Can we still be friends even though I hate cooking? I do. There, the cat's out of the bag. I love to bake but cook? It's not my thing friends and I am in a terrible slump. I'm a mother and a wife, shouldn't I enjoy the art of cooking? Fortunately my boys are young and don't fully realize my lack of desire and the mister is rarely home for dinner, so there's that too.
This is a cry for HELP! How do I get motivated? And when I say motivated, I mean motivated to cook simple, easy meals. Nothing fancy. Or complicated.
What are your tricks? Tips? Do you hate cooking too? What's your secret? Any recipes that are on heavy rotation in your kitchen?
Share! Share now and save me from despair!!
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I have two things that I do to make cooking easier, first I make sure that I always have a good stock of frozen produce since not only does this save me a ton of time but money too as wel as having plenty of jars of sauces and spices I love so that I can always throw together a delicious nutritious meal in under 20 minutes. Second, I make a very casual meal plan where I simply make a list of about 10 different meals to make for the month that includes at least one meal that uses up leftovers and then I just make whichever meal sounds good to me that day and I know that I have everything I need for it. I only make more complicated meals when I'm feeling particularly inspired.
ReplyDeleteoh good idea! I always find I want to cook something but don't have the ingredients! Thanks Andrea :)
DeleteOur Best Bites is coming out with a new cookbook, and they have the BEST recipes. I don't love cooking either, but that cookbook makes me all giddy inside!
ReplyDeleteSo need it!!!
DeleteI find some days I don't really like to cook. With small children, have them help and make it fun. We laugh and goof off while we cook and it makes watching water boil way more fun! :-) I made a list of all the dishes we like in a Word document, then I just use that when I'm stuck for ideas. The Food Network is another awesome choice, just narrow your search for dinner and easy. You might actually LIKE cooking.... YIKES! lol
ReplyDeleteI need to do that, compile a list of our favorites :)
DeleteI'm soooooo right there with ya! I don't love to cook, but I do it and here's what works for me:
ReplyDelete1. It needs to be FAST! I stray away from recipes that take longer than 10 minutes to prep and 30 minutes to cook/bake.
2. I subscribe to the Kraft Food & Family magazine. They have really yummy quick & easy family friendly recipes in there. It's great inspiration.
3. You live in Texas, right? Me too! I love shopping at H.E.B simply because of their weekly meal deals. For example, this week when I buy a pkg of shredded bbq beef, I get a can of beans, a package of guacamole and tortilla chips for FREE! Cost effective and there's a meal I don't have to plan! Bonus!
4. I also put all of our family favorite recipes in a document (with necessary ingredients listed) and keep it on my computer and on my phone (in case I'm at the store and need ideas). Believe it or not, it really helps when you're stuck.
And... Here's a quick & easy meatless pasta dish! We love this!
Pesto Pasta Bake
Ingredients:
1 pkg. penne pasta
1 can basil pesto
1 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce
smallest tub of ricotta you can buy
2 cups mozzarella
Directions:
Cook the pasta according the pkg directions for al dente.
Drain pasta & keep it in the same pot you boiled it in.
Add ricotta to pasta. (I usually use about 1/2 of the tub but you can add more or less depending on how cheesy you want it. In the words of my mom,. "Ya just eyeball it!")
Then, add about 2-3 tablespoons of pesto. Make sure you shake up your bottle before you open it so the oil mixes in. Again, you can add as little or as much to your taste.
Pour the pasta mixture into a casserole dish.
Pour spaghetti sauce over the pasta.
Sprinkle cheese on top.
Bake in the oven on 350° for 10-15 minutes or until cheese is melted.
Easy peasy!
Unfortunately I live in Dallas... No HEB :( But I'm with you, FAST & EASY! Thanks Lynette.
DeleteTwo sites I use for fast, healthy, and yummy meals are:
ReplyDeletehttp://peasandthankyou.com
http://www.mealmakeovermoms.com/recipes/
Ugh. I hear you!! The energy drain for me is even thinking about dinner, it's so hard!! One trick I use is sausages. I buy mild italian pork sausages or turkey sausages from whole foods once or twice a week. Sometimes I take the casing off and break it up and cook it with onions then add a jar of pasta sauce and cook some pasta. Or I put it in a stew or ragu. It's good and quick and tasty... or I have the sausage on the side of pesto orzo or baked potato, yam or pesto gnocchi.
ReplyDeleteAnother trick is to always have onions, celery and carrots. You can make almost anything with these ingredients added to stew or pasta sauce.
But still... to find the energy is draining. We order pizza a lot.
Crock pot. Plan what you're going to eat the day before, so that at 3:00 the next day you can start the process (or do it at 9:00 in the morning and pop it in the oven 30 minutes before you want to eat). Planning! That's my gig.
ReplyDeleteKitchen from dreams or fairytale ;)
ReplyDeleteInvite to my new fashion blog :
alessj.blogspot.com
I think wanting to do it is all about being excited about results. (Like blow drying my hair. It's hot and not fun.. but of course I like to look good, like my hair to feel soft, so I do it. :) I think if you have some good cookbooks, food magazines or favorite recipe sites and find recipes that are simple and turn out well, you'll get a bit more motivated about the process. It's fun to make GOOD food that people love. (And I'm doing it just for myself, 3 and 6 year old boys..) It's also fun to be ABLE to make good food. You can do it!
ReplyDelete(p.s. to simplify, I like having a weekly sandwich or panini night and a weekly gourmet breakfast night. Shopping seasonal helps get me excited too- buying really pretty and fresh produce. I say find a fun grocery store.)