When There is No Time to Cook

[missbishi]

This will be horrible to say, but if we are too rushed and there is no time to cook (or nothing to cook) then we just get take out from McDonald's, which is very close by. We have gotten take out from other places as well, but it is always so expensive. At MacDonald's we just get some fries to all share and some cheeseburgers, it's a very fast and cheap meal.

I do this too! Sometimes you just can't be bothered and the occasional Maccy D's won't hurt as long as the rest of your diet is fairly healthy. I love the way that kids think it's a massive treat even though it's dirt cheap and requires minimal effort : )

 

[Pat]

I have a friend that lives alone and does not want to have a lot of food in her house or think about cooking it. She will go to the deli section of the grocery store and pick up already cooked food, take it home add a salad maybe and she is happy, she will get 2 days worth of food at a time. I am beginning to like that lifestyle, she never has a sink full of dishes to clean and put away.

 

[ChanellG]

There are plenty of nights around my house that are crazy busy and I do not feel like cooking, or have time to cook. We keep a freezer supply of quick dinners for just this reason. It is usually some sort of food that I was able to get at Costco in bulk stock, but hey it works. Sometimes I will go to the store and pick up a roasted rotissere chicken and then make some veggies and pasta to go with it, or transform the chicken into a chicken salad. The grocery store near my house also has these amazing chopped salads that include everything in the bag, and they are a nice fall back as well.

I picked up a couple of frozen items the last time I was at the grocery. I'm not big on packaged foods, but it's good to have something frozen to fall back on, especially if you've made something yourself and frozen portions of it for later. This particular time I really only had time to pick up the food on my way to an errand and stop to eat in between other tasks.

 

[ChanellG]

I have a friend that lives alone and does not want to have a lot of food in her house or think about cooking it. She will go to the deli section of the grocery store and pick up already cooked food, take it home add a salad maybe and she is happy, she will get 2 days worth of food at a time. I am beginning to like that lifestyle, she never has a sink full of dishes to clean and put away.

I have done that as well. Sometimes you just don't have the time to clean and prep vegetables, cook, sit and eat, put food away and clean. It can be two hours or more out of the day, and for three meals each day that really adds up. You have to get up extra early in the morning and be very organized and sometimes I'm just not on top of things to be able to do all that, plus get clothing together and go to work!

 

[Rosyrain]

Sometimes you have to do what you have to do ChanellG, nobody will fault you for buying freezer food. I like to buy freezer food from Trader Joes, because most of their items are their own brand labels and they tend to make their foods more healthy. I am not sure if there are Trader Joe's in your state, but it is worth looking into if there are. Sometimes at my house we have an "appetizer" dinner night in which I buy a few of the premade appetizers from Trader Joes and we have them for dinner. The family favorites are the mini chicken tacos, mac and cheese bites, and the Indian samasoas.

 

[ChanellG]

Make breakfast. Super simple an quick, makes for a delicious meal any time of the day. You can make some scrambled eggs, whip up some pancakes (even quicker if you already have batter prepared) and some bacon. Or, you can try Shashouka, which is this Middle Eastern dish that's basically eggs in a tomato sauce with bell peppers. Really easy to make and really good

Thanks for the suggestion, but a) I don't like eggs, b) I can't stand peppers of any kind, especially bell pepper. Also, there was no time for cooking or cleaning up after. I do have bagels, but at the time I needed a real meal. I probably should have ordered some kind of vegetable dish along with the rice as it only had green onion.

 

[ChanellG]

Sometimes you have to do what you have to do ChanellG, nobody will fault you for buying freezer food. I like to buy freezer food from Trader Joes, because most of their items are their own brand labels and they tend to make their foods more healthy. I am not sure if there are Trader Joe's in your state, but it is worth looking into if there are. Sometimes at my house we have an "appetizer" dinner night in which I buy a few of the premade appetizers from Trader Joes and we have them for dinner. The family favorites are the mini chicken tacos, mac and cheese bites, and the Indian samasoas.

Haven't been to Trader Joe's since the last time I was in California, almost six years ago. We don't have the stores here, but we do have Whole Foods Market. I get a lot of things there and I often buy the Amy's pockets and Indian food dinners. Love the paneer meals! I'll get some stuff at the deli as well, but it adds up (in cost), so I don't like to do that too often.

