How do you get a day off(from cooking)

Any

Mojisola wrote: »

As long as it's not only used by one family member. It isn't a good idea for everyone else to be incompetent in the kitchen and rely on one person to produce all meals.

At some point that person will be ill, away on business, in hospital, coping with older relatives, etc, and the rest of the family need to be self-sufficient.

I completely agree.

rowsew

Any wrote: »

I completely agree.

Me too, as I am laid up with a broken foot. I have 2 kids and the oh, 5 chickens and 2 cats to look after, but OH has been a star recently. The twenty years I have spent training him have certainly not been wasted. He has taken on bread making, cleaning, and cooking where necessary, and really been able to look after us all. Don't let yourself be the only one in the house who can cope with the catering, lets face it, sometimes its so boring you want to cry. Let the others have a go and ut your feet up. Cheapo noodles wirh frozen veggies won't kill 'em once a week either

valk_scot

I have a threefold approach to this.

1)Stuff in the freezer for emergencies.

2)I delegate someone to cook (currently 15 year old DS or Hubby) and remind them it's got to suit everyone This has to include shopping for any extra ingredients they need, btw, or asking me to add them to the weekly shop.

3)Or I walk out the door, close it behind me and let them figure it out.

I went on a crafting course locally in the school summer holiday...six days of me leaving at 8am and not getting in till 7pm. I certainly wasn't going to come in and start cooking and cleaning with three of them here (Hubby worked from home that week so he could keep an eye on the kids) sitting on their bums all day. So after this being pointed out firmly to them (VERY firmly!) Hubby and DD (10) did the housework and DS did all the cooking. The meals were not what I would have chosen, no, and they probably weren't that healthy either but really, a week of it wasn't going to kill them or me.

I think, Cooking-Mama, you're over thinking this as others have said. It's not going to hurt anyone to eat a single less healthy meal a week. What is going to hurt them is making you so utterly dependant on you. You really are doing them no favours to micromanage them in this way you know.

Start with allocating one night a week where the three of them have to cater in turns...this means one meal everyone can eat rather than only one person's tastes. Hubby can't cook? Buy him Jamie Oliver's Ministry of Food for Christmas. Younger DD wants junk? Won't kill you all to have it one night a week. Tell them the budget for the meal btw. You can shop for the ingredients if you feel so inclined of course, as long as they tell you in advance. If they want to get takeaway, they pay for it, not the budget. But it's got to be for everyone.

PipneyJane

I remember watching with horror a program where a group of modern teenage girls did 1960's-style home economics and they didn't know that you had to peel an onion before you chopped it up! Sounds like your family isn't that bad, just thoughtless.

As someone else suggested, the best thing is to assign them each one night a week to cook. Give them clear rules too, e.g. it has to be mild (for your oldest daughter), not pudding (for your youngest) and not out of a freezer packet (for your husband). It doesn't have to be massively complex but it has to be edible for all the family. After all, baked beans on toast qualifies as a healthy, filling meal, although it wouldn't be my first choice, but it might be perfect for your husband's next outing in the kitchen. You can offer to be around to answer questions about timing and technique but they have to make it themselves and tidy up the kitchen afterwards.

babyshoes

If your OH can put chicken nuggets or frozen pizza in the oven, he could grill some sausages or chops, then microwave some frozen mash and veg for a convenient but healthy-ish meal...

alex21

squeaky wrote: »

All of the above.

Deliberately making extra amounts of various meals and then freezing them in portion sizes is the ideal way to provide "stab stab PING!" meals for days when you want time off.

See... Batch cooking ideas please, Cooking for the Freezer.., Once a month cooking, and What can else can i freeze in bulk apart from spag bol?!

stab stab ping is a great description :T so I'm gonna nick it for myself (hope you don't mind)

jackyann

When bringing up 4 children, we would have a "family meeting" once a week to look at calendars, rotas etc. We had a piece of paper on the fridge, you could write down what you wanted to eat that week - it began as a way of saying "if you complain, you don't get your choice" but it evolved into taking turns at cooking.
So get together, make some rules, make some time to explain / show everyone how to do stuff.
One of my favourites was to choose a Sunday roast that would have left-overs (favourite: gammon cooked in Coke) - then a simple meal is jacket potato, salad & cold meat.

V_Chic_Chick

How about some of those ready made curry sauce jars? I had a very nice Sainsbury's korma tonight, cooked with mushrooms. I ate half, and half went in the freezer for later.

Anyway - it was very simple, just frying a few mushrooms in oil in the saucepan, then adding the sauce and letting it simmer away whilst I cooked the rice.

Also - ready made pies (cook in the oven) + ready made mashed potato, microwaved + peas = fairly balanced and pretty simple? Pieminister pies if you really don't mind the cost - they are lovely.

CH27

I batch cook so there is always something quick & nutricious in the freezer.
I am in the process of teaching OH & son how to cook. They each cook one meal per week & are slowly learning the basics of a few dishes.

Kaz2904

I have started trying to teach my 2 littlies to cook already. They are 10 (on Monday) and 8 (in 4 weeks). They don't do the hot stuff as they are a little too short for my comfort (although very nearly able to stand by the hob). They do the chopping and peeling but DS the youngest one is far more happy to be in the kitchen.
DH can cook. We get some really weird concoctions when he cooks but it's mostly edible. Rarely a healthy balanced meal but needs must at times.
I'm not the best cook in the world so can't criticise his cooking really