Help! I need to simplify my dinnertimes/evenings - Page 2

RobertPost'schild · 08-07-2007, 08:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spoodler

Stormy...my DH works odd hours and we only have one child so I totally know what you mean about dinner time. When DH is home for dinner, I want him to spend some time with dd afterwards, but I also don't want to get stuck with all the mess either. Most of the time it is just DD and I and she is 3 so you can imagine the conversations we have at the table! LOL! This morning for breakfast we were talking about what hiccups are for.

I also cook from scratch most of the time. I suspect we have very similar menus and what works for me will probably help you out somewhat.

I have found that what helps me out greatly is to plan meals for a few days around the main cooking day. For instance, yesterday we had a 6 pound roast chicken, pepper herb biscuits, and steamed vegetable medley. Today we will have homemade chicken pot pie using the leftover chicken, vegetables (I will also add carrots, parsley, and mushrooms), and the leftover biscuits will be the tops of the individual pies. I also had enough biscuits to throw 4 in the freezer for another meal. Tomorrow we will have chicken quesadillas with the rest of the chicken. It works because you are only doing big cooking the first day and mainly just assembling for the next two days.

If you are interested, I can recommend a wonderful cookbook that plans your weekly meals in detail for you. It uses fresh ingredients and the dishes are wonderful.

As far as the cleaning goes. I am the EXACT same way as you are about my kitchen. I do not go to bed with stuff in the sinks and cluttering the counters. I also wipe everything down really well with vinegar water. I find it is much less stressful in the mornings when you have a clean slate to start on. Breakfast is a breeze when you aren't shuffling crud around on your counters to try to make space. I try to do my main cooking on DH's days off. That way, he can do the clean up on the messiest day and the others are assembly days so the mess is never that overwhelming. I let him do his thing then go behind him later and give everything a final wipedown before bed. I know what his cleaning weakness are and can usually get the final swipe done in about 5 minutes. I used to try to do all the cleaning myself since I wanted it a certain way, but this way is nicer and less stressful...and, in the end, it is still done to my specifications.

I hope this helps you out some...I know that it can be very time consuming to do all scratch cooking. I love it though and our system seems to work well for us so maybe you can take some bits and pieces to make your own system.

BTW...on top of my usual scratch cooking, I am going to be making all my own bread and yogurt from now on.

Spoodler, this is EXACTLY how I feel! I love your ideas of the 'main' cooking day and then the assemble the next few days idea. I would most definitely like the name of that cookbook you are talking about.

Thank you everyone else for such good ideas. I definitely *was* stressed this morning as I wrote that, yet it is still the way I feel.

I think a lot of the more simple life has definitely made my life more complicated: Recycling, composting, using cloth napkins, not using paper plates, making my own scratch meals, canning, yogurt, bread, etc. Yet at the same time these are things (besides my family, of course!) that I love the most. It is almost like my hobby, being as self sufficient as I can be!

BUT, you all do have a really good point there about something 'giving'. At much as I hated to, I did use some paper plates and cutlery at dinner tonight - we were having tacos and the endless little dishes and serving spoons for the toppings - with an already full and going dishwasher - I couldn't face it. After dinner, dh took the plastic spoons and looked me in the eye and said, "do you want to wash these?" (I knew he wanted me to - he's into the recycling too - BUT I do most of it just because I'm the one home all day). Well, why would I use plastic if I was going to wash it?

I said, "throw it away" and then he started to say something and I said "Throw It Away". Something does have to give and unfortunately tonight that was it, but that little act and the paper plates instead of cutting boards saved me big time in the time department. That's the way it goes sometimes.

jnbythesea · 08-07-2007, 08:53 PM

When my dh had the hour commute, I always fed the kids dinner early. Then when dh came home, he'd play with them and then bathe them while I had about thirty minutes or so of downtime. The crock pot saved us- I set it up in the morning, and clean up at night was relatively easy. Wanting to cook fresh things- salads especially- does take much more time. Maybe you could have one or two crock pot nights a week for a break.

Spoodler · 08-08-2007, 09:45 AM

Stormy,
The book is called "Cooking for the Week" by Diane Morgan, Dan Taggart, and Kathleen Taggart. I got mine from the library.

We had the pot pie last night and it was delicious. I will definitely be adding it to my regular rotation of dishes.

ericklar · 08-08-2007, 10:08 AM

I use one or two days to cook a TON of meals and freeze them (a short version of once a month cooking) and when I make something complicated I make two and freeze one. Then some nights I still have fresh, unprocessed dinners that are easy and if you use aluminum foil there is hardly any clean up (especially prep clean up).

Erica

NikkiR042 · 08-08-2007, 10:54 AM

Really, there are SOOOO many good suggestions on this thread. This has been my exact situation as well, except I work full time and my husbands hours are wierd bc he owns his own busienss from home. Sometimes I have to pretend he isn't there so he can get his work done.

Anyway, this week has been GREAT for me...mainly bc I found ways to keep things SIMPLE!!! (Check out 30 days to a simpiler life challenge threads *wording?*) My husband always says to me, "Keep it simple!" So, i have been doing just that....here's my tips...

