Quesadillas. When I don’t feel like cooking or cleaning up, I cut some chicken breasts into fajita strips, toss with some garlic power, onion powder and salt and air fry 12 min at 400.
I make a big stack of quesadillas and steam broccoli crowns with garlic and lemon. I put it on the table with some salsa. Maybe I warm up a can of seasoned black beans.

Store bought snacks are super expensive. If I needed to cut my grocery budget I would start there. Get the book “Buy the butter, make the bread” from the library. It breaks down the economics of making things from scratch. Some things are worth it and some are not.

Making yeast bread is not for everyone, but cookies, bars, muffins and quick breads are super easy and freeze well.

We grow our own basil and tomatoes and save a ton of money not buying those things, but growing cilantro is not cost effective for us. Different things may make sense for you.

If you are paying $6/box, you are shopping wrong. Cereal often goes on sale for $2-3 per box at Safeway, Giant, and Harris Teeter. If you do not know that, then you may not be familiar with the weekly sale cycle at stores. Besides cereal, canned soup is another thing no one should ever pay full price for. I pay $1.75 per can, max.

If you want to spend less, you need to plan ahead. Plan ahead by having some family staple ingredients and stocking up when they are on sale. Plan by making some meals that freeze and reheat well. I am very picky about frozen food texture, so I often cut up and marinate chicken and freeze it. Later I combine it with fresh veggies for fajitas. Plan by making a meal plan for the week where you use similar ingredients. Chili on Monday can be a topping for baked potatoes on Wednesday.

There is no dinner magic wand. You can pay for convenience or you can put in a little effort. If the issue is that you don’t have time for that effort to occur between 4pm and 7pm, you need to look into make ahead casseroles, “assemble your own” meals like burrito bowls, crock pot meals, and getting an air fryer.

On the weekends I cook in my garage. A whole loaf of bread gets me French toast for 2 plus weeks. Pancakes, same, big batch. Bacon, 2 packs, storage bags lasts very long in the refrigerator. Biscuits, I make at least 24 per batch. I freeze those and defrost how many I want that day.

If I need the oven for something then I might as well bake more stuff so cookies, cakes, brownies, muffins, bread pudding, whatever, goes in with the food I'm baking.

It does take a small amount of time but you have to stick to it for only one day. You have to want to lessen your load.

I don't understand the husbands that are not helping. Unless he does housework he should be helping. Got a lot of Joan of Arcs here but no John of Arcs.

Get a smoker. Read the book. Learn how to operate it through your phone. Cook all night on a low temp, done in the morning. No babysitting required but try it first on a day you have time. Or tell your spouse to do it. Asking gets you no where. You gotta force those lazy men to help. It's his kids too and he does eat right ?

My husband did two half chickens, sausage, brats, hamburgers, pork roast, hotdogs, he even does vegetables. So for two weeks or more we have a main dish and all I have to do is make sides which takes under 30 mins. Wrap up individual parts, a mix of everything or just what everyone wants to eat that day. Freeze the rest. Take out of the freezer in the morning to defrost for that night. You can't get any simpler than that.

Today I actually agreed to try Wendy's chicken nuggets. The only reason was my husband wanted a fish sandwich from there so I went along. One fish sandwich plus fries, one order of chicken nuggets, one hamburger and fries, two sodas, $26 plus change. NO MO WENDY'S. That price makes me think they want to go under. The nuggets weren't even good. My cat snubbed them and he loves chicken nuggets. At least the kind I make.

Menu plan for the whole week, so you have a plan. It’s so much easier just to cook when you don’t need to think of something to make. Plan easy things for days likely to be busy. Salad kits are also good to keep on hand. Some of my go to quick meals:

Falafel spiced tofu (crumble the tofu pretty small, like ground beef): https://www.thekitchn.com/falafel-spiced-tofu-whipped-tahini-22924030

Tacos- on our laziest days just a can of black beans, drained and rinsed stirred into a can of refried beans, cheese, salsa and whatever other toppings are available.

Stir fry: https://minimalistbaker.com/tofu-that-tastes-good-stir-fry/

Tomato soup from a box and cheese melted on toast. If we have the energy/ingredients, I will also make spinach-artichoke grilled cheese with sautéed garlic, spinach, and canned artichoke hearts. Mince finely and stir in Greek yogurt (and cream cheese if you want). Spread of sour dough with sharp cheddar and grill.

Breakfast from dinner- egg sandwiches, pancakes, French toast, etc.

Anonymous wrote:This is so sad. Stop being lazy. You don’t have to do anything elaborate but make real food.

Scramble a big pan of eggs or bake them in the oven in a casserole dish with whatever veggies and cheese you have on hand.

Do sheet pan dinners

Pasta with a simple homemade tomato sauce is easy and quick. Add cooked meat if you want ( ground beef, ground turkey are probably easiest).

Lentil soup is super easy too. Just sauté an onion, and couple carrots and celery, add some cumin and then dried red lentils and water, simmer 20 min.

