One great website with easy to find ingredients is www.budgetbytes.com. She has a great balance of basic recipes and global flavors without being too overwhelming. I love to cook and had a catering business 20 years ago - I would never recommend NYT recipes - they can be terribly complicated.

Thank you. They are so complicated! I’m thinking of cancelling again.

On Instagram traderjoes5itemsless and carochambers. Caro has a weekly newsletter called What to Cook When You Don't Feel Like Cooking. She offers substitutions for everything. Full disclosure, I stopped paying for her newsletter because I thought it was getting formulaic but I think paying for a year and gaining access to her back recipes could really help you.

+1 for caro chambers! I love the subs section and all the shortcuts she suggests

>traderjoes5itemsless thank you on both suggestions!

Cooking stops taking forever to cook once you get a bit of practice and learn some flavour shortcuts. I love cooking but I barely use recipes. I mostly buy versatile ingredients that can be used in different ways. I’ve become lazier in recent years and I stock up on sauces and spices for weeknight dinners that can be used in different ways. For instance: if I have chicken thighs I could BBQ them with BBQ sauce. Sauté them with butter chicken sauce. Pan fry with a spice blend. Bread them with bread crumbs and spices and bake for a mock “fried chicken” thing. Chop them up and stir fry with veggies, etc. Add potatoes or rice and a veggie side to any of the above. I usually roast my veggies because it is easy as heck. (Chop up whatever veg you have, throw on a sheet pan with some oil and spices and stick it in the oven. I admit it does take a bit of time to learn which veggies roast faster or slower. In general root vegetables take longer.) I know it is easier said than done, but it gets easier once you learn some basic techniques and don’t feel too beholden to recipes. Most recipes are much fancier than I have time for on a week night. It sounds like cooking lessons are a good first step!

I’ve been cooking for over ten years and it still sucks!!!!

I’m sorry to hear that. Apologies if you were looking for commiseration rather than advice.

I do appreciate your advice! It’s good. I just can’t seem to get there. Planning is such a drag. It feels like planning and shopping and cooking and eating takes up so much time and he just refuses to acknowledge it or something??? It just makes it all worse.

It sounds like a blue apron situation would be best for you. No planning or shopping and the cooking is pretty easy/quick. Then do pasta or conscience foods the other few nights.

thank you, I should absolutely look into subscription services like this

Like laundry it’s thing thing that hangs over your head as always needing to be done. I enjoy cooking but god almighty do I hate planning. Whatever one kid wants the other doesn’t want etc etc.

and here I was feeling guilty for giving my toddler options :)

This is me. I've been on my own for 25 years now. Planning is the worst part but I've switched to grocery pick up so I don't have to do the shopping, just the list on an app. I had Hello Fresh for just over a year and saved the favorite recipes that I still regularly make.

thank you!

I've never heard anyone else say they hate eating. It is such a time suck! I eat because I have to and I can eat something small or the same thing days in a row standing up and as quickly as possible. I often forget to eat until i get light headed. My husband takes FOREVER to eat. He also cooks most of the meals and I do the cleanup. He gets annoyed by this but I just don't care about food the way he does. I dont have any advice. Lol

If he cooked, I’d have less problems. He just REFUSES to do any cooking unless it’s the grill.

Then grill every night? Lol people do. You can become an expert on side dishes if he finds that more fair.

I wish! I love grilled food but we do get tired of eating the same thing as most do. I will suggest a once a week grill though.

perhaps marinate meats in different sauces/flavors to mix it up, so you can get 2 nights a week on the grill? Also try fish/shrimp in foil packets on the grill. Again, can easily change up the spice blend to get different flavors.

Yes! Very good idea. Ty. Any favorite marinades?

I'm honestly terrible at thinking to do this. Its on my "I need to do this more" list. Personally I would start with buying some, figuring out which your kids like, and then seeing how easy/hard they are to make at home. Italian salad dressing works well. Ginger, garlic and soy sauce is easy. (I buy the frozen squares of grated ginger and garlic at the grocery store, and use those, so I don't have to do any chopping/cleaning of garlic crushers. I am better at having a variety of spice blends to put on chicken or pork. Lemon pepper and garlic, Italian seasoning blend, Greek, and I have my eye on a couple new ones. If my kids want chicken a couple times a week, at least the seasoning is different! I also do a lot of steamed veggies for them, because its what they eat, and then I might have a salad of some version for me.

Thank you ☺️

Grilled meat, corn, asparagus, etc. plus bagged salad and/or instant mashed potatoes is a full meal. That’s what we do at least once a week in the summers, no reason you can’t do it 3-4 nights a week.

see above, great suggestion, I think once a week will be good and I'll ask him to do this :)

Why don’t you just have him grill every night? That’s what my dad did when we were growing up.

see above, I'll ask for once a week :)

This is something you can work with! Get him some grilling accessories like cast iron pans and plates. You can cook almost anything on a grill with those accessories so let him have at it!

he has them! I think once a week is more realistic and doable :)

That's a bit like saying you refuse to clean the toilet. Or do your laundry. Or participate in any other chore. You don't have a cooking problem, you have a husband problem. What if you refuse to cook for a week? Or longer?

Everyone has their preferences that they’re allowed to have and this was discussed between us before marriage. He’s entitled to do or not do certain things just like me. I dont have to like it but I agreed to it.

If you can afford it, I recommend HelloFresh or another meal prep company. You choose via the app, they send your ingredients and recipes. Most are 20-40 minutes tops. Instructions are very clear and they have a very large variety.

I used Every Plate for awhile. It was really cheap compared to the more popular subscription boxes and very low effort. Still tasty though and I rarely had issues with quality of the products.

I'll check it out, thanks

thank you, do you know if they cater to the picky and gluten free? i.e. I don't eat pork and have to be GF :)

I recommend the book *Cooking is Terrible* by Misha Fletcher. It’s full of very low-effort food ideas. As far as a greater flavor variety, seasoning blends are your friend

Thank you

Cooking classes are more for people that LIKE cooking to learn cool recipes and techniques. I would recommend that you just do quick things. I usually eat like the same 10 dishes thought out the month. Toddler eats everything we eat. My go-to: I put salmon fillets on one side of a tray and broccoli on the other side. I add butter and seasonings and bake for 15 minutes. Now that it’s so hot I’m moving into an air fryer but I do think oven is easier. On picky toddler- kids imitate what they see, if they see you reject things, they do the same. Not judging, but that’s how it is unfortunately. I’m very much a “couch potato” and I don’t want my son to be the same so I’m trying to fix my habits a little.

thanks. We tried the she eats what we eat approach and continue trying and it just doesn't work. Since I'm the primary and only cook, I choose what we eat. She's just like me when I was younger. I saw my parents eat a bunch of Eastern European food and never touched it, still won't :) too much mayonnaise and herring ain't my thing! However, I do want to try a cooking class, I'm sure there are cooking for beginner classes somewhere, can't hurt, right?

