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Everyone seems to "Love To Cook". Anyone hate cooking like I do?!
I find it a chore that I never am in the mood to do. I really dislike having to come up with something to make for dinner every night. (if I lived alone I would never go near the Meat Section in the supermarket ever again, honestly!!!) It's torture for me and I put it off as long as possible. Anyone else feel like I do or am I alone on this one?

It's not that I hate to cook, it's that I hate to Have to cook. If I could just do it when and what I wanted it would nto be a problem.

WaveRider - There are parts of keeping house that I hate and have traded some duties with DH. Could your husband or kids take on some of the kitchen duties?

Also, is it lack of training or kitchen skills? I'm self taught in the kitchen but have a wonderful collection of cookbooks and I loved the early cooking shows.

It might also help, and this is my problem, of planning in advance. Instead of trying to come up with a meal plan at 5:30 is no fun. Plan it out with the family in advance. You can do planned overs. Cook a bigger meal or pot of soup or stew on Sunday and have leftovers one night, brown up a bunch of hamburger and divide it up for several meals - chili, spaghetti, sloppy joes. Bag up the cooked meat and freeze it ready to go.

Let the kids help with some of the more tedious work - if they are old enough - shredding lettuce and chopping tomatoes for taco night for example.

I like to cook. It's hard when you get no input on the menu for the week: "I'm making my grocery list. What sounds good to you this week?" The reply, "Make sure you buy me some mixed nuts."

So, I cook for me and if husband wants to eat what I've cooked - great! If he doesn't want to eat what I've cooked, he goes to town - great!

Ladies: I feel your pain. I love to cook and try different dishes, BUT, BUT, my DH is border diabetic and so what I was hoping to do when we retired has gone by the wayside. I have a Weight watchers book "Dining for Two" which is good, but I ask DH what do you want for dinner and he says " I don't care" OK I say tell me chicken, fish, pork, etc. I say tell me and I will come up with something. I guess I am lucky he is ready to try anything, but sometime I wish he would have more input and maybe help more. Oh well life goes on. I guess he is spoiled, and from the old school where women do it. I will definately be watching this chat for idea. Have a great week ladies.
From Ontario Canada

Yes, it the "having to cook" that is the problem. And coming up with something every day. The actual cooking is easy.

My mother hates to cook and always has. She made dinner almost every night for all the years of my youth, but she rarely cooks now. My father actually likes to cook, so he has taken over the dinner meal preparation. Of course, she still has to clean the kitchen which is quite a chore when my father cooks, but she says she would rather clean up his mess than try to think of something to make every night.

As for me, I don't visit the meat counter. I'll cook boneless, skinless chicken breasts or fish. If anyone wants red meat, they can go to a restaurant.

Really didn't like that pressure-filled moment of "what for dinner?" and have done a total 180 since those days! Not working now (at least outside of the house - believe me, working inside the house is ten times more work) but I digress...

I love cooking and it helps that my dh always says "Thank You - that was great" even when we just had left-overs! But, it is true. Since it's only the two of us, I usually make a "from scratch" main entree that will serve 2 to 3 nights, vary it with what I call "one-nighters" and fill in the rest of the week with whatever is on sale... works for us!

Edited to add: As far as asking for suggestions? Bad idea and usually not very productive - just know what ingredients you have available - agree that planning ahead is key here and it helps to have both a freezer and a microwave - to pull it all together!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Idaho Resident,

Wife: What would you like for dinner?
DH: Food
Wife: Ok how would you like it fixed?
DH: cooked
Most of us go through this almost every day and they wonder why we don't like to cook.
Some days I will give him a choice but the rest of the time he gets what I fix.

i too HATE to cook. i never know what to make. DH will never offer suggestions;he will eat whatever is put infront of him. (with the exception of leftovers)

it seems like i make the same things day after day. i often look on this board for meal suggestions but still HATE to cook.

quote:

Originally posted by Idaho Resident:
Really didn't like that pressure-filled moment of "what for dinner?" and have done a total 180 since those days! Not working now (at least outside of the house - believe me, working inside the house is ten times more work) but I digress...

I love cooking and it helps that my dh always says "Thank You - that was great" even when we just had left-overs! But, it is true. Since it's only the two of us, I usually make a "from scratch" main entree that will serve 2 to 3 nights, vary it with what I call "one-nighters" and fill in the rest of the week with whatever is on sale... works for us!

Edited to add: As far as asking for suggestions? Bad idea and usually not very productive - just know what ingredients you have available - agree that planning ahead is key here and it helps to have both a freezer and a microwave - to pull it all together!

I agree 100% about not asking for suggestions. I will ask DH what he wants twice a year - his birthday and Valentines Day. This year because of his schedule I did ask on our anniversary, but ended up not cooking because of animal catastrophies all week.

