Tired of cooking

[heartofmine]

One thing my mom does is when she fixes pintos, soup, or chili she makes extra and puts it in the fridge in canning jars. The tops seal and it lasts in the fridge for 2 or 3 weeks. That way when she's busy or on the run she can pull them out, heat, maybe make some cornbread and have a quick meal in no time.

Another tip I've read is to make your own tv dinners. Get containers which have separated food departments. Nights you've cooked and have any leftovers put them in those and wrap up and label. You can get those that have lids so you'll just have to put a piece of tape on it with what is in it written. You can choose whichever meal you want and just heat in the microwave.

Another quick tip...make ahead sausage and biscuits, wrap and freeze for a quick reheat OR pick up a few at McDonald's when they have them on sale 2 for $1.00, put in individual single ziplock bags and then place in a bowl with a lid. I use to do that for my kids. They'd grab one out, heat and go.

Pancakes can be made ahead and frozen and then just heated.

[NicJean]

+5 on using your crockpot!! Also, 'start' dinner the night before. I'll 'splain: I work 11 hour days, gone from home about 12-13 hours a day. I make a list of ideas for the weeks cooking on Saturday or Sunday, make sure I have ingredients on hand or jot a zillion sticky notes to pick it up on way home. Last evening, I knew I was making a big batch of Jambalaya in crock pot for tonights dinner. I chopped celery, pepper and onion last night, put in bowl in fridge, placed stock, can of tomatoes on counter, defrosted chorizo and chicken on counter, and added spices and garlic to crock pot. This morning - I chopped the thawed meat and dumped everything else in the pot.
I also cook tons (an added benefit of growing up and learning to cook in a household of 6, so, for the 2 of us, I have instant "freezer meals").

Another trick is to have a few "too tired to cook" meals actually written down - and make sure they are mostly pantry items or things you regularly have on hand. (That was yesterdays meal - a jar of home-canned spiced cherries from last summer, dumped over frozen pork chops in the slow cooker.) Popcorn, cheese and crackers, veggies and dip, hummus on crackers or salad, even canned soup, all can be dinner in a pinch. A special treat would be ice cream sundaes for dinner (once a year).

You can find a free week menu and how-to for the Once-a-month-cooking style on the internet (search for "oamc"), books like Dinners in the jarand Make a Mix are helpful, also. (in Make a Mix, the Mexican Meat is divine - I used the recipe and made five different meals with the frozen meat mixture over three months.)

Something else I've started to do is a card file of menus I regularly make - so when brain can't take any more decisions, I flip till I find something good (and usually easy!!)

Good luck!

[Booklover]

Spirit Deer-what are "fatties"?


"I also keep certain ingredients in the freezer, like browned hamburger, pre-cooked homemade meatballs, meatloaf that's mixed and formed but not cooked, fatties, marinated chicken, etc."

[SwirlyThing]

I agree with the various previous posts that say to make multiple servings and freeze some for later.

Additionally, how about assigning your husband dinner 2 nights per week. Make him help out. Your kid is too young, but when he gets older, assign him a night as well. My dd, had an assigned cooking night by 7 or 8 years old.

We also do "fend for yourself" nights, where nobody cooks dinner. Everyone just finds something for themselves... be it sandwiches, can of soup, warming a burrito out of the freezer, whatever. Again, someone would have to help the kid, but it does mean you don't have to actually cook a whole meal.

My DD suggests cooking up a chicken or turkey, then using the leftovers to make a gigantic pot of soup. Then freeze the soup to serve later. I make an entire stock pot full of soup that lasts us for a long time.

[MRoseB]

y'know SwirlyThing those are good ideas. I like the fend for yourself days... but the husband cooking usually doesn't go well. He's working FT and in school so he's pretty stretched, but besides he's no cook! He only knows how to do maybe 3 meals on his own otherwise he's asking me every other minute (even on rice). It's kinda scary lol. the soup idea is good like what heartofmine said about the chili, etc.

