Yep my husband calls it an oink and cluck. I was thinking this morning how wonderful a TN tomato with bacon and avocado will be this summer.
3 Likes
It it getting to the point with meals that I am fixing two completely separate things- meat and potatoes for him and no meat and potatoes for me. I loved his mother, but she did not make him try foods that he said he didn’t like, but had never tried.
5 Likes
(post deleted by author)
Would he be willing to take a good-faith taste of your dishes, to see if he likes any of them, that would simplify future cooking plans?
Does he take turns cooking, either for himself or for you all?
He is 55 years old and never cooked much of anything other than bacon in the microwave, one skillet of scrambled eggs last summer when I went to the beach, and heating up soup. He can make toast. I told him if I go before him, he will have to find another woman quickly or he will starve. Sounds awful, but it’s true. His father is same way which is why I send food to him on Sundays. I tell him that I buy the food, cook it and clean up after cooking so the least he could do is come up with an idea once or twice a month. I get a smile and a nod.
3 Likes
Well, yes, of course he will smile. Your current system is working perfectly for him. What you see as a bug, he sees as a feature. An occasional smile and a nod is a small price for him to pay to keep it going as-is.
Change depends on how strongly you feel about your current setup and what you are willing to do about it. Your gentle suggestions haven’t worked. People have tried various strategies in their families, something may work for you if this is what you want to take on. It’s going to take time and persistence.
OTOH you may want things to stay as they are because you enjoy cooking and are skilled at it. Whatever works for you.
All the best.
4 Likes
To be fair, he does the winter feeding I don’t. He does most of the hay and corn work. I don’t except for raking and helping him bring the bales into the hay lot. All I want is ideas. The man has 1.5 to 2 million dollars of stress on him a year so I kinda give him a break on the house stuff. I had leak under my kitchen sink and kept a bucket under it for 6 months because it was spring into summer and he was too busy with hay and corn. You don’t push a farmer at planting time which is coming up, or June into August which is haying or end of September which is chopping corn. I also don’t push when the snow is piling up and he is on 12 hour shifts at his regular job and then coming home in the cold and dark to feed the cattle.
To be clear, I am not asking for him to go grocery shopping , or pay for the groceries, or to cook it or to wash dishes, I am asking for an idea a couple times a month. Sometimes he does answer like last week- biscuits and gravy. LOL
9 Likes
Hi everyone. Cooking for two adults and an 11yo in the Boston burbs.
Sun: burgers - time to pull the grill out, finally! Not sure yet what we’ll have on the side.
Mon: loaded baked potatoes (cheese, bacon, sour cream, broccoli, etc.) - I asked DH at least 3x if he was okay not having meat and he said yes, so any whining is on him.
Tues: fish and chips and (non-mushy) peas (alternative vegetable for me as I hate peas)
Weds: lazy chicken enchiladas (casserole style) and beans
Thurs: ravioli and red sauce, asparagus - DH’s turn to cook
Fri: guys will have pizza, I’m going out with friends
13 Likes
Actuals for April 18 week, cooking for 2 in MN. We had Spring yesterday - 75 degrees, alternating rainy, breezy and glimpses of sun. Back down to 45 and gloomy today. We celebrated our Anniversary with meals out and quiet time at home together. After 2 years of very few restaurant meals, we’re still really noticing how much we enjoy seeing random strangers and choosing a meal (not cooked by me). But also still adjusting to much higher restaurant prices. For meals at home it was another week of lots of leftovers, and by Friday we reclaimed most of my storage containers from the fridge.
Mon - leftover Curry cod, salmon, lemony hollandaise, white & wild rice (from freezer), sweet potato quarter. Fresh spinach salad. Dessert – tiny slices of key lime pie, chocolate cream pie
Tues - (Also lunches the rest of the week) - White Chicken Mushroom Spinach Lasagna from Julia Pacheco, with added chopped artichokes. Whole wheat baguette.
Wed - Leftovers clear out
Thurs - (commercial) Coconut shrimp, Sweet potato, broccoli
Fri - OUT – buffet restaurant with friends
Sat - OUR ANNIVERSARY meals OUT
Sun (today) - Reheat chicken mushroom spinach artichoke lasagna. Baguette. Leftover restaurant salad
12 Likes
Happy anniversary!
