Cooking for 5 (or 3 or any odd number for that matter)

thriftlady_2

Recipes are always written for 4 or 6 aren't they ? I cook for 5. At the moment the two youngest (7 and 10) don't eat a whole portion so a recipe for 4 works out OK. But I forsee that by the time I have 3 teenagers in the house that's not going to wash :rolleyes:

What do other family cooks do ? Do you

a) do a calculation - divide the recipe quantities by 4(6) and add/subtract the extra amount.

b) make enough for 4, keep your fingers crossed and serve plenty of spuds/rice/ bread.

c) Make enough for 6 and allow the greedy members of the family (me ) to eat the extra.

d) Make enough for 6 and freeze the extra or have it for lunch the next day.

e) Not follow a recipe but make it up as you go along because you've been doing it so long you know how much is right.

I think I'll be using the last option most often.

Pink.

Hi thriftlady,

I'm another one who doesn't often follow a recipe and normally I manage to get the quantities right because you do tend to adjust the quantities as your children grow. Saying that, every now and again when one of them is going through a growth spurt I get it wrong and have to put bread and butter on the table or quickly pull a dessert out of the freezer (we don't normally eat dessert).

There are five of us...two adults and three children (aged 16, 13 and 6). The elder kids are bigger than I am so I'm basically cooking for four adults and one child.

If I am trying to follow a recipe, I usually make for four and double the quantities....that way there is guaranteed to be enough for everyone and sometimes a little left over for dh's lunch the next day or if someone gets the munchies later in the evening.

In my experience teenagers are always starving.....so you can't have too many leftovers in the fridge!

Pink

Pink.

I've just thought of something else that adds to the fun when deciding how much to cook.....teenagers are beginning to have social lives, so you never know who is going to be home for tea in the evening and they often turn up with hungry friends in tow.

They invariably make sure that you are the last one to know if they will be home for tea that night or not. Of course if they need a lift somewhere it becomes a priority to tell you all about that.....even if it is at tea time and everyone elses meal stands a good chance of being ruined. Saying that, I wouldn't swap them for the world...most of the time.

Pink

Softstuff

If I had 3 to feed, knowing me I'd most likely cook for 12!! Freeze 6 portions for 2 meals later, eat 3 portions for that meal, pop 3 portions in the fridge for lunches.

Miss_Cinnabon

There are 5 of us, 3 kids ages 8, 7 and 23 month old, so i dont really follow recipes, if i cook something that is not enough for everyone i bulk it with veg or give them bread, lo only gets a small portion but that will change when he gets older though.

Kyle

fizzel81

at the moment i cook for 3 as i count the baby and 2 boys as 2 people, i have been freezing whatevers left, when the boys are away with there dad i then have a meal for myself

Plum_Pie

Softstuff wrote: »

If I had 3 to feed, knowing me I'd most likely cook for 12!! Freeze 6 portions for 2 meals later, eat 3 portions for that meal, pop 3 portions in the fridge for lunches.

:rotfl: OS legend!

Gingham_Ribbon

We often have enough left over to make 3 seperate meals by just heating things up.

eg the other day I made 3 different meals with leftovers. I put a portion of lentil and swede bake and a portion of gallette in the oven together and served them with crusty bread and vegetables and DS had cold pasta salad with a corn cob. It's a quick way of cooking and a good way of using up leftovers.

MATH

There are 5 at Chez MATH (MATHLETTS 11,10,7) At the mo I am calculating recipes for 6 and bulking up meals with shed loads of veg. My Kidz are always STARVING, in a few years time Ithink I may have to move outdoors and cook in a great bit couldron over a bomfire. LOL

thriftlady_2

Mathletts seem to be the same age as the Thriftlings MATH -mine are boy 11, boy 10, girl 7-what about yours ?

Interesting reading what everyone does. I'm cooking for 4 tonight as OH is out at a 'do'. Am actually following a recipe for a change (for 4), but as it's for fish I'm probably going to end up with leftovers -they don't really like fish :rolleyes:

madmum33

It used to be easy, two adults and three kids, cook for 6 and OH had seconds!

Now the kids are all teens with ridiculous appetites, I can make a huge casserole thinking there'll be enough for freezing a couple of portions but it all gets eaten. The one thing we can't do is follow recommended portions of pasta and rice, it's never enough.

Eldest DD will be off to Uni in September, so I'll have to adjust again (and hopefully have leftovers for a change!)