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The only solution I've found is freezer meals. But to really make that work I find it takes the better part of a day to plan, shop, prep, cook, and freeze.
How does it take more time to plan, shop, prep and cook a lasagne that you're going to freeze vs. one you're going to allow to rot in the fridge? Whipping out a few pieces of aluminum foil might take an extra 5 minutes. I guess if you're that pressed for time ...
I can't make it THAT cheaply. Just the fresh mozzarella alone runs about $6.00, so I'm going to guess that my home-made pizza for five runs a little more than a third of what we could get from the Papa Murphy's up the road. I can buy a large pizza at the grocery for $6.95, so that comparison is probably a wash.
But Papa Murphy's is not using $6 worth of fresh mozz on their pizzas (and neither do I) they use %100 whole milk mozzerella, provolone, and cheddar, all of which are likely mass produced long-shelf life cheeses like the block mozzzarella you find in supermarkets.
I would say that 80% of the cost of my homemade pizzas is in the cheese. Flour/yeast are dirt cheap when you buy in 25 lb. bags and 2 lb. yeast blocks, I buy tomatoes, stew them and use an immersion blender to make the sauce, adding fresh oregano, and I use whatever cheese I have (and fairly sparingly, you can see sauce between blobs of melted cheese).
Anyway, I am not arguing against buying pizza out of convenience, just saying what I do and what it costs. And honestly, I buy pizza when I am back home in NY, I just don't like paying a premium for 'inferior' pizza here in Albuquerque.
But Papa Murphy's is not using $6 worth of fresh mozz on their pizzas (and neither do I) they use %100 whole milk mozzerella, provolone, and cheddar, all of which are likely mass produced long-shelf life cheeses like the block mozzzarella you find in supermarkets.
I would say that 80% of the cost of my homemade pizzas is in the cheese. Flour/yeast are dirt cheap when you buy in 25 lb. bags and 2 lb. yeast blocks, I buy tomatoes, stew them and use an immersion blender to make the sauce, adding fresh oregano, and I use whatever cheese I have (and fairly sparingly, you can see sauce between blobs of melted cheese).
Anyway, I am not arguing against buying pizza out of convenience, just saying what I do and what it costs. And honestly, I buy pizza when I am back home in NY, I just don't like paying a premium for 'inferior' pizza here in Albuquerque.
I get that. My husband is a whiz with building, electrical, plumbing etc. He is a disaster in the kitchen.
It's not even a matter of me being a bad cook. I don't think I'm horrible. I just don't feel like taking the time to prepare a meal and having to clean up the kitchen afterwards. Today I had some bbq ribs, collard greens, candied yams, and fried okra. (No, I don't eat like that every day, but when the mood strikes, I don't deny myself. lol) I didn't cook any of it myself except for the fried okra. Would've taken me hours to prepare and I obviously have more important things to do with my time like post on Internet forums.
How does it take more time to plan, shop, prep and cook a lasagne that you're going to freeze vs. one you're going to allow to rot in the fridge? Whipping out a few pieces of aluminum foil might take an extra 5 minutes. I guess if you're that pressed for time ...
Even packaging right whether it is aluminum foil or tupperware containers, can make food go bad in a period of a week. This happens with beverages. Food only has so long of a shelf-life before it goes bad whether it is homemade and portioned out pre-cooked meals, leftovers from homemade meals, leftovers from store-made meals or leftovers from takeout.
Even packaging right whether it is aluminum foil or tupperware containers, can make food go bad in a period of a week. This happens with beverages. Food only has so long of a shelf-life before it goes bad whether it is homemade and portioned out pre-cooked meals, leftovers from homemade meals, leftovers from store-made meals or leftovers from takeout.
Not when you freeze the food. Food will last much longer than a week. Notice the frozen food section in the market?
I cook to save money. I don't have a passion for it. I've found various ways to make it easier. I have a weeks menu when I go to the store. I take a quick look at the recipes to see what ingredients I need to make the list. Tuesday is designated spaghetti night. Thursday is designated soup night. I only I need meals for the other five nights and a couple of lunch meals and snacks. We usually keep breakfast foods around like sausage, eggs, bacon and toast or make breakfast burritos and freeze them.
I keep a few easy meals like frozen pizza or tuna Helper around to have something quick and easy for the days I don't feel like cooking or don't have a lot of time.
I hate washing dishes. I mainly only have simple cooking items that fit in the dishwasher. The frying pan and big glass bowls are an exception.
We get into ruts where everyone gets tired of the food. That's when I stick a piece of paper to the refrigerator and ask for suggestions. The kids are on an Asian food kick right now with requests for lo mein, sushi, pad Thai, stir fry and fried rice. There are some easy recipes for those if you look around.
I cooked more with my kids when they were little. We mainly made things like cookies, lasagna, ramen noodles or Mac n cheese...nothing complicated, but cheaper than eating out. I want them to at least know how to boil water and wash laundry before they move out of my house.
Most food frozen like than will be consumed in a week or two. For longer term storage, use food saver bags. Whatever. The point is that the food will last if frozen.
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I just don't feel like taking the time to prepare a meal and having to clean up the kitchen afterwards. Today I had some bbq ribs, collard greens, candied yams, and fried okra. (No, I don't eat like that every day, but when the mood strikes, I don't deny myself. lol) I didn't cook any of it myself except for the fried okra. Would've taken me hours to prepare and I obviously have more important things to do with my time like post on Internet forums.
