I’m Lisa, founder of A Menu for You, and my super power is teaching how to cook directly from your pantry.
When my husband and I were first married, he switched jobs and took a pretty drastic pay cut. This meant I needed to be waaaaay more strategic and creative when it came to shopping, planning and cooking dinner.
Seeing how far I could stretch ingredients, how many different dishes I could make, and how much money I could save us with fewer trips to the store all became part of the new way I cooked meals.
I’d watch countless episodes on Food Network, and take dishes I’d watch Jacques Pépin make (Ina and Giada weren’t around yet) and tweak them to fit the ingredients I already had.
I’d watch Julia Child’s and pour over cookbooks to get ideas and inspiration.
That style of cooking stuck with me, and it’s still how I cook today. I’ve had to adapt some because my husband and I have two kids (21 and 17) and my cooking has changed to increase in quantity (hello, teenagers!) and work around all the stages of a picky eater (no green food was a super long phase!).
And it’s the way I still like to cook today.
I’m excited to teach you all I’ve learned, what worked (and what didn’t), how to make minor tweaks to make an even tastier dish, and, most important of all, help you be less stressed when it comes to cooking dinner.