Help! New dinner ideas that won't break my wallet or my back cleaning up?

Question

I live with my boyfriend and I have the house wife role, I cook, I clean, I work 6 days a week. I used to love showing of all the things I can cook for him but now I have hit a brick wall especially with my increase in hours/days at work. I am tired but I still want to give him a good meal, and I need it to be ready at a reasonable time so we can get to bed in time, and clean up isn't as hard on me, plus money is short these days, so does anyone have any ideas to realistically put the flame back in dinner time or am I asking to much? oh and last problem he's trying to put on weight and I am trying to maintain/ lose weight, but i can eat smaller portions so i guess i need some hearty recipes too? Can anyone help me? thanks!!!!!!!!

maybe i should also mention i am allergic to seafood, and mustard and we don't own a grill or even have a yard, and oh yeah i live in the smallest town ever so i have a limited selection

Answer 1

Pick one day where you would prepare a few meals. Then freeze them in appropiate containers, bags, etc.

Then all you have to do is warm them up when you get home. Your boyfriend should be eating more carbohydrates and proteins.

He could bulk up quickly on starch foods. Potatoes, breads. Cook a roast and cut it up putting it into freezer bags to have to eat throughout the week.

If this is still too much for you.. then you may have to stock up on TV dinners or eat out at a buffet once/twice a week and then a family homestyle restaurant to make up the difference.

Answer 2

The grill is the best way to save time like the last poster said. Foil raps work great. buy frozen vegetables and cook them on the grill with your potato and meat.

Also Bean soup is very hearty. It takes a long time to make but it takes almost no effort. Buy ham shanks, they have lots of meat compared to hocks. Bean soup makes great leftovers and can be frozen. It is full of protein, and fiber. If you eat beans about 7 days in a row they won't give you gas anymore. You body will produce an enzyme. Then you are open to lots of bean meals. There is nothing better for you than a bean.

If you are working 6 days a week, your boyfriend should be cooking and cleaning too--unless he is working 7/12s or something. It's not fair that you should be working both in and out of the home and your BF is only working out of the home.

Answer 3

This is a great one to use. Start looking for recipes you can throw in the slow cooker the night before to turn on the next day while you're working. Men LOVE this one! Leftovers are even better the next day. As far as the weight aspect. This would be good for a low carb diet, eat a small amount or just don't eat the bread, which is the best part sadly.

Easy Slow Cooker French Dip

4 pounds rump roast
1 (10.5 ounce) can beef broth
1 (10.5 ounce) can condensed French onion soup
1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle beer
6 French rolls
2 tablespoons butter

Trim excess fat from the rump roast, and place in a slow cooker.
Add the beef broth, onion soup and beer.
Cook on Low setting for 7 hours.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Split French rolls, and spread with butter.
Bake 10 minutes, or until heated through.
Slice the meat on the diagonal, and place on the rolls.
Serve the sauce for dipping.

Answer 4

I once had to travel for work and ran into the same problem. I bought a crockpot and started preparing meals at night. In the morning, I could just put the crock on before leaving for work and come home to a hot, cooked meal. Cleanup was easy as I only had to wash the dinner dishes and crock.

http://southernfood.about.com/library/crock/blcpidx.htm
http://www.cookingcache.com/cat/crockpot_recipes

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/slowcooker/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Slowcooking/


You can also try OAMC (Once a month cooking). On your days off, prepare several meals ahead of time so they just need reheating during the week. It really helps on those days when you are prone to getting fast food because you're so tired.

http://busycooks.about.com/cs/oamc/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Friendly-Freezer/

Salads are a great way to cut down on how much you eat. Having a small salad before dinner and you won't overeat.

http://www.fabulousfoods.com/school/cstech/salads.html

Share the responsibility - One or two days a week, let the dinner responsible be his. There is no rule that a woman has to do all the cooking and it will help share the responsibilities for mealtime and clean up. It will be nice to come home and he has prepared dinner. It will also make him self sufficient should you just need a break for whatever reason.

Good luck!

