Typical 'white' Americans of ATOT, what do you eat at home every night?

[Zeze]

This is a genuine curiosity. I'm an Asian-American, so 60-70% of meals I eat at home are Asian in nature. Other 30%, I make 'American' fare like steak/baked fish/pasta/chili and etc. I can't picture eating that in rotation 100% of the time.

I'm NOT asking about below:
* Breakfast & brunch we eat same thing (typical English breakfast fare)
* Eating out is same, therefore most of lunch as well.

I'm asking about:
* What have you eaten in the last 7 days that you made at home?

My dumb brain gets a hard stop after pasta & generic fish/meat with peas/mashed potatoes.

What do you eat day after day at home, that's homemade?

 

[z1ggy]

Crackers.

B/c imma honkie azZ cracker.

 

[purbeast0]

mine are either:

1 in each of the following categories for dinner:

Meat:
- Chicken breast
- Fish (usually tuna steak or some rockfish i buy frozen)
- Pork Chops

Side:
- Rice
- Green Beans
- Asparagus

That is pretty much my dinners m-f, sometimes sunday too, or sometimes we will eat out friday at something quick like chipotle or a peruvian chicken place. on the weekends we out usually.

 

[Anubis]

this week ive had

Pot roast
Pasta
leftovers
nothing (large lunch at work)

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Most of our dinners consist of some combination of rice, vegetables, and chicken. Frequently leftover from the previous day.

If I'm feeling fancy I'll make quiche, paste with homemade marinara, or grill up some seafood. Soups/stews/chili are more common in the winter. I also make a reasonably competent Pho.

The last week has been a combination of lasagna or quiche (I cooked a bunch last weekend. My quiche is about 3/4 vegetables by volume, and I just use egg whites, so it's not nearly as bad for you as most.)

 

[Kaido]

60-70% of meals I eat at home are Asian in nature. Other 30%, I make 'American' fare like steak/baked fish/pasta/chili and etc. I can't picture eating that in rotation 100% of the time.

Well now I'm curious about your diet too - #1, what do you normally eat, and #2, are you considering steak/baked fish/pasta/chili as "heavy" evening dishes? (as in, heavy dishes on a regular basis)

 

[CraKaJaX]

My input may be slightly different than others since I live on my own, but here goes ....

Option 1)

I'll cook an entire pack of chicken/pork chops/sausage, etc. and split them up into different meals for lunch and/or dinners for the next few days.

Lots of frozen veggies - green beans, peas, corn, spinach. I also buy lots of broccoli frequently and steam a bunch at a time. Stays good for a few days.

LOTS of rice. Mostly jasmine.

Option 2)

Crockpot meals. The options are almost limitless. A recent one I did was:

Chicken/Taco Seasoning/Onions/Peppers/etc. in a crock pot. Shred chicken after about ~6 hours, continue to cook for 2 hours or so. Throw all of this in some tortillas for easy taco's - just add lettuce/salsa/sour cream/etc.

Option 3)

During the weekends when I have more time, I'll dedicate a few hours either Sat or Sun and make something that takes some time. IE, homemade loaf of bread, pork roast, steaks on the grill, etc. Maybe make some mashed potatoes or squash or zucchini ... that allows me to get out of the easy, frozen veggie realm for a day or two. Any leftovers will be lunch/dinner the next few days just as option 1.

Option 4)

Homemade soup/stew/chili. Usually done on the weekend with more time. Depending on how much you make, this could last a while... especially for one person.

 

[GRIFFIN1]

Hamburgers, Pizza, BBQ, Hot Dogs, Tacos, Beans and Rice, Taco Salads, Pot Roast.

I'm still in New Years Resolution mode, so It's just been Keto Chow and Low carb salads since the day after Christmas.

I never eat Indian food, but I have to smell it at work every day when the Indian girl microwaves it. It smells like she eats the same stuff every day. The smell motivated me to start intermittent fasting.

 

[Zeze]

Well now I'm curious about your diet too - #1, what do you normally eat, and #2, are you considering steak/baked fish/pasta/chili as "heavy" evening dishes? (as in, heavy dishes on a regular basis)

#1
I'm Korean, so Korean meals at home. So white rice is always present. You just add side dishes + protein of choice. But in my mind it's diverse because most Korean meals have a soup/stew to accompany it + there are so many different side dishes than American peas & potatoes. You can have varying combinations of:

* So many Korean side dishes with rice. You make 2-3 at home and rotate them out of hundreds.