[Spirit Deer]

Spirit Deer-what are "fatties"?

There are a million ways to make fatties. I try not to get too wild with fat and calories, but they're usually pretty deadly no matter what you do.

First, I make up my usual meatloaf recipe. Then I pat it out between two sheets of plastic wrap till it's about a half inch thick. Slide it on a cookie sheet and chill it a few minutes in the freezer. Meanwhile, I make up the bacon weave on another sheet of wax paper. If I'm trying to behave, I use thin-sliced bacon. If not, I use the thick specialty-smoked bacon sold by one of our locally owned regional chain groceries-yum! The weave is made by simply laying the bacon slices out, one by one, in one direction, then weaving more slices at a right angle to the first slices. By the time that's done, then the meatloaf mixture should be ready, so I drag that back out and then the fun begins. I top the giant square meat patty with cheese, onion, deli ham, olives, whatever sounds good. Sometimes I make a cheeseburger fatty with the usual cheeseburger ingredients, or a pizza fatty with pizza-flavored toppings. Once the filling is layered on, I use the bottom piece of plastic wrap to assist as I roll the fatty up, removing the plastic as I go, of course. Once that's a nice round log, I lay that on the bacon weave and use the plastic under that to roll the weave around the meatloaf log.


Once the fatty is assembled, it can be frozen wrapped in the plastic wrap, or cooked right away. If it's frozen, it needs to thaw for a couple days in the fridge before cooking. Most people smoke their fatties in a smoker. I'm not very experienced with smoking yet, so I usually cook ours in our Cobb grill with some smoker chips. The idea is to cook it low and slow and use a thermometer to make sure the interior temp is safely hot enough. Cobbs have a high domed lid that's not shown here:


Then remove the fatty from the grill and let it rest a few minutes. Slice, serve, and sit back to enjoy the compliments.


Some people make their fatties stuffed with cooked bacon using bulk sausage, and then wrap it in a bacon weave and smoke it. I'm not even going there!

[SwirlyThing]

y'know SwirlyThing those are good ideas. I like the fend for yourself days... but the husband cooking usually doesn't go well. He's working FT and in school so he's pretty stretched, but besides he's no cook! He only knows how to do maybe 3 meals on his own otherwise he's asking me every other minute (even on rice). It's kinda scary lol. the soup idea is good like what heartofmine said about the chili, etc.

So let him cook anyway. Either you'll have mac-n-cheese a lot, or he'll get better at it. The only way he'll get better is with practice! And frankly, some nights mac-n-cheese cooked by someone else is better than anything I had to do all by myself!

[MRoseB]

this is very true

[buffy871]

Soup is great, because it doesn't take any more time to make a huge pot of soup than a small one, just a little more chopping.

I cook 2 roast chickens, debone them, and store the meat in baggies in the freezer and fridge. Then I don't really have to cook several days a week. I just add some seasoning or BBQ sauce and have chicken sandwiches or chicken salad. BBQ chicken on a green salad is great.

[rowdy35]

i work and commute so have learned some tips. i always try to mix it up so not eating the same thing all the time.

i've learned to cook

easy chinese : egg rolls, fried rice, stir fry from scratch

mexican: tacos, enchiladas beans/rice

italian: pasta or tortellini with sauce

american: meatloaf mashed potatoes, vegetable; roast chicken with veg.

just easy meals, that is the goal. so basically it's all about planning. you can buy your groceries when they are on sale and just plan ahead to cook what you buy on sale. this takes time and you will get better as you go along.

[CrazyCat]

Great Ideas~!

NicJean...I'd love that jambayla crockpot recipe~

[waterbaby77]

On the weekend, or when we have time, we usually make a big pot of soup. We have that for dinner with bread, and refrigerate or freeze the leftovers. We have the leftover soup for lunch during the week, but sometimes we eat it for dinner instead. Some kinds we like are lentil, minestone, and chicken tortilla.

