Can you help me start cooking more often?

[salsah]

Some recent threads have really motivated me to want to start cooking more regularly. Well, I've always wanted to, but with two demanding kids, it seems that every time i try, i fail. (either i end up not having enough time and the fresh produce, that i bought especially, goes bad before i get around to making it, or i have to walk away from what i'm cooking to handle the girls' needs so many times that i ruin it, or it turns out great but the girls refuse to eat it.)

Before kids, I cooked Mon thru Thurs and i enjoyed it. But that was when I had time to grocery shop everyday, carefully follow a recipe, etc. Now that it has been 5 yrs since I have really cooked, i'm rusty. cooking takes more thought, effort, time etc.

So I'm hoping that those of you who do cook regularly, can help me get started. I would love general time saving (in the kitchen) advice but more importantly I need recipes to encourage me and boost my confidence -- fast, easy, healthy, Dh friendly, and picky toddler friendly. i hope that is not too much to ask for.

TIA!

Oh, here is one of the threads that motivated me to ask for help:

http://www.windsorpeak.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=351583

[infomama]

From one budding cook to another here are my .02

You don't need to shop everyday. Go here and download the weekly menu planner http://www.vertex42.com/ExcelTemplates/meal-planner.html (I use the first one, top left) and give yourself some time to fill it out. As you go through the menu, write the ingredients you need to buy in the grocery/shopping section. If you make a crock pot roast and plan to eat that the next day for lunch just write 'leftovers' for that meal. It's easier to plan your food usage out when you see how each meal can effect the next. If you make 'my' roasted redskins for dinner you can always heat those up in a skillet the next morning for breakfast as a side.

SO much of home cooking is trial and error and another part is re training your families palates to healthy home cooking (less sodium, etc). It took me a long time to get DH of canned green beans but now he doesn't care for them at all.

Oh..another time saver is doing a mass chopping of your veggies so you can just toss them into recipes. I always find that cut veggies in my fridge get eaten up where as some may go bad just because no one took the time to wash/trim/cut it up.

[hillview]

Menu planning and bulk cooking. Like you even on "good weeks" when I have a menu and the food on hand, I get busy and don't end up cooking. So what works super well (but I don't do enough) is cooking 2-3 things on the weekend or one evening I can get started early. I might make a soup, a casserole and then a meal for that night, I try to make an extra full serving of veggies (eg glazed carrots) when I make them for later in the week (just reheat). I buy frozen veggies often.

Thanks for starting this, hope I get some other great ideas!
/hillary

[fivi2]

I wouldn't call myself a good cook, but I do get dinner on the table every night. For me, the most important thing is to keep everything as simple as possible. New, complicated recipes are only for weekends when dh is home to help!

Most of my meals get on the table with 30 minutes or less hands on time (oven/stove time may take longer). Some things you can prep during the day or even farther ahead, but I am not great about doing that. I have been known to put my kids in front of the tv for the 30 minutes I am in the kitchen. Also, my girls usually eat separately, so I can wait to start the adult meal when dh gets home. When the meal is for all of us, I try to include at least one item I know the girls like.

I do meal plan and generally shop once a week, sometimes adding an end of week fresh produce/meat run. I buy things at varying stages of ripeness so they will last almost to the end of the week, or we use the frozen stuff at the end of the week. (if I don't do a second run).

Simple go-to meals include:
pasta with various sauces (red sauce plain or with ground turkey/turkey sausage are the usuals)
tacos, rice and beans
turkey burgers with salad
bean and rice burritos
various soups (most of the cooking time is hands off. especially if you prep veggies ahead).
various baked or stovetop chicken breast recipes. I have started buying larger packs at costco, coming home and separating into freezer bags with marinade. I then pull one out the night before to thaw and then stick it in the oven before dinner. All I need is to make a couple sides. very hands off.

If I know it is going to be a crazy day, I will plan to pick up a pre-cooked rotisserie chicken. Then all I have to do is make a couple of sides. May not be as great as homemade, but better and cheaper than eating out, imo. Someone on here posted that their rule used to be eggs for dinner on those nights - I like that idea too!

We prep some produce ahead of time (like pp) and have that with dinner (slightly before dinner). Everyone will munch on that while I am finishing up. The girls will eat it with some ranch dip! Planning for leftovers is good also.