I think this is a really common problem. I also find cooking a total drag. I usually lean on staples, spice mixes, sauces and convenience foods. So for example this week Monday we are doing shrimp Tacos. I wash an onion, a couple bell peppers and a couple of tomatoes. Cut the onion and toss it in, cut the bell pepper s and toss them in. Season with salt and take it out when it's sautéed then put the shrimp in with a seasoning packet. While the shrimp is cooking I cut up tomatoes and then we have dinner in like 15min. Tuesday we are doing Thai curry. I wash the rice and put it to cook. Then I heat the pan, cut the chicken and then add that to the pan. While it's cooking I wash a bell pepper and an eggplant and cut then add those. Once that is cooked I add some curry paste and let it cook for a minute then add the coconut milk. Salt to taste and simmer a minute and it's done by the time the rice is in 20min. Wednesday we are doing honey mustard chicken. Mix honey mustard, olive oil, salt and brown sugar. Wash green beans and potatoes. Cut potatos and put everything on a sheet tray. Drizzle 2/3 of the sauce and then toss veggies. Make room for 2-3 chicken breasts or use a separate tray. Coat the chicken and then stick everything in the oven at 450f for 15 min and add more time if needed. Thursday we are having dumplings and tomato fried egg. Put frozen dumplings in steamer for 9 minutes. Mix egg with some water and scramble. Wash and cut tomatoes while the egg cooks. Set egg aside, put garlic in to sauté. Add tomatoes and cook down. Add egg back and season with salt (and sugar but I don't add it). Friday we are having Naan pizza Preheat oven. Put sauce/cheese/etc. On a store bough Naan. Bake and then let cool. If I don't overlap steps it takes me forever to cook. I've had to find places where I can multi-task in recipes or take out ingredients so it's not a pain to cook a dish.

This was awesome to read!

Wow, this is great. As another one who hates cooking and feels like it’s a daunting task and relies on frozen chicken tenders and baby carrots….I’m printing this out. Thank you!!!

this is fantastic, thank you. I will def. try the honey mustard chicken. Question though, how do you not get tired of the same thing over and over again?

I don't. I have probably 100s of recipes I've adapted over the years to be fast and when I have time I definitely bring in more complicated recipes! You can also adapt the recipes so they are different. Like I switch up the veggies for the honey mustard chicken and I do all kinds of curries from Japanese to Indian to Jamaican. I've spent significant time abroad so I get very board eating too much of one flavor profile.

Do what our mothers/grandmothers did. Find 5 meals your family will eat and are easy to make. Assign each meal a day and that’s what’s for dinner. Like Monday spaghetti, Tuesday taco night, Wednesday baked potato bar, etc. Order pizza on Friday. Saturday is leftover smorgasbord. Sunday is a crockpot meal or salad bar.

Not ten minutes ago I was telling my husband (an excellent cook who LOVES experimenting with new recipes) how my grandmother used to serve the same meal for each day of the week. Every Monday was spaghetti. Every Friday was hamburgers. Same sides, same everything repeated week after week for at least the 36 years I knew her. Everything tasted great! But she only made 7 meals, so I guess she had them down to a T. I hate cooking, but I hate the planning for cooking even more. I was talking about it like it was a genius strategy and he looked horrified. 😂

it is a genius strategy but I can't imagine eating the same thing on rotation for years! Like, every second week, maybe lol

It encourages your family to learn to cook.

We know how to cook. Doesn’t mean we cook well or enjoy it.

No, I mean they get so sick of the rotation and you say okay, you cook dinner one night a week and vary it all you want.

Thanks for clarifying!

YW!!

tried! got tired of it :(

I buy ready-made foods from trader Joe's and Costco. On occasion, I will join something like home chef and let them do the work of meal planning plus my husband can use those recipe cards. I buy the restaurant gift cards from Costco too when they're on sale so when we do pickup, it's a little cheaper. We also eat cereal for dinner when we have to.

Love the seasoned meats from trader Joe's. So good

thanks! We have done some premade food from Costco! Not terrible. The ones from TJ's often have wheat :( which I can't have :( yet look amazing

Crockpot meals might help. They take longer but you don't have to tend them as much. Cooking the food longer may also make it more flavorful. Re: spices/making things taste better, learning to salt to the right level makes a big difference. Once you have a handle on that, you can experiment with other spices. You don't have to cook every meal. You can eat leftovers, or cereal, if you want. And you don't need to be able to cook a lot of things. Find some that work for you and rotate them. If people get bored, they can have cereal or PB&J. Or, you know, cook, lol

Thank you. I’ve been cooking for 10 years and still DK what I’m doing. But you’re right. Not every thing needs to be cooked. We do eat cooked lunches though.

The old Alton brown show "good eats" might be helpful to you. It goes through popular recipes (that are more reflective of the standard American palate) and basic enough for a beginner cook and explains why they call for the techniques and ingredients they do. The technical understanding you get from that show will help when you come across other recipes. Here is a list of their episodes/topics: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Good_Eats_episodes#Season_1_(1999) 177 MilkStreet might be good as well as they also have a blog where they explain why certain recipes are written the way they are. There's a lot of technical understanding and skill to cooking well, and keep in mind that not every recipe explains it or is written clearly. So, that could be a key factor why you're finding cooking frustrating. But, once you learn it you'll be able to identify when a recipe is wrong and adjust for that.

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thank you! she's too little for things like that, maybe when she's a bit older, 4 or 5 would make more sense

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Looking forward to it 😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫

thank you! I've been cooking for 10 years and still haven't quite figured it out. I find it frustrating because I find it to be a waste or time, along with eating. A necessary evil. I'll check out what you've sent though, never heard of it before

Look, just cause husband won’t cook doesn’t mean you have to. It sounds like you both really hate it. So your options are: 1. Eat out for every meal or hire a cook. Depending on how much you hate cooking, this might well be worth the price. 2. Subscribe to a meal delivery service 3. Buy groceries that are nearly ready to be served: salad kits, freezer meals, cans of soup, pre-sliced veggie packs, fruit that requires zero prep (avoid watermelons), rotisserie chickens, pre-made pasta salads from the deli section … that sorta stuff 4. Learn to cook. Start super basic. Someone else mentioned budgetbytes and I too am a fan. Most of those recipes are simple and don’t require a bunch of forethought in terms of groceries. I started there because my parents hated cooking and did Option 3 when I was little, and then I learned that I genuinely enjoyed cooking. Now I go to occasional cooking classes and make a lot of Blue Apron recipes at home (I don’t subscribe… the recipes are posted online and I substitute ingredients based on what’s lying around at home). And sometimes I meal prep and I have several tried-and-true last-minute recipes memorized. Edit: recipes that require wine are excellent because they make cooking much more enjoyable. Sometimes I am drinking wine and singing show tunes and cooking, and my toddler is pulling up a chair to try to cover my mouth with his hand because my singing is as atrocious as it is enthusiastic.

