Who's got time to cook?

[therdogg]

I totally agree. We have one here too but the recipes looked like they relied prepackaged sauces etc. Which makes sense if you're taking novice cooks and getting them to cook twelve family-sized meals in two hours.

I haven't tried this business, but it didn't look like something my family would enjoy. I'd just as soon buy a Costco frozen lasagne at that point because it would be similar in quality, lower in price, and I wouldn't have invested two hours of my life creating twleve mediocre frozen lasagnes.

[Jaymes]

Also, when my kids were in the infant/toddler stage, my handiest and favorite tool was a small, portable food grinder (actually, I had two of them) made just for that purpose.  I set it on the table for every home meal, and stuck one in my purse to take along to restaurants.

Whatever the rest of the family was having got ground up and fed to the baby, right from the grinder.  It was a lifesaver.  And, I think it also taught each of my children to appreciate and enjoy all kinds of food.

Are you perhaps thinking of the Happy Baby Food Grinder?

I have one. Don't use it anymore, but it was invaluable, simply because I'm so lazy I refused to fix separate meals for the kids when they were babies, realized that rice cereal is evil and vile, and was simply too cheap to spend way too much on tiny jars of baby food.

Yep, that's it! In addition to "Happy Baby" it also made for a "Happy Mommy."

[Jaymes]

And eggs.  A hectic day not infrequently ends with an omelette or frittata dinner at our house.

Ours, too. In fact, more than once we had traditional 'breakfasts' for dinner. Pancakes, waffles, French toast....I'd cut up some fruit and fry a little bacon or sausage or leftover ham. And I even remember occasionally saying something like, "What's wrong with you kids....lots of people have Cheerios for dinner."

[Kim WB]

[

Don't you want to pass on the legacy of your investment in cooking and eating well to your children? Doesn't that include an explanation of the sound a fried shrimp makes when it's precisely done and must be plucked from the hot oil? Doesn't it demand a conversation about why those Chinese chefs work so hard to have their ingredients cut just so? Doesn't that require an understanding, over several hours, of how a piece of beef changes as it braises in the oven, until it is perfectly done?

edited to fix a verb problem -- ca

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um...yes, but his baby is an INFANT...giving up his perfectionist approach. for the next year or so, might be a sanity saving event...plenty of time for cooking lessons over the next years....My kids are 20, 17 and 14...and I vote for Rachel's cook and freeze approach...

[Kim WB]

And eggs.  A hectic day not infrequently ends with an omelette or frittata dinner at our house.

Ours, too. In fact, more than once we had traditional 'breakfasts' for dinner. Pancakes, waffles, French toast....I'd cut up some fruit and fry a little bacon or sausage or leftover ham. And I even remember occasionally saying something like, "What's wrong with you kids....lots of people have Cheerios for dinner."

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I used to do a 1x a month "breakfast for dinner" meal...usually crepes with strawberry jam and whipped cream...or bacon and ham folded into a scrambled egg, in a baked potato..also we did biscuit pizza..with eggs, mushrooms, cheese...yeah, sometimes the kids chose Applejacks...if you are mostly monitering their intake, no one is going to fall ill because they ate marshmallow cereal for dinner twice a year.

[SobaAddict70]

It's at times like this that I wish my mom was an eG member, because she could say a few things on this thread.

She was a single-parent mom, and did an amazing job raising me up from a kid. The weekend was devoted to cooking and food shopping, along with house chores. Out of that kitchen came delicious one-pot meals that could be reheated just about any night of the week.

Like any labor of love, if it's important to you, you'll find the time to do it. My love of all things food-related comes from her, and for that I'm thankful.

Soba

[SethG]

Gosh, you guys are impressive. I have two kids (14 months and 3 years), I do all the cooking, and I can't manage to plan; I have no aptitude for it. I failed every class in junior high that required me to keep a notebook organized and I'm no better now. What's more, my freezer is full. There's no way I'm getting lasagne for twenty in there.

