Peckish

My husband used to do the same thing. I finally started labeling items "Thursday night dinner" "leftovers for lunch", etc. Told him he was welcome to eat anything labeled lunch, but if he ate something labeled dinner he was on his own for that night. Seems to be working!

Onebyone

I made a casserole large enough to feed 12 people the other night and the next morning...there it was...gone...just an empty dish

My goodness! I guess hide the premade food in the freezer labeled do not eat yet.

aashley333

I use the crock pot a lot. Cream of mushroom soup is a staple. Not a fan of leftovers because that's what I had for "teacher lunches" everyday! 30 minutes from start to finish goes by fast!
I cook chicken tenders for one meal, then use in salad, or stir-fry or King ranch casserole (without the tortillas) next day.
My latest time saver has been using bags of frozen veggies. Added bonus: no rotten veggies in trash can!

• Set oven to 425
• parchment paper on broiler pan
• spread layer of veggies, season, and drizzle olive oil
• about 25 minutes-done

Thankfully, our adult daughter still lives at home, and she is a fireball when it comes to cleaning.
And, the cook does Not do the dishes!!

tropit

Tis the season for cheap turkeys! I bought a 14.99 lb one for $8 the other day. I'm going to the competitor's store and picking up a 12 pounder for $6.50. I've already roasted the first one and it will feed us and the dogs for many meals. (If my husband can control himself.) I'm going to make up some dishes to freeze today. The larger pieces will just be frozen as is. It was easy to roast the bird. I kept it as simple as possible with just S&P for seasonings and a couple of bastings.

Also, potatoes are super cheap right now. I washed a few and put them in the oven too. They went into the freezer, whole, skins and all. I can use them as bakers, or easily remove the skins after they thaw.

Other holiday deals are good flour (I like King Arthur,) spices, yams, etc.

tropit

Thanks! Good tip!

sewingpup

Not a cook here. I get by but it is a good thing I have a dog. He gets mainly kibble but I put about a tablespoon of something on it like roast chicken, roast, or lean hamburger. So basically, I cook for the dog. Tonight, we are having roast chicken and squash. Easy peasy. Just plop the whole chicken in the roaster, sprinkle a bit of spices on it. Then cut the squash in half or quarters depending on how big, wrap in aluminum foil and pop in the oven with the chicken. Maybe some fresh fruit for dessert. The chicken left overs will last for 3-4 days and I may freeze a bit for the pup. I do like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Last night I had popcorn and a bit later a little bowl of cottage cheese with canned peaches dumped on top. Favorite for breakfast is plain greek yogart with walnuts frozen blueberris, manybe a bit of banana, and sprinkled with cinnamon.

Yiaya

There’s only me and my husband living here so I do a ton of meals that I put in 4x6 inch aluminum pans and freeze. Pot pies, stuffed chicken, chicken Marsala or piccata, stuffed veggies almost anything that I make. I’ll make a big red sauce and put up meatballs. Honey mustard chicken is great too. As long as you don’t overcook it the first time you wouldn’t know it was frozen.
I don’t freeze potatoes (changes the taste to me) but will prep Shepherds pie and make the potatoes that day. I have some pretty tough days due to medical issues and this works great for days when I’m not up to cooking. Easy enough to make pasta or sides and we still have to eat. I used to send meals to my in laws when we lived up north, now we just have a bigger freezer. Bonus is I can use them on quilting marathon days too.

peaceandjoy

Onebyone, I'm with you on BOTH adults cooking once retired. My husband is still working, but when we both worked, he helped in the kitchen more. Now, as I'm home most of the time, I kind of feel it's my responsibility, unless it's something grilled - then it's on him.

Peckish, I like your idea. DH used to take any leftovers to work and have lunch for a few days. I finally asked him not to do that, there are plenty of other options for lunches and if the leftovers are enough for 2, I expect it to be dinner on another day. I'm home most days, but that doesn't mean I want to spend a lot of time cooking and cleaning up the kitchen.

Iceblossom

Hey Tropit -- your post motivated me to check out my local sales. At our usual chain store (Kroger) this week turkeys are $0.66/LB if you buy $25 worth of other stuff. Happened we needed more canned dog food and there was the $25 buying the bigger than normal package. Turkey 1 of the season is in the oven now, so I have 3 hours or so of computer/sewing time while I'm cooking... Cooking an empty turkey is no fuss or muss, it's the timing and side dishes and such that make it a bigger deal.

Another chain has a similar deal, spend $25 and get a turkey at $0.48. We will be doing that too and can put it in the freezer.

When my husband switched to his Ketovore diet we used to buy a lot of mark down meat to use that day. One day we were chatting with a guy who had an entire cart of marked down turkeys. He pointed over to the ground turkey packages at $5.00 per pound to the whole turkeys at (Seattle prices) $0.99 a pound and said he set up his grinder and made his own and that once ground it fit in the freezer much better. I might not make me sewing time but it sure tickles my cheap side. I will just set up my old metal grinder and slice off pieces and grind it skin and all. I figure I can season when I cook it. We did get a Seal a Meal thing and will portion out probably about 2 pound packages.

tropit

Yeah Iceblossom! Great deals, right? I usually give my dogs kibbles and some chicken meat for their meals. They are loving the turkey and it's broth. I'm going to pick up another turkey at "the other grocery store" today. The turkey is a fraction of the cost of the chicken. Plus, there are so many things that you can do with it. I'm saving the bones for turkey noodle soup.