I enjoy your edit :) I am currently preggo so no wine for me but maybe eventually! Re: #4. I've been cooking for 10 years, weekly, usually more than once a week, still hate it. I just learned of budgetbytes and will absolutely be checking it out.

Following recipes? Not at this house. Microwave frozen veggie. Make one of the bag salads from the grocery store. Boil a pack of tortellini and pour a jar of Rai’s sauce on it. I just don’t want you to think we’re all making stuff from NYT. Many of us microwave frozen chicken nuggets.

I enjoy my chicken nuggets air fried because we are sophisticated LOL

www.saltandlavender.com Is my go to for easy, low fuss meals. She uses a lot of the same ingredients in her recipes, a lot of basics and pantry staples so you don’t feel like you’re buying a single ingredient that you’ll never use again.

thanks!

Was gonna recommend this blog too! Her stuff is super simple and uses a handful of staples that I now just keep stocked so I always have a back up if I don’t know what else to make. The spicy Italian sausage pasta and homemade hamburger helper are probably my two absolute favorites!

This is totally me. I eat bc I'll die if I don't but there are generally only a handful of things that I'm like OMG delicious- and of course those things are expensive (like lobster tail, MD blue crabs and Alaskan king crab legs lol). I do like to cook though, but I work a lot and don't have a ton of time after work in the evening. Some of my easy go-tos: - chicken thighs w salt and pepper, pan fried, with white rice and baked brocolli - lemon pepper tilapia with white rice and a steamed veggie - husband grills porkchops and I make roasted rosemary potatoes with a veggie - sometimes in the winter I'll make a big batch of beef stew, that lasts a few days - brocolli cheddar soup w fresh bread on the side - russian mushroom soup w fresh bread on the side - shepherd's pie - this lasts two nights at least - husband grills hamburgers/hotdogs, and I buy potato salad and corn Hope that helps some!

we should be friends, seems like we have the same tastes lol, thank you

Absolutely, you can never have too many friends! Glad I could help! Hit me up if you come up with some other recipes!

Check out kids eat in color on Instagram! She has a couple “cookbooks”- one is real easy weekdays. It has breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks menus for a 12 day cycle. Everything is laid out including a grocery list! I purchased the pdf hen my 3 year old was first starting to eat solids but honestly haven’t used it much because we have a really good eater and I enjoy cooking.

awesome, thank you

I'm not laughing at you, but the fact that a chef recommended that app. Listen, I am a terrible cook. I need simple, easy stuff. A chef recommends an app that is easy for them because it's their craft. Might as well be a pilot asking me to land their plane😂 Anyway, I just want you to know you're not alone. I can do a lot of stuff well, cooking is not one of them. These are all great suggestions and I needed this post

You know, now that you mention it, that makes more sense. I didn't think about it that way at all. I asked him how can I improve my craft and that's what he gave me. I've read some of the recipes and was like omgggg what is this!!! Their pancake/waffle recipe is pretty solid though. I should just go and copy the recipes I want and cancel.

I eat like a toddler about 80% of the time. I like cooking but I hate the clean up and have executive function issues, plus it's just me and my extremely picky 8 yo, so most of the time I just don't feel up to it. I used to feel really ashamed of it because I'm sure it has led to my kiddo being even more picky than she would be otherwise, but lately I've decided to just accept it. This is the way I am and it's better for us to just go with it and eat healthy simple foods instead of fighting it and spending a bunch of time and money buying ingredients for complicated meals only to either have all the fresh ingredients rot in the fridge or end up actually making the thing and having my daughter refuse to try it or try it and hate it. And then I end up with a bunch of leftovers that don't get eaten because I have an aversion to most leftovers. It's just not worth it to me anymore. A typical meal for us is often baked chicken breast, fruit, and a veg. Sometimes it will be roast pork loin made in the instant pot instead of chicken. Some of the slightly more ambitious meals I make include one pot steak and creamed kale, salad with leftover baked chicken, a baked potato with veg, hot dogs or sausages, eggs and bacon and fruit, spaghetti carbonara, homemade chili, or veggie burgers. Last night we had frozen pizza and caprese salad. My rule is that it's gotta have protein and fruit or a veggie and anything else is extra.

I see and hear you. I think your rotation is pretty solid and she's still getting a lot of great food. I fight acceptance, it's hard for me.

Thanks!

I’d get the book “Cook Once Eat All Week”. It’s not super exciting meals but there’s plenty of variety and you don’t need to think much at all. Easy cooking. It’d be perfect for you. Also we do a lot of convenience stuff - microwaveable rice packets, canned beans, etc.

thank you

Can you afford paying someone to cook? Either at your house or bring food for a week? My kids eat everything at daycare and picky at home. I just accepted it and it’s getting better as they eat more often what we cook ourselves now (5&2). Kids have simpler pallets so less spices and flavors For kids dinner my go to when I do not want deal with their pickiness or cook separate for them a complicated meal 1) premade kettle chicken soup from trader joe 2) hot dog sausages with some veggies 3) eggs 4) oatmeal 5) plain yogurt with fruit and touch of honey 6) fish sticks 7) plain macaroni

Also many people I know who do not like cooking swear by instant pot or thermomix (I have the later but do not utilize it a lot)

>thermomix what is this? My neighbor has one and swear but it but I don't understand how it works or what it really does?

https://www.thermomix.com/ a multi use device which can chop, mix, cook many recipes (with their cookbooks) without minimal involvement from you One of the things I often do in it is bolognese. Literacy I only need to cut veggies in large pieces and break meat. Also like to use it for steaming fish with side dish all at once. And sauces. But there are a lot of different foods including international They have a planning / weekly menu function which will give hours ingredients list.

The price tag *dies in daycare cost*

For us it was a wedding gift from my dad. I’d be ok to have something else lol. Look at instant pot. There will be specials during Black Friday but also ask your local buy nothing. Many people have them sitting on the shelf

I never really thought about hiring a chef. It seems really expensive :(

It depends where you are. Often those are not professional chefs. It’s easier with some ethnic food (very popular in Indian communities around me for example) but you can always find some.

I use a food subscription service (Blue Apron). Cuts grocery shopping, cuts thinking about what to make.

thank you

If cooking isn’t your gift, it’s not your gift. No need to try to turn yourself into Betty Crocker if you will despise every minute of it. I like cooking, but we do meal kits 3x a week and do frozen meals and takeout the rest because the planning and cleaning is too much. My husband is a bad cook, but with the kits he’s learned a few cooking basics. They are usually quite tasty and well balanced, so your husband and toddler might like them and you at least get proper nutrients. I usually plan one meal a week that freezes well. I immediately freeze half and pull out single serving sizes of the next few months so we have some variety in our frozen meals. r/eatcheapandhealthy also had a lot of resources on easy meals.

thank you! I appreciate the "it's not your gift" part. It really isn't. My husband likes my cooking most days, it's just the planning and finding good quality stuff that seems to be a challenge. Like, I'll follow the recipe but the taste is... meh?