* Also add meat of choice. Korean BBQ, or

* Any soups or stews from light to heavy. You got miso-style complimenting ones. And you got delicious heavy hitters like Budae Jigae or Soon Dubu that are the main even of the dish.

* Anything stirfried is another level of wholly different food. Also making fried rice is unlimited with different leftover ingredients.

* Also throw in eating American food on top. Therefore I perceive stuff I eat are more varied than someone who just eats 'American' fare + occasional Chinese/Indian takeout (which I do as well).

#2
No, I said I couldn't imagine eating 'American' dinners in rotation because, TO ME, they seem to lack variety. It's just SEEMS meatloaf/chili/pasta and repeat. (hence me starting this thread).

 

[Matthiasa]

Pasta of some sort is fairly standard. Noodles and can of tomatoes in some form then some of all of the follow: onions, garlic, bell peppers, celery, carrots, granulated onion, granulated garlic, crushed red pepper, various dried herbs, cheese of some type, and or meat of some type.

Any type of meat and some type of rice or potato side is also common.

Sometimes I will make "fajitas" which would typically include some or all of the following: meat of some kind, onions, peppers, garlic, some type of canned tomato, some type of beans, various dried herbs, cumin, paprika, some type of dried chili peppers, tortilla, cheese of some type, crema and or traditional sour cream, etc.

I make chili similarly but with the ingredients cut different.

Sometimes I make larb which again has similar base ingredients to the rest.

Rarely I'll make things like saffron rice noting that I use actual saffron and not turmeric... Saffron isn't all that expensive in the quantities needed. Also noting that this is not recommend if one has any kind of pollen allergies at all like I do... (read it could kill you)

snip

#2
No, I said I couldn't imagine eating 'American' dinners in rotation because, TO ME, they seem to lack variety. It's just SEEMS meatloaf/chili/pasta and repeat. (hence me starting this thread).

There is significant variety that one can do with pasta where you could go a significant amount of time making pasta and never actually having to make it the same way twice.

 

[Uppsala9496]

Spinach stuffed past shells.
Deep Dish Pizza (Chicago style).
Greek style salad.
Polish sausage and pirogi with brussel sprouts.
Baked chicken and asparagus with orzo.
Italian wedding soup.

All I can think of for the past week. Tonight is pork tenderloin, a vegetable and a starch. Haven't figured out the vegetable or starch yet.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

I'm as white American as you can get. I have no real ethnic heritage, my family ancestry is Euro-mutt on both sides. Generally I'll have something Italian once a week and something Tex-Mex once a week. Usually something Asian once a week too, sometime take-out Chinese, sometimes take-out Thai and sometimes homemade. The other days a rotating melange of 30-40 different things I like. Summer it's a lot of seafood, steaks and various grilled things, winter it's more casseroles, stews, etc. Had Tex-Mex Tuesday, Italian yesterday, tonight chicken Caesar and tomorrow Swedish meatballs. After that, who knows, I rarely plan more than a couple of days ahead.

 

[SithSolo1]

Its been over 6 months since I made a meal from scratch and if I recall it didn't come out that great. I've got the culinary equivalent of a "black thumb."

 

[CraKaJaX]

#1
I'm Korean, so Korean meals at home. So white rice is always present. You just add side dishes + protein of choice. But in my mind it's diverse because most Korean meals have a soup/stew to accompany it + there are so many different side dishes than American peas & potatoes. You can have varying combinations of:

* So many Korean side dishes with rice. You make 2-3 at home and rotate them out of hundreds.

* Also add meat of choice. Korean BBQ, or

* Any soups or stews from light to heavy. You got miso-style complimenting ones. And you got delicious heavy hitters like Budae Jigae or Soon Dubu that are the main even of the dish.

* Anything stirfried is another level of wholly different food. Also making fried rice is unlimited with different leftover ingredients.

* Also throw in eating American food on top. Therefore I perceive stuff I eat are more varied than someone who just eats 'American' fare + occasional Chinese/Indian takeout (which I do as well).

#2
No, I said I couldn't imagine eating 'American' dinners in rotation because, TO ME, they seem to lack variety. It's just SEEMS meatloaf/chili/pasta and repeat. (hence me starting this thread).