It did become a joke with us when DH would ask what's for dinner - almost always the same answer - chicken. He was home for a couple of months this year and we were both working from home and he would ask at about 5 pm every afternoon that question. Unfortunately during the week my normal dinner is a frozen entree, some soup, leftovers or a salad and that question got old after about the 3rd day.

I also dislike cooking on a day to day basis, but love when planning to have someone over for a meal. When I was working, I always kept about 5 one pound bags of browned ground beef in freezer for a quick casserole. And like others mention, don't ask because usually DH or kids tell you they don't know or are fixated on just one thing. Crock pots are also great: add ingredients the night before, take out of frig before work, plug in and there's a nice meal waiting when you get home. Actually, there are many things suggested to you that will work.

Since I do enjoy cooking, my problem is hating to clean up after myself and unload the dishwasher.
When we were first married I filled some index cards with entree ideas by the cut of meat used.
For example: Round Steak = beef stroganoff, French Dip sandwiches, Oriental beef & broccoli,
Perdanales Chili, Steak au Naturalle, Swiss Steak, etc.
I had cards for all different types of meat, poultry, fish & seafood, even bacon, dried beef, corned beef, etc. As I came across more entrees, added the title to the corresponding card.
This certainly gave me plenty of ideas when I was stumped for planning my grocery shopping list and menu ideas.
When the kids were school age, I'd ask everyone at the dinner table for some suggestions on what they were hungry for later on in the week and tried to fulfill those requests.
The greatest summer of my life after I retired was when our kids were teens, DS1 & DS2 working heavy construction jobs and home for dinner at 5:30 pm every night. They were hungry and so tired that they came home and ate and were in bed by 8PM. I never had to deal with "Mom, I'm not going to be here for dinner tonight cause I'm going out with my friends."
Every morning I went to the grocery store to get the groceries and fresh produce for that days meal and their lunch boxes the next day.
Spent the rest of my day preparing dinner. It was heavenly.

Thankfully at my house, DH enjoys cooking and we each have our own specialties and we sorta alternate nights...that works really well.

I enjoy cookiing... clean up afterwar... not so much. Since I'm cooking for 1, most of my cooking gets picked at and becomes lunches for later.

Some days I don't mind cooking & other days I just HATE it!
Since we have 2 freezers and a good sized pantry I have plenty of choices. I also do lots of things in big batches & freeze for future meals...one of those nights I don't feel like doing it!
DH doesn't cook, but he can open cans! I'd just rather not eat some of that stuff!
Some nights when I don't feel like cooking DH will offer to go to town & get fast food! That works for me!

I too don't like to try to figure out what we are having for dinner. If I ask DH he always tells me to "do something simple". And he won't complain if we have hot dogs or grilled cheeses.

I hear ya and I have those moments too, but I much prefer to BAKE! Luckily, DH is always pleased even w/ the simpliest foods and doesn't mind leftovers either. I am truly blessed.

I find that making enough for leftovers (there's only two of us now) saves me from coming up w/ a daily menu not to mention the prep each new entree requires. If you and your family don't mind leftovers and/or you have ample freezer space, make a large portion and divide it to eat the next day or to freeze for the future. If freezing, be sure to date the pkgs..

Also, w/ warmer months ahead, think of salads in which you can add seasonal greens and the like along w/ tuna, chicken, turkey to make the salad hearty and balanced. Consider chef salads including cheeses, olives (if desired), fruit, nuts, beans, etc.. to suit your taste and for variety. These are quick, ideal for warm weather, nutritious and can be hearty.

quote:

Originally posted by nrsedebbiepink1:
i too HATE to cook. i never know what to make. DH will never offer suggestions;he will eat whatever is put infront of him. (with the exception of leftovers)

it seems like i make the same things day after day. i often look on this board for meal suggestions but still HATE to cook.

What you might wnat to try is taking up part of the food before serving and freezing it. My best kitchen investment was a vacuum sealer. I can make a big batch of soup and freeze most of it or if I make a whole package of skinless boneless chicken breasts - grilled, casserole, etc I can freeze it for another night. Instead of a large meatloaf - divide into 2 and freeze one before cooking.

If you serve it a couple weeks later he won't know it was from previous.

I have about 15 meals that are family favorites which, if we have leftovers or do take out a couple days, means I can get through three weeks without repeating. I try to make all the variations of chicken on the same day and freeze the ingredients. I do the same with ground beef, adding the appropriate seasoning before freezing. At least one meal a week is seafood, which I don't prepare until just before serving, so that entree is often reserved for the weekends. It makes it much easier to come home from work and thaw the meat while making the starch, which could be pasta, rice or potatoes, depending on the menu. A side salad completes the meal. There are so many ways you can vary ground beef and chicken. I find a lot of recipes at
www.http://allrecipes.com/

quote:

Originally posted by nrsedebbiepink1:
i too HATE to cook. i never know what to make. DH will never offer suggestions;he will eat whatever is put infront of him.
it seems like i make the same things day after day. i often look on this board for meal suggestions but still HATE to cook.

