Cooking Dilemma

gee girl you already covered pretty much what i was going to say, like crockpot etc. we have the same thing here. everyone works and or sleeps at different times. the only time we seem to have meals together is like on the weekends.

well-- this happens to me all the time, which drives me nuts because I like to cook! When I get sick of the crockpot, I go for slow cooked casseroles-- I prepare the ingredients the night before, and toss them together and put in the oven at about 300-- then I call the other half after an hour, and ask for an estimate on his time home. About 15 minutes before he's due, I raise the temp. to 350, but leave the cover on so it doesn't get burned on top. I also put it in on a double cookie sheet, so it doesn't burn on the bottom. When he comes through the door, I take off the cover and turn it up to about 450, and it's usually all ready in less than 15 minutes. I also make chili or stews on the stovetop, and just toss in biscuits or toss dumplings on top when he arrives. During the summer, I make a lot of pasta salads or rice salads with meat and veggies that we can eat cold or hot. On my days off, I will cook up a week's worth of meals, portion them out and freeze them, and reheat in the oven when he gets home. I also make baked potato meals frequently-- bake the potatoes and top with chili, or beef stew, or diced cooked chicken with salsa and sour cream and cheese, since I can heat them quickly. I always keep cooked diced chicken on hand, and cooked crumbled hamburger, and cubed cooked pork or beef, so I can also do stir fry in 20 minutes. He likes about 20 minutes after he gets home to get comfortable, look through the mail and other stuff. I almost never reheat foods in the microwave, because they taste better heated on the stove or in the oven. for me, the key to managing meals around here is keeping the precooked ingredients around and calling him to find out how long he'll be, because he is on a very low salt diet for high blood pressure, so most food is home cooked. I also set the table as soon as I get done working so I don't have to deal with it, and our deal is on the nights I cook, he does dishes, and when I cooks I wash. He likes stir fry meals of all kinds, and they are healthy, quick and easy to do, which is good.

My work schedule is not very full right now. Hubby is retirement age and at this point only does contract labor, so we are home pretty much the same time in the evenings. Hearty winter type foods hold much better for these mixed schedules than summer foods do. Foods like soups and stews and hot bread or beans and ham all do well in this situation. Summer we have done some cold meals with hearty salads, hubby does not eat pasta, but my son like macaroni salad with ham and cheese and veggies and pickles in it. Any meal that you can put fresh hot bread on the side is a great meal, When my kids were little we did "salad suppers" with fruit salad, pasta salad and egg salad etc. Things that are served cold. Good luck. Just writing out menu ideas helps me a lot, though. It makes life go much smoother and I am forced then to keep some variety in the meals.

I don't have that problem...but the problem I do have is what to make when you are by yourself....I hate messing up the kitchen but then again...I have to eat somethings that are good for me too...not out to eat all the time. I know you probably are on a limited menu when you have to try to squeeze it in.....good luck!

I don't have a significant other anymore (we got divorced) but I do cook for family. Since I am the only one working in the household it's not difficult to decide when to cook. Most of the time, when I did work more it was whenever I had a day off, or right after work either way. Now I only work twice a week, so when I do cook it's usually the same day I go to the store to get the stuff. I don't cook anything that takes more then an hour to cook. Prep time doesn't matter to me, but if it takes more then an hour I either get too hungry (as I always go to the store and come home hungry) or too bored of waiting.

During the week, my husband works long hours - so he is gone from early morning to sometimes 7 or beyond at night (he also has a long drive to and from work). So sometimes I have to go ahead and feed the kids dinner because my oldest one has school the next day - I don't want her to eat too late and sleep too late too (although I much prefer that the family eat together, which in most cases we are still able to). So I save the "special" meals for weekends if possible. Sometimes I don't know til evening that something has come up at his work so he would be coming home extra late. So if I had already cooked something, I would just make a plate for him - and put the rest away. I put his plate in the fridge, with some kind of covering so it doesn't dry out, so he can heat it up himself when he gets home. I don't leave food in the pots/pans that I cooked it in because it overcooks in its own heat (even though the heat is off). Salads are most convenient . . . just make it and keep it in a container to go in the fridge. It can be served at anytime in a jiffy without a worry (toss dressing on it when you eat).

I never had a problem. My guy used to work 12 or 13 hours or more a day driving a cab. I was a checkout operator sometimes only working 5 hours a day. Sometimes I'd be home in the early afternoon, sometimes I'd get home around 10pm. Quick meals were usually stir-fries or chops and a salad. Things like stroganoff or curries I would make ahead so they could infuse with flavour. Usually it just meant being a bit organised ahead of time and I would get organised from the time I put the shopping list together.

Sorry, can't relate: my "significant other" is Harmony and she eats cat food...