As far as getting the girls to eat it... sometimes they don't. or sometimes they eat a variation of what we eat. If we have pasta, they may eat the plain noodles with butter and parm, and then the same sides. Turkey burger night, the usually eat the bun :) some fries, some fruit/veggies. They have to try to burger, but not eat all of it. (they do have to take a taste). Fajita night, they might have quesadillas or just rice and beans. So they have a variation on what we are having, using the same components. They are usually allowed to request bread or yogurt and just eat the fruit/veg if they hate what we are having. I don't make it a huge battle, but their other choices aren't allowed to be crap. (no Goldfish and cookies for dinner).

Again, I am not a good cook, but we do eat at home most nights!
hth!

[DebbieJ]

menu planning, shopping once a week, and preprepping all the produce help me greatly!

You can also subscribe to services like e-mealz.com that give you a predetermined menu and shopping lists and make it real easy for you.

I always have a quick "go to" meal in the freezer for those days when things just get too crazy. For us, it's TJ's Orange Chicken. Make some rice and some frozen veggies on the side and dinner is done in ~20 mins.

[elektra]

The planning is the hardest part for me.
And per the thread you linked to, I still recommend that Trader Joe's cookbook if you go to TJ's. They are so easy.

[hellokitty]

I agree with the others that meal planning is the hardest part. I will share what I do. I subscribe to the sunday paper for grocery store ads. I look to see what is on sale that wk and I basically focus my menu for the week. I shop 1x a wk, buy what I need. So, if broccoli and asparagus are on sale, that is what I buy for veggies. If whole chickens are on sale, I'll get that. I also have a deep freezer for a quarter of a cow, so I make sure I defrost things a couple days ahead of time. I often try cook extra so we have leftovers a couple times a wk. Sometimes I will cook a double batch and freeze half of it for another meal later on. I don't do, "fussy" recipes. Everything I cook is pretty easy. My mom was and still is expected by my father to cook THREE hot meals a day. I learned from her how to keep it simple. I would make small goals. Start by trying to cook a couple times a wk, move it up to 3, and then 4, etc.. It will eventually become a habit and then it won't seem so hard.

[AbbysMom]

I agree with all the PP's. For me, I look at the flyer Saturday night and plan my weeks dinners (yeah my social life is roaring!). I shop Sunday morning. I usually plan for 2 pasta nights a week, one frozen food type dinner (chicken fingers or meatballs) and we go out one night a week. So I really just need to add 3 more dinners (which doesn't seem overwhelming). I also buy what's on sale and base meals around that. And I now have a rotation for turkey sausage hoagies, homemade pizza, whole chicken, chicken dinners, hamburgers, etc. We do a mix of fresh and canned veggies for sides and try to have salads many nights too.

I have a 3 year old and 18 month old so my dinners are simple.

[boolady]

It sounds like you used to cook a lot, and I used to cook a lot pre-DD, and really love to cook, but really had to change my mindset now that dinner's about getting it done, healthfully and practically. Before DD, I could try out whatever new recipes struck me from Cooking Light, and if it took me a long time to make after work, well, then DH could just wait. Obviously, that doesn't fly anymore.

So, for weeknights, I've had to realize that I just have to scale back the complexity and plan very simple things or alternatives due to time pressure. Chicken breasts marinated in some citrus and olive oil and herbs and thrown on the grill with some veggies and a salad? Great. We keep plenty of whole wheat pasta and some jarred sauces that we don't mind on hand, along with the Hans chicken meatballs from Costco. We have scrambled eggs, toast, and fruit a lot. DD doesn't know the difference...she's just hungry! I save the more complex things for the weekend when I have more time.

I'll try and find some of our favorite fast recipes.

[egoldber]

I agree that keeping dinner simple is really key. And prep ahead as much as you can. A meatloaf can be assembled the night before, refrigerated and thrown in the oven to cook while you prep the rest of the meal and do other things.

We eat lots of.....

stir fry (make lots of extra rice, have some the next night with another meal and freeze anything else for a super quick side another night)

quesadillas
simple burritos
beans&rice
grilled chicken
grilled steak
pan seared fish
BBQ shredded chicken/pork from the crockpot
soups (crockpot)
stews (crockpot)

Combine any or all of the above with a simple vegetable dish and it's a meal.

I think it's important to also have "emergency meals". I try not to eat a lot of pasta as a main meal, but we keep it on hand for those "emergency meals". We also like the Indian food packets at Trader Joe and will keep those on hand and serve over rice (see the frozen rice suggestion above ;) ).

