Burned out from cooking

[Alice]

The last few weeks I have been so burned out from cooking I just don't know what to do.

We have three people (down from 5 as two are at college) and one doesn't come home until 7:30 pm. I should cook for the three of us each day but getting home from work at 4:15 (two of us get home at this time) doesn't give me a lot of time unless I have planned in advance. I just can't seem to be motivated to plan in advance and I'm just plain burned out from making meals.

I would love to come home and dinner would be cooking already and the smells would be so awesome and I could just sit down and eat. But sadly, that's not going to happen unless I put it together. Last night I put in the oven a turkey roast (you know the kind that is frozen in the rectangle aluminum pan) and that takes 2 1/2 hours to cook. I put in three potatoes and roasted two chicken legs. I planned on baked potatoes and turkey roast for dinner and with the chicken I would make a jambalaya. An hour into the cooking time I ate my baked potato and made the jambalaya. So my dinner took be 2 1/2 hours to eat. I can't do that every night. There won't be any jambalaya left for tonight because much of that went into lunches for today. Now I have to start all over again tonight.

Crock pot cooking is good but it all seems to taste the same after a while. Do you know what I mean by that? I made chili the other night but burned it since I went outside to do some yard work while it was simmering. All the liquid absorbed--I never had that problem with soup/chili before.

I can't hire someone due to finances and I don't want to buy too many rip-packages premade meals either. How can I get out of this rut I'm in?

Help!

Alice

[allison5273]

I have felt the same way lately too! One thing I do is make a list of themed nights and go from there, something like this:
Monday- pasta
Tuesday- breakfast for dinner
Wednesday- Soup
Thursday- Mexican
Friday-Pizza
Saturday-sandwiches
Sunday-crock pot
Then I come up with 4-8 ideas in each category then rotate. I hope this helps:)

[bobbie78]

I can so relate. My back is healing and I done a lot of relaxing trying to heal it. I have no desire to cook cause really its the same ol same ol. Nothing tastes good. I think I'm just a tad  emotional these days. I pray it doesn't last long.

[Cheryl]

I was feeling like this a couple of weeks ago.  I couldn't stand the thought of cooking another meal.  I took the easy way out and fixed sandwiches and soup, something really easy.  This was a short-term solution.
How about making some meals and freezing them?  Thaw one out a day before you need it and it could be put in the oven by the first one home from work. 

[Alice]

I think my husband is realizing that I'm "tired" and he actually commented on that two nights ago. Yesterday, he grilled burgers before he went to work at 2 pm. We just needed to reheat them when daughter and I both came home from work. That, along with leftovers from the night before worked out. Today, he is planning on getting dinner started so when he leaves for work at 2 pm it is slow cooking or ready to pop in the oven when I get home at 4:15 pm. We're on opposite work schedules right now. I work 7:30 to 4 pm and so does our daughter and he works 2 pm to 7 pm. At least he's trying to ease my burnout.

Alice

[Cheryl]

I'm glad he's helping you out.  Sounds like it's working.