There are two ways I like to cook:
- Have one day a week when I do most of the prep work so everything is in the fridge and ready to go. Cooking then takes very little time and clean up is much easier. I prefer to do this on the day before the trash truck comes by.
- If I’m not doing it once a week, get all the prep work done early in the day so towards the end of the day, when I’m tired and maybe tempted to grab something out, there’s little to be done and dinner is ready in minutes.
This was easy to do when Vince worked but I’ve struggled with getting either method done since he’s retired. Just like our going to bed habits, I prefer to eat breakfast around 10:30 and then have one more meal around 3:30 or 4. Vince likes breakfast the minute his eyes pop open, then lunch and dinner at regular times. I can’t eat that much and it means I spend most of my day in the kitchen. We’ve kinda come to an agreement for breakfast aroud 10:30, dinner around 3:30 and then he’s on his own for the rest of the meals. There’s always sandwich stuff and leftovers that he can heat up. Does that make me a terrible wife?
This morning he left early to run an errand so I started prepping dinner, which will be Cashew Chicken (with a few more veggies) and fried rice. I got all the chopping done and the rice made.
I was almost done by the time Vince got home and wanted breakfast.
There’s sugar snap peas, carrots, bell pepper, green onions, onions, celery, ham, broccoli and chicken, with a little bit of Cajun Redhead Seasoning. Probably not what is used in authentic Chinese kitchens but it’s what’s used in our kitchen.
I like to use cold rice for making fried rice so it’s all in the fridge and almost time to start cooking.
This will be enough for at least two meals for both of us and a few snacks for Vince. I’m lucky he doesn’t mind eating leftovers . . that means even less time in the kitchen.
Elle says
I’m retired and hubster “got to” work from home for 15 months. I said I would make dinner. If I was hungry other than that I would let him know what I’m having and would he like some. Otherwise, he was on his own. His tummy has a different schedule than mine and I really am trying to eat only when truly hungry and it’s different every day. I often eat only once and 3 is extremely rare. I’m sure to always have ingredients around easy for him to use to make something he likes and I do aim for leftovers when I cook dinner.
He went back to the office full-time this week.
Stephani in N. TX says
Aren’t leftovers or heat-ups just so different since microwaves? I can remember my mother re-heating dinner for my brother when he worked at a supermarket job and got home after we had dinner. She had a plate she either put in the oven for him or on top of the stove over a pan of boiling water. I never cooked whole meals for the family in the microwave, but it’s great for times when family needs to eat at differing times because of work or school schedules. Judy, I think you said you never use one, but I love it also for my new popcorn pot, also for warming butter for my baking. And as a household of 1, I like to cook and then reheat portions on successive days since I rarely eat out.
Judy Laquidara says
Not a fan of the microwave. Vince will use it but I don’t. I hate leftovers on the stove, or in the air fryer.