 

[Rosyrain]

Haven't been to Trader Joe's since the last time I was in California, almost six years ago. We don't have the stores here, but we do have Whole Foods Market. I get a lot of things there and I often buy the Amy's pockets and Indian food dinners. Love the paneer meals! I'll get some stuff at the deli as well, but it adds up (in cost), so I don't like to do that too often.

When you go to "Whole Foods...you spend your WHOLE paycheck." That is what we say around here. I love Whole Foods too, and their deli is to die for, but you can blow a lot of money there real fast if you are not careful! Good healthy organic food though.

 

[ChanellG]

A sandwich takes less than 5 minutes to make and only leaves one knife and a plate that needs to be washed. Pretty much the same thing with most basic salads.
If you want something warm then replace the butter on your sandwich with ketchup and throw the thing into the oven for 10 minutes or so.

I don't like to eat that much bread, and I almost never put ketchup, let alone butter on a sandwich. Also, it takes me more than 5 minutes to make a sandwich. It's like building a salad, and it won't be satisfying without enough of the right kinds of ingredients. Making something means organizing ingredients, preparation, and then clean up afterward.

 

[ChanellG]

When you go to "Whole Foods...you spend your WHOLE paycheck." That is what we say around here. I love Whole Foods too, and their deli is to die for, but you can blow a lot of money there real fast if you are not careful! Good healthy organic food though.

LOL, people here just call it Whole Paycheck when they refer to shopping there. There are cheap ways to shop there, and when it comes to some items that I buy, they are actually cheaper than everywhere else! They also have good sales and specials.

 

[Arch]

I have done that as well. Sometimes you just don't have the time to clean and prep vegetables, cook, sit and eat, put food away and clean. It can be two hours or more out of the day, and for three meals each day that really adds up. You have to get up extra early in the morning and be very organized and sometimes I'm just not on top of things to be able to do all that, plus get clothing together and go to work!

2 hours!

I can have a pasta bolognaise for 2 on the table, from scratch, in 20 mins.

I never spend 2 hours on a meal. I may prepare something that takes hours to cook (in the slow cooker) but the actual prep time will be half an hour at most. If I do something really fancy, I might take an hour over it.

 

[GadgetGuy]

My 11-year-old grand nephew will FIND something to cook!

He has learned to make do with whatever is in the fridge and pantry, and he has come up with some pretty amazing things!!

 

[ChanellG]

I can have a pasta bolognaise for 2 on the table, from scratch, in 20 mins.

I never spend 2 hours on a meal...

So you're saying you assemble seasoning, cook meat, boil pasta, make sauce, put together the dish, serve it, eat, and then clean up all in just a mere 20 minutes? My hat's off to you. You should start a blog and post you tube videos for the rest of us. It takes Ina Garten 45 minutes to create bolognese and she has her own tv show.

 

[Arch]

So you're saying you assemble seasoning, cook meat, boil pasta, make sauce, put together the dish, serve it, eat, and then clean up all in just a mere 20 minutes? My hat's off to you. You should start a blog and post you tube videos for the rest of us. It takes Ina Garten 45 minutes to create bolognese and she has her own tv show.

I'm sure an Italian grandma would throw her hands up in horror, as I cook the sauce quickly rather than the long simmering it really ought to have. But I make a nice meal, and never have any complaints.

Kettle on to boil water. (or put cold water in pan on the heat)
Chop onion and put into oil to saute, while it's frying add pasta to the boiling pan of water.
Chop any other veg (I usually add some pepper and courgette) and add to onion to fry for a minute.
Add minced beef.
Once meat is browned, add tin of tomatoes, tomato purree, dried mixed herbs, a grind of pepper. Bring up to a boil, then turn down and simmer until the pasta is cooked.
Drain pasta, serve, serve sauce over it.

And 20 minutes is to cook it. Eating time is extra - but if I 'saved time' on a takeaway I still have to take the time to eat it. If I'm on my own and don't have NT to wash up the pans as I serve, then there's five minutes to wash up a couple of pans and a wooden spoon and a fork.

Tonight we had a quick curry in about the same time - onion, a can of tomatoes, a can of mixed beans, curry paste, tomato purree, grated coconut. Sauce all assembled while the rice cooked in the rice cooker.

 

[wahmed]

I tend to raid the freezer. I have lots of store brought stuff, but i also premake things like chicken cutlets that are family favourites.