I've listened to Xenia. How do I outsource cooking? Could I find someone to do this:

[PeachesMcLean]

I work full time and hate the fact that DS is collected by a childminder, from whom I collect him at 5.30, then by the time we've got home and I've cooked tea, it's 7pm and he's too tired to do much and goes to bed at 8pm.

So, taking Xenia's advice to outsource everything you don't like doing, could I find someone to cook supper for us each night?

And perhaps even to collect him from school? Cos then he could do various after school activities as well. To be fair, CM is good because DS gets to play with other children there. And she is quite nice as well....

Am I mad? And how much would you expect to pay for someone to cook a simple but healthy family meal each evening???

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The hardest thing I find is cooking food the children will actually eat. When children are infant school aged, they don't seem to have that much of a variety in what they will eat.

Tonight I made a veg.hotpot, and 4 year old refused it point blank. Yet she normally eats potatoes, carrots, that kind of thing. If given the choice, expect she may live on just pasta. Thinking of which, my younger sister lived on Pasta and Cheese for many years when a child!

AND DON'T GIVE KIDS A BLOODY CHOICE!!!
OF COURSE THEY WILL EAT CRAP IF THEY HAVE A SAY11
YOU'RE IN CHARGE, NOT THEM.
IF MY KIDS WON'T EAT IT THEY GO HUNGRY.

Agree moondog. 4 year old went hungry tonight - she only had some fruit. But as soon as mum got home from work, she demanded food - but mum stood firm and said NO. Think I'd better plan for cereal and toast tomorrow.

Agree with Moondog about not giving a choice. My mother was incredulous when she said to me a couple of months ago 'Carmenere are you seriously asking a 3 yr old what they want for their dinner'?
she was right of course, dd eats what she is given or goes hungry (well she gets a piece of bread and butter befre she goes to bed if she is starving)

Pesto & Pasta? (Piece of piss) Yes, tres easy and one of our staples - get's really dull though. I can do a spag bol easily enough with the organic jar sauce thing i can't remember the name of off the top of my head..
Curry '' '' DS won't eat anything spicy
Chilli con Carne '' '' ditto
Tortilla '' '' that was this evening's successful meal
Shepherds Pie This takes me ages to prepare!

I promise tomorrow to go to the food / recipes threads for easy ideas.

I'm sure DS isn't really that bad with food but he's still not as easy as a grown up. He's 6. And the spicy thing is a problem. And I don't want to spend meal times "getting him used to something".

My kids ate bugger all tonight as they turned their noses up at my pasta with salmon and sour cream. They will eat it tomorrow, as that is what will be served up.

Shepherds pie takes ages?
How so?
Get dh to peel the potatoes.
Fry up mince and onions (good idea is to add loads of grated carrot). Bit of cornflour and dasjh of soy to thicken and flavour, top with mash and Bob's yer uncle..

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Roast chicken is essentail.
I always have one on the go.

Noodles are my saviour on many a night, kids love them and they take 5 minutes to cook and stirfrying a handfull of veg with some prawns doesn't take much longer.

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Lennygirl PMSL!

Peaches, make very easy food, make double amounts, and dish it up again another day.

So, salmon (nuked), pasta, (quick cook, 6 minutes), broccoli(in with pasta), and carton of garlic and herb passata. Jumble it all up, and serve. Put other half in freezer.

At the weekends, make double amoutns both nights, freeze and dish up another day. Roast a whole chicken and keep it in the fridge, to be ripped up and stirfried with those ready chopped packets of veg and noodles, or on a plate with new potatoes and peas with gravy.

If your pushed for time one night, dish out scrambled egg on toast and a banana. It#'s balanced!

Feeling bombarded.
Need a wee and GOT to go to bed.
PLEASE carry on posting suggestions. I've a feeling I'm going to need them.
You're all lovely.
PMxx

Kebabs are great too.
Kids love em.
Cube meat,toss in a marinade (soy, honey,ginger nad garlic good) and grill. Anotherp iece of pissery. Yes indeedy.

And sometimes there is nothing wrong with a chippy supper.

lol
I am due a good binge.
My dh e mailed. He got shit faced last night at (check this!!!) a do at the ambassador's residence in Dushanbe (Tajikistan) to celebrate the queen's wedding anniversary. He says he wasn't even in work unti l3:00 pm.

I have known him 18 years and have Never known him take any time of work.It must have been wild. Bet the Ferrero Rochers were flying!

Children I find like certain spices.

Tomato Ketchup for example - can be used to spice things up a bit. Perfect for Spag Bol and other meat mixes - also works for veg hotpot.

Marmite - love it or hate it... it can be useful for adding some additional flavour.

Mustard - great to add to cheese sauce.

Ginger - children often like this, usually in cakes/biscuits. But it can be added to other things, esp. stirfrys.

Pasta with Pesto is a stable here as well - the children love it. Personally I can't stand it.

Pasta with Bacon, Peas and Cheese Sauce tends to go down well.

To avoid using a jar of sauce, use organic tinned chopped tomato. Add a squirt of tomato ketchup, and reduce down to consistency desired.

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anyway don't listen to me, I'd eat supernoodle sandwiches if they didn't give me indigestion.

Oh, andother one ... pasta or noodles, tinned mackerel in tomato sauce, and peas. It's oily fish, innit?