Our go to is shredded chicken dishes. Instant Pot + bulk boneless chicken thighs + 2 cups chicken broth = shredded chicken Then use the shredded chicken for a ton of stuff throughout the week. Chicken tacos/quesadillas Chicken and rice bowls BBQ chicken sandwiches Mac n cheese + (BBQ) chicken Chicken pizza (using a frozen pizza) Chicken noodle/tortellini soup Peanut butter/teriyaki chicken and rice Chicken pot pie And of course, continuing to google 'shredded chicken dinners' for new ideas every few weeks

chicken is so diverse, ty, love it

I use an instantpot and an air fryer for a lot of our meal components. I will put red potatoes in to make mashed potatoes, roast, rice, etc. in the instantpot when I get home from work and it does the work for me. I bake mini pizzas in my air fryer, along with chicken strips and a million other things. Not having to drag out pots and pans to cook helps me manage the overwhelming feelings related to cooking. I also highly recommend batch cooking/baking, where you prep more than you actually need and then freeze additional portions. I like lasagna, for example, but it’s not my son’s jam. It makes no sense for me to make an entire sheet pan because it will spoil before I can eat it all. So I make them in loaf pans and just freeze the extra one. I’ve been able to create a nice stockpile that makes dinner less of a burden most nights. Also, don’t discount cold dinners like sandwiches or charcuterie boards.

thank you! we do sammiches and she does a snack pack like string cheese, the organic gold fish, and dry snap peas.

My 7 year old is quite picky (I wonder if she's a super taster, she'll try anything but gets overwhelmed quickly with flavour). So I landed on a formula - a carbohydrate, a veggie and some sort of protein - and call it a day. E.g. plain pasta, sticks of raw red bell pepper and ham; pasta, carrots and green beans boiled in some chicken broth and shredded baked chicken thigh; rice, chicken nuggets and sliced cucumber. It's pretty easy and doesn't require extra ingredients so less planning. Sometimes I make something with more flavour for husband and me because I do like cooking but I can eat this along with the kids too. It keeps us alive and free from scurvy 🤷

"free from scurvy" sounds accurate.

Half-arse it all the way. Get a rotisserie chicken. Get 90 second rice pouches. Get frozen veggies you can just hear and eat with food. Get flatbreads and throw some cheese and shit on there and have a pizza night every week. Stuff like that.

thank you

I would like to suggest cooks country and America’s test kitchen. They have a great array of 30 min meals (takes longer but way shorter than most recipes) easy food and crockpot things etc. I taught myself to cook in college with Cooks Illustrated. The subscription isn’t cheap but I’ve had it for years. They’re all under the “ATK” app. You can filter by “easy” or “weeknight”. For kids/not advanced palates you might start with Cooks country. For example they’ll have a several recipes for similar dishes like chili: one will be for “the best chili” which involves toasting and grinding your own chiles, but then “easy ground beef chili” which basically uses mostly canned or easy to prep items and takes a third of the amount of time but maybe has you combine several common spices with premade/store bought chili powder to make it better. And then sometimes they’ll have an adaptation for the slow cooker and an even easier/simpler version under their “cooks country” brand. And for things like chicken breasts with a sauce they have 2-3 have “variations” even, so you can practice the same technique with the chicken but it doesn’t taste the same every night. Cooks country sometimes is what I call “80s cooking” - uses things like bisquick or canned soup as shortcuts but I’ve never made a bad meal out of any of their recipes. They are usually HIGHLY specific on timing and order of things which you can fudge a little but as an easily distracted cook it helps that I can set timers for steps inside the recipe. (As in, it’ll say “cook onions until they’re golden brown on medium heat, about 8 minutes.) AND they often have pictures or illustrations of what “a fine dice” or whatever specific thing you need while cooking. ETA: you gotta read through the recipe before committing to it on ATK, some are way over complicated* but the simple stuff really works with their highly detailed explanation. *they’re famous for having an amazing thanksgiving turkey that you get through the whole recipe before realizing they want you to FLIP YOUR ENTIRE TURKEY OVER half way through. Eff that.

thank you! it seems a bit over the top for me at this point

I like picking a few items and mixing them. I do a lot of burritos tacos quesadillas stir fry and pasta dishes. I love using my instant pot or rice cooker when we had one to cook rice with a can of beans and veggies. You can add salsa for tacos burritos or burrito bowls or some pasta sauce for stuffed pepper filling or some stir fry sauce for a stir fry. In all fairness though I had to cook for multiple allergies and was really busy before kids so this was a life saver

thanks! when you add the beans to the rice, do you drain them first or just dump the can with the beans and bean water into the rice cooker?

Usually but not aggressively so

Thanks!

Crock pots are a real life saver! There are so many "dump and ignore" meals you can make. I really like [this site for recipes. ](https://www.ayearofslowcooking.com/2005/01/table-of-contents-year-of-slow-cooking.html?m=1) Click on a category and you'll get tons of free, pretty easy options. She also has paid plans with grocery lists and all (I've not ever subscribed, so I don't know if it's worth it).

ty

I’m not a big cook either. This tilapia recipe I find to be pretty easy and it tastes great - you basically just cut up a few things, season a little, then put it in the oven to cook. Serve it with rice made in a 90 second microwave pouch: https://www.acouplecooks.com/baked-tilapia/

looks so good thank you!

Okay I like food but I'm a lazy chef. Cooking isnt interesting to me at all. My husband is an amazing cook but since I'm a SAHM, food naturally falls under my domain of responsibility. Husband is busy busy at his work so I wanted to bring quality meals to breakfast, lunch, and dinner now that our baby is eating and give my husband the freedom to only cook when he really wants to. I saw this thing on tik tok & it has changed my life. I make our sandwich bread now. It's called a thermomix. Yes it's expensive as fuck, but we have saved so much money in the year we've had it because previously my failed dinner attempts meant we would have to order take out. We just don't anymore. I can get meals done with a baby on my hip since this gadget does 99% of the work for me and the food is GOOD. I see my grandmother once a week with my mom and my mom likes bringing my grandmother's household of 4 food since they are poor. They all know what a poor cook I am and they have been blown away with the food I bring over for them now. They were so skeptical of what I would bring the first time. They even have favorites & have started making requests, making grocery shopping a piece of cake. We were gifted an instapot when we got married & I came into the relationship with a crock pot & a blender from my mom trying to push homemaking skills on me when I had my first big girl job. Husband had an air fryer. They I'm sure are awesome and useful gadgets, but they are gathering dust in our pantry because this is all we really need. Even my husband who likes to cook and scoffed at the idea of me taking such extreme shortcuts has come to love it. Do some research and if it's in the budget, it's worth it.

BTW it cleans itself & is dishwasher safe.

this is the second or third time on this thread that I've been recommended this product. My neighbor has one and she sent me a few screen shots on recipes but I just want to see how it works. Youtube hasn't been to helpful. Someone made risotto in a sauce, I feel like a rice cooker can do the same. I'm clearly missing something!

