A friend and I were discussing this weekend the tiresome nature of cooking dinner for a family every day. It is just The Worst, isn’t it? And I have a generally very easy audience: my husband will eat anything, and always thanks me for making dinner, even if it wasn’t his favorite thing. My kid eats nothing, so I have to make her separate meals anyway (unless we happen to be eating tacos, which she loves). I recognize that things really could be much worse.
And yet it is still extremely wearying, to constantly be thinking of what to make and what to buy and then having to do the grocery shopping and prepare the meals and eat them. I am so burnt out. I imagine cooking for a larger family or family members with specific dietary restrictions or limited palates would be completely soul sucking.
If you are feeling like you simply cannot make one more meal, or deal with a single comment from the people who eat the meals you make, or think up one more thing to make, or face making the same exact thing one more time… well, I have all the empathy in the world.
And yet. We still must eat. Those of us who are in charge of feeding our families still must feed our families.
Here’s what I may – or may not! the week is young! – make for dinners in my own house this week. And by the way: we have eaten both sandwiches from Jersey Mike’s and delivery pizza this past weekend alone, and I fully endorse making things easy on yourself and leaning on takeout and/or prepared meals as often as makes sense. The thing is that I do PREFER making meals at home, both because it feels healthier and because it is definitely less expensive.
Dinners for the Week of January 8-14
- Beef with Sugar Snap Peas: I haven’t made this in a while, and it’s VERY easy. This is because I buy pre-sliced “stir fry meat” from my grocery store, and a bag of pre-washed sugar snap peas. I also don’t use fresh ginger, I use cubes of frozen ginger which is just as good. My husband isn’t crazy about the sugar snap peas, but he will handle it with grace.
- Japanese Curry: My husband found a recipe for this curry in a fairly recent issue of Cook’s Country. The linked recipe is very similar, and has lots of details about choosing the right curry and customizing the dish to your tastes. While the first time I made this, we used potato and carrots. But I hate cooked carrots so passionately that we switched to sweet potato the next time, and threw in some frozen peas at the end. I have also used broccoli, and if my husband wasn’t a factor, I would probably skip one variety of potato. We use the S&B Golden Curry, which has two packages of the sauce mixture. My husband likes to have chicken with this dish as well. Depending on the veggies you use, this does require some chopping… but it is nonetheless extremely easy. I think it would work well with frozen veggies, too, which would cut the prep time way down.
- Crockpot BBQ Chicken with Apple Slaw: I will not use the recommended BBQ sauce (Sweet Baby Ray’s) because I hate it; but I will use my favorite grocery store brand. And there is no way that I am adding sugar to this recipe. Otherwise, sounds good and easy and allows my crockpot to do the heavy lifting.
- Ramen: This is another super simple, easily customizable recipe. I buy ramen noodles and beef broth and then add whatever things I have on hand that sound good. Usually, I start with some frozen cubes of ginger and a good spoonful of crushed-garlic-from-a-jar in a little bit of oil. Then I throw in some beef stock, the cube of ramen, and whatever veggies seem like they would work well. Edamame (frozen or not) is excellent. Peas are good. I like to slice a red and green bell pepper and throw those in at the end. Broccoli is delicious. The best veggie for this dish is whatever veggie is easiest. If I have leftover salmon or shrimp, I add those too. Then I top with sriracha sauce and scallions (if I have them) and go to town.
- Tacos: Even though we do a bunch of toppings – iceberg or Romaine lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, onions – this is one of the easiest meals I make. I can have it on the table in thirty minutes flat. My mother taught me that you can slow cook taco meat (same recipe, just use less water!) and that makes this even simpler. Plus, everyone in my house will eat tacos. AND we have leftovers, which means my daughter has something for dinner that isn’t chicken nuggets.
That’s it for this week. I hope your meal plan is full of very simple meals.
Today – tomato basil soup (from a mix) and grilled cheese with good bread
Tomorrow – husband traveling for work so homemade chicken noodle soup (I already cooked/shredded the chicken)
wednesday – salad topped with mandarin oranges, toasted almonds, chow mein noodles, chicken cucumbers and bell peppers
thursday – edamame/teryaki chicken/steamed broccoli/shredded carrots over brown rice
friday – pizza take out for my oldest’s birthday sleepover!