[alirebco]

I hear you on this one! Cooking has become so difficult especially because DS is all over while cooking and wants to help or he is cranky and hungry. Some things I have done that help:

1) Start meal prep during naptime - I chop veggies, peel garlic, mix marinades, etc
2) Meal plan - I get burnt out from meal planning but it really does help in terms of having everything you need on hand and it's one less thing to think about that day.
3) Oven meals - I tend to do a lot of things that I can just throw in the oven like roasted chicken, fish, roasted broccoli, sweet potatoes, etc. I just throw the meat in the dish, throw veggie on roasting pan and some potatoes and dinner is done in 30 minutes to an hour. Plus, I don't have to worry about DS getting hurt.
4) Keep it simple - simple recipes that don't require a ton of time to do and the oven or stove does most of the work.

Here was my meal plan for this week for example:

Monday: Moroccan Chicken with Lemon and Olives (oven), Lemon Thyme Green Beans (started on stove & finished in oven), Salad
Tuesday: Flat Iron Steak (grill pan), Sauteed Kale (stove), Sweet Potatoes (oven)
Wednesday: Wild Salmon (oven), Roasted Broccoli (oven), Leftover Sweet Potatoes (oven)
Thursday: Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic (browned meat on stove, finished in oven), Green Beans (started on stove, finished in oven), Salad
Friday: Leftover Chicken and Garlic, Salad

[kijip]

I cook. I actually think I cook well, in that I am comfortable with common and many uncommon prep methods and can cook most things without a recipe, including copying things I have tasted elsewhere. I look at cookbooks mostly for inspiration. I say all of this not to say YAY me but to say that cooking is like any habit- you need to do it over and over and get comfortable. I grew up poor, for most of my childhood we basically had no money to eat out so we ate dinner in essentially all of the time. I think this helped me a lot because I learned to cook, and learned from an excellent cook (my dad).

I think the best thing you can do is make a menu plan and stick to it (I trade nights sometimes if the mood strikes me or I move up the leftover night), but I start the week with all of the things I need for the week on hand. And once you have eaten at home most nights for 4-6 weeks you will have a habit forming and can branch out and learn to cook new things. Another tip is to think of all of the things you like to eat out and make a list. Then learn how to make it. That's kind of fun, like a treasure hunt.

When my mom was sick and we were in newborn/ppd land we ate out a lot. I re-learned 2 things: I gain a lot of freaking weight that way and I had far less money in my checking account. I know a lot of people who grumble about the price of groceries while eating out a lot. Even the cheapest, crappiest fast food for a family of 4 is more costly than a decent home meal plan.

Here was our meal plan this week, nothing at night took more than 30 minutes at night, some prep done ahead:

Monday- Potato pancakes, Apple sauce, salad
Tuesday- Rice with stir fried veggies and pineapple. Salad with ginger dressing.
Weds- Tomato basil pizza with peppers and mushrooms, kid made his own (husband made the dough the day before) and a caesar salad.
Thursday- random leftover stuff (rice, some veggies that NEEDED eating, some leftover salad fixings)
Friday- Red Cabbage, Apples, Pork Chops and Greens.
tomorrow we will have a ratatouille and then Sunday, we do a bigger dinner and it will be a roast with greens, brussels sprouts and potatoes.

On monday I will use the leftover beef for sandwiches. It becomes a perpetual motion machine.

[salsah]

thanks for all of the replies!
it seems that my biggest weaknesses (other than being slow and not being able to cook w/o a recipe) is meal planning. i can't even remember to take something out of the freezer to defrost the night before!
currently, we eat at my parents' house once on the weekend, we out with friends or on our own the other day of the weekend. fridays are usually take out, except on the rare occasion that we have leftovers. so for mon-thurs, i usually only plan to do real cooking once. the other three nights are quick fixes:
pasta with sauce from a jar (sometimes with ground beef that browned ahead in a big batch and froze in small amounts) and salad or bag of frozen veggies steamed
tj's indian packets with rice and frozen naan
fish in the oven with a bag of frozen veggies steamed and leftover pasta or rice
eggs and/or pancakes
costco frozen falafel, hummus, bread, and salad
tj's frozen stir fry and rice
i try to only make things that the girls like, but when they don't like dinner, they get cheese, yogurt, quesadillas, grilled cheese sandwiches, etc.