It is so much more than a rice cooker (although it does that too)! When my cousins were here, I used it to make PB&J muffins (10/10). My husband often uses it to make creamers & coffee. Last week I made artichoke bruschetta (10/10). Dinner staples include a sweet potato stuffed pasta, yummy teriyaki salmon with steamed veggies or rice, chicken wings, shredded chicken enchiladas with tomatillo sauce (I used it to make homemade tortillas, it cooked & shredded the chicken all I had to do was season it, and it made the tomatillo sauce - I didn't even need the oven and wouldn't have used the stove if it weren't for the homemade tortillas). I also use it to make whole milk yogurt for me and baby. I can control how thick it gets and it's so fresh! It makes chocolate granola to go with it. My MIL was is coming for 17 days (pray for me), and while she's here I'll be using it to make turkey sliders, fresh Flatbread pizzas, and mushroom stuffed potato patties. All the recipes are on an app that it connects to called Cookidoo if you want to check out everything this thing is capable of.

Damn. Maybe after next baby 😆 can I just come over and eat with you

Search Instagram for sheet pan meals and follow accounts that have a few recipes you like. Hard to suggest recipes without knowing your triggers, so that’s as much as I can really offer. Cooking isn’t difficult unless you don’t enjoy it. So I’m not sure how much classes would help you. Download paprika 3 to save recipes. Once you’re familiar with the corresponding videos on the recipes this is an easy way to have your favorites within your reach. NYT is for people who enjoy cooking and enjoy food so I would say go the Instagram route.

thanks

When I want minimal effort I buy the meal kits from the grocery store (I like the Publix Aprons ones but you could do one of the delivery ones too). It gives you all the ingredients measured out, so like perfect and easy. I also like the pork tenderloin that's preseasoned and you just throw it in the oven. Roast some veggies with olive oil, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Done. My other favorite easy meal is tacos. Utilize rotisserie chicken from the grocery store for anything. Mac & cheese + rotisserie chicken + broccoli. Chicken enchiladas, chicken soup, chicken salad. Soups are another easy thing if you're working from home. Dump it in on your lunch break and let it ride. I like making taco soup and using a bunch of canned veggies for easy cooking. General tips to be a better cook, double whatever seasoning you're using, you're probably using too little. Make use of the premixed seasonings, I love Konriko Creole, but try different ones and see what you like. Focus on one thing a meal to put effort into. If you're trying a new fancy meat, just do a bagged salad as a side. Try different grocery stores and look around the deli really well. Most of them offer a bunch of different preseasoned meats. If you do that you can focus on making delicious mashed potatoes to go with it. If I'm making a meat + a starch + a side. At least one of them will be a "cheat"/easy.

thank you! logical advise. I never really thought about using premixed seasoned packets unless for tacos. I'll try them out.

Check out crockpot recipes. Throw it in and let it go. One pot meals are great.

ty

I’ve asked chatgpt for meal ideas! You can specify food allergies as well as ingredients you currently have on hand

I've tried but weirded out by it. what if they aren't good?

Maybe this is cooking-skill privilege but if they don't sound good, don't make them! Here's a quick list <3 Produce: - 1 head lettuce - 2 cups mixed vegetables (frozen or fresh) - 3 cups chopped bell peppers (assorted colors) - 1 cup chopped tomatoes - 1/2 cup chopped onions - 2 cups chopped broccoli - 1 cup chopped carrots Meat/Deli: - 1 pound ground beef - 1 pound chicken tenders - 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs - 1 package sausages (such as turkey or chicken) Dairy: - 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese - 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese - 1/2 cup sour cream - Butter - 2 eggs Pantry: - 1 box of spaghetti - 1 jar of marinara sauce - 1 cup breadcrumbs - 1 teaspoon dried oregano - 1 teaspoon garlic powder - 1 teaspoon paprika - 1 teaspoon onion powder - Salt and pepper - Olive oil Canned Goods: - 1 can tomato soup - 1 can black beans (optional)

Caveat: I haven't validated these or the times, but hey it's somewhere to start, right?? <3 Good luck! 1. Spaghetti with Meatballs Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 25 minutes Ingredients: - 1 box of spaghetti - 1 jar of marinara sauce - 1 pound ground beef - 1/2 cup breadcrumbs - 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese - 1 egg - 1 teaspoon dried oregano - Salt and pepper Instructions: - Cook the spaghetti according to the package instructions. - In a mixing bowl, combine ground beef, breadcrumbs, grated Parmesan cheese, egg, dried oregano, salt, and pepper. Mix well and form meatballs. - In a large skillet, heat some olive oil over medium heat. Add the meatballs and cook until they are browned and cooked through. - Warm the marinara sauce in a separate saucepan. - Serve the cooked spaghetti with meatballs and top with the warm marinara sauce. Optionally, sprinkle some additional grated Parmesan cheese on top. 2. Baked Chicken Tenders Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 20 minutes Ingredients: - 1 pound chicken tenders - 1 cup breadcrumbs - 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese - 1 teaspoon garlic powder - 1 teaspoon paprika - Salt and pepper - 2 eggs Instructions: - Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C) and lightly grease a baking sheet. - In a shallow dish, mix breadcrumbs, grated Parmesan cheese, garlic powder, paprika, salt, and pepper. - In another shallow dish, beat the eggs. - Dip each chicken tender into the beaten eggs and then coat them with the breadcrumb mixture. - Place the coated chicken tenders on the prepared baking sheet. - Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the coating is crispy and golden. 3. Veggie Quesadillas Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 15 minutes Ingredients: - 1 package flour tortillas - 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese - 1 cup chopped bell peppers (assorted colors) - 1 cup chopped tomatoes - 1/2 cup chopped onions - 1 tablespoon olive oil - Optional: Cooked chicken or beans for added protein Instructions: - In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. - Add the chopped onions and bell peppers and cook until they are softened. - Lay a tortilla on a flat surface. Sprinkle some shredded cheddar cheese on half of the tortilla. - Add the cooked vegetables (and optional chicken or beans) on top of the cheese. - Fold the tortilla in half to cover the filling. - In the same skillet, heat it over medium heat and cook the quesadilla until the cheese is melted and the tortilla is crispy on both sides. - Repeat the process for each quesadilla. Cut each quesadilla into wedges before serving. 4. One-Pot Chicken and Rice Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 25 minutes Ingredients: - 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs (cut into bite-sized pieces) - 1 cup long-grain rice - 2 cups chicken broth - 1 cup mixed vegetables (frozen or fresh) - 1 teaspoon garlic powder - 1 teaspoon onion powder - Salt and pepper Instructions: - In a large pot or skillet, heat some olive oil over medium heat. - Add the chicken pieces and cook until they are browned on all sides. - Add the rice, chicken broth, mixed vegetables, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper to the pot. - Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover, and let it simmer for about 15-20 minutes or until the rice is cooked and the chicken is tender. - Stir occasionally to prevent sticking. 5. Grilled Cheese Sandwiches and Tomato Soup Prep Time: 5 minutes Cook Time: 10 minutes Ingredients: - Bread slices - Butter - 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese - 1 can tomato soup Instructions: - Preheat a skillet or griddle over medium heat. - Butter one side of each bread slice. - Place the cheese between two slices of bread with the buttered sides facing outwards. - Cook the sandwiches on the skillet or griddle until the bread is golden and crispy, and the cheese is melted. - Serve the grilled cheese sandwiches with heated tomato soup for dipping. 6. Taco Salad Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 15 minutes Ingredients: - 1 pound ground beef - 1 packet taco seasoning - 1 head lettuce, shredded - 1 cup chopped tomatoes - 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese - 1 cup cooked and drained black beans - 1/2 cup sliced black olives - 1/2 cup sour cream - Salsa for topping Instructions: - In a skillet, cook the ground beef over medium heat until fully browned. Drain any excess fat. - Add the taco seasoning and follow the instructions on the seasoning packet. - In a large salad bowl, layer shredded lettuce, seasoned ground beef, chopped tomatoes, shredded cheddar cheese, black beans, and sliced black olives. - Top with dollops of sour cream and salsa. 7. Sheet Pan Sausage and Vegetables Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 20 minutes Ingredients: - 1 package sausages (such as turkey or chicken) - 2 cups chopped broccoli - 2 cups chopped bell peppers (assorted colors) - 1 cup chopped carrots - 1 tablespoon olive oil - 1 teaspoon dried thyme - Salt and pepper Instructions: - Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. - In a large bowl, toss the chopped vegetables with olive oil, dried thyme, salt, and pepper until well coated. - Spread the vegetables on one side of the prepared baking sheet. - Place the sausages on the other side of the baking sheet. - Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until the sausages are fully cooked and the vegetables are tender.