*Bath time...when my 10month old son needs a bath, I wait until my husband showers and I put him in the seat that attaches to the tub. That frees me up for a few minutes upstairs to fold/put away laundry, straighten up, clean the bathroom, etc. It also saves money on water bc I don't have to give him a separate bath.

*Dinner...while making spaghetti on monday for dinner, i planned my meals for the rest of the week. Chix on Tues., Steak on Wed., leftover's Thurs., and wing it on friday. Keeping meals simple is easy. Buy the 90 second microwave rice, macncheese, bag of salad, bags of frozen veggies, boxed stuffing, even making mashed pots from scratch can be easy if you just simplify it!

*Clean up...I do this as im cooking and use foil over pans so my dishes are cut back. I hand wash my dishes and pretty much use the same cups and plates every night after they have dried. But, I do recommend paper plates!!!!

Well, those are my main tips...I owe it to mommysavers for giving me the motivation and confidence to work towards my goals!!! You will too!!! Good luck!

Cookie2 · 08-08-2007, 01:25 PM

I'm with you, cooking from scratch does use a lot more dishes. It is a burden I'm willing to take on, considering the benefits, however.

I'm also a big believer of using aluminum foil to make clean-up faster however, I'm trying to get away from using aluminum for anything. I've switched over to parchment paper for most things. Sometimes I'll still use aluminum foil as a pan/pot liner but the food is in the parchment paper so it doesn't touch the aluminum. Expensive, yes, but my sanity is worth it. I'm considering getting some of those silicon cookware items to see if that helps.

Yes, definately do your prep ahead of time and have your menu for the week (or month) preplanned.

And cut back on the quantity that you cook. You're cooking from scratch now so try to only make what you need for that meal. This reduces the size of cookware that you need which saves room in the dishwasher.

Lastly, plan your meals around the type of prep that is required. You really don't want a meal where you have to pull every single pot out of the cabinet. One of my rules is if I'm heating up the oven then I load up the oven with as much stuff as I can, even if we won't be eating it that evening. Along the same lines, use cookware that can go from refrigerator to stove/oven to refrigerator. In other words, store some of your leftovers in the serving dish.

girlscoutmom · 08-08-2007, 02:18 PM

I totally agree with the other posters. Aluminum foil is my friend. It's not frugal but it saves on alot of cleaning time.
I also serve the food directly from the pan to the plate. We don't do serving dishes. I started this because our table was too small for all those serving bowls, and discovered there was WAY less dishes to wash.

I also use paper plates alot- I use them to set my spoons down -instead of a trivet that you have to wash. and you know how rachel ray uses a garbage bowl? I use a paper plate. I'm not washing a bowl. and also you can use a paper plate instead of a regular plate for things like catching cheese that you shred or grahm cracker crumbs you smash. Not frugal but saves on dishes.

I also keep a sink full of hot soapy water going. I will toss dishes in to soak as I go, and then while the meat is frying, or the noodles boiling, I'll either wash by hand or put the things in the dishwasher. The key is to learn to be an excellent multitasker, - to clean as you go. If you hand wash your pans, you might only need to run one load of actual dishes ( glasses, plates, ect)

even if you are the one cleaning up the table, it's only plates if you've cleaned as you gone along cooking. Sometimes I fill the sink again wilth hot soapy water and just put the dinner dishes in there to soak. i'll do dishes later after the kids have gone to bed. My cheaper off peak rates start at 9pm for electricity so I can't run the dishwasher until then anyway.

Another thing I've done is in the middle of the day make dinner. I've made taco meat, spaghetti sauce, or an entire casserole in the middle of the day. I don't even like to cook, so somehow making it in the middle of the day is less tortureous than at dinnertime when everyone is tired and hungry. By making it in the middle of the day you get the dirtiest dishes washed ( greasy frying pan) with your lunch dishes and you can just warm and serve at dinnertime. I love just tossing a casserole from the fridge to the oven at dinner and then sitting down to watch judge judy while it cooks

good luck.

good luck, it's all about multitasking.

sahmommyuv3 · 08-08-2007, 05:48 PM

I definately relate to your pain! I have tried to move toward casserole dishes that I make that morning or ahead of time and freeze. I usually make twice the portion if the meal will freeze well. I also use the crockpot as much as possible.
When making a meal that requires quite a few dishes, I try to cut down the clean up time later by washing dishes as I cook. My Mother taught me this, and I never understood until now! I put the food on plates, and put the rest in smaller dishes that will hold leftovers. As things are cooking on the stove or in the oven, I clean up the ingredients, and any dishes possible. It really does cut down. My Mom would even go so far to clean up the pots and pans while the older kids would get the drinks poured and food taken over to the table. Sounds like maybe if your child is old enough, maybe you could teach him to help you with the dishwasher. My four year old puts certain things away for me. The kids at the very least bring their dishes to the kitchen for me when dinner is over.
Good luck finding what works for you!