4 Likes
@truman, please let us know how the lazy enchiladas taste. I have plans to make them in the future. Would love to have a comment from someone who has actually eaten them. TIA
1 Like
The May discussion is ready whenever your plan is more for May than April.
4 Likes
Happy anniversary! And it is such a satisfying to reclaim all the storage containers 
3 Likes
Oh, I do this all the time! I make the filling (chicken, sauce, cheese, maybe some sour cream) and then just layer with corn tortillas. Save a bit of sauce and cheese to put on top, then cover with foil and bake until heated through.
I think my “recipe” is based on the Green Chicken Enchiladas recipe in Laurel Randolph’s IP cookbook; it’s indexed in EYB but I can paraphrase if you need directions - let me know. Back in the days of Chowhound, several of us made and liked this skillet version that can use rotisserie chicken: https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/cheesy-chicken-enchilada-skillet
1 Like
Our version is dubbed “Mexican Lasagna” - using whole flour tortillas as layers along with the fillings in an 8x8 pan, salsa takes the place of lasagna’s tomato sauce, layer cooked ground beef or chicken with cumin to season, black beans or refried beans, cheese, sometimes leftover rice or corn, repeat. Salsa and cheese on top, cover with foil and bake 20-30 minutes. Very popular at our house and makes great leftovers for lunches.
3 Likes
Happy anniversary!
2 Likes
For two adults in San Diego:
This week’s breakfasts: Finishing up chocolate chip walnut scones.
S: Fri/Sat was spent in Los Angeles for the Festival of Books. Meals were either the green room at the Festival or hotel food. Nothing exciting. Ended up doing indoor dining for one meal because a restaurant didn’t honor our outdoor reservation because a large party came in. I’ll definitely be taking rapid tests before teaching my in-person classes this week. Despite that, it was nice to get away for the weekend, I must say.
Su: Chicken soup with veggies and a splash of cream. Served with bread.
M: Ramen to use up some stock, chicken, and veggies.
T: TJs lemon ravioli with peas (and chicken, if there is any leftover) in a garlic wine butter sauce.
W: Puff pastry topped with Boursin cheese and grilled asparagus - vegetarian
Th: Tostadas with beans, cheese, guacamole, and leftover spiced turkey taco filling from the freezer.
F: Lobster rolls - seafood. Scheduled to be delivered on Thursday from GoldBelly (using a gift card).
Have a good week!
11 Likes
congratulations on your anniversary! glad it was enjoyable.
2 Likes
I really like enchilada casserole and refuse to call any home cooking lazy. That meal would involve making (or buying) a sauce and fillings, maybe chopping some vegetables, assembly, and washing up afterwards. Effort was expended, even if not the maximum amount of effort possible. We shouldn’t discount our own labor so much that a home-cooked meal becomes morally deficient.
10 Likes
hi everyone, we are having the same weather ups and downs here in St. Louis. It was 85 deg on Saturday and we went on a 4 hr hike in a nearby state park; today it’s currently 50 deg and I had to turn the heat back on. We planted the more hardy herbs and veg this weekend (chard, broccoli, bok choy, dill, parsley) and will get some tomato starts next weekend. 2 adults and 1 teen.
Sat 4/23: pizza/salad takeout
Sun 4/24: attended a banquet at daughter’s school for the Thespian Society. first big public gathering in 2+ years. Nothing’s changed: I still dread attending this type of event.
Mon 4/25: SK asparagus galette
For lunch I made this white bean avocado salad and it was disappointing. there was no textural contrast and the avocado was not detectable (I only used 1 instead of 2 because 2 is a LOT of avocados). I added some chopped cabbage and pepitas for crunch and cherry tomatoes for flavor and it was still blah… will chop some red bell pepper and make croutons to add today and see if that helps.
Tue 4/26: hot sauce chicken (breasts, not whole chicken, and grilled not roasted) and Mom’s rice both from Amá. maybe some slaw.
Wed 4/27: leftovers from Tues.
Thu 4/28: i have to attend a work dinner. boo.
Fri 4/29: celebrate the weekend with takeout, as one does
13 Likes
