Are You a Creative Cook?

I love to cook... somtimes I use recipes, but I usually wind up making a few "adjustments" to account for my spicy tastes. I was practically raised on Mexican food so that is my specialty.

I love to cook and come up with all sorts of great recipes. My kids bring friends home frequently and I just add more to whatever I am cooking often coming up with some great new recipes! If I had an old standby recipe I will sometimes change it a bit just for variety. Sometimes instead of beef in a recipe I will use chicken or pork. The kids love the variety. I am blessed with kids that love veggies so that is an added bonus!

I think I am pretty creative. When spices go on sale in the stores I try to pick up at least one new one I have never had before. I rarely ever cook from a recipe - I just make it up as I go and everything always turns out great. The only problem with this is that when I do make something that is REALLY GREAT - I can't remember how I made it. Lately I've been keeping a pad and pen on the kitchen counter and writing down as I cook. As far as my family resisting? The older kids resit anything that is new. They are not very creative eaters. But they have been getting better.

I would SO love to be able to be creative in my cooking but my gys are such sticks in the mud that I can't. (pout) If I fiddle with more than one ingredient I'm sure to be asked what I did wrong. I really ought to just put red spaghetti sauce on dogfood and be done with it.(double pout) I'm limited on what I can cook and how I can cook it because the males like what they like and won't eat anything new. (triple pout)

I have to admit that I am not a creative cook.Though I like to cook and I am good at cooking,I always cook in according to the books of cooks.At the same time,I always study for others how to cook.I wouldn't like to cook new types and new things.I am afraid of not tasting well.

nope... i eat a lot but don't cook a lot!

I do cook and love doing it actually..Do I stick to whats tried and true? LOL no..I love to experiment and try new things and even when doign that I have a habit of NOT being able to follow a recipe as written...I am forever altering recipes I want to try and 8 times out of 10 they turn out great..My family is actually pretty good about trying new things but I'm also aware to NOT make a recipe that has key ingredients that I know my family wont like ya know....But yea they're great about it but I'm a good cook so thats a huge factor ;-)

I have not cooked in like 4 years, but when I do, I love to be creative. One of the most interesting foods to make changes to is chicken. I have even made grapefruit chicken. Fresh squeezed on the bird, right before cooking it. After a while, things like chicken get pretty boring, so you have to find ways to be creative with it.

Usually I will take a tried and true recipe and give it my own little twists or variatons to suit the taste of my family, or if I am only cooking for myself I will add spices and herbs that I enjoy. I also do this with anything that I make that comes out of a box. I prefer homemade, but sometimes it has to come out of a box, so when I add herbs and spices to it, it has a more homemade feel. Something as simple as parlsey can give a boxed food a fresh and homemade taste

I very rarely ever use a recipe. I like to add my own spices and such. I like my food with a little kick to it.

I experiment a lot. Usually just sitting and devising recipes when I'm bored or when someone on mylot is in a cooking pinch. One of my favorites is my Southwest Rugged chili. And unlike other posts to cooking threads, there is no way I'm posting a recipe of it here. My other blends fine, but NOT my SW. Here go some sample threads though. http://www.mylot.com/w/discussions/115420.aspx - Making Spinach edible http://www.mylot.com/w/discussions/1269707.aspx - Pancakes help And sometimes Annie its the real variations that let a cook stumble on to something. Don't be afraid to take some chances here and there.

i am not artist but when i comes to food i am food is my canvas if it does not appelaing to my eyes i do not eat it it has to look colourful but it also has to be falovurful becquse some dishes may look but have no flavour to them at all i make macoroni and cheese but its not plain i put onions celery mushrooms chicken broth and cream and veggies i do like a casserole per say i wont type anymore because this is making me hungry if we could gain wieght from posting god help us all lol

I personally never find myself sticking to the tried and true recipes. I like to think outside the box when it comes to cooking. I always add plenty of spices and think of ways that I can make my meals stand out. Now I cant really give you too many of my recipes because I never write them down and I dont use them with measurements. I do make really good alfredo sauce, homemade spaghetti sauce, grilled porkchops, grilled hamburgers and many others. If you would like to know more about any of these or anything else just let me know we will work something out and I am definitly going to go through my head and see if I can put any recipes on here for you.

It totaly depend on my mood. If I'm busy doing something else, like NaNoWriMo, I'll just throw together so quick thing like a can of soup with minute rice or a sandwhich or a frozen pizza. However, when I'm in the mood to get down and dirty with cooking, I'm actually very good, and bake stuff from scratch: bread, stews, pies, cakes, cookies, casseroles, pastries, doughnuts, stir frys, jams, jellies, tomato sauce, dried fruit, canned vegetables, cheesecakes to die for... mmmmm cheesecakes! When I'm in the mood to cook I just go crazy and cook everything in site! LOL! I have over 200 cookbooks and I love to test new things. My fave is deserts and baked stuff... I love bakeing. After trying out tons of new things though, I tend to make the same tried and true things over and over again. The stuff I make a lot, I don't even use the recipes for anymore, cause I've made them so much it's just a habit to go to the kitchen and bake them now.

Hi Annie, I love cooking!! I always like to try new foods. As I am cooking up something, I will add other ingredients to my main recipe. I'm always looking for more from my one pot dishes, or a more appealing appearance to a main dish. Recently I purchased a jar of sundried tomatoes. I did not have the slightest idea of what to do with it. So I tossed asome sliced sausage into a skillet, added some sliced onion, chopped up sundried tomatoes, a bit of Italian seasoning, and some pasta with some water. I put a lid on it and let it cook for a bit. YUMMM! I was pleasantly surprised. Zucchini bread is a family favorite. Some of the family like nuts in it and some don't. Recently I added dried blueberries to my zucchini bread instead of nuts, and got lots of raves. Dried cranberries work in this as well. Soups are made by tossing the main meat into a pot with seasonings, then any and everything that your little heart desires can be added to make the kind of soup that you would be only too happy to eat and enjoy. Happy posting..