11 of the Biggest Cooking Pet Peeves of All Time

I have a love-hate relationship with cooking.  I have come to enjoy it much of the time, but I experience these little annoyances that are a constant.  Here are my top 10 pet peeves:

1. Missing that “key” ingredient

I begin to make muffins and I go to get some eggs and, surprise, I don’t have any. Nothing bothers me more than starting to cook something I realize I can’t finish.  That is, unless my neighbor has it.

2. Just bought it, can’t find it

I’m searching the fridge high and low for an item I just bought at the store.  “It’s gotta be here, I just bought it!” My anger and frustration rise when I look on the counter realizing I already pulled it out.

3. That perfect recipe isn’t so great

I find a recipe that has my name written all over it.  This happened recently with a white bean soup.  I made a huge batch of it in the slow cooker and it just didn’t turn out.  I usually can eat anything but not this dish.  This comes with the territory but it still isn’t fun when it happens.

4. Overshooting spices

Come on little guy, just a little.  You can do it.

Ahhh!

5. Dropped food that runs away

I can’t stand when food drops and it’s nowhere to be found.  What happens to it? Does it run off with the missing pairs of socks? I usually send my husband to look for it. He absolutely loves when I do this (and finds other interesting stuff like missing toys).

6. Fresh produce goes bad the next day

I picked out some produce at the Farmer’s Market and pull it out for a meal to find that it’s already gone bad.  What? Unlike grocery stores, I can’t take it back!

7. Make food and realize an ingredient is past the “Use By” date

I recently made chocolate chip cookies to bring to a barbecue. I chose a bag of white chocolate chips because it had been there a while. The kids helped and were excited to try them.  I checked the empty white chocolate package and see it has a 2013 date on it.

NO!!!!

My husband tells his friend who insisted we bring them and that it would have to be 10 years past that date for him not to eat them.  I’ll admit it, they were still good.

8. Come back from the store realizing you didn’t get something

I know I need a non-perishable item I frequently use like olive oil, oatmeal, spice or broth.  I end up running to the store for other things and each time I get home I realize I forgot this all-important missing item.

9. Think you have all this time but dinner comes out late

I’ll be helping the kids with homework thinking I have all this time for the easy dinner I have planned. But then hubby comes home, there’s wine involved and I’m stressing to get dinner together. The only bright side is the kids eat a ton of raw carrots while waiting.

10. Complaining feeders

For the most part, my family is respectful of the food I serve even when it’s not their favorite. But every once in awhile Big A complains.  And recently she did it on a day I had zero tolerance.  She started panicking because the pumpkin pancakes didn’t smell or look to her liking.  I completely lost it and later apologized.

I’m big on teaching kids appropriate table manners. They don’t have to like everything I make, but no complaining, please!

See this post for family dinner rules that every family needs.

11. Dishes

Let’s face it, just doing dishes is an annoyance.  But what really gets to me is when I put dirty dishes in the dishwasher forgetting the ones in there are clean.

Thanks for letting me vent. I feel better. What are your biggest cooking pet-peeves?

Photo by Chinh Le Duc on Unsplash