Answer 5

Pasta, it is inexpensive and you can do some really cool stuff with it. Here is a menu that I would consider if I was cooking for that many, and then I will give you some simple recipes. Then I will tell you the best and least expensive way to buy the ingredients. Appetizer (if you want one) Cheese and crackers, a great "snack food" but it is casual and inexpensive. It will also save some room in your guests stomach for the main course. Dinner: Chicken-Bacon Alfredo with steamed Broccoli and garlic bread Dessert: Un-traditional Peach Cobbler Cheese and crackers: Your favorite cheeses and crackers, I recommend using a variety of different cheeses and club crackers and saltines. You can look at your local deli, quite often you can find these pre-made and they are sometimes cheaper than buying all of the different kinds of cheese and crackers. Dinner: 1 of the big frozen bags of boneless skinless chicken breasts that they sell at the grocery store Costs around $7 4 jars of the Ragu Alfredo Sauce $8-10 1 lb of bacon $3-5 Box of fetuccine $1-2 Cook all of the chicken and then cube it. Cook all of the bacon and cut it into pieces. While that is going boil your pasta. Mix all of that together with the sauce, just put it on top of the noodles. 3 Bags of frozen broccoli $5 3 loaves of french bread $4 1 Stick Margarine $.30 Garlic Powder $1 Slice the French bread into thick slices, make sure there are at least 15. Melt the stick of Margarine with 2 tbs. of garlic powder mixed in. Spread onto the bread and bake in oven at 475 for 12-15 min. Un-traditional Peach Cobbler Large can of peaches 1 package of peach Jello 1 box of yellow cake mix 3/4 Cup of water 1 Stick of Margarine Spray a 13 by 9 pan with Pam. Open the can of peaches and pour the entire can, juice and all in the bottom. Open the package of Jello and sprinkle it on top of the peaches. Then sprinkle the cake mix over the Jello. Pour the water on the cake mix and then slice the stick of margarine and put the margarine over the dry areas on the cake mix, bake in the oven for 40-45 min. or until golden brown. I hope that this helps, everyone will get full and you wont spend a ton of money!

Answer 6

Hi. I also live with my boyfriend and find it frustrating to come home after work at 5:30pm and find the time to relax, clean up, go to the gym, prepare dinner, eat, clean up again, shower and get to bed at a decent hour (around 10:30 or 11pm).
What me and my boyfriend have found that we enjoy cooking and also doesn't break the bank is frozen vegetables.
We get these bags of frozen veggies like broccoli, carrots, peas, green beans, baby corn, noodles or white rice. It all comes in one bag and there's different varieties. At our grocery store (Kroger) they only cost $1 per bag and there's plenty in one bag. We thaw them out, put em in a skillet and once they've softened and heated up we add Teryiaki sauce or any other flavored oriental sauteing sauce. Sometimes we buy imitation crab meat or cocktail shrimp to add to the veggies. It makes for plenty of food and isn't expensive!
We actually had that for dinner last night!

You've just got to be creative and look for different options at the grocery store.

good luck and i hope this helps :)

Answer 7

I work an have a 13 month old son and have the same time limit/ money limit and clean up issues. here are some of the things we eat at my home.
Roast with veggies around it
Spaghetti and meatballs with salad and garlic toast
BBQ pork chops with parsley potatoes and veggie
Pulled chicken sandwiches with fries and tortellini salad
Lasagna
Chicken Broccoli casserole
Hamburgs, mac and cheese, tater tots
Scalloped potatoes and ham
Hot pasta salad
Stuffed cabbage rolls, mashed potatoes and corn, hot rolls
Pork and saurkraut, mashed potatoes, corn dumplings
Beef tips over noodles potatoes..... many more
But I do all this with a VERY limited time frame- I can tell you that I do alot of preparation at night and then use the crock pot alot. But if you want any specifics I can give you alot of tips just email me [e-mail] For instance boiling some of the meat the night before, or getting casserols ready the night before and then throwing them in the oven when I get home from work for an hour or two. Or buying those new country crock mashed potatoes, they are great, take 5 minutes in microwave and fairly cheap ($2.99 a tub)

Answer 8

Make Over 200 Juicy, Mouth-Watering Paleo Recipes You've NEVER Seen or Tasted Before?

Answer 9

If you're cooking he ought to be cleaning up. If you're waiting on him hand and foot, you should stop, because that's something that can make you resentful and unhappy real fast, as soon as the romance and infatuation begin to fade. As for the food, when you have a day off, make a huge pot of beans and freeze some in several smaller containers. Make a huge pot of minestrone soup, or split pea with ham, and freeze it in several smaller containers. When you need a quick dinner, defrost a soup and serve it with French bread (lots of butter for him) and salad. Let him go get some ice cream for dessert. Another way to cope is to roast a small turkey on a day you have time, then have roast turkey that night, turkey tacos or burritos or turkey noodle casserole the next, and then make turkey soup out of the carcass and freeze it for later. Burritos and tacos are great for making economical use of leftover meat, and if you add sour cream, cheese, guacamole, they can be really fattening. He can eat beans and rice on the side with his burrito or tacos, and you can eat salad with yours.

Answer 10

Buy a george foreman grill! Then cook alot, defrosted chicken breast only takes like 6-7 minutes, it drains off most of the fat so its healthier for you and you can make big portions for him. They sell packages of real pototaoes that are ready in three minutes just boil water and mix and wahlaah!! Cresent roles are done in less than 15 minutes, throw in some soup or salad and switch up the meats and you can make quite a few different things. My favorite:

Easy Fajitas
3 boneless skinless chicken breast chopped and grilled
1 cup salsa
Tortillas
Sour cream
Shredded Cheese
Lettuce

Grill the chicken then combine with the salsa, roll into tortillas and top with the lettuce, sour cream and cheese. They taste the best when paired with a margarita! Hope you enjoy!