Take out food

[Metro West]

I order from Uber Eats way too often but I just don't want to cook everything all the time. I mean....it's only me but it's much easier to call something in or pick something up on the way home.

 

[slo]

We buy very little takeout - maybe once every couple months.
About 3-4 years ago I made a New Years Resolution to do better with meal planning and I’ve kept that resolution. It takes a lot of time, discipline and organization, but once you make it a part of your week, it becomes easy. I have a meal rotation, that I don’t have time to describe now, but it’s worked great. My family sometimes gets annoyed because that get their favorite meals only 4 times a year, but I told them that will only make them enjoy it more

 

[_19disnA]

Not really a fan of take-out food. When covid first started, many restaurants were only able to do take-out and it was a way to keep them in business and I am fine with that. It seems most restaurant food doesn't keep well and is best when first served hot on a plate.

 

[MrsPete]

For me, it's not really the cooking or even the clean up after. It's the having a plan, doing the shopping, using all the food in a timely fashion so it doesn't spoil, etc. that get's wearing. I've been sick and haven't gotten to the store this week so meals are getting a bit weird, but I'm definitely using up stuff!

Well stated. I love to cook, love to try new recipes, love to put an attractive and healthy meal on the table for my family ... but sometimes, sometimes I just can't. Yes, I agree it's not the time cooking ... it's the whole process.

But unlike most folks here, I'm fine with take-out ... and it's pretty economical for us because we usually split a big plate. A plate of Chinese take-out is enough for the two of us. The big BBQ plate (with an extra side salad) is a big meal for us. But I don't want it every day. Our most frequent "take out" meal is a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store accompanied by a can of baked beans or deli potato salad + a green salad.

I have seriously considered doing a meal plan where they send you the kit, but I know I can do it for less money myself. It just gets tiring! I get in a pretty good routine for a while, then I get bored or our schedules change and I have to create a new plan.

I have a problem with all the paper-and-plastic waste created by the meal kits. And, yes, absolutely we can do it for less money.

Things I like to keep in my freezer for quick-meals -- most of these are not "instant" meals, but they reduce prep time:

- Homemade spaghetti sauce ... I make this about twice a year and freeze it.
- Taco meat ... cooked up, frozen in small portions so we can just chop up lettuce, tomato, etc.
- Ground beef cooked up with a bit of onion and frozen in small portions. This can become Sloppy Joes or topping for Big Mac salad or any number of other things quickly. But it doesn't "stay good" as long as you might expect (I think it's the greater exposed surface area), so don't over-do.
- Shrimp taco in a bag ... I love this /my husband, not so much ... I put into a bag a small handful of (raw) medium-sized shrimp, bell pepper, black beans, and some spices. This defrosts super-fast, and I just fry the pieces in a pan ... and since I always have those small street-taco sized burrito shells, this is an easy quick meal.
- Pork Chop Casserole (one of my husband's ultra-faves) ... Mix up a box of cornbread stuffing with a bunch of onion and bell pepper (I usually use frozen, which is cheaper and easier) and press that cornbread into a medium casserole dish. Lay thin pork chops over the stuffing. Mix and pour over the top 1/4 cup BBQ sauce and 1/4 cup plum sauce. To prepare: Defrost completely, bake at 375 for 1 hour. Seriously, this is an excellent frozen casserole.
- Soup is a great thing to freeze ... I place mine in individual bags /lay them on a cookie sheet so they freeze in flat, quick-to-defrost portions. But all soup isn't freezer-friendly; for example, our favorite beef stew is downright BAD when frozen.
- When I find a bunch of chicken thighs on sale, I like to boil up a bunch /pull the meat off the bone and freeze them in larger portions along with a bit of chicken boullion and uncooked onion, carrot, and maybe peas or celery ... but just enough liquid to keep it all protected in the freezer ... this mixture is then ready to become chicken noodle soup (or chicken rice soup or chicken dumplings) or chicken casserole.

 

[loves to dive]

I was thinking about this subject this morning, because I am smelling the pork butt that has been cooking in the oven overnight. I would go out every night if hubby would agree. Before we got together I was living with my mom and we went out just about every night of the week. She had gotten to the point where she really couldn't cook any more and I hate to cook. Hubby does most of the cooking now but we don't like the same things so it's hard. Part of our problem is we live out in the middle of nowhere. It is at least 10 miles either direction to get to even fast food so if we get it to go, it's always cold by the time we get home. He hates to go to restaurants and most of the fast food he likes is hamburgers. We will shred the pork for lunch and I'll eat it but will probably just eat one meal while he will eat it for days.

 

[shoney]

For us take out means cheap and quick. Pizza, Italian, Chinese, Mexican, sushi etc.

Of course we run through a drive through fast food place like wendy’s

Not full dinners from upscale restaurants.

during covid many of them were doing take out dining specials. Like $129 dinner for 2 with cocktails. If I am spending that much, I want the food pleasantly presented and fresh from the kitchen.
another one lowered their price of tasting menu to $80 pp. you came h
With like 18 different containers. No thanks

I just checked the website. No more take out for tasting menu. 135 to 185 per person depending on day of week. It does include beer wine and tip. I have eaten there before covid and it was amazing. However not in 18 aluminum tins at home.

based On Facebook posts, people were ordering!

 

[LilyWDW]

I order out too much.

Actually just put in an order to be delivered for lunch (Five Guys). I got my Covid Booster yesterday and am dealing with muscle and joint pain along with a mild fever. So the thought of even standing to make a sandwich or something makes me hurt. I will cook dinner though (steak, baked potato, and roasted zucchini so real easy).

I am also going to order in Indian food Friday. That is like the one thing that I can't seem to make anywhere as good. So I do do that and will continue to do so.

I do plan on eating out a lot less and have canceled my dashpass. So no more free delivery after next weekend.

 

[Christine]

I order out once or twice a week just to get a break from cooking or eating my own food. It's usually simple things like chicken from the El Salvadoran brassierie or salad bowls from the Mediterrainian place. Maybe pizza. I'd never do something like a steak dinner because I just don't think that does well being transported.

 

[mom2rtk]

We ordered takeout a few times in the early days of the pandemic when everything was shut down. I never felt satisfied with the value of what we got for what we paid and the effort involved (still cleaning up and washing dishes after). So we pretty much stopped except for the occasional pizza or chinese or whatever we had ordered before.