eating out too much! help!

[littlemama]

Slow cooker?

Do you have a slow cooker? If not, it would be a really good investment. Go to recipezaar.com or allrecipes.com and search for crockpot or slow cooker recipes. Look at your stores weekly sale ads and try to plan meals around that.

Here's a VERY SIMPLE recipe I did yesterday, and it turned out awesome:

4 lb. rump roast
1 can (10 3/4 oz.) condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 can (10 1/2 oz.) condensed french onion soup
1/2 cup chopped onion

Mix soups and onions in a medium bowl. Place roast on slow cooker and pour soup mixture over top. Cover and cook on low 10 hours. That's it!
The meat becomes so tender you can shred it with a fork. This would be good served over rice (Try Success brand-it's easy) or egg noodles.

This must be cooked on low. On high it gets tough. And remember, don't peek. It takes awhile for the slow cooker to get back up to temp.

Enjoy, and good luck.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Yes, he also does not eat leftovers more than 1 meal. He actually prefers to not eat leftovers for lunch, but I said tough. He says why do you have to make a enough for leftovers? Instead just cook it fresh every time. So if you make spaghetti and have enough for two meals, he'd prefer you cook both times fresh. NOT once.

And yes frozen food like soup is a no-go. He'll never eat it. He can taste ice crystals in everything. Ice cream has to be fresh, usually we go out because we don't eat it fast enough. So if it's been sitting more than a week he complains of ice crystals.

Or meat, he prefers we don't freeze meat because it tastes freezer burn. I've tried vaccum sealing, double bagging, etc. And yes he can tell the difference, I've done taste tests of ice cream and meat. I couldn't believe someone could be so anal.

Our roommate is like me we don't care and can't tell. It's only my husband. Same reason why he hates frozen veggies. UGH.

So I get down on my knees if there are things he'll stand frozen, mostly fish.

[FrugalFish]

So if you make spaghetti and have enough for two meals, he'd prefer you cook both times fresh. NOT once.

Your DH would starve at our house- pickiness is not allowed here. We could not afford to be so fussy.

Was he raised this way? To eat only fresh food on a daily basis? Or is this a reaction to how he was raised? If I were in your shoes, he'd have no choice but to become the cook of the house. I would not tolerate having to shop for, maintain, and make fresh food on a daily basis. You're a better woman than I!

[cschin4]

Some people just do not like leftovers. I personally do not like leftovers either. So, instead of taking the stance of trying to push these on people, just admit what you and your family like and don't like and plan accordingly. I cook smaller amounts and I cook more often. But, I prepare simple, fresh meals. None of us likes leftovers so why fight City Hall?
If we couldn't afford anything else, then fine. But we can and I can plan the smaller meals with less waste and less leftovers.

[gamecock43]

OMG if i could get my Thai food cravings under control I would be a far richer woman. Food is my #1 spending weakness, and many of my friends have agreed. good luck. And pasta is you're $$ pal. I am a vegetarian, so that cuts down my eating bills alot.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

I have no idea. I grew up with once a week cooking literally. My mom would make one crappy meal a week and I'd be happy to eat. It really sucked too. So a pot of spaghetti for 3 lasted basically 7 days. Or she'd buy a couple of pizzas but we'd have to freeze because we ate so slow.

I don't know why my DH hates leftovers. He just does. So I make portions that last 1 day and cook again. This week, we've eaten pork tonkatsu (2x nights cooked fresh mon and tues), last night chicken quesidillas, tonight chicken casserole, tomorrow will be either veggie lasanga or meat lasanga.

I didn't even think he was picky, it's something I've become accustomed too. Until people think we're weird for cooking every night.

[aurielle]

Here's a quick easy meal. DH calls it 'pollo loco'. Pick up one of those pre-cooked whole chickens they sell at the deli section in the grocery store, a package of flour tortillas, a jar of salsa, and a package of shredded cheddar or mexican mix cheese on the way home from work. When you get home from work and are ready for dinner, pull some meat off of the chicken. Place the meat on a couple of tortillas and sprinkle some cheese on it. Microwave for a minute or two (depending on your microwave) or just watch it while its in the microwave until the cheese is just melted. Take it out, pour some salsa on top. Roll them up and eat. I like to top mine with some chopped onion and sour cream. You will have chicken meat left which you can use for lunch or dinner the next day. Either a chicken sandwich, or make a simple salad and put the chicken on top, or more 'pollo loco'.