This sounds like an excellent mix. I am going to have to copy your teriyaki chicken and veg with rice idea – yum!
There have been times when I wonder if I should just make tacos every night and call it good. Hey at least I would alternate between shredded chicken burritos and ground beef tacos so there would be SOME variety.
I remember the beef stir fry very fondly. It was one of those rare dishes that everyone in my family loved including me. If you’re getting pre-sliced beef that’s most of the work right there (note to self does my grocery store have pre-sliced beef???). I’ve made it with Costco’s frozen stir fry veggies on nights when I haven’t been organized enough to get to the store.
I’m about to go on a curry kick – for my lunches since guess what the rest of the family doesn’t eat. I’m going to try the Japanese curry and I’ll report back.
Ooooh yes, I am very excited for your curry kick. Hopefully it turns up a bunch of winners.
You may not feel creative, but you definitely are! I see so many varied and interesting dishes in your weekly menus. It’s been a long time since I cooked for a family, and I can honestly say that I don’t miss it much. I miss those days but not that task!
I hear you Margaret! I cannot imagine looking back on this time and wishing I did MORE meal planning.
Ugh..why do we have to eat dinner EVERY DAY?! Our family is entering a phase of two kids having (separate) activities 5+ days a week. Ham sandwhiches for all!
Huzzah! Ham sandwiches all around!
I hear you on the repetitiveness of cooking –and I enjoy cooking and trying new recipes. I cannot imagine having to make a separate meal for a child. I guess I was pretty lucky as I had 4 kids who pretty much ate what I cooked. One didn’t love vegetables but he knew the rules and gulped them down without chewing. At 35 yrs old I think he still does that haha. One was picky but also knew he had no choice really. I was a single mom who I guess didn’t have time to deal with pickiness. He used to look at his plate with total disgust and say “how much of this do I have to eat”… He is now a great cook who will eat almost anything. BTW we are in a little mexican town for 3 months and you can get the most DELICIOUS tacos for about 25 pesos ($1.50 US each!)
I am jealous of your access to inexpensive and delicious tacos, Pat! YUM!
Oh, Suzanne. Come sit beside me. *pats seat* I hear you, girl. We went out for dinner for my husband’s birthday in October, and I have cooked dinner every single day since then. Every day. I.AM.EXHAUSTED. This past holiday really finished me off because it was 12 days straight of festivities and cooking for vast amounts of people. And these people are all grateful (for the most part, but that’s a story for later, and concerns my next-door neighbour, but it’s funny, or I’m choosing to laugh) and pretty easy to please. AND YET. It’s not even the cooking, at this point. I can pretty much zip something together. But it’s the thinking about it, and the planning, and the deciding what to make and what groceries we need, and are we out of this or that and do I go pick up more or do I try to substitute, or what. And then when we had houseguests I tried to make things that would be leftover for lunch but seven people eat a lot AND ONE DAY THERE WAS NOTHING FOR LUNCH so it was sandwiches and…what I am saying is, I understand. It’s so exhausting and it’s the mental and emotional toll of providing delicious yet nutritious and balanced meals for everyone and good lord, why can I just not get takeout. But the problem with THAT is that nothing is particularly close, so takeout is a minimum of thirty minutes to get somewhere and get back, and maybe it’s just easier to make tacos? You feel me. I know. FOOD MY GOD WHY DO WE EAT. (I love to eat but you know, this hit me in exactly the right way today).
It’s too much, Nicole. You have cooked too much. Instead of Dry January you should do No Cooking January. (But I hear you about not having easy access to takeout. Ugh.)
I start out on Mondays and Tuesdays with some vigor, planning and cooking. Then by Wednesday, it’s over. I’m defeated by decades of Doing This. My kids have been grown and gone for almost 20 years. I feel like I should be able to quit this job.
“By Wednesday, it’s over.” Yes. Hard agree. And sometimes by Monday.
