I have to admit I think my biggest failure as a wife (so far) has been in the kitchen. I'm slacking in a lot of areas: vacuuming, laundry, back-rubs (ha), but by far my nemesis remains: DINNERTIME.
Before we moved here, I'd say I cooked a real meal (more than just a cheese quesadilla) maybe 3 nights a week. Most other nights I was working late, at Yoga, or Ryan was in class late. See, when we lived in Orange County, I sort of had an excuse - I was BUSY. I had a full time job and a full class load from the day we got married until last summer. Then I had a full time job paired with another part time job. I wasn't sitting at home every day thinking about what I could have on the table when the Mr. walked in.
Since we moved here I got a little better. I only work about 16 hours a week and well, let's be honest, we have no friends here, so I have a lot of down time at home. I have PLENTY of time to plan out and make dinner each night, but I'm still probably averaging 4 nights a week. We don't go out to eat often. I only suggest In-N-Out a few times a month, so those other 3 nights a week I'll make a quesadilla, pancakes or a sandwich for Ryan (Usually on nights that I've eaten a late lunch and skip dinner)...I rarely make him fend for himself, but these are not exactly great dinner options for someone who gets off work at 2 and has 5 hours to think about and prepare dinner.
My main reasoning is that I can't think of what to make, and if I do, I'm probably missing at least one ingredient and it's not worth going to the store for one thing, right?
Last week I got fed up with myself so I sat down with a pad of paper, a pen, and my computer. I scoured my favorite recipe blogs/websites and gathered 12 dinner options for the next few weeks. Then I went through the kitchen and wrote down all of the ingredients I would need for each of these dinners and headed to the store. My kitchen is now stocked. But now that I'm cooking more, I'm having more kitchen mishaps...who knew you had to watch the things so closely!!
So far I've made:
-Spaghetti and homemade meatballs (My first time making meatballs, REALLY good)
-Meatball subs (BURNED)
-Creamy Pesto Pasta with artichoke hearts (AMAZING/easy...made it again for lunch a few days later)
-Crockpot Lasagna (BURNED - while cooking on low(!!!)...had to throw the whole thing out)
-Toasted Roast Beef subs
Some of my options for this week include: Crock pot chicken enchiladas, pizza, chili w/ cornbread, Parmesan tilapia, ribs (never made them before), pot roast, poppyseed chicken, beef enchiladas and hamburgers.
So now I have no excuses. I have my recipes printed out, I have my ingredients, now I just have to find the will to continue to DO IT...and I think I will. I'm excited about some of the new recipes I've found. It's a fun challenge. I'm hoping to make a homemade meal 6 nights a week from now on and planning ahead seems to make it a lot easier...let's hope I can keep up with it.
3 comments:
This is totally my biggest pet peeve about being a stay-at-home mom. No one cares (or knows) what you do during the day, as long as dinner is on the table when the Mr. walks in. And if it's not--you fail. I hate it! So I'm a big fan of meal planning. For me, it's just to avoid that four o clock "what's for dinner" moment. Good luck! (oh, and expect your grocery bill to go up if you're making real meals!)
I absolutely LOVE making casseroles! I know that sounds totally mormon momish, but they're SO easy. I've made casserole with pasta noodles, rice, potatoes, etc. I always add chicken, cream of chicken, cheese and a couple vegetables. All you have to do is find what you want in the casserole and then leave it in the oven for 30-40 minutes. We always really like making shish-kabobs...they're really fun during the summer.
I absolutely LOVE to cook. It's one of my fave things to do. Easiest thing? Get a grill. I do steaks and salmon all the time and they are super easy, AND it keeps the heat out of your house! :)
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