You can do this. People use to hand wash their clothes and all of their dishes. Surely you can manage a 30 min meal.

You mean back when mom stayed home? I don’t think people are talking about everyday but when they are crunched for time.

Anonymous wrote:When you do feel up to cooking, make several times what you need. Freeze in individual portions in dishwashable or disposable containers. On can’t-cook nights, heat up your homemade frozen dinners.

+1, anytime there is one serving of chili or whatever it goes in ziplock bag and gets frozen. Then about every couple of weeks we say "leftovers" and defrost some bags and its hodgepodge dinner.

1. Just bare chicken tenders or nuggets cooked in the oven, add to a salad in the mix (Asian, Caesar, avocado ranch). Place aluminum foil on the baking sheet when you cook the chicken so no clean up.

2. Buy a long baguette, slice and fill with whatever sandwich stuff you have at home.

I cook Chinese sausages with rice in the rice cooker and serve with a sauce. I serve with a side of Asian greens.

Rotisserie chicken, frozen french fries or tater tots (I make these in the toaster oven so it is even quicker), and a bagged salad or carrot sticks and pepper strips.

Steak frites. Baked frozen French fries. NY strip or ribeye. Big chopped salad of orphan veggies

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We’ve been spending entirely too much on takeout and vow to eat out less next month. But sometimes I just don’t want to cook. I don’t want to clean. I don’t want to do anything but throw away a paper plate, at most. I’m looking to alternatives to eating out that don’t require ANY effort or energy in the kitchen. **NOT PIZZA!** We already have a rotating pizza night.

I’ve considered those Costco prepared meals, but they aren’t exactly “cheap”, and some of them take planning (like an hour or more to bake the pot pie/meatloaf, etc.)

Cereal night is another idea but in the past, everyone is still hungry later. And, cereal isn’t cheap either! And nobody enjoys the same cereal. If I’m spending $6 a box, we might as well get Subway.

Help!!!

Trader Joe’s General Tsos chicken (2 bags so there are leftovers) with lightly steamed fresh broccoli florets tossed in when the veggies go in, TJ veggie fried rice w a handful of cooked frozen shrimp I keep in the freezer added and maybe add a scrambled egg if I have the energy, TJ veggie wontons. If I’m up to it I will stir fry fresh string beans and add soy sauce, sesame oil for flavor. I also use gochujang sauce to dip wontons (ds does not). We eat this about once a week.

I also buy a rotisserie chicken (not Costco) and bake sweet potatoes and serve w steamed broccoli and the brown rice bags from TJ.

PP again. I also make nachos w beef once a week and son loves this. Beef, beans, cheese, salsa and guacamole. He doesn’t want all the other stuff.

I make burgers w nice brioche buns from aldi and frozen fries in oven.

Costco tortellini add pesto sauce and a side veggie.

There are other nights when I cook actual real meals and these are my easy meal go-to ideas that work for us.

Anonymous wrote:We’ve been spending entirely too much on takeout and vow to eat out less next month. But sometimes I just don’t want to cook. I don’t want to clean. I don’t want to do anything but throw away a paper plate, at most. I’m looking to alternatives to eating out that don’t require ANY effort or energy in the kitchen. **NOT PIZZA!** We already have a rotating pizza night.

I’ve considered those Costco prepared meals, but they aren’t exactly “cheap”, and some of them take planning (like an hour or more to bake the pot pie/meatloaf, etc.)

Cereal night is another idea but in the past, everyone is still hungry later. And, cereal isn’t cheap either! And nobody enjoys the same cereal. If I’m spending $6 a box, we might as well get Subway.

Help!!!

Trader Joe’s General Tsos chicken (2 bags so there are leftovers) with lightly steamed fresh broccoli florets tossed in when the veggies go in, TJ veggie fried rice w a handful of cooked frozen shrimp I keep in the freezer added and maybe add a scrambled egg if I have the energy, TJ veggie wontons. If I’m up to it I will stir fry fresh string beans and add soy sauce, sesame oil for flavor. I also use gochujang sauce to dip wontons (ds does not). We eat this about once a week.

I also buy a rotisserie chicken (not Costco) and bake sweet potatoes and serve w steamed broccoli and the brown rice bags from TJ.

This is so sad. Stop being lazy. You don’t have to do anything elaborate but make real food.

Scramble a big pan of eggs or bake them in the oven in a casserole dish with whatever veggies and cheese you have on hand.

Do sheet pan dinners

Pasta with a simple homemade tomato sauce is easy and quick. Add cooked meat if you want ( ground beef, ground turkey are probably easiest).

Lentil soup is super easy too. Just sauté an onion, and couple carrots and celery, add some cumin and then dried red lentils and water, simmer 20 min.

You can do this. People use to hand wash their clothes and all of their dishes. Surely you can manage a 30 min meal.

I've posted this before, but when I grill hamburgers and hotdogs/brats. I grill extra and individually wrap and freeze them. If I have fresh buns, my teens will pull one out when they're hungry and not get fast food.