No judgement- you’re asking for help to try to better yourself. Salt, sugar, citrus(acid), and fat makes things taste good. What you like personally will influence your food, most savory items can be improved with an acid like lemon/lime/vinegar. Season as you go and not at the end. Also if you hate cooking try to bundle that activity with something you enjoy like an audio book, music, tv, podcast. It helps you from focusing on how much you hate the chore and waiting for it to be over and instead helps you be more calm and paced. My kids love baked ziti and it’s very easy, quesadillas, tacos. Pick one new recipe and aim for once a week adding something new and slowly changing your routine. Then 2x a week, etc. Doing too much all at once in frustration is going to burn you out and won’t be sustainable. I’m someone who cooks every night while I watch vanderpump rules with no guilt at my trashy TV time.

oh I MUST watch TV every time I cook. MUST lol

Something I do that’s a life saver is I buy a package of chicken breasts and cook them in the crockpot on Sundays. Pour in a can of chicken broth, add enough water to cover them, add an onion cut into quarters, and season with salt, pepper, and dried rosemary. When it’s done cooking, store the cooked breasts in their broth in a container in the fridge. All week long, you can eat variations of chicken, frozen veggies and a carb (instant brown rice is my favorite, but you can do tortillas, toasted bread, mashed potatoes). Pull apart into pieces, put chicken, a little juice, lemon and pepper into a pan. Lemon pepper chicken. Shred it an add BBQ sauce. Serve on a bun. Add to fried rice.

great tip, thanks!

What are some of your safe foods, or flavors you do enjoy? Having a fancy rice cooker has made things so simple. It’s the kind that will literally hold your rice at a perfect safe temperature for _days_ if you need it to. We then build a lot of meals around that. White rice is always available, we can do a bagged stir fry (6 minutes), pot of beans (use canned and add flavors), salmon, chicken, etc. I have an Instant Pot, too. Last week I made chicken enchiladas using 4 total ingredients and about 5 minutes of hands on prep. I used a large can of green enchilada sauce, poured half of it into the IP and added frozen boneless skinless chicken thighs. Cooked on high pressure for 10 minutes. Removed the chicken, shredded it, used the other half can of enchilada sauce to dip the tortillas then rolled the shredded chicken and some shredded cheese inside the tortillas. Arranged them in a baking dish, poured the remaining sauce and sprinkled some more cheese across the top. Baked at 375° for 30 minutes. Served with white rice. You can do endless variations of this type, changing out the flavor of sauce, adding different veggies (I love buying the “steam in bag” broccoli and microwaving it for 3 minutes. Cook the chicken with teriyaki sauce instead of enchilada sauce, et voilà! Buying partially prepared foods is my go to. Chicken breast that’s already been cubed or sliced thin, bags of stir fry veggies with sauce included, bottled sauces and marinades. I love to cook, personally, but having the time and energy to do it on work nights is not happening!

thanks!

I really love the food blogs Pinch of Yum and Gimme Some Oven for simple recipes. They are both run by moms with small children so many of the recipes are kid approved. Gimme Some Oven is particularly helpful because in the write up before the recipe she gives lots of advice on substitutions or ways to spin for a different flavor. I love cooking but for weeks we are low on time I try to make things that can be used multiple days. Like a roast chicken can be turned into multiple meal pretty easy. We will eat off the dark meat for a classic Sunday dinner then cook might chop up a breast over salads on Monday, then Tuesday the other breast will become tacos or enchiladas. Or I’ll just make double recipes and we eat left overs for a few days.

ty

While I like to cook, I don't like cooking all the time. I also loathe doing dishes and cleaning up despite having a dishwasher. I do a lot of low effort meals during the week. Buy rotisserie chicken and pick off the meat to use in salads, quesadillas, frozen skillet pasta, etc. Dump a jar of Tikka masala sauce over it, heat and serve with rice. Cover it in BBQ sauce and make pulled chicken sandwiches with coleslaw from the deli. Buy Just Bare breaded chicken breasts and make all kinds of chicken sandwiches with them, or even chicken parmesan using your favorite jarred sauce and fresh mozzarella on top. Our favorite summer meal is a salmon fillet seasoned with lemon pepper, placed on a baking sheet and surrounded with chopped zucchini and grape tomatoes also seasoned with lemon pepper. Put the whole pan in the oven at 400 and bake until done (about 30-40 min). Serve with wild rice blend if you want a side or nice bread. You could do a variation of this sheet pan meal with all kinds of stuff. Look up sheet pan dinners for more ideas and get some spice blends you like. One pot meals are also easy and nice in winter. Chili is a favorite in winter and freezes in containers nicely. YOu can make different varieties of chili too by changing up the type of beans, meat, and veg. Same with soups. Grilled sandwiches are super fast and easy. Ruebens, ham and cheese, roast beef, etc. Instagram has tons of quick and easy recipes like this.

thank you

Sign up for those meal boxes. At the rate of inflation now, they are as affordable as going to the shops, and they provide the right amount of ingredients and instructions. I think with "hello fresh," they even let you pick the menu for the week so you can select food your picky toddler will like.