I love sugar snap peas. I hope to give that recipe a try. Coach has grilled more than ever this past 7 months, since the girls moved in and I’m so very grateful. I am no gourmet, but I do cook most nights. I tend to do big meals though and then once, or more often, twice a week we have that same meal heated up in leftover from – usually it means just plugging in the crockpot on warm. So simple. I have been blown away recently at how little there is leftover after I cook something. Lad has been eating here a lot. Two college kids have been home. I love meal time and the girls really seem to enjoy sitting down with the whole family, or most of them, but dang it is a chore sometimes.
Today is Reg’s bday. I’m making his favorite, we call it Reg dinner. Pesto chicken with pasta in the crockpot. I can only eat it if I remember to take a bit out before adding the pasta. Last night we had leftover BBQ pork in the crockpot and I whipped up mashed potatoes. I haven’t tried the BBQ chidken recipe, but it sounds like something we would like and also an easy recipe.
Beth’s out of town so the ratio of people who will eat whatever I make is reduced and I am only making tried-and-true recipes, or I thought I was. My youngest, who’s the pickiest in the family, has recently started to criticize even dishes they used to like. When they saw broccoli melts on the whiteboard they commented that the last time I made those the toast was soggy. This after telling me the broccoli-cheddar soup Noah made over the weekend was better than the one we’ve all been eating for years, and it was more of a critical tone about mine than an appreciative tone about his. (Mine has white beans pureed into it for extra protein, which is apparently the problem.)
How very DARE THEY.
Yep. I hate it. You wouldn’t think this would be SO HARD, but it is. Luckily my son has been cooking a couple times a week over his break (I love him so much!!! Why does he have to go back to school???) And, luckily this week we’re going out of town for a few days (hooray! restaurant food!) After that it will be back to the grind. Just so you know, your “Dinners This Week” posts have helped me many times- it’s so nice to have someone else come up with ideas, and I’ve made several of the things you’ve mentioned. Good luck this week!
I like the Ramen idea! Thank you for sharing that, it’s something I will try for sure.
We’re in a phase with only one kid at home, and she often has practices/activities in the evenings, so I’ve not been cooking as much. In fact, my husband suggested that for 2024, we should cook something together – a new recipe, or a fave – on Friday nights. Since it’s usually just us. I’m kinda liking that idea. Not sure if I like having his “help” in the kitchen, lol. Just kidding. It’s good quality time together. A little like letting a young kid “help.” 😉 😉
I have been sick, and my husband has been cooking, and I cannot fathom what it must be like to live like this all the time. Imagine: the spouse always handling it. Groceries appearing, and turning into food, without me doing it. What must that be like, to live like that full-time.
Japanese curry. Curry roux. PRE-MADE curry roux. I am learning so much. If I ever start cooking again I am totally making this.
I must have told you (maybe several times) about Eve when she was five or six, frequently saying about dinner “is it tacos? Because I only eat tacos” (sort of joking). Even now when the kids are coming home I make a buttload of taco meat and freeze it ahead of time.
You have such varied and interesting meal plans. So from the view of an outsider, you are doing amazingly well! We got take and bake pizza one night, Phil made a Spanish Tortilla yesterday (his specialty – it’s potatoes, ham and eggs) and tonight I made something that is called a turkey tamale pie. It turned out pretty well. Anne Bogel linked to it years ago and this is a rare instance where I actually made something someone mentioned in a post! It doesn’t happen super often as I am not great about printing recipes (and I will only cook from a printed recipe). We have enough leftovers to get us through the week. Like you, our children do not eat what we eat, except pizza. It’s maddening but I have given up and accepted that it’s how life will be for now and some day they will eat more varied diets. I hope.
Absolutely. You know you are totally preaching to the choir, I am so frikking sick of dinner. I can’t believe we all have to eat dinner every damn day. And I have it pretty easy. My daughter recently started cooking one night a week, my husband cooks 2 nights a week, and we get takeout one night. So I only have to cook 3 nights a week. But I still have to figure out WHAT to cook for those three nights, and sometimes it feels impossible.
Thankfully, my family is grateful no matter what I make. Though it gets complicated, as my husband is low carb, and a lot of dairy doesn’t play well with his stomach, and my daughter is vegetarian. Sigh. So often I make two meals. Sometimes I eat with my daughter, sometimes with my husband. (I mean, we all eat together, but you know what I mean.) Tonight was lemon chicken and roasted broccoli. My daughter had fake sausage and roasted broccoli. Not a lot of extra work.
