Cheap easy family meals for those who hate to cook.

[pigletof4]

Our biggest thing we will miss is Chinese on the weekends - it costs $50+ to order Chinese takeout...[/QUOTE]


Check out allrecipes.com for your chinese fixes. I just search what I want to make and read the reviews. I really like General Tsao Chicken. It's easy to make from scratch, but a little time consuming.

 

[libinatorsmom]

We make a lot of easy meals that are realitively inexpensive...

Tacos
Tator Tot Casarole
Speghetti

Plus we use our Crok pot all the time.. SOOO easy but in turn on eat.. LOL and its always good... never made something we havent liked...

 

[mom to minnie&mickey]

I too dislike to cook but have learned to endure it now that I have a dh,dd and ds. My crockpot has saved me. Yesterday I put in a whole chicken and added a full bottle of BBQ sauce. That's it. Five hours later dinner was ready along with a couple of cans of green peas. (or any vegetable of your choosing). Today we had the leftover chicken on top of white rice. Another recipe is any cut of meat (beef, pork, lamb, veal) some chopped carrots and potatoes and 1 can of beef stock. Cooked for about 5-6 hours it is delicious. Add a quick salad and we usually have enough for 2 days. Inexpensive, no hassle and healthy meals.

 

[Tinkerbelle9980]

I don't mind cooking but don't like to do it every day. These aren't anything new but they can be easy.

Shredded beef taco meat made in the crock pot.
Shepherd's pie using instant mashed potatoes, frozen or canned vegetables and pre cooked and frozen ground beef.
Stir fry can be made easier if your local stores sell pre cut beef for it. Then you just cook a bag of the frozen vegetables and put some rice on to cook.

 

[semo233]

It is possible to make almost anything in a crock pot!!! Check out my favorite website:

http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/

My favorite is her rotisserie chicken

 

[MariDisney]

I have been using e-mealz (http://e-mealz.com) for a few months. They give you a whole weeks worth of recipes that are simple and inexpensive. No dish repeats for 6 months. They have a large variety of dietary options (low-carb, low-fat, vegetarian, regular) and several different stores as well as an "any store" option. I have to say I absolutely LOVE it. I love to cook, so I do tinker with some of the things, but it has cut my planning time and shopping time down so much. It also really saves a lot of money.

 

[finz2left]

In my world, I have found that given ANY choices, my whole family will eat better.

Chili is easy, and I put spaghetti noodles and rice with them, and let them "heap up" their own.

We do lots of stuffed baked potatoes in the winter. I make the HUGE bakers and put steamed broccoli, cheese, cauliflower, bacon, sometimes bbq meat leftovers, etc on the table and let everyone make their own.

I make a beef or pork hunk in the oven or crockpot (my DH is like yours and prefers the oven), and then put the meat on the table shredded with mashed potatoes (instant), BBQ sauce, any Au Jus from the pan, and hamburger buns, and they can decide if they want meat or sandwiches.

I make oven baked chicken fingers (allrecipes recipe) in HUGE batches and freeze them. They are a tad messy and take about an hour to make (but I get 4 or 5 meals from them!). When I thaw them, again, I allow them to eat the fingers, or make sandwiches from them. I've even used them to make "chicken parm" on the fly!

We use tupperware and I always have 2 or 3 veggies choices that can be put away quickly, so my kids always get a veggie and I rarely have waste.

French Dip Sandwiches with Roast Beef from the deli is always a huge hit, as are panini sandwiches when everyone makes their own!

Make your own pizza night (I have my crust down to 5 mins of actual work) is also a huge hit -- some of my kids will make their own calzones from the ingredients! I just roll the dough and let them come in and load up ...it is amazing how they'll jump for broccoli and mushrooms on their own when they make the pizza!

Fajitas and tacos are always easy and big hits here, too. Sometimes we even take taco meat and toppings and dump them over Fritos...my kids LOVE that!

 

[4HppyCamprs]

We got a pizza maker for our wedding and the thing collected dust til we realized we spent too much money eating out...well we love homemade pizza and calzones now..Restaurant pizza just doesnt compare now that we have it down

 

[lucigo]

I appreciate all of the replies. Reading them I am realizing just how picky my eaters are! As an example, today I put roast and veggies in the crock pot. My DD15 and I ate it. My 19DS got Burger King and my DH ate a leftover sub.

I am pulling out a few ideas of things they might eat though. Hey, if I can come up with 7 simple meals that everyone will eat I will be happy.

