Will Blog For Meals

Here I am in another "I don't feel like cooking or buying groceries" phase. Which was fine when I was single, but now that I'm not, it can present a problem. We either eat pasta or we starve.

Or we go out to eat. Which we've done a couple of times recently. Oy. Taking a 2-year old out to eat is so not relaxing.  It has its entertaining moments though. Like when we went to this tiny new Mexican restaurant on our anniversary and the freshly-made chips were still hot when they hit our table. My son devours chips and grabbed a pile right away. Before he stuffed a fistful in his mouth, I warned him that they were hot. He knows to blow on his food when it's hot, so he let out a hearty PHHHHHHHHHT!  onto his chips. Which is actually really fun to watch & listen to.

Then there was the outing to the local burger joint, which for me was all about dessert since they serve the World's Bestest Frozen Custard. But we had to leave before ever getting to What's For Dessert, because of the 2-year old's tantrum. We were the family who scooped up the child and darted out the door without making eye-contact with anyone to avoid all evil-eye stares.

Oh sure, there's takeout. But that can get expensive. And let's face it, there's nothing like home-cooking. Especially when you pay attention to your family's eating restrictions and buy the really good fresh stuff, sans preservatives and sodium-ish additives.

Which brings me back to my current phase. I'm not always in this phase. Sometimes, I thoroughly enjoy planning good meals, making the list, buying the stuff, and putting it all together.

But the thing is? It never ends. Well, you know. It's a constant need. A never-ending project. And it's not optional. This planning, shopping, cooking, eating cycle.

When you're the cook, you don't get a day off. Ever. Wahhhh waaaahhh.

OK. Enough sulking.

Here's where you come in. What healthy meals do you make in the summer by the humongo potful, so that you don't have to cook every blasted day?  What do you make that freezes well?  What do you make in large quantities without beef or pork? And I'm not the only one who goes through this, right?

UPDATE:  The anal-retentive meal planner, I am not.  But for a good laugh, read this at Boudicca's Voice to find out how Bou's Dad plans meals for a family vacation. I'm a gridhead, but even I can't see myself going to this extreme. But the fact that there's a man out there who does this makes me grin from ear to ear!

Comments

[Kristi]

I'm so with you on this. When it's hot and humid out, the last thing you feel like doing is turning on your oven, especially when you don't have central air. As you know, I don't cook very well at all. But I do make a big package of shake-n-bake chicken once a week, and then we eat it for several nights' worth of dinners. Boring and repetitive, I know. Also, Rich will grill a ton of stuff one night and eat steak, sausage, etc. for a few nights during the week.

[Lisa]

I can't even tell you - because I am on a, "What in the WORLD can I make???" thing myself. I search allrecipes.com for like an hour, and nothing appeals to me at all. Last night I made Twice Baked Potatoes; mozzarella, tomatoes and onions all cut up, with ranch on mine and Basil, Balsamic vinegar and olive oil for my husband; and frozen fish fillets. I wanted to make Tilapia but was too lazy to go to the store.

[Raehan]

I go through phases, too. Sometimes I have it all planned out. Other times I just use what I have. And then there are the, let's eat out phases, too. My girls get hungry early, though, so it's hard to wait until Dad's home from work We usually do that on the weekends.

I like eating simply in the summer. Grill something. Raw vegetables and dip. Homeade lemonade.

[InterstellarLass]

I am terrible about cooking. Hubs and I both work full-time, so we are both exhausted at the end of the day. I think I got in four straight days of cooking last month, but that's it. We eat out a lot. Too much. This is one of my goal areas of improvement.

[Sarcasmom]

I feek your pain. My husband often cooks the meal as he gets home first. But I have to plan it, from the main dish to what we are having with it. I swear it was in the small print on the marriage license. "I agree to plan every meai on perpetuity"!

[vw bug]

I'm with you... maybe I should write a post on will blog for having laundry done! Day after day... 1 to 3 loads A DAY. I'm sick of it. I'll cook dinner for you... even put it in freezer bags, if you'll do my laundry! ;-)

[Sarcasmom]

Ine thing that I find helps is using the crockpot. That wasy dinner is decided on and mostly cone early on, so I'm not so tempted to dial a meal.

[K Jones]

Oh, Marie, I so feel your pain on this one. With a three and a one year-old, the Wife and I haven't seen the inside of a decent restaurant in forever, but coming up with something every night is taxing as well. I am a big fan of stir-fry. Now it doesn't reheat very easily but we got this big vat of Ginger-Garlic Teriyaki Sauce from Costco and with a little of it and some Minute Rice and some grilled chicken we got ourself a rice bowl. The kids like it without the veggies of course but the Wife and I often throw in a little broccoli and some carrots and "voila" we have a well-rounded meal. Works with shrimp, too.

[Marie]

Kristi,
We do need to do some large-scale grilling. I like that idea too. Just have to find a low-sodium marinade for chicken. That's a challenge!

Lisa,
Mmmmm! Twice-baked potatoes!! Dinner at The Shizzle's!!

Raehan,
I like simple too. I need to motivate myself to make a big bowl of potato salad. Then all we have to do is make burgers or meat to go with it for a few nights.

Lass,
We ate out way more than cooked before our son was born. It's just hard taking a 2-year old out sometimes. Plus it gets too expensive! I love having someone else do the cooking & cleanup!!

Sarcasmom,
Mmm hmm! I think that's why sometimes I just say screw it! Let's go out to eat. Not that that's necessarily any better with a tot! Oh, yes... we're big crock pot users here. That thing gets a workout. Love it. Love it!

VW,
DEAL! I actually don't mind laundry. Though my hub does his own... so I'm only doing laundry for my son & myself, plus sheets, towels, etc.

K,
The stir-fry idea is a good one! Again, I need to find some very low sodium sauces. That's often the catch with "whip it up quick" stuff -- it's high in sodium. My hub can't eat that stuff. So, I'm on a mission for recipes for very low sodium sauces & marinades that we can prepare ourselves!

[Marie]

ps -- THANKS everyone! for chiming in on this one!!