To want to start feeding my family microwave meals?!

[graceflorence]

I always cook from scratch, things like fish with couscous and salad, stew and dumplings, spag bol, pizza, pasta, chicken and rice, fajitas. Every night someone does not like their meal. I spend 30 minutes plus each night cooking and then do all the cleaning up. It annoys me so much to spend my time doing this when someone moans about what I cook. I tell them not to be so ungrateful but they keep doing it. E.g. DD love spag bol, DP moans when I cook it, DP loves stew, DD wont touch it (she is only 3 I think the meat is a bit tough for her). In the new year it will be time to start weaning DD2 and I will then have 3 of them potentially not liking what I make. I am faced with more piles of washing up tonight from a meal no one liked (chicken, rice and salad). I told them to go to mcdonalds tomorrow and save me the trouble (DD liked this idea!!). I feel like just giving them a microwave meal each night, no cooking time and not much cleaning up. I am so fed up of cooking meals for them when no one likes them apart from me. I don't fancy eating microwave meals though as I care about my health (and DDs!) so not sure what to do. Are there any healthy meals I can make that require hardly any preparation or cleaning up so I am not wasting between 1 and 2 hours a night on cooking and cleaning up for people who do not appreciate it??

Make it easier for yourself. E.g stuffed fresh pasta with pesto. Then grill some chicken breasts to add with it. If your dd prefers bolognese have some frozen to add with hers. When you do a roast put extra bits; roasties, yorkshires, carrot &swede in the freezer. I usually warm these up with sausages or chicken breasts in the week. My DP is very into meat and chips type meals, so I often make homemade wedges in the oven with fish fingers for DC and salmon for me and griddle him burgers or pork steaks.

Cook what you like. They are going to moan anyway so you might as well put yourself first.

Chosenone- how is that making it easier for her? Making it easier would be doing salmon/fish fingers in the oven and telling DP if he doesn't want it, he knows where the meat and griddle are kept!

Here's a couple of tips which helped me: Batch cook your stews in a slow cooker so the meat is soft and not chewy. Also, take meat out of the fridge an hour or so before cooking (including mince for bolognese and roasting meats) as this will help stop it toughening when it gets cooked.

Baked potatoes with fillings and salad
Pasta and sauce - add chicken/bacon/smoked sausage
Fajitas - I serve with crudités and houmus dip
Omelette and mushrooms
Chilli con carne and wraps served with crudités and dip or salad (I make it mild and take out ds3's portion then add lazy chilli to spice it up for the rest of us)
Cheese/beans/scrambed egg on toast/whole meal muffins

baked potatoes with whatever filing
beans on toast
eggs cooked in your choice of way

those are healthy ready meals IMO

A rice cooker is a great time saver too. As well as going with curry, bolognese, chili con carne, it goes well with tomato based pasta sauces (with added sausage or chicken) and a well cooked, herby roast chicken irroast lamb.

Leftover rice can be used as a base for stuffed peppers and frozen, added to omelettes, stews or soups.