I buy staples, fruits and vegetables on the weekends and plan mains by the seat of my pants, often shopping on my way home from work. My wife tends to come home after the kids have had dinner. We tend to eat together after the kids are in bed and I feed the kids the leftovers the next day. Actually, to be truthful, I usually eat a fair bit with the kids and then eat again with my wife!

Once kids get to be over a few months old, if you're lucky, they go to sleep much earlier than you do. This gives you time to do more elaborate cooking than may be possible when your newborn infant is up during the evening and every few hours overnight. So what I'd suggest, dougery, is that you can let the cooking slide for a little while. You'll have a lot more flexibility again, probably sooner than you think.

[Chris Amirault]

[

Don't you want to pass on the legacy of your investment in cooking and eating well to your children? Doesn't that include an explanation of the sound a fried shrimp makes when it's precisely done and must be plucked from the hot oil? Doesn't it demand a conversation about why those Chinese chefs work so hard to have their ingredients cut just so? Doesn't that require an understanding, over several hours, of how a piece of beef changes as it braises in the oven, until it is perfectly done?

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um...yes, but his baby is an INFANT...giving up his perfectionist approach. for the next year or so, might be a sanity saving event...plenty of time for cooking lessons over the next years....My kids are 20, 17 and 14...and I vote for Rachel's cook and freeze approach...

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Yes, of course, I agree with all of the strategies -- as I said twice. I'm just saying that he ought not to give up his perfectionism entirely.

But, as someone (Dorothy Parker?) smarter than I once said, the best thing to do with one's obsessions is to force them upon others, so I may just be following her advice!

[jsolomon]

A friend of mine was telling me about this place where folks get together and cook a weeks worth of meals at one time for a set price.  I have never heard of this before.  Is this something worth investigating?  Does this type of arrangement result in quality meals for a family? It sounds interesting but I question the quality of meals produced from such an arrangement.

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In Lincoln NE, there is a place like this. It's an interesting proposition. They do all of the prep for a set of recipes, and have all of the pans (aluminum disposable). Then, it's up to you to mix, bake/boil/etc, and take home to freeze. It actually looks intriguing. Dinner Date Kitchen

If it weren't just me eating off of my budget, I might look seriously into it.

However, you may want to look into my brother's solution: invite your destitute brother over who's a good cook and have him cook 10-12 days worth over a weekend and freeze most of it. Between roasts, stews, soups, stir-fries, and enchiladas, they were well-taken care of for several days.

[marie-louise]

No kids-just a crazy job-but one thing that helped me is to lower my expectations: You do not have to have three things on the plate every night. You also do not have to serve a salad and dessert on weeknights. You can still have great food, just make less items for those days you are stressed out, and save the multi-course meals for days off.

[jsolomon]

I also have to strongly support the concept of cooking for more than one family. It doesn't take a whole lot more energy to watch 2 children of the same age than 1. So, as Emeril says, "Make a friend". If you can have some friends in roughly the same child-rearing boat, you'll have both a safety net to fall back on, and someone on your level who will appreciate your friendship and help in ways that your children won't be able to communicate for years. It'll be fulfilling on different levels.

[dougery]

This tip isn't cooking-related, but baby-related: get yourself a good carrier, preferably the kind you can carry your babe in any which way

I have a baby Bjorn (which is a godsend by the way) but I haven't used this in the kitchen at all except when I'm getting a drink out of the refridgerator. (I didn't perceive that your intention was to say use a carrier in the kitchen).

My main fear during cooking is cross contamination. Even when Cassian is in the living room during one of my cooking sessions, I'm afraid that when he gets needy, I'll forget to wash my hands and give him a dose of salmonella or something. I'm horrible at keeping the faucet handles clean (and my wife lets me know this everytime I work with poultry).

I've started using a wash bucket (from my restaurant days) with water and bleach, and throw all towels in there when I'm cooking but I guess I just can't kick the "new parent" worry jitters. I'm doing the best I can...