe. I find these meals turn out tge best. Love your channel. Informative and entertaining. Keep up the excellent vlogs.
Hello Hannah! Absolutely! While I'm happy to share my recipe cards for other meals I feature, at the heart of my preservation kitchen is truly using food methods that ensure you don't waste what you've already got and rotate what you do. :) And yes, homemade meals that require you to get a little creativity are my favorite (and it keeps meal time interesting because the next variation might not be exactly the same). Blessings to you!
Other than baking, I rarely use a recipe. I have always done bins, even when it was not popular, in my fridge for future meals. I worked several jobs while attending university, while raising 2 kids, and I had to stay on top of meals and snacks. Both of my kids learned to cook as soon as they could stand safely at the stove; otherwise, they were helping with ingredients by cutting, measuring, or blending in a bowl. They also had to help in our garden! Thanks for another great video!!
What you are saying is the way I've cooked my whole life. My children now they are adults say can you write me the recipe 😮 then I say if you like something sometimes putting them all together, tastes amazing 🎉. Keep sharing ❤
I super enjoyed this video, sounds like the start of a new series!
This has been the best video sister, you sing it!!!! Very Helpful....and I have been cooking for a family for years
Aww, you are too kind, Kathy!
Cassandra, were you a theater kid? Lol, you are so funny and cute! Love your content and as always thank you!
Hey girl! I wasn't a theater kid, but I was an elementary teacher for the first part of my career. My personality is a strong blend of bubbly/dramatic, but I'm actually quite introverted unless I'm talking about something I'm passionate about. :)
@@BecomingaFarmGirl well your passion shows in each video! 💯
You have really impressed me! I've been thinking in ways that will help me cook what I have. May Our Heavenly Father Bless you. Thanks
This video made me want to turn my life around, it was so good!!!! The bin idea is gold!
Love your way of cooking. When i cook i just use what i have on hand. Make do.
Thanks for saying it. I most often cook w/o recipes using what is at hand. Use recipes more for baking & even then, I adjust as needed.
Omg you can food too... wish I could subscribe twice lol
What a great idea to have the flour in a large flat rectangle instead of a jar. No aim needed to get the flour out without spillage. Brilliant!!
Hey, love your videos. In Puerto Rico we call it: cocinar a ojímetro. We always cook without a recipe.❤🌻
I would eat at your house any time!! 😄 You cook like my mom did. She was a great cook!
I love watching all of your videos and they have really motivated me to move forward with my dreams to feed my family from my own land. I was wondering though, through your connections, do you know anyone like you on TH-cam that is in North Idaho or the Pasific Northwest? Just so they would have more take on local crops and thing that grow here.
I had no idea my weck lids would fit on my milk bottle! Thanks, Cassandra!
Yes yes yes!!! No recipes! I hate cooking by folloeing recipes..only when baking and even there just for very specific things. It is too restrictive and wasteful... having insoiration and some cooking skills should be plenty 😄 And I looove inspiration from your meals, how you use your cannings good and leftovers...just amazing ❤
I'll admit, I'm very recipe dependent despite being a talented home cook who has been making 100% scratch made meals for years. I need to start trusting my skills a lot more. I also want to get into more fermenting. Just haven't found the time.
Ps, not to sound like a creepy dude (because I'm a happily married straight woman) but you are so pretty. I don't comment much but I love your channel.
My favorite video this week. Well done kiddo. -Natalie
Wow! Girl you done said it! I definitely practice this… my motto is “no recipe recipes! I have created so many delicious dishes or meals for the past 30 years!
My SISTAH!!!!! WISH WE LIVED SIDE BY SIDE
THANK YOU SOOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH!!! now i just need to concentrate and make time to do these meals I LOVE YOU CHANNEL N I SHARE LIKE WE FRIENDS
THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR KINDNESS AND ADVICE N WISDOM!!!! 😊❤
Great idea reimagining substitute ingredients, saves food, money, time, and fuel while providing some new culinary experiences. I almost always cook this way, but my stuff isn't always so visually appealing
This was the BEST advice I’ve ever heard! Now, if I could start canning my own meat, but don’t have the equipment yet 😢
Your style is what i aspire to! I dont want to be a full homesteader: some chickens and a garden kitchen will do, but the homestead style of cooking and shopping/preserving seasonally is my goal.
Starting my cooking journey from complete basics but am looking forward to the journey this year.
I have a small fridge but I love the bin idea! Maybe a mini version of this, because my husband is always asking if he can use something that is actually for a “recipe”
I’m trying.
Hi, Cassandra! The fridge bins are a good idea and time saver for sure.
Recipes are more like 'suggestions', really.
Do you ever use your canned chicken to make Ugly Pizza? So yummy!
Gotta love the sound of a canning jar being opened 🙂
Girl, I love your ways and I wish so much I was your neighbor! Of course you'd get tired me cause I'd want to hang out with you everyday in the kitchen. You are an amazing cook, I mean chef! ❤
You make me hungry every time I watch your videos. Everything looks so delicious. 🤤🤤🤤
🤣 I grew up wanting to be a research scientist.
