Most of the time I cook new stuff, although it does still fit within my budget and I always plan ahead so if I have leftovers I use them for lunches. But every now and then it's nice to have a week of repeat recipes, just to take the thinking out of it. I'm having one of those this week. SO's parents are visiting, so I'm not attempting new recipes this week, just reusing old favorites. It's kind of nice to know when I get home tonight I can put together dinner without opening up websites and having my laptop sitting on the counter. I'm ready to start doing new ones again next week though :)

I try to make new things all the time, even on weeknights. The key is to stick with less complicated new things :) I like making new pastas because they never take that much time, unless you're talking about a 4 hour ragu. If I can't come up with anything new that I want to make, I still enjoy cooking the usuals: stir frys, salad, different soups, and chili - things we can make pretty much whenever because we usually have all of the ingredients all the time. On weekends I make breads and more complicated meals, or ones that take longer like a whole roasted chicken or a ragu.

The more important lesson is to cook, even if you aren't cooking fancy new things all the time. New can be as simple as a vegetable you haven't tried before.

Sometimes I create meals because I'm using up whatever is left in the fridge. I have a bunch of containers of cheeses and I'll probably grab a pound of pizza dough on my way home one day and make cheesy breadsticks. Use some of the other cheese in a garlicky pasta and I think have a simple, but delicious meal.

I tend to want to always try something new. My family clamors for their favorites over and over. We are always working for a balance. They keep me from being in mad scientist mode all the time. I prevent them from eating spaghetti with tomato sauce for lunch and dinner seven days a week. Sometimes we get annoyed with each other, but it's a good balance. I don't go crazy with the projects; they find new favorites (and are better nourished).

I definitely get burned out making new stuff all the time. I buy all of the ingredients for something that sounded really good in my head, and by the time Sunday night rolls around, I'm too exhausted to cook what I planned, and some of it ends up going to waste. I'll make pb&j and tuna fish every night instead. Boring can be soothing.

What some people call boring other people call comfort.

I try to tread a middle ground between new dishes and things that are tried and true and that we both love. I'll tend to get more adventurous with desserts, since we're not really big dessert eaters so it's a weekend thing. (Of course, even those tend to be repeated, because The Man has a few real favorites that he asks for again and again.)

I eat the same thing for breakfast every day, but I love to make something different for dinner each night. Not something fancy, necessarily, but something I've never made before (or a twist on something I have made). I like to spend the day thinking about what I have on hand and what new thing I can do with it. It's like a low-budget "Chopped" but I'm the only contestant!

I think the trick is to alternate interesting with predictable/easy.

I tend to do 2-3 nights per week of interesting new things (at least one of those on a weekend), and 2-3 nights per week of tasty-but-easy reliable food (salads, omelettes, basic soup...). Add a dinner at my sister's and a dinner with friends per week, and it's covered.

Part of the issue with having a gluten allergy is that the standard "boring but quick and easy" foods (pasta, noodle or flour-based soups, sandwiches, etc) are pretty much out, and eating out is honestly more effort than cooking up an omelette, so my options are more limited regarding alternatives!

With new a baby, I've been rotating my old reliables. I wouldn't call them boring but I too was like Sarah in that I always wanted to hone my cooking chops to the point of exhaustion. It's nice now. It's easy.

On another note, reading these posts made me remember "Oh yeah, omelettes!" To me there is nothing boring about an omelette with gruyere cheese, and arugula salad and a glass of wine... it's not super-creative but it is easy and elegant.

If you want to embrace the joy of eating simply, look at the Canal House Cooks Lunch blog. So many of those delightful meals are easy to make and not at all time consuming. I could eat a bowl of mushrooms with some french bread and be really happy. I think when you embrace eating well and eating delicious foods, it doesn't matter whether it took you half an hour or three hours. I love a complicated meal but there's something nice about a bowl of greens wilted in chicken broth and herbs.

With the reliables, you have a chance to strive for excellence rather than novelty. To tweak the same old recipe with half-a-teaspoon less salt, or try browning meat in bacon fat instead of olive oil, or add some leftover vegetables - you know the recipe and can find its own best qualities.

Modifying a new recipe is fun, but testing the standards provides a deeper level of understanding of how "do this, not that" changes the food.

It's funny because this has been my cooking effort for the past six months or so. Until then, I can honestly say that there were very, very few recipes that I ever repeated. I was trying something new almost every time I cooked! It was exhausting. So I took a step back and focused on building a repertoire of meals that were worthy of going on regular rotation. It's been such a relief and, yes, I've saved money too. I still experiment plenty in the kitchen--it's just second nature to me. So I wouldn't say that I'm bored, but I am less stressed!

If you cook according to what's in season/readily available, or foraged ingredients, then your meals will not boring. Allow yourself to be led by ingredients, rather than what is in fashion.

"There was this weird pressure that I was putting on myself and my family by eating what the internet told me was going to be awesome. I sensed this need to make even regular foods 10x better or bigger." I would be interested to know why you felt this compulsion to conform in this way. Is it about more than food and cooking?

I've been enjoying making a lot of new recipes in the last few months, especially since I got a couple of great cookbooks as gifts...but it's gotten expensive and hard to keep up with the leftovers. Also, if you're always cooking new stuff you don't have time to make the recipes you already discovered that you loved! I'm trying to get back to only buying what I need, having simpler meals sometimes, and revisiting some old favorites myself for a bit.

I'm still growing a repertoire of plant-based recipes that keep us well fed and my husband excited about what's for dinner every day. And truthfully, I get excited when I think about the new, awesome dish I made and will get to take leftovers of to work the next day. So yeah, I usually try 1-2 new recipes a week, but I don't put pressure on myself. Some weeks we just eat perogies, waffles and spaghetti. I tell the kids it's because I want them to be happy...but I really just need a break.

in my experience, the healthiest people eat pretty boring. find what works & stick to it

What does boring mean? Ingredient worship and fancy cooking expectations have gotten way out of hand. Relax.

Planning menus and cooking is an outlet from academic work for me, so sometimes I like doing complicated things in the kitchen as a distraction from grad school life. But when I'm really worn out, melted cheese makes everything better. Quesadillas, grilled cheese sandwiches, and tuna melts are my quick and cheesy standbys. Fried rice is also pretty quick and easy; if I need to go to the store but don't have the energy, I usually have at least one egg and enough vegetable odds and ends left over in the fridge to make a batch. The great thing about all of these is that they don't take a lot of thought or effort, and you really can't screw them up.