I love all sorts of Asian cuisine, but to me, this seems like it would take an incredible amount of time to make on any given weeknight. I'm assuming you have 6/7 hours a night after work.... I don't want to spend much time cooking.

The link to all those side dishes seems like each side dish in itself would take time, let alone having all the ingredients to make them correctly. Do you make all this fresh each night? Leftovers? How much time does a typical meal take you to make?

Of course, if you're not considering the time at all ... what I've said is all invalid.

Also, reading about your Korean food is getting me pretty excited for my LA trip in March. Can't wait to shove my face full of everything in sight. That Budae Jigae and Soon Dubu look SO GOOD. nommmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

 

[Zeze]

I love all sorts of Asian cuisine, but to me, this seems like it would take an incredible amount of time to make on any given weeknight. I'm assuming you have 6/7 hours a night after work.... I don't want to spend much time cooking.

The link to all those side dishes seems like each side dish in itself would take time, let alone having all the ingredients to make them correctly. Do you make all this fresh each night? Leftovers? How much time does a typical meal take you to make?

Of course, if you're not considering the time at all ... what I've said is all invalid.

Also, reading about your Korean food is getting me pretty excited for my LA trip in March. Can't wait to shove my face full of everything in sight. That Budae Jigae and Soon Dubu look SO GOOD. nommmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

I'm a newly family man in early 30s. So most of the side dishes are made in big batches by my foilks or in-laws. :thumbsup: I suppose as we get older with kids in teens, we may do home-made side dishes more.

Things like kimchi, which is labor intensive and you make 2-3 a year in HUGE batches are now simply bought in Asian grocery stores.

Other things are easier to make.. like an egg scramble roll (chop some veggie bits + scramble egg + add seawood then pan fry them).

Prepping Korean meals probably doesn't take time longer than American fare. We all live similar corporate life with 40+ work week. You make them in 5-10 servings so you eat them for the week. I guess it's no different than making chili or similar things.

And they're not rare ingredients. If you look closer- it's just napa cabbage, chives, eggs, some meat, and veggies. Nothing special ingredients here. You can make most of them from your Kroger/StopnShop/etc.

Are you straight up 'white american'? I'm surprised at your interest of Budae jigae & soft tofu. That's pretty advanced for your average American. How did you come to like K-food?

 

[clamum]

In the last 7 days that I've made at home? Nothing. I rarely make stuff at home just cause I never feel like making a meal for just one person after working all day. I just don't care to spend the time preparing and cleaning up the meal, just to eat the thing in 15 minutes.

So I'll usually get fast food (Taco Bell, McDonald's, once in a while Panera Bread or Little Caeser's pizza) or cook a frozen pizza, or have some other processed-type food at home. Maybe once a month I'll have dinner at a Coney Island restaurant with actual non-fast cooked food, lol.

 

[amdhunter]

Their Asian wives.

 

[bradly1101]

Crackers.

B/c imma honkie azZ cracker.

Cracka pleez. White bread is best.

 

[rh71]

This is a genuine curiosity. I'm an Asian-American, so 60-70% of meals I eat at home are Asian in nature. Other 30%, I make 'American' fare like steak/baked fish/pasta/chili and etc. I can't picture eating that in rotation 100% of the time.

We're asian but my wife cooks mostly italian and fish because myself and kids were born here. With kids activities on weeknights, it allows us to get take-out chinese or taco bell a couple nights a week. Weekends occasionally we go out and mix it up (sushi, thai, etc.). Kids actually love americanized chinese food I guess because it's different, and tasty. When I was young and still at my parents' place, my dad cooked some more authentic chinese and I liked it, but got sick of it after many years. Now I can't stand going to chinese seafood restaurants that serve that kind of stuff.

 

[BurnItDwn]

Ehh, Im white, though I am not typical.

Usually the woman cooks dinners ...
Over the last week
I made sausage and shrimp Gumbo .. it was good
She made chicken with rice and veggies (Peas & Asparagus)
She made clam chowder soup and we had that with tossed salad
She made pasta with Chorizzo and homemade spaghetti sauce with lots of veggies in it
She made fried catfish nuggets with veggies and rice

We went out to a gastropub for dinner on her birthday, she ate fish & chips, I ate guinness lamb stew.

We went out for coal fired pizza one night, because it is awesome ...