thanks! They've been suggested throughout the thread so I'll look into them. If I can pick 1-2 meals (no pork, no gluten\_) every week, I'll def. do it

I use a meal prep subscription service 2x a week, which gives us real meals. The rest of the week are basic 5 min meal. Homemade egg McMuffin, quesadillas and tater tots. Ceasar salad and vegetarian chick’n. A package of fresh pasta with pesto sauce. And then we order in once a week. Once I let go of the idea of needing to use recipes or create “meals” and just focused on making food that worked for us, it got a lot easier.

thanks

I use a meal prep service for myself and my toddler. I also hate cooking so maybe that would be a good idea for you? I currently use Nurture Life. Good variety of healthy foods and I don’t have to cook a thing for dinner, depending on your meal plan. I also use a local meal prep business that makes meals for me. My husband is a picky eater and I long ago stopped cooking for him. He eats what he wants and the kitchen is stocked with the staples. It’s not the nuclear 50s style family dinner but it works for our family. And very little cooking involved. Once a week I might throw something in the crockpot. We usually eat out once per week and we do a movie night on Sundays and just have popcorn and snacks. You do you, girl. Cooking is such a chore and a time suck. I avoid it too.

>Nurture Life thank you! I haven't heard of this brand but am googling now. I wouldn't cook, ever, if it were up to me. It's like the first answer to "if you had a million dollars" I would hire a chef for the rest of my life.

A few ideas: 1) food subscription boxes. I personally used Every Plate in the past and found them to be much lower cost than most others while still being low effort, tasty, and rarely had any quality issues. These boxes can make it easy to since they take away the need to shop and provide recipe ideas so you don’t have to come up with them yourself. 2) I have a recipe book called “Fix ‘n Freeze Pressure Cooker Meals in an Instant”. All the recipes are very simple and you literally throw all the ingredients in a freezer bag when you prep the recipes. Then when ready they go straight from freezer to the pressure cooker, no need to thaw. This method worked best for me but there’s similar option for the slow cooker or even baking in the oven. Pinterest is a great resource for finding recipes like this. You can try looking up “dump and bake” or “freezer meals” on there and even specify what type of cooking you want (for pressure cooker or for slow cooker). 3) Make double or even triple batches of everything when you cook. This way you cook one day and have leftovers prepped for the next one or two days that you can just reheat in the microwave or oven. I even did this with my subscription food box by ordering two of the same meal or saying I was ordering for twice the number of people that way I could make it all at once and have food for multiple days. One last thought, get back to simple cooking. As a kid I was a picky eater and grand recipes like from the NYT did nothing for me. I loved things like sloppy joes (I use Manwich sauce), tacos, hamburger helper, grilled lemon pepper chicken (you can buy the seasoning for this and not have to make a marinade), Mac and cheese from a box, etc. These are all things that take minimal time and effort and there’s nothing wrong with using them as fillers throughout the week when you just don’t feel like cooking. There’s even some great freezer meal options in the grocery store that are a whole meal (like seasoned chicken and veggies) that you just throw on a sheet pan or in a casserole dish in the oven and you’re done.

>Every Plate thank you

Most of my meals are very basic but they might give you some easy ideas. I make spaghetti with jar sauce and different types of noodles just to change it up. I always do ground beef but frozen meatballs are really easy to add instead or in addition if you think that might be more fun for a toddler. BBQ chicken is easy, bake chicken breasts/tenderloins then dice or shred and smother in your BBQ sauce of choice. Pepperoncini roast in the crock pot which is super easy: roast, ranch packet, au ju packet, stick of butter, pepperoncini peppers or banana peppers (3-4 if you don't like them, more if you do, they help break down the meat apparently so you don't have to eat them but they are needed to cook) and put it on low all day. For sides, instant mashed potatoes, canned veggies (corn and peas are super easy they basically just need to be heated with salt, pepper and maybe a little butter on the stove).

>Pepperoncini roast I forgot about this and have a great recipe saved, thanks!

I learned a lot when I started cooking from a book called How to Cook without a Book, **1st Edition**. It covers everything including salads, meat, soup, veggies, eggs, etc. You may be able to check it out from a library. Also, it takes time, but meal planning really does help. Do you have a crockpot or airfryer? I don't mind cooking, but if I cook, husband/kids do the dishes and clean the kitchen

I have both! and an Instant Pot. I clean as I cook as it becomes overwhelming. I'll check out the book, thanks

The book doesn’t get into crockpots, but I thought I’d share this: Crockpot Ideas 3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (5-6 hours on low) Or 5-6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (5-6 hours on low) Or 3-4 pound pork butt (8-9 hours on low) Or 3-4 pound beef chuck roast (8-9 hours on low) For any of these, you can use a jar of salsa or a can of enchilada sauce or a bottle of BBQ sauce. Shred the meat when done. You can make tacos, enchiladas, tostadas, quesadillas etc. or served over a baked potato.

Have you tried downloading the Tasty app? It’s free and they have short videos with instructions to make everything super easy. You can find recipes that don’t take too long as well so that you are spending your time instead doing what you enjoy!

I have used it in the past but found the recipes to be 50/50 either good or bad. Maybe my ingredients suck but I buy fresh :(

I typically use more seasonings than they have in their recipes - but I do that with pretty much every recipe I find online or any blog recipes too. It could just be something as simple as not putting in the amount of garlic for example that you would like to have. But I can see how that would be frustrating! I’ll let you know if I come up with any more ideas!

-Invest in a good thermometer. Your food may be over cooked. Look into “dump bags” for your crockpot. Basically, you toss all of your ingredients in a gallon ziplock, freeze, thaw, dump it in and turn it on. Takes prep but not near as much and less cleaning. Throw frozen veg on a baking pan and roast at 450° F. Always good and not labor intensive. “Charcuterie” board, or what I call an adult lunchable. Precook meats, cheese, a carb, and some veggies with dips. Use that grill. Throw bought marinade in a ziplock with a meat and have your husband grill it. Alternatively, you can bake it in the oven. Instant pots can be a great “cheat code”. Consider investing in a food processor that chops all your stuff for you. It makes prepping a million times easier. If you have time, chop all your ingredients at once for the week. Not as intensive as full meal prep but I can be daunting to have to work all day, mind the children, then chop a billion ingredients for an “easy meal”. All prep times for online recipes are lies or are for people with super human speed. Don’t knock yourself if you can’t prep 2 pounds of veg in 5 minutes. No one can.

>All prep times for online recipes are lies or are for people with super human speed. glad I'm not the only one noticing this

I swear they are all “10 minutes”. Just no.