 

[kayrosek]

My DH doesn't care for crock pot meals, however I do torture him infrequently. He will eat chili, which is pretty easy so thats on my list, however my kids won't eat it. (The story of my life.) Today I have a roast in the crock pot.

I like the chicken in the crock pot idea, don't know if anyone will eat it but me, but its worth a try. My problem comes when no one likes it, but I guess you have to try new things if you are ever going to find a winner!

Shake-n-bake pork chops are definitely one we can do, everyone likes it. I can also do a pasta although once again, the kids won't eat it.

I think part of the reason I hate to cook is that its so hard to find something that everyone will eat!

For a baked pasta dish that might be hit with kids (or any pizza lovers) add peperoni to a jar of spagetti sauce, macaroni and your favorite cheese. We call it Pizza Pasta and even my pickiest eats it. I mix the macaroni with the sauce and then take turns layering noodle mixture, pepperoni and cheese but you could just mix it all together to make it quicker.
Brown porkchops and top with a couple cans of cream of mushrooms soup, bake for 2 1/2 to three hours at 300 and serve with mashed potatoes.
Also I love any make your own/bar type meals. We do taco/burrito bars, baked potato bars, salad bars, pasta bars (fettacini with choice of marinara, alfredo pesto and shredded cheese sometimes chicken), make your own sub or pizza, you name it.

 

[gris gris]

I totally agree with you but this never worked with my kids. They either went to bed hungry or if given the choice of pb sandwich, they ate that instead.

They are 13 and 10 and they never came around to eating what we eat unless it's pizza, chicken or hotdogs. They will eat some of the side dishes though. They don't eat casseroles, tacos, chili or any kind of steaks, roasts or chops.

so glad to read this - my kids are they same way. My DD (8) will skip dinner if she's not in the mood. My son will fill up on yogurt. I don't like to cook at all, I'm a vegetarian and I am super picky. So, my kids have picked up on my habits I guess!

I saw in this post the 5 ingredient crock pot suggestion, I'm going to look that up. I just hate to leave the crock pot on all day when no one is home.

 

[CuteAndFluffy]

I wonder if Once a Month cooking might be a better option for you since your husband isn't a fan of crock pot meals. I know you hate the cooking part, but maybe it would be more tolerable to just have to thaw meals rather than to start from scratch every night.

There are a lot of great books and websites out there. Just google OAMC or Freezer cooking to find some plans. I don't have room in the freezer for a full month, so I just did 10 meals at a time, froze them flat in ziplocs and then stood them up. I do the grocery shopping one day and the cooking the next.

Even if dinner isn't always coming from the freezer, it's always nice to have something stashed in case I am not in the mood to cook. I'm going to do a small version the next time ground beef is on a good sale--lasagna, beef enchiladas, muffin tin meatloaves, shepherd's pie, Swedish meatballs. If chicken breasts are on sale, I'll make chicken pot pie, bbq chicken, chicken Parmesan, chicken tagine, chicken tetrazinni.

My other suggestion would be the "Desperation Dinners" route. Great recipes that can be made in 20 (or so) minutes start to finish. All the recipes I've tried have been pretty good, some great. My copy of the book gets used all the time. Author's website here: http://kitchenscoop.com/recipes/

 

[Fyrefly]

PP's chicken with salsa, etc. in an early post is great, I made it.

I also like this beef crockpot recipe, maybe it will work better than the other roast you made? Who knows?

Dump a 2ish pound chuck roast in the crock pot. Dump in 1 can cream of mushroom soup and 1 packet dry onion soup mix. Mush it around a bit so it pretty much covers up the meat. Stick it on low for 6-8ish hours. Beautiful pot roast and it takes less than 5 minutes. Then do some potatoes of some kind, baked or mashed, and steamed veggies. So simple, and the onions and soup give the beef a really good flavor.

You might want to talk with your family too and see if people can get on board together. Like just have people come up with meal ideas, or even lists of meats and side dishes they like. Try to get everyone to work together to get common ground.

 

[tar heel]

If you like ham, buy a spiral sliced one during the Thanksgiving sales. They're easy to cook and even come with the glaze. I made a ham, mashed potatoes, peas and rolls last night. The meal came in at a little less than $20 and there's enough ham for two or three more meals plus sandwiches and soup still left. Everything was on sale -- Sister Schubert yeast rolls are BOGOF, the peas were about half price and 10 pounds of potatoes was under $4.