Sometimes instead of making soup, I make a big pan of lasagna. Or I make something in the crockpot like chili or black eyed peas. The key is doing it when I have a lot of time on the weekend and am not rushed and tired.

For weeknight dinners, we eat a lot of main-dish salads (chicken caesar, cobb salad, etc, etc). Sometimes we cook chicken breasts or fish under the broiler (takes about 10 minutes) and serve with some couscous (takes about 7 minutes). Sometimes, we have burgers with coleslaw and chips, or sweet potato fries. Sometimes we have chicken sausages on buns with a side salad. We also have sandwiches, like Reubens once in a while. If I am really tired, we have frozen pizza with salad or frozen potstickers served with edamame and more coleslaw! All these take about 20-30 minutes to make.

If I have more time and energy, I will make burrito bowls with black beans and rice, or stir fry served over rice or noodles.

My husband does cook some nights when he gets off work before I do, or if he has the day off. Sometimes he helps by chopping vegetables. If I cook he does the dishes and vice versa. It is nice to have those nights when I don't have to cook. Would your husband be willing to cook one night a week? Even something simple like pasta or mac and cheese, it would give you a break.

[eclectictexan]

My new best friend is a pressure cooker and the for "Dummies" recipe book to go with it. Makes cooking seem like cheating it is so fast!!!
Plus I do can meats, beans, & vegetables to have on the shelf for a quick pop the top meal...plus no wasted freezer space. Can't can (sounds like I may be going to break out in dance here) ice cream so have to have the freezer space..HA HA

[MRoseB]

On the weekend, or when we have time, we usually make a big pot of soup. We have that for dinner with bread, and refrigerate or freeze the leftovers. We have the leftover soup for lunch during the week, but sometimes we eat it for dinner instead. Some kinds we like are lentil, minestone, and chicken tortilla.

Sometimes instead of making soup, I make a big pan of lasagna. Or I make something in the crockpot like chili or black eyed peas. The key is doing it when I have a lot of time on the weekend and am not rushed and tired.

For weeknight dinners, we eat a lot of main-dish salads (chicken caesar, cobb salad, etc, etc). Sometimes we cook chicken breasts or fish under the broiler (takes about 10 minutes) and serve with some couscous (takes about 7 minutes). Sometimes, we have burgers with coleslaw and chips, or sweet potato fries. Sometimes we have chicken sausages on buns with a side salad. We also have sandwiches, like Reubens once in a while. If I am really tired, we have frozen pizza with salad or frozen potstickers served with edamame and more coleslaw! All these take about 20-30 minutes to make.

If I have more time and energy, I will make burrito bowls with black beans and rice, or stir fry served over rice or noodles.

My husband does cook some nights when he gets off work before I do, or if he has the day off. Sometimes he helps by chopping vegetables. If I cook he does the dishes and vice versa. It is nice to have those nights when I don't have to cook. Would your husband be willing to cook one night a week? Even something simple like pasta or mac and cheese, it would give you a break.

well waterbaby77, thank you! I hadn't thought of chicken sausages... salads don't work with a 2 yr old, although I am working on vegetables (he'll do it if they are soft or in a soup)... I love coleslaw, lasagna but my son has allergies (i'm not sure if I mentioned that in the opening post). He can't do dairy products, eggs or peanuts which make it difficult to do a quick meal or frozen deal. Time - haha, it seems like I never have time to do anything now that I have kids, everyday is rush rush. But soups and crockpot meals are good. Yes, my husband would be willing to do a meal once a week. How do you make chicken tortilla??

[waterbaby77]

MRoseB,

I used the "Cook This Not That" chicken tortilla soup recipe.

Cook This: Tortilla Soup - Cook This! Not That - Men's Health

Warning! It is really spicy. I used 3 of the ancho chilis and it was REALLY hot, so since you have kids I would only use one or half of one.