i don't do breakfast (other than pancakes on the weekends) or lunch.

i would like to do less quick fixes and more real cooking, but i need recipe ideas for fast and easy healthy meals that both the kids and dh and i will like. many of the things that i used to make were doable when dd2 was napping. (i used to always prepare dinner during nap time. no nap meant no dinner.) now that doesn't nap anymore, i just can't seem to dedicate that much of my attention to the kitchen so i've been doing more quick fixes and haven't even attempted real quickly much.

i think i'll start with meal planning (that seems to be the one thing that is most recommended). but i'll take it slow, i'll just aim for two meals per week for now.

now i just need some new recipes.

[mama2zoe]

There are a lot of good ideas suggested here! I don't feel like I'm a good cook and I still struggle sometimes since dinner prep time seems like the time that the girls need my attention! I try to do slow cooker meals once or twice during the week (pot roast and veggies, pork tenderloin, chicken with veggies or dumpling, etc...) and that seems to help. I also try to do part of the prep while DD2 is napping, but there are always things to do!

I do find that if I plan the meals for the week that things go much smoother! You can just print it on the computer of course, but I found a pad of meal planning at Michael's for $1 (I think they have them pretty regularly.)

If you've got a Trader Joe's near you, definitely check out other meals. My daughters love the Mandarin Orange Chicken. I just throw in some peppers, pinapples, broccoli, whatever other veggies I fell like and put some rice in the rice cooker.

Spaghetti and meat sauce is a great meal-don't feel like it's not real cooking. With salad and other veggies, it's a well rounded meal:)

A real easy salmon recipe my MIL gave me is to just put salmon in aluminum foil (either w/ just pepper and a little salt or fresh basil mixed with crushed potato chips) and cook at 365 for 35 minutes. Again, add salad, veggies and rice.

Maybe someone can start a post where everyone can put recipes up for everyone to see!

[kijip]

thanks for all of the replies!
it seems that my biggest weaknesses (other than being slow and not being able to cook w/o a recipe) is meal planning. i can't even remember to take something out of the freezer to defrost the night before!

A saying goes: a goal not written down is a wish. I think the same goes for meal planning, especially if you have just getting started. I have the PB daily system hanging near my kitchen and one of the pieces is a menu planner. I mostly got it for b-fast and lunch which were my biggest downfalls, but it's helpful for dinner too because it's a constant visual reminder of the plan. It also helps me easily gauge our veggie and fruit intake over a week. It's like this:

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h204/kijip/DailyPlanner.jpg

[SnuggleBuggles]

Haven't read the other replies b/c I know they'd make me feel bad since I am currently in a cooking funk. :) My advice is to set small goals like 2-4/ dinners per week that you cook rather than try and jump and make a drastic change. I find that I just can't always keep up when I have a week long meal plan made then food goes to waste and I feel guilty. I have been shopping on Monday for dinner stuff for Monday and Tuesday then shopping again on Wed. or Thursday for the next few days. I feel less pressure that way and it has been working out well. (My gym is right next to a grocery store so this is easy enough for me to pull off.)

Also, your crock pot is your friend.

So is browning a bunch of ground meat (I use turkey) at one time. Brown it up and freeze. You are ready to go for quick tacos, meat sauce, chili...it has been an awesome resource for me!

Beth

[egoldber]

Well, for breakfast, we have zero imagination. We all eat almost the exact same thing every day for breakfast. Most days it is a variation of scrambled eggs, whole wheat toast and a sausage link or turkey bacon.

[MommyAllison]

For recipe ideas, I really like www.melskitchencafe.com She has 3 little kids, and most of her recipes are quick, simple, tasty and relatively healthy. I browsed through her chicken category, main dish category, etc. and came up with lots of things to try. Personally, I meal plan for 5 meals/week, and they usually last more than a week with leftovers, eating at family/friend's homes, etc. We pretty much never eat out anymore. HTH!

[AbbysMom]

I have a recipe for a very easy "turkey sausage and pepper 'hero'" I could post if you are interested. I never have it sa a sandwich - we eat it over rice but it's very easy, tasty and healthy if you're interested!

[Katigre]

www.thescramble.com is my cookbook bible, and it is all planned each week with simple, easy, tasty recipes that aren't processed foods.

If you subscribe to the website you get grocery lists and additional resources too.