To think that while cooking from scratch is better for you, it can be a massive PITA

[TwentyOneGuns]

I've just spent the afternoon making lunches and batch cooking for the week ahead. I'm sure the results will be lovely but it's all so bloody fiddly, messy and time-consuming.

While I was wrestling with a butternut squash (to make soup which incidentally will be nice but neither buttery or nutty so it's badly named as well as a bastard to cut up and de-seed) I couldn't help thinking how much quicker it would be to open a bloody tin. I know homemade is better but honestly I lost the will to live with that thing.

Anyone got any tips or gadget suggestions for making it all a bit quicker?

I;m not surprised you have lost the will to live if you have tried to do all the week meals in one day.

I cook from scratch for every meal but we do only meal at the time, each day.
Quantities are usually doubled (no more prep time) and half of it is frozen for another occasion.

I also chose easy recipies (I would never mash the squash for a soup. It's all put together, cooked and then swizzed around).
More complex ones and more fiddly are reserved for the weekend when/if we have time.

Butternut squash have really thin skin, so you don't need to peel them at all.

I always pre roast my squash, cut it in half lengthwise and then halve the other way.

Roast and scoop out the flesh once slightly soft - started doing that after I nearly cut the top of my finger off a few years ago.

Mind you I have always had a rayburn or an aga which is a pita always on.

Butternut squash is a darn sight easier to handle than turnip or swede. I buy the ones which have the smallest amount of seeds. (The ones with the longest necks) Initially I chop off the seed end, half it vertically, scoop out the seeds with a sharpish tablespoon, cut it into slices and just cut off the outer skin. The rest can be cut across in slices, and the outer peel simply cut off when the slices are placed flat on the chopping board.

I agree that roasting it is the best option though when you need large amounts.

I also do the same as others up thread - so I make ragu using 5lb of minced beef/pork and freeze.

Today I made a beef stew and just chucked everything in my bottom oven for the whole day. I don't brown meat or even fry onions and leeks. I just chop it all and throw it in a cast iron pot. I really can't tell any difference, apart from the prep time.

I made enough for two meals today so that is another no effort meal.

Things like fish with new potatoes and vegetables cook in 25 mins. Chicken breasts with roasted new potatoes and roasted veg on one baking tray for 45 mins.

Throw your butternut squash in the microwave to cook it before you put it in your soup. Prick it a few times with a fork Bing it in for 8-10 minutes chop it easily in half and scoop out the seeds.

Food processor with a slicing attachment.
I slice onions with it twice a week and prepare garlic/ginger/chillis once a week and make sofrito once a week as well.
Always have peeled garlic sliced onions and sofrito prepared in the fridge.

I wholeheartedly agree!!!! (In fact I find it quite depressing some days)

A bag of spinach and ricotta tortellini in the fridge is an okay dinner for knackered days imo - certainly better than a takeaway!

If you are blending your soup, you don't need to peel the butternut squash at all! Honestly, deseed then chuck the rest in... No one will be able to tell the difference.

I use a slow cooker for soup (using the free electricity from our solar panels). Root vegetables like parsnip, carrot, turnip, squash, sweet potato etc., are scrubbed or peeled and put in whole or in large chunks, broth mix or barley added, veg. like celery, onions and leeks are chopped, as are herbs and spices. A good quality stock made the previous day e.g. lamb bones for Scotch broth, chicken stock from a roast chicken carcass, beef stock from bones or boiling beef, ham bones or joint for lentil or split pea soup or veg stock added then while I'm at work the dinner is slowly reaching perfection. Once home I use a potato masher to break down the veg as we like a lumpy soup or a stick blender for a cream soup. If we are having just soup with a yummy bread then quite a bit of meat from the stock making is added. Do try it. Wonderful in winter to come home to a hot delicious pot of soup!

Yes agree.

What the hell is a soup maker? [googles]

I think that I cook from scratch but by the time you eliminate the meals that involve boiling three things and serving them with soy sauce, I hardly do anything. Does scrambled egg on toast count?

I do make a Jamie Oliver hidden veg thing with butternut squash but cutting it in half and roasting it certainly reduces the agony.

Food processor. When I make macaroni cheese I use it to make breadcrumbs, grate cheese and chop onion. I also use the microwave to make the cheese sauce. Makes the whole process much quicker.

Ooh microwaved squash! [revelation]

Get one of these! Tefal Mince and Shred Express

It's bloody brilliant, it chops/grates/slices all veg for soup or stews or salad or Sunday lunch or whatever. It speeds up any prep and is easy to clean, or bung in the dishwasher. It grates cheese quickly for sandwiches, etc, it makes lovely fresh coleslaw.

It also has a mincer attachment, which is great for homemade sausages/burgers, or for mincing leftover Sunday's roast meat and chucking into Monday's bolognese!

It gives much better results than a food processor which is residing in the cupboard while the Shred Express is always out on the worktop!

A PP mentioned Oxo good grips, I second this. My veg peeler is amazing and the garlic crusher v good too. Slowly replacing all my utensils with this range i request them for Christmas presents!

I love that this thread has turned into a treatise on butternut squash, its challenges and failings and how best to conquer it.

Personally I view it as the grey squirrel of the veg world. A big fat invader.

Oh and when I make the kid's favourite vegetable soup, I don't peel a thing except the onions....I blend it all together with a stick blender, all the extra fibre must be good for us!

Let's go UKIP on it and revert to Swede/ turnip!

microwave the squash for a bit - then it's easier

Butternut squash has Faraged me!

YANBU. I find I lose the will to live every three months or so.

Can't bear to think of how much time I've spent cooking since becoming a parent.

I look back to those days when I could just eat a slice of toast or eat some fruit/veg (and not worry about cooking proper meals for children) as a memory of bliss.

I cook from scratch every day. Rarely batch cook more than to have left overs for lunch the next day. Key for me is choosing recipes that are quick to do on the days when I'm going to be home late. Save the more faffy ones for my day off. I also do at least 2 new recipes every week to make sure it all stays interesting. Dh and I split the cooking. And we plan weekly so that we don't waste any food.

Swede is a much bigger PITA than BNS.

I cook everything from scratch. Often doubling up which requires maybe 10 mins extra chopping but then means there's a meal in the freezer for when I can't be arsed.

I do all green veg in the microwave which frees up a hob ring.

About twice a week I can't be arsed and dinner is stuffed pasta and pesto or scrambled egg on toast or hummus, veg stick dippers, cheese, crackers and salami.