to not like cooking?

[hipposaurus]

I don't like cooking and never have done. Don't get me wrong, dc is well fed and I'm interested in nutrition, however I don't feel you have to spend an hour preparing dinner every night to be healthy and well fed. Given the opportunity I would eat mainly m&s ready meals, salads, sandwiches and easy to rustle up pasta etc.

My dh and all his family (pil) think cooking is very important and love nothing more than spending hours making time consuming meals that tastes less good than my m&s ready meals

Dh keeps wanting me to cook 'properly' more. Aibu to feed the family healthy meals that involve minimal cooking?

Whilst I'm at it, please could all the celebrity chefs and cooking programmes be cut. You're not helping my cause ;)

That is the budget book? Crap!

"I am constantly suprised at the amount of time people waste spend making meals, meals which take longer to make than to eat....shock"

But it isn't time wasting if you enjoy cooking and eating the results. My best friend loves horses, she spends all her spare time with her horse. To me that is wasted time because I don't like horses. They don't eat very well in their house because she would rather spend time with the horse than cook proper meals. The family suffer from a lot of colds, perhaps it is because they don't eat properly.

Like Netto if I want to eat ethnic food other than Chinese or Indian I have to make it myself because we don't have lots of ethnic restaurants nearby.

Food, to me, isn't just fuel, it is sometheing to be enjoyed.

I can spell something really!

YANBU not to like it, but really I have to agree that your repertoire does sound a bit boring.

I don't like 'drudge cooking', as it is most definitely a chore to get dinner ready in 30 mins every night while juggling two hungry DC. And it pisses me off that whenever DH cooks he expects me to make sure that he is allowed to fuck about in the kitchen for hours while the DC are screaming hungry.

But there are a lot of meals that you can do the minimum of prep and still give your family less fat and salt and plenty of variety. So I think YABU not to make a tiny bit more effort.

lazy persons mackrel daupinoise: slice salad potatoes in food processor, whack in dish with ripped up smoked mackrel, mix up cream what did I say about less fat? milk, wholegrain mustard, little salt and pepper, pour over, whack in oven for 45 mins at 6. I sneak spinach and courgette into mine as well. 10 mins prep.

fry onions, bacon, courgette, red peppers, baby corn, in pan, plop in a couple of dairylea triangles, melt, mix in with pasta. 10 mins.

slowcooker casseroles are also really easy. even dumplings take another 5 mins is all.

I'm coming to your house for lunch Banders

We're having that for supper tonight Banders. Might wash it down with a glass of something nice.

I actually enjoy cooking but just never have the bloody time as I work a 50 hour week. Best thing I ever bought is my slow cooker :) chuck in some meat, pack of ready chopped veg, couple of stock cubes and dried herbs; nice casserole one night, then save the leftovers, add some ready rolled pastry and there's a pie for another night. Takes minutes to throw in first thing and all I have to do when I get home is boil up some potatoes, rice or pasta to go with it.

I do a lot of dishes using mince as well as it's quick and easy and last night bolognese can easily be turned into a cottage pie with a twist for another night's tea.

This week we've got:
Monday - pasta bake with bacon bits, done with a carton of passata and mushrooms, topped with cheese.

Tuesday - beef casserole which I've just thrown in the slow cooker, served with crusty bread as ds has got beavers and then an eye test so won't be in til after 7.

Wednesday - leftover casserole with a pastry lid, mashed potatoes.

Thursday - pasta bolognese with garlic bread.

Friday - chicken thighs, red peppers, onions, sweetcorn and tomatoes done in a garlicky sauce in the slow cooker, served with rice.

Saturday - ds eats at his dad's so I'll probably just have a sandwich or soup when I finish work.

Sunday - my dad does a roast for when I finish work :)

Nothing takes more than a few minutes prep but I think we eat fairly well!