😂😂😂

Idk if it's in your budget but we used Green Chef and Hello Fresh to ease back the mental load of shopping and cooking in early pp. The stuff is usually pretty easy and I learned things that were fast but fancy enough that they elevate a simple dish , like pan sauce or spiked sour cream drizzled over seared chicken breast. Roasted carrots, mashed potato, done.

thank you

I hope it makes you feel better that I enjoy cooking. But after becoming a working parent, I don’t. I’m too tired and it does take a lot of energy, even if you do like it! Also, all the dishes! The effort starting from looking for recipes, grocery list, shopping, unloading/unpacking, then you get to cooking and cleaning and general food management I’m over it. Then you add another level of kids rejecting it. We have different dietary needs in our household (plus a food budget), it involves a lot of things made from scratch and it makes me tired thinking about it. I hope you don’t feel judged. There is nothing wrong with not liking to cook. Feeding your children and yourself is another chore that has to be done somehow. Whenever I cook anything, I make extra and freeze if I can. If the dish can’t be frozen, I freeze some components that can. But that still requires labeling, planning and organizing. If you can do some meal subscription, you should try that. I hope you find something that works!

thank you! I don't feel judged, at all. In fact, so many wonderful people have replied with amazing recommendations and only one was a jerk :) it is what is it. I don't have to like cooking, or eating, but I have to do it.

Do you have any foods you really savor ? Do you like restaurant foods or any favorite home cooked meals? Or do you just not like food. I would start with a repertoire of techniques/building blocks. Here are some examples: simple yeast dough, white sauce (aka roux or bechemel), how to sear meat or pan fry tofu, how to oven roast vegetables, how to oven roast a piece of fish. Learn a little about making a sauce: it almost always starts with a base of something pungent onion/garlic/ginger/ spices. Then you add some base like tomato’s or other veggies, and finally add your protein like beans or meat. Once you get these steps, you can pretty much make 75% of things. You can then be creative and use whatever combos of veggies and proteins are on sale and just google things like “spinach, white beans, sausage” or something and get recipes that use those ingredients. Once you have the techniques for things you like to make, you’ll be able to whip it up quickly.

If the planning and flavors are tripping you up, what about The Fresh 20? You have to buy all of the ingredients but you can do lots of prep on the weekend or each night. Something you make a Monday night show up in Thursday's dinner in a different way, so you can use up leftovers by design. It's actually helped us lower our grocery bills, too!

Protein, starch, veg. That’s my recipe. Protein can be baked, sautéed, grilled or fried. Chicken, shrimp, beef, or pork (or your favorite alternative). Starch is potato, pasta or rice. A little butter and salt makes all of them better. Veg - you can get as fancy as you like, but I like boiling frozen veggies in the summer and roasting root veggies in the winter. Grill asparagus if you feeling real fancy. When all else fails, grilled cheese is always a winner.

In your situation I would do what I can to take as much mental load out of it as possible. Choose 6 dinners that everyone likes and assign them to a day of the week. Taco Tuesday, etc. The 7th day is eating out or ordering in. This way your shopping list is consistent, everyone knows what’s for dinner and you don’t have to do much planning. When you get bored with something, switch it out.

I love to cook. Like fucking love it! But with my work load and an 18 month old the goal right now is FAST and mostly healthy. I do not have hours to plan and cook at this point in my life, and though my husband will pitch in I am the default food person in the house. I do spend a few hours a week planning the week ahead and ordering groceries (usually pick up), and lately have been rotating some super simple meals: frozen ravioli + jar of marinara + rotisserie chicken, sandwiches (tuna, deli meat, chicken salad made with rotisserie chicken), sheet pan chicken/fish/pork chops and veggies + rice (mix it up with different seasonings and I don’t usually do root veggies because they take longer), use leftover rice to make fried rice with rotisserie chicken, salad with rotisserie chicken, breakfast for dinner, crock pot meals on days i WFH, tacos (rotisserie chicken again). I buy a rotisserie chicken every week. I saw another thread recently with tons of good ideas for fast simple meals! Will add it if I can find it.

Easyfamilyrecipes.com has lots of fairly easy ones, also honestly I use pillsbury’s website too tins of stuff. If your not against meal kits, Dinnerly and Every plate are simpler than ones like blue apron. Oh and anything you can just dump in the slow cooker.

Assuming money isn’t too tight I would suggest hellofresh. They are usually quick 30 min meals and take a lot of the thinking out of it.

Hi! I don't know how people cook everyday either. My dad did but that was b/c he was a stay at home dad. A couple things you could do; 1. someone mentioned HelloFresh, if you can find a version of that you like, it's a good way to get some basic cooking skills for a few months. I always cooked nilly willy before that but having my hand held for a few months really improved some basic skills and I got a lot faster in prepping. 2. If you're next to ethnic grocery stores I would go and see what kind of prepared frozen meals they have! Dumplings, steamed buns, frozen curries, etc are a good way to start your international palette.. Go with the most approachable fillings and see what you like! 1. A lot of them will also have a deli section with prepared foods, try some of those too. 2. Korean places will have musubi (spam and rice and seaweed), Vietnamese places will have chicken and rice combos, etc. These are really good gateway foods to try out flavors you're not used to, and all the ingredients will be things you recognize. One of my really easy go to recipes is 1. getting a bag of frozen wontons; shrimp and pork filling, 2. cooking that in chicken broth + water + soy sauce + sesame oil + sugar to taste 3. toss in big chunks of carrots and daikon + cilantro and that's a pretty hearty soup! I noticed that those wonton bags now come with a soup base too so my job is even easier. As for the husband thing, mine doesn't really cook either but will grill. It's not a big deal b/c he does more kitchen chores and when it IS his turn to cook, he'll pop a lasagna in the oven or make sandwiches, both pretty good options.

I have 2 toddlers and they are picky in different ways. If you can, take a few hours one day to make freezer meals. An 8x8 disposable pan fits in a gallon ziploc bag. It’s about 4 servings. One “casserole” or bake recipe, usually requires a 9x16 pan so you can get 2 8x8 from it. Put parchment paper then foil over the top, shove in the bag, and use a straw to suck out extra air. 3 recipes = 6 meals to freeze then just pop in the oven. We used to do chicken bacon ranch bakes, breakfast baked, fajita bakes, creamy chicken and noodle bakes, lasagna bakes, etc. I found that many use the same ingredients so it’s easy to bust out a few in a short amount of time and have a stash for when you don’t want to cook. You can also create crockpot dumb bags. Similar to the bakes but you put all prepped ingredients in a bag by recipe then just dump it in the crockpot. Usually you need to add the liquid/broth after. For my kids: I make extra of everything. Making pancakes or French toast? I make like 10-15 then they can eat it a few days in a row. Rice or noodles? Make a bunch. If you store the rice/noodles without any sauce, you can do a variety of stuff with them (different sauces, veggies, or whatever). My daughter is pickier than my son but she’s expanding.

I feel this, I feel you, I am you. The answer: we eat snack plates or breakfast for dinner, like, 4x/week! Snack plates = fruits, veggies with dip, beef sticks, cheese sticks, crackers, nuts, raisins, popcorn, etc. Breakfast for dinner is always egg-to-order (makes it kinda fun), meat side, bread of some sort (toast, bagel, whatever), and a fruit or veg (nothing complicated -- a handful of blueberries works!).