My kids would ask me "What's for supper?" And I'd say "It's an experiment!" Fortunately for them, I made most of my mistakes before they were born!
God bless all of you.
What a fun video :) I very often have a recipe but deviate at lot because I don't have all the ingredients and I always add more seasoning!! My mom hardly ever had recipes as well which means it is interesting trying to make something she has made LOL. I like your idea of meal prep with bins. I need to give that a try :) My hubby and I hate wasting food so we are careful about finishing food up, or get it in the freezer. When it comes to veggies and fruit, if they are looking sad we give it to Bacon, our minipig (he is 25 kg / 55 lbs and fully grown :) ) To round up our zoo, we have Bacon - 4 yr old minipig, Raphael - 7 yr old Hermann tortoise, Rascal - 3 1/2 yrs old short haired cat, and Tex, almost 3 yr old deaf Dalmatian. Never a dull moment :) Love your videos, keep up the great work :)
I love you video! Cooking with what's in the fridge-freezer-pantry is exactly my talent! I call it my version of the Food Network show called "Chopped"! Thanks for sharing your talents!
All these “recipes “ look delicious! My mom, dad and grandma always taught us to cook with whatever we had. However when I was in high school, I’d use the recipe cards that I got in the mail to try new recipes, which then became family favorites! Love making new things! One time as a single parent of four kids, I made a meal from the very little we had in the cupboard at the end of the month and it was one of the best meals we ever had! My kids asked me to make it again and I couldn’t recreate it, as I forgot what I used, as I was just making do with what I had!
Holy cow, that was a lot of great info. I'm listening to it at least twice so hopefully some of it sinks in! Thanks.
Thank you for this lesson… I was not blessed to know my grandmothers, so having help with this is wonderful ❤
I taught all five of my kids (two girls, three boys) to cook. My son, currently a bachelor, came over one night to visit and whipped up an experimental pasta dish. He'd wondered what would result from a tomato-based pasta sauce and an Alfredo being mixed. He browned meat, threw in a couple pounds of chopped fresh spinach, various other veggies, spices, added the two sauces and BAM, a delicious pasta meal packed with veggies. We've made it multiple times with all different veggies based on what was available or needed to be used. It's become a favorite meal!
My hubby is retired so we make a menu every week. This really helps to use up my bits and bobs left in the fridge and focus on what is in our pantry. I have to say that having home canned protein on my shelf along with beans. I can tell you milling your own flour will save you a ton of money.
Your best video yet. This is how my Mama taught me to cook and I have forgotten! Thanks lady❤
I hate I am a day late watching your video. I always love your content. I love how you did this. You gave me grest ideas❤
Cooking stresses me out to no end,..you make it look so easy and fun haha!
There's an Kitchen Aid attachment that works just like your hand cranked one, and if you can find the older style one, you'll be able to use the cones from the hand cranked one on the Kitchen Aid 😊. I know this because my first MIL gave me a hand cranked one similar to yours.
I rarely use recipes when I cook. Canned chicken is so versatile! I use it to make chicken and veggies in gravy that also works as a pot pie filling.
Thanks for this video. I've never had an organized refrigerator. Mine are a mess and stuffed with who knows what. I haven't ventured into the back of my kitchen refrigerator in so long that I've probably got a bunch of science experiments gone rogue in there.
Oh my lands I love you!! I just subscribed/. I needed dehydration which was the last thing I watched. I love your style and your humor!!
You are such an inspiration to everyone. May God continue to bless you and fulfill all your hopes and dreams. ❤
I use recipes as suggestions or ideas on how to use an ingredient in my pantry that needs used up. I am well known for not having a recipe for the things I make. LOL I make something and folks ask for my recipe and I tell them what's in it but cannot tell them how much or how many. LOL
I love how creative you are in the kitchen!! An area I'm lacking in but learning thanks to you! Now going back to rewatch & jot down some ideas!🌻🌻🌻
I will be beginning my cooking journey in February when i become the main cook after my wedding. I was gifted a collection of recipes for my Shower and have requested a copy of our family cookbook (family favorites from multiple people on my maternal side). One of the great things about recipies is that they help give you a base of favorites to start building off of, for example my grandpa's white bean chicken chilli is going to be a toss-together staple (cant wait to batch cook & can this one after getting a canner). Once you understand your ingredients you can "level up" to tossing things together but it is hard to do that when you dont have any sort of baseline ingredients to work with. After that you can figure out how to use those random ingredients leftover from trying new recipes.