Question on the stir fry…do you make it with snow peas, or sugar snap peas? I think both would be good, but I like sugar snap peas more.
Sometimes I dream of ordering a pizza. That’s all. Just one night where I don’t have to think about it. *sigh*
I think of cooking a lot like laundry. I don’t honestly mind it, for the most part, but what I mind is all the thinking about it. Did I fold the last load? Did I put it all away? Do we have enough detergent? Do we have the right detergent? The actual DOING is fine. It’s the rest. Dinner’s like that. Cooking it is fine. It’s, as you say, the thinking and the shopping that’s the issue.
But I guess it’s better than not eating. So onward!
We’re having leftover curry tonight and probably tomorrow, too. Then I don’t know because we go to the store on Thursday, so we’ll meal plan then.
Yep. Totally soul sucking. I have one kid who eats only beige and one kid who sometimes eats whatever and then sometimes acts deeply offended that I put dinner on her plate and I can’t figure out the pattern. We always have taco (or quesadilla or enchilada) Tuesday, and I am working in sheet pan Wednesday. This week we also did pork chops and stuffing with asparagus and salad, grilled chicken salads with oranges, chow mein noodles, snow peas, and red peppers, and grilled cheese with instant pot tomato soup.
I’d love to write a collaborative feminist cook book that’s part recipe, part rumination on late stage capitalism and motherhood.
ALSO! I do force the family to give me ideas for the menu and I have an app for my grocery store that everyone with phones has on their phone so they can add to our virtual cart when they think of stuff instead of just telling me. I do a huge online order for pick up every week and then go to the store as needed for a produce refresh or stuff we forgot— this helps me unload the mental load.
You do such an amazing job coming up with meals! I’m in awe. I don’t love cooking, so I’m very lucky to have a husband who enjoys simple meals!
I am always amazed at your varied menu, so it does make me feel a bit better that YOU HATE THE MENTAL SIDE OF THIS TOO. It is so much. This week I’ve had like zero energy to cook and yet everyone still wants to eat. Whhhyyyy? And it’s all the meals I hate; packing lunches is such a drag and I do it x5 per week for the kids because school lunches are expensive and have basically no nutritional value (plus I’d still have to send snacks). If I could remove food prep and cleanup from my life I’d have like an extra decade to play with? The only part of meal making I really enjoy is grocery shopping. I do actually find that fun. Putting away groceries? HATE it. Cooking? Tolerate it but would 100% let someone else do all my cooking for me.
SIGH. SIGH. YES. Feeling this post very hard today.
My home from college kid picked this week’s menu because we are taking her back to school on Sunday (sob!). She told me she missed my cooking when she went away to school and so I will make whatever she wants!
It is a soul sucking job, but it must be done. My audience is even easier than yours as I have only ONE person to cook for (besides me) and he is super easy. Still, it can be daunting. I’ve never thought to make a meal out of Ramen, but I just might after seeing your ideas here.
I don’t even do the cooking in our house (I shop, prep, sous chef, and clean up) and I feel this. How amazing would it be to have a hired chef and not have to think about food all the time?!
Our taste in food is similar. Sweet Baby Ray’s is awful. One of the few purchases we ever made that we threw out after one small taste. I’ve seen S&B Golden Curry packets but never tried it. Think I’ll give it a go.
I hate cooking and coming up with meals and it is just two of us. I don’t want to do that for a family and for years on end. The husband also always thanks me for doing it.
And we order in every once in a while when I tell him it is his turn to cook. And sometimes he does omelettes and I just have to do the sous chef things which is a nice thing.
I am probably in the minority here. I don’t mind meal planning and making meals at all. Yeah, I have days where I don’t want to cook, but mostly, I don’t mind the cooking. We do eat a lot of the same meals, but it’s probably easier because it’s just Jon and me and we generally like the same things.
I am all about soups these time of year, because they’re one-pot meals and so versatile. I don’t get tired of them.
VERY simple meals. Chili, roasted chicken, por chops. Broccoli or string beans, or edamame. Some kind of starch- potatoes or pasta, or rice. We are in such a rut!