What are your tricks for cooking every day when you don’t enjoy it?

Missy H: What are your tricks for cooking every day when you don’t enjoy it?
I don’t hate cooking, but I hate the inconvenience. A few times a week, I don’t mind. But I dread the thought of cooking dinner every day. Unfortunately, due to health issues my husband and I need to start eating home cooked food more – no eating out, no processed foods. What are your personal tricks for making cooking faster, more interesting and more fun everyday?

Answers and Views:

Answer by Zipper Head
leftovers are a mainstay, and I try do cook “en masse” so there are leftovers. Cook more rice than you need, and use it the next day in a different way, like a fritatta or stir fry. You can do the same with pasta.
Pasta salad, pasta with meat sauce… et al. It really is a great way to use the imagination. Create your own recipies, cook together, and laugh alot when you do it.

Answer by tamra47
I hate cooking so my boyfriend does it all. That way I dont have to deal with it. But if you and your husband split the days or do it together it might not be as time consuming making it less miserable of an experience.

Answer by grandmom
I would suggest that when you’re in the mood and have the time, cook up a storm and freeze them. You can prepare meats basically then when thawed you’ll only need to make the finished product. Cook a large roast, bunch of chicken , big pot of sauce, etc.
Have fun and get hubbie to help.

Answer by shannon !
This is so dorky I can’t even believe I’m admitting to it, but here goes:

Sometimes I pretend I’m the host of my own cooking show, and I try to think of interesting way to prepare and present what I’m doing, talking to the imaginary camera the whole time. It really makes the time go by and it also lets me relax and be someone else for a little while!! lol

One Thanksgiving I was doing the turkey and my mom just insisted that I teach my younger sister how to do it. So, I started narrating what I was doing, and she was totally disinterested. I kept going, regardless of her bored sighs and eye rolling. Finally, she looked at me and said, “You’re not even talking to ME anymore, are you?” I thought that was so funny because really, I wasn’t. I was talking to my audience watching at home!!

Answer by im here
I HATE to cook!!! But, with a teenage boy living at home, my budget makes me! I like Rachael Ray. Her meals are fabulous and are usually done in 30-45 minutes. They are pretty health conscience as well. Like the previous poster said, make more than you would eat at one sitting and have the leftovers. That will save on cooking a couple of times a week. Trade off cooking duties with your husband. My son likes to cook, so a couple of nights he will cook for me!

Answer by Pelion
Go for baked dishes like roast chicken, fish etc that you can eat the next day with a different salad. For lighter meals, use bread slices in place of pizza dough and top it with ingredients of your choice like ham, olives, tomato slices, peppers, cheese etc. Alternatively, try different dishes everyday. This way it will perk your interest and whet your appetite as well.

Answer by turtle
When I was working full-time and had the family at home I didn’t feel like cooking every night either. So, I took some time during the weekend to prepare the basic salad (greens, onion, cucumber) and added to it during the week. I also cooked 2-3 meals for use during the week and froze them in freezer bags (e.g., soups/stews; meatloaf; enchiladas; lasagne; spaghetti sauce) and pulled them out as needed the night before to defrost all night and all day in the frig.

Also, I now use canned chicken breast meat alot for chicken salad with grapes; bbq chicken sandwich (warm chicken and bbq sauce in pan, spoon on whole wheat rolls/buns; enchiladas; a quick chicken soup with broth, vegies, and pasta; make a bechamel (basic white sauce) using broth, spices, canned chicken and serve over brown rice or no yolk egg noodles. There are lots of possibilities!

Answer by amiboo
I just try to keep it as fast as I possibly can. One way I do this is to buy one of those big 6 lb bags of skinless, boneless chicken breasts. I thaw it all and cook it all at once. I usually get out my big frying pan and heat 1 Tbls of olive oil, once it’s hot I put it several chicken breasts. I use a generic Mrs Dash seasoning so they aren’t just bland bits of chicken. I add a smidge more olive oil between batches – it usually takes three batches to do the whole bag full.

Once it’s all done I cut it all up into chunks and freeze it. That way when I’m making something that calls for chicken I can just put in a cup or two of my frozen precooked chicken, it thaws as the meal cooks and it saves at least 20 min or more.

Answer by corkmiester_2000
Time:
A lazy sunday morning, a pen, and a pad is what you will need to make up a meal plan for the week.

Meats:
What I like to do is buy meats in bulk and seperate them into half pound sizes with a kitchen scale (you can find them cheap at Walmart,Target,etc..). Then I package them with my “Food Saver” (which you can find with a load of extras at Costco).
The tip to sealing your Ground beef is to create an 8″ bag and place your 1/2lb. ball of meat in and vacuum. Once the air has been released and the bag is sealed, smash it down to sheets of ground beef. It will make it a heck of alot easier to defrost when you need it. With Pork ribs or Chicken Breast I just simply place a peice of wax paper between the pieces to keep them seperated.

Veggies:
As far Veggies go always keep a large back of frozen Veggie at hand at all times. “The Brocolli,Carrot,Cauliflower one is a favorite in our househould”.
(Wanna go fresh) cut up your lettuce in strips and ziplock them to always have it ready for a quick salad or for a really good sandwhich. Dicing all your Fresh Veggies that you will need that week at once will save you time in the kitchen when it comes time to cook for that day.

Flavor:
Combining salt and pepper in a shaker is a nice thing to have around and buying a small canister to place your salt in for that quick little pinch when you need to add it to your cooking won’t hurt either. Kinda makes you feel like a chef. I like to cook with “Lemon Pepper, Season All, and Minced Garlic”.

These are a few things that make my cooking time quick and fun. Call me a dork but the Food Saver is my best friend.

Answer by LadyD
As a Weight Watchers Leader I meet lots of people who do not enjoy/or do not have the time to cook. I also recommend, get a couple of good healthy cookbooks (Usually Weight Watchers) and plan what receipes you want for the week. Write Mon to Sun, Meal and dessert (if preferred). On a seperate piece of paper list the ingredients. This saves time and money of your shopping bill as you are buying only what you need. If possible prepare all the basic ingreds in the morning (ie: veg) and then throw it altogether when you want your meal. Using a slow cooker saves lots of time as well. If the recipe is for 4 people and there are only 2 of you, make it for 4 and have the other half the next day or freeze. Saving LOTS of time. Lots of variety is the key, search the website for recipes – UKFood or BBC Good Food, etc. Hope this helps.

Answer by iluvmadmex
i usually try to plan my meals for the week and prep some of it ahead of time. so for example, i’ll buy chicken breasts and use them for 3 different meals. then you only need to spend about 10-15 min making dinner. another time saver is to make big pot meals like chili, stews, or even spaghetti. those usually last about 2-3 days depending on how much you eat each day.