You've got two problems as far as I can tell. One is that you make things with the expectation that only a couple of you will eat them. This means you're either making an additional meal, too, or people are spending $ to buy an alternate meal. The other is that your 19-year-old and DH are not acting like adults. Until they buy in, you're going to have trouble making this work. You need to have a family meeting and figure out some things you will all eat then gradually branch out from there.

BTW, Oven Fry is vastly superior to Shake 'n Bake.

 

[tar heel]

Here's an idea, too. Does your grocery store have a day when rotisserie chickens are cheap? At mine, they're $4.99 on Sundays. I get one about twice a month. Sometimes we have chicken rice, a veggie and biscuits, but the recent favorite is chicken quesadillas. I pull off the chicken off the bone and put it and cheese (and for DH and me, carmelized onions) in a flour tortilla. Fold over and fry until lightly browned. Serve with salsa, chopped lettuce and tomatoes, sour cream, avacado -- whatever you want that day. Delicious and goes a long way.

 

[crazelion]

Have thought this. I have everyone in the family make list what they like to eat. Make meals from the list. That what I do. I choice one thing from everyone list and make it for dinner. Then I have combine list if some likes the same food that someone else likes.

This most request meal in the house. That will not have leftovers at all.

Meatloaf
mash potatoes gravy
mac and cheese
peas
cream corn

This one that fix my plate and hide because I will not have get chance to eat it.

 

[HS3kids]

I dont hate cooking but working full time its a challenge some nights. I love my crock pot; my favorite dish is very easy, cheap and yummy, got it from a friend at work:
2 lbs stew meat
2 cans tomato soup (undiluted)
frozen peppers and onions (diced)
*envelope of onion soup mix (optional- i skip this step)
dump everything in the crockpot and mix, cook on low for 6-8 hours, serve over 5 minute rice. Really good, dont let the tomato soup put you off. I am not a fan of tomato soup but this didnt taste tomato soup-y, just a real nice flavor.

Also we do "fake calzones":
2 tubes of refrigerated crescent roll dough (or better yet the new sheets)
1-1.5 lbs boneless skinless chicken cut into 1" cubes or so
packet of dry ranch dressing
shredded colby jack or cheddar cheese (or whatever shredded cheese you prefer)
spinach- 2 boxes of frozen, thawed and drained, or a giant handful of fresh- chopped up.
Cook chicken in skillet with ranch dressing mix
heat oven to 350
in rectangular casserole dish, sprayed with cooking spray, layer on tube of crescent dough, then handful of cheese, then cooked chicken, little more cheese, spinach, more cheese, and top with 2nd crescent dough. cover and bake for approx 30 minutes, remove foil and cook another 10 minutes. this freezes well too and is really yummy. Its one of the only way to get my kids to eat spinach too
HTH!

 

[mhsjax]

I was "moved" by cost. I don't "hate" to cook...but I had a very misguided view of how long it really took.

Crock pot meals are a good start. There are even recipes that use FROZEN meat.

You can cook a frozen chicken or even a frozen roast.

Basically our meals are simple:

Meat (if a a non-vegetarian meal), starch, greens....and go from there.

So in my freezer from sales, I have whole chickens, chicken parts, ground beef, steak, and pork butt roast.

What to do with these?

Simple--know which simple basic seasonings go with which items.

I tend to favor the italian spices including italian seasoning (a mixture), oregano, basil, etc + salt and pepper plus olive oil. That makes a nice basic.

IF that is too fancy for you---

Cheat:

Italian dressing makes a good marinade (and no you don't have to actually "marinate" for any period of time).

Shake N Bake, sold in a box--breaded seasoned chicken--delish!

MOST THINGS--will only take you about 30 minutes for prep and cleanup plus cooking time.

I hate cleaning--and that is less time that it takes to wash, fold, and dry a load of laundry. Perspective!

I actually don't like crock pot food--but there are some wonderful recipes out there.

Cooking is a chore, just like any other. If you invest a little time learning the basics, it won't be that much more difficult than opening a box and chucking a frozen dish into the oven. It gets easier with practice. I don't spend hours in the kitchen, and I am not the greatest cook--but over time, I have gotten creative. Tomorrow we are making chicken soup from scratch...just because. Our crock pot will help with that.

Our biggest challenge is remembering to take stuff out so that it can defrost. I took the chicken out yesterday for tomorrow. It seems everything thaws horribly slow in our fridge.

For a while...we had spaghetti, baked pasta dishes...a lot!

Box of pasta, ragu, and cheese served with a salad. Much better than stouffer's.
Shake N Bake Chicken/Shake N Bake Pork chops with a salad in a bag and cherry tomatoes.

