I don't want to cook tonight syndrome

saimanyc · Dec 1st, 2006, 12:37 AM

I usually cook dinner everynight or atleast 5 days a week. And I like cooking. But occasionally I am too tired or sleep deprived and can't stand the thought of cooking. So what are some suggestions for those sort of days? The easy answer is to order delivery food, but that gets expensive. Do you have certain foods stocked in your freezer that you can quickly throw in the oven? A steak? Pasta? I had one of those days today and we ordered pizza. What do you guys do?

UZ · Dec 1st, 2006, 12:56 AM

sometime when i want a day off ,i usually cook 2 handis in one day so i can rest another day.With kids u need rest sometime,I usually go out on weekends its relaxing.

wannabe_a_mum · Dec 1st, 2006, 04:44 AM

I also have these days, so what I do, is every now and then I make double the amount of something and put it in the freezer in those foil cartons where you can write on the top. Then I just ask my husband to choose what he wants to eat that day. Also, I keep some cooked boneless chicken in the freezer and this comes in useful to use as topping on Pizza's or to throw in with pasta.
In fact it is one of those days today...so this morning before I left for work, I asked hubby what he wanted to eat and he picked Nihari from the freezer!
Waiseh, kabhi kabhi woh khud kehteh hai keh agar thakee huee hoh to main khud khana banata hun....!! The downside of that being that I have to then CLEAN the kitchen because it's always a mess!!!!!

ahmadjee · Dec 1st, 2006, 10:44 AM

If you cook almost everyday you should have plenty of leftovers for the days you don't want to cook, unless off course you cook just enough for the night. We cook 3 days in a week and always have left overs. Its amazing ... sometimes a week old left overs.

We do have some ravioli in the freezer that only need a few minutes in the boiling water and its done. When push comes to shove, we heat up (bake) some spring rolls and eat 'em. And there is always cereal.

wannabe_a_mum · Dec 1st, 2006, 10:56 AM

Yummy I love cereal!!!
When I make gosht dishes for hubby, I have cereal and toast (because I don't eat gosht)

Diva4U · Dec 1st, 2006, 11:45 AM

wow...how come you have no leftovers after cooking daily ?

wannabe_a_mum · Dec 1st, 2006, 11:53 AM

We do have some leftovers, which my husband either takes to work or we freeze, rice dishes he normally takes to work, curries etc we freeze!
Hey don't get me wrong....we aren't perfect of course there are days that we eat leftovers...

wannabe_a_mum · Dec 1st, 2006, 11:55 AM

Oh and here's an idea for you all......

I make kebabs and freeze them raw...then when stuck for ideas/too tired/lazy, you can use them for lots of dishes for example, just shallow fry them for eating with nan/rolls etc, or crush them to make kheema, or just pop them into sabjee dishes..............

saimanyc · Dec 2nd, 2006, 01:41 AM

We do occasionally have leftovers too, especially with saalin. But my kids and husband will not eat leftover pasta for some reason. They want it fresh. I think it gets too 'rubbery' for them. I am usually the one who finishes leftovers for my lunch. Dinner always seems to be a freshly cooked meal. It's something I just do because it seems nobody else will enjoy reheated food.

The kabab idea is great, freezing ground beef or chicken is also good. I wish my husband would experiment a bit more with food. But he's pretty much a carnivore. I can't introduce those veggie, ravioli type dishes. He doesn't even like leftover rice!! Luckily both my kids devour brocolli topped with cheese, so that's easy enough.

aaish · Dec 2nd, 2006, 03:58 AM

i makes shami kababs and freeze them,and sometimes i apply tikka masala on chicken and freeze them and when i am not in a mood to cook anything i usually make raita with shami kababs or make burger for kids with shami kabab.

chips6 · Dec 2nd, 2006, 08:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aaish

i makes shami kababs and freeze them,and sometimes i apply tikka masala on chicken and freeze them and when i am not in a mood to cook anything i usually make raita with shami kababs or make burger for kids with shami kabab.

i do the same too...kababas,or marinated chicken always are in the freezer....they always come in handy when i am suffering from the syndrome...

or in case i have company....
cooked mince/qeema also keeps well in the freezer.....

AnGeL EyEs · Dec 2nd, 2006, 08:46 AM

have one day a week designated for leftovers......and one day a week for eating out. Also you can put aside some food from the days you cook and stick em in the freezer....and take it out the following week when u dont feel like cooking.

AnGeL EyEs · Dec 2nd, 2006, 08:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aaish

i makes shami kababs and freeze them,and sometimes i apply tikka masala on chicken and freeze them and when i am not in a mood to cook anything i usually make raita with shami kababs or make burger for kids with shami kabab.

thats a good idea.

cat-woman · Dec 2nd, 2006, 01:12 PM

The yummiest quick food is - boil a whole lot of pasta - get some tinned tomatoes or ready-made pasta sauce, heat on stove - add ur own spices or fry onion n garlic to add to it - throw in lots of parmesan or other cheese. yum.

~Iraj~ · Dec 2nd, 2006, 03:09 PM

if you want to cook everyday .. that is you are in the habit of having something different everyday .. make cooking easy for yourself .. this can be done in a number of ways ... like buying things that are easily cooked .. or pick up semi prepared food
you could aslo do half of the things at the weekends and the remaining half on the particular day ..
good luck

Sandleen · Dec 2nd, 2006, 05:41 PM

noodles ???

Sahar02 · Dec 3rd, 2006, 11:46 AM

Ammi always makes kebabs and freezes them for such occasions (and for surprise visitors). I haven't become that organized.

Shrimp/fish cook fast, so if you've got a few of those pre-made marinades and stirfry sauces, you can throw it all together in a pot with some mixed veggies and make something pretty fast.

pasta/rice/couscous cook pretty quickly too. But having a store of bread handy is always a good idea.