My husband cooked dinner every night from early in my pregnancy until our son was about 10 months old. He's such a great cook, and he volunteered, so who was I to mess with a good thing? But he had to start putting in really long hours on a work project, and at the time I was a SAHM, so I decided I would start making more of an effort in the kitchen.
I'm a reasonably good cook, but I don't enjoy it very much. I discovered that the actual cooking isn't that much of a chore, but I absolutely hate figuring out what to make from the ingredients on hand. I hate hearing, "What's for dinner?" I even hate it when my husband asks me, "What would you like me to make you for dinner?"
Everyone says you should do meal planning to save on your grocery bill, but I don't particularly enjoy deciding what to make and generating the shopping list. At the same time I do think homemade meals are important for your health and your finances.
Believe it or not, I found the perfect solution on the internet, and thought some of you might be interested: www.savingdinner.com
For a $10 subscription, every week the site emails me 6 recipes and, very key, the grocery list to go with them. Every recipe has been simple, quick (< 30 minutes), healthy, and very flavorful. You can choose between 2, 4, or 6 servings, and between regular, low carb, heart healthy, vegetarian, frugal, crock pot, and weight loss menus. There are even substitutions for kosher and gluten-free diets. The site also has several "freezer-meal" plans you can purchase ($3 for 5 meals) if you like the idea of doing a big batch on the weekend and defrosting one each day. The website has free sample weeks available if you want to try it out.
My husband's nightmare project is over, and he has resumed being the chief cook at dinnertime. But the next time I need to step up to the plate (er, skillet?), SavingDinner will be my saving grace.