Steamer veggies by Birds Eye and Green Giant are AWESOME! I only by those that have no added seasoning or sauce so that it is healthier and anyone will eat it.

Hamburger patties in a box--we have a panini press and sometimes we will cook it in that...both sides get cooked in a jiff. ( I don't suggest buying the press though unless you will actually use it often--we just happen to have it).

For homemade mashed potatoes, I Don't even peal them--but I do cut them into small pieces and put in water and set it to boil...fresh mashed taters in no time. Just use a mixer to beat it to your desired texture add, once that is done then add a little bit of milk at a time until you get it to your desired creaminess. Easy peasy!


I'll add more as I think of them.

I just have to add, I thought it was only me and my kids that didn't like crock pot food. My mom would never use one and I very rarely use it. My kids will actually ask me if I used it, they can tell a difference, they don't really care for it.

 

[mhsjax]

If you like ham, buy a spiral sliced one during the Thanksgiving sales. They're easy to cook and even come with the glaze. I made a ham, mashed potatoes, peas and rolls last night. The meal came in at a little less than $20 and there's enough ham for two or three more meals plus sandwiches and soup still left. Everything was on sale -- Sister Schubert yeast rolls are BOGOF, the peas were about half price and 10 pounds of potatoes was under $4.

You've got two problems as far as I can tell. One is that you make things with the expectation that only a couple of you will eat them. This means you're either making an additional meal, too, or people are spending $ to buy an alternate meal. The other is that your 19-year-old and DH are not acting like adults. Until they buy in, you're going to have trouble making this work. You need to have a family meeting and figure out some things you will all eat then gradually branch out from there.

BTW, Oven Fry is vastly superior to Shake 'n Bake.

Will try oven fry. Zatarans is good to, has a little kick to it.

 

[flamingglobessigmund]

Unstuffed Cabbage rolls


This is so much easier to assemble than traditional stuffed cabbage rolls because there is no steaming of the leaves, and rolling meat & rice mixture up. My daughter (22 year old college student) says this recipe is easier to eat too because the cabbage is not slippery and easier to cut than when it's rolled.


Make the rice days before and freeze. That way, everything is ready when it's time to put the dish together. When I make rice, I usually have leftovers and it freezes really well. I have made this recipe with 2 cups of rice, and the end result is soupier.


If you do put this in the crock pot, check to make sure there is enough liquid half way through. If it looks like it's getting to dry, add more water.


Ingredients:
1 head of cabbage
2-4 cups of cooked rice (more rice stretches the dish. Also, rice can be made before and frozen until needed. Just thaw before using)
2 sweet Italian sausages (remove from casings)
1 pound ground beef
1 egg lightly beaten
1 onion, divided (slice half & chop other half or dice if you like it finer)
4 tablespoons minced garlic, divided (I have a big jar of minced garlic, bought cheap at Wal Mart, in my fridge. Any time I need garlic it's ready to go)

2 tablespoons Oregano
2 tablespoons Basil
½ tablespoon coarse sea salt
1 tablespoon fresh ground pepper
1 can Campbells condensed tomato soup (family size is easiest. Or use 2 cans of tomato soup)
½ can of water
2 tablespoons olive oil


Can be cooked in a large slow cooker on low all day, or in a 7qt dutch oven, in a 325ºF oven for 2 hours.

1. Remove outer leaves from cabbage. Chop into chunks, about 2-3 inches, wash and drain in colander.
2. Drizzle olive oil into skillet or dutch oven and heat on medium temperature.
3. Add sliced onions. About 2 minutes later, add 2 tablespoons of garlic. Saute until the onions are translucent. Turn off heat under dutch oven. If sautéed in skillet, transfer to slow cooker. Otherwise continue to step 4.
4. While onions are cooking, mix the sausages, ground beef, rice, garlic, chopped/diced onions, spices, salt & pepper, and egg together in a big bowl.
5. Spread 1 layer of cabbage chunks over the sautéed onions.
6. Add a layer of meat & rice mixture.
7. Spread another layer of cabbage.
8. Add another layer of meat & rice mixture.
9. End with layer of cabbage on top.
10. Pour can of soup over top of final layer of cabbage.
11. Add ½ can of water to soup can. Make sure to get the rest of the soup out of can. Pour over cabbage.
12. Cover and cook required amount of time. No need to lift lead, or stir, if using a dutch oven, until it's time to serve. (Any leftovers freeze very well)
13. Serve with mashed potatoes.