My DH will eat anything I put in front of him (hot dogs is a meal, he's lucky he's getting that!!! LOL). The problem is I just HATE TO COOK. For me, I will eat fast things, a tuna fish sandwich, or whatever else I find in the house fast and easy. Pasta (with just sauce on it). That's a meal to me! When I got married, my DH told me plain pasta is not a meal, it needs some meat in it. It does? So for nearly 20+ years, I had to throw some stuff into the pasta to make it 'a meal'. S@rew that, now I sometimes just make pasta, take it or leave it! (he always eats it, he'll eat anything put in front of him, LOL)
I just HATE COOKING!!!! I will always eat other's people's food (only because I never really learned to cook) I will buy ready made food, if I have to, but I won't cook a fancy meal! (don't know how)

Waverider, Did anyone at home cook meals when you were growing up? Sometimes if you don't have a well developed palate you don't enjoy food and don't appreciate the process of making a meal.

I know not everyone has the same likes and dislikes as far as housework - but it is a part of life and we learn to deal with it.

When I lived in Virgina we had a wonderful local grocery chain that had excellent prepared foods and meals at a somewhat reasonable price. If you can find a grocer in your area that carries similar items you might want to just purchase several of their entrees and side dishes the just add a salad.

There's nothing much faster than a grilled chicken breast or fish fillet and a salad or steamed vegetables. I grill a whole package of thin-cut chicken breasts at a time. We have them hot for the first meal and then the leftovers can be used for salads or sandwiches the next day.

Nearly the only things I do cook are chicken, ground turkey, chicken, ground beef (rarely), chicken, pasta, and chicken, chicken, chicken, chicken.......(as naseum)
As a result, I never, ever order chicken in a restaurant!!!!

I hate to cook for a lot of reason. I have had to cook for over 40 years. I never get to cook for a large crowd like I did when our parents were alive. DGS complains so much about what I cook that it makes it even difficult to think about cooking. I just wish I had a whole week where he did not complain about what I cook. If it were up to him I would make spagghetti every night. And what I hate about the whole cooking thing is that I really am a good cook but just cannot get into it anymore. If dinner was eaten before 2 p.m. I might be alright with it. If I am not finished by 2 p.m. I am so tired I do not even like to think about it. One thing I do like is my crockpot.

If DH ever said "thank you, that was great," I'd faint! He's a steak and potatoes man who won't eat "girlie" foods like quiche, pot pies, etc. He is definitely not adventurous when it comes to eating and is a little on the picky side. That said, he doesn't complain much either. If I've made something new that didn't turn out well, he'll just quietly say "don't make that again."

I can't imagine trading chores with him as mentioned earlier. There's nothing he does that I would want to do (other than sitting and watching TV news while waiting for his dinner to be served). Even if there was, he wouldn't be willing to trade for any of my chores.

Daddy was a long-haul truckdriver. Nothing suited him better than fried meat, gravy, potatoes, beans, cornbread, etc. But he started complaining at home as if he were eating in truckstops and we all knew he complained in truckstops - loudly.

My mother started serving my dad bologna sandwiches. Or tuna salad. Or whatever she wanted that she could throw together quick with very little cooking involved. (Since he was a truckdriver, she cooked for herself while he was away - snicker.)

He "called" her on it in a very short time. She replied that he griped whether she cooked a full meal...and he griped if she slapped the bologna in front of him...so why should she bother.

That tamed him somewhat...

quote:

Originally posted by KeepYouInStitches:
Daddy was a long-haul truckdriver. Nothing suited him better than fried meat, gravy, potatoes, beans, cornbread, etc. But he started complaining at home as if he were eating in truckstops and we all knew he complained in truckstops - loudly.

My mother started serving my dad bologna sandwiches. Or tuna salad. Or whatever she wanted that she could throw together quick with very little cooking involved. (Since he was a truckdriver, she cooked for herself while he was away - snicker.)

He "called" her on it in a very short time. She replied that he griped whether she cooked a full meal...and he griped if she slapped the bologna in front of him...so why should she bother.

That tamed him somewhat...

LOL - My father was also a truck driver. We ate whatever my mother felt like cooking during the week and then full fledge meat and 3 on the weekends with steak and potatoes on Friday night when he was home.

With that said - Whose mom ever used the line - You can eat what is served, I'm not running a short order kitchen?

Sherry, that reminds me of the story my dear friend always told about her first dinners as a new bride. After several meals of hearing her husband mention how her dinner didn't taste like the way his mother's did, she got up from the table, picked up his plate, and emptied it into the garbage can while advising him to go eat at his mother's!

My friend died last November . . . I sure do miss her! She was only 74.