Otherwise, I sometimes cook Steaks or sear fish and serve with veggies and rice.
She makes lots of different chicken dishes or slow cook type dishes.

I used to make a halfway decent attempt at Panang curry, but, we usually just go to our favorite local Thai place for that. They do it a lot better.

We typically go out for Mexican at least once every week or two as well. My brother has learned to cook a lot of mexican dishes from his ex MIL.. but I never really got good at it, and there is a fantastic place only 5 mins from my house (and an even better one only 5 mins from the office) ..

I go out for Indian at least once every week or two, probably my favorite quisine, but she isnt a big fan, thus, I go at lunch with the gang from work.

Korean Cuisine is awesome. We have a good korean place near the office called Wooil, though there are 2 or 3 others within about 5 minute drive, Wooil is the best of them. i especially love stuff like Nakji bokkeum, though Bulgogi is awesome, and I love Kimchi too.

Anyhow, Our dinners can sometimes be boring, but we go out at least once a week, and usually twice a week. and I tend to eat a good intersting variety of lunches ... so a boring dinner is OK most days...

 

[CraKaJaX]

I'm a newly family man in early 30s. So most of the side dishes are made in big batches by my foilks or in-laws. :thumbsup: I suppose as we get older with kids in teens, we may do home-made side dishes more.

Things like kimchi, which is labor intensive and you make 2-3 a year in HUGE batches are now simply bought in Asian grocery stores.

Other things are easier to make.. like an egg scramble roll (chop some veggie bits + scramble egg + add seawood then pan fry them).

Prepping Korean meals probably doesn't take time longer than American fare. We all live similar corporate life with 40+ work week. You make them in 5-10 servings so you eat them for the week. I guess it's no different than making chili or similar things.

And they're not rare ingredients. If you look closer- it's just napa cabbage, chives, eggs, some meat, and veggies. Nothing special ingredients here. You can make most of them from your Kroger/StopnShop/etc.

Are you straight up 'white american'? I'm surprised at your interest of Budae jigae & soft tofu. That's pretty advanced for your average American. How did you come to like K-food?

Regarding ingredients, I guess that's true. The actual ingredients are standard, but the stuff behind the scenes (sauces, spices, etc.) that get tossed in may be slightly obscure to an average 'white american' household.

As for myself, I buy a lot out of the ethnic aisle in the grocery store because I like trying new things. I'll buy different rubs and sauces just to try them. I can't remember the last time I threw something out because I didn't like it.

I am definitely 'white american'. Growing up, I never had a problem with trying new things ... I guess my palette has always been pretty open. If I haven't tried something, I'll try it ... minus the live baby octopus that the friend in CA sent me that some place serves there all chopped up, still squirming on your plate. That's over the line for me.

This place is basically across the street from work - http://www.hy1004.com/magento/ I should stop in some time... but I wouldn't know what's good or not

 

[shortylickens]

I dont have a typical dinner. Sometimes its pasta. Occasionally a meat with a vegetable. Once in a great while I'll eat my pie first in case the world ends during my meal.

 

[Kaido]

#2 No, I said I couldn't imagine eating 'American' dinners in rotation because, TO ME, they seem to lack variety. It's just SEEMS meatloaf/chili/pasta and repeat. (hence me starting this thread).

Hmm. Thinking about it growing up...we did a lot of dinners using chicken. Usually a steamed veggie & some sort of bread, like dinner rolls, as the sides. There are a lot of people out there who BBQ a ton & mostly do stuff like red meat & chili a lot.

The photos you linked to look amazing...so many little dishes of wonderful-looking food. I like the idea of having a huge amount of rotation available so you don't get sick of it. How would I get into cooking that style? Is it mostly stuff you learn growing up from your family?

 

[vi edit]

I'm white as white can be as well.

My dinners could be summarized in two categories...

What do I want to eat?
What will my kids actually eat?

What I *want* to eat is....
1 night Mediterranean food
1 night sushi
1 night indian
1 night chinese
1 night some kind of yummy seafood
Leftovers in between....

What ends up happening is:
Pizza out of a box
mac and cheese out of box
chicken strips
fish sticks
spaghetti and meatballs
more pizza
oh and fuck it...why not pizza three nights in a row

Kids have absolutely murdered any creativity and interest I have in cooking.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

anything from soul food to Seoul food, and everything in between.