Big Oven

The Big Oven.  It’s not a giant place to cook your turkey.  It’s an app.  Turns out, it’s a great app.

I’ve been in a cooking slump for some time.  I bought big oven about 4 years ago.  I believe that was before there was an app.  It began as a social network for food, cooking and cooks.  I put the software on my computer and HATED it!  It was not user friendly, and so I stuck it in a drawer and never looked back.  Until a couple of weeks ago.  See, some part of me thought it might have potential.  So every once in a while I’d check and see if anything had changed.  I don’t know when the new and improved version came out, but they really got a new hairdo–er facelift.

Now there is an online site, no software needed.  Also, there is a corresponding app as well for both iPhone and Android.  I’ve used similar features in AllRecipes.com, but for some reason, that had become monotonous to me.  I’m not saying it is, just that I seemed to be stuck in a rut.  I needed something completely new, and this was it.

So, a few days ago, I sat down and spent a couple of hours searching through recipes that were new and refreshing.  And I found them.  Then I loaded them into the menu planner they have, and created a shopping list.  I think the shopping list is a little better than the AllRecipes.  On the computer it takes you through each item individually and if you already have it you uncheck the box and it does not appear on your list.

I’ve never seen the boys really interested in a menu, because I have printed them before.  But they sure seemed interested in this one.  They were practically drooling over some of the things I had loaded on there, like Thai recipes, and Butterfinger Cake.  Maybe I’m just picking better recipes, I don’t know.

When I was done, I hit the sync button from my phone once I’d loaded the app, and away I went to the grocery with my list in hand.  The items are categorized by department, such as dairy, vegetables, meats, so it’s fairly organized, although you cannot edit this like some programs.  You can add other items as well, so if you need paper towels, say, you can add it to the list.

Now the boys ask every morning what’s for dinner.  Tonight?  Fish Piccata, Green Bean Almond Rice, and Butterfinger Cake Mentioned above.  What’s cooking in your kitchen?