Aaaahhh, this is so how I want to learn to cook! I’m not sure my family is adventurous enough to deal with it, especially my picky kids, but it’s still my goal. I’ve been rereading through the Laura Ingalls Wilder books, and this reminds me of the food descriptions in those.
you are speaking directly to me on this one LOLOLOLOLOL. I go to the grocery store legit every 2-3 days to get something i "need for a recipe". UGGGGGH the grocery bill 😩
Sing it from the rooftops, my friend! I am beginning the journey to learn to cook this way. I am going to see if I can track down that book you were reading from. I wanted to pull up a chair and listen to you read it. 😂. Here’s a thought about how to help drive this idea home, when you recap your recipes, you can also talk about it in terms of proteins, carbohydrates, vegetables, etc. Thanks, Cassandra, I absolutely adore the way you cook and I pay special attention whenever you are using your fermented foods.
Ooooo you are speaking my language. I have struggled on my videos with putting recipes together. I use a pinch of this and dash of that. We think alike. If I buy it 'we gone eat this food' 😂😂😂. Until it's gone 😳. Great meals, as always❤
You said it, you said it! And the leather motorcycle jacket you featured on your channel...you look amazing! Oh that looks good!
@@BecomingaFarmGirl 🥰🥰🥰
I love your organization!! These are ny goals! 🙏🙏🙏🙂
I'd love to see your old cook book collection. Love going through old cook books!
I hat no imagination like that. I apparently don't have a visual either. This is why I watch your videos. ❤
I'm happy to show you what I've learned, Patricia. It truly is amazing what you can make with just staples, isn't it? It'll free you from being beholden on much of what they sell in the grocery stores because the possibilities become endless in your own kitchen!
Same here. lol
I am making your pea puree from the February 6th recipe cards to have on my breakfast toast instead of avocado this week. I am sure it will be fabulous. Thanks for another great video.
Hear! Hear! Cassandra!
LOVE that you’re encouraging not using recipes!
I’ve always cooked by rules, not recipes. I may even give a go at breaking the rules for a wee bit of rebellion fun! 😂
Sriracha on chocolate ice cream? Yes!
Salt on bananas? Yes!
God put all this things together on one planet. It’s our job to find out how to make them work. Don’t be afraid to fail. Just fail forward. 😊
I love it!. Yesterday I made lentil soup with leftover turkey thighs and carrots and onions that needed to be used. So flavorful and easy. I love those old cookbooks. Just common sense advice. I've also been using my sourdough discard to make pancakes for dinner, pretzels etc.Thanks again for another super informative video. Love ya Cassandra!
I discovered you last week and I'm addicted to all your videos. This one is my favorite and I've already watched it at least 3x. I loooove all your flavourful recipes.
This video was the bomb full of nuggets of gold! Flavor overload! 😊 The last one for breakfast, I could taste through the screen. I envisioned adding an egg for kicks! Girl, I would subscribe to your channel everyday repeatedly, if it was possible! I’m a fairly ok cook and find more and more, even when following a recipe, adding and veering off on my own. I make it a bit of a game to go to the fridge and see where my imagination takes me! This video was spot on! Thanks and prayers and blessings to you!!! 💜🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽
ps: I can’t wait for your first take on the freeze dyer!!! 🤗
I like the way you're thinking, honey-EXACTLY. The way you're starting to use recipes is the way it should be done and I just want to encourage more folks to do that because it makes your kitchen, your ingredients, your budget the center of the meal and doesn't keep you tied down or like you're missing out if you do something different. You are well on your way!
OMG! You are so organized. I can only hope I get half as organized as you😂😂
I’m sharing your link on my Mama’s Kitchen Facebook page. We have been looking at ways to use pantry items to make a meals Thanks for sharing all of these tips and ideas:)
When my children were all mostly little (there's a 14 year age gap between oldest and youngest), I did what I called One-of... Casseroles: One bag of frozen veggies, one box of pasta (or one batch of rice), one can cream of... soup, one can/jar of protein of choice, one cup/baggie of shredded cheese, plus whatever seasonings my heart desired. Sometimes I made them in a big pot on the stove and sometimes I put everything in a casserole dish, but either way supper got done and everyone got their bellies full.
I am with you! Its not very often that I use a recipe to cook a meal and to be truthful some of these YT'ers that dole out measurements precisely drive me nuts ! Who on the world is going to put in an eighth of a teas. of onion powder?? LOL When my kids were growing up they would run in and say, "Momma. what's for dinner? " They quickly became use to the reply of me saying a "concoction!" But they know that ole Mom never let them down and they always had a good and delicious meal. I am now teaching them the "tricks of the trade!!" LOL God bless Cassandra
I rarely cook with a recipe. My mom taught me to cook from my pantry before I was 10 years old. A great skill to have...knowing what works and what doesn't. What I end up searching on the internet is oven temp and time. Lol.
HI PRETTY GIRL 😊 I BROUGHT THAT COOKBOOK THE HARD COPY 😊 I GOT IT WHILE LOOKING AT YOUR VIDEO! THANKS FOR THE HEADS UP ❤ SIS CONTINUE TO ENJOY LIFE THE ALMIGHTY IS WITH YOU AND YOUR HUSBAND 🥰🥗