Your problem is no different than most working couples and a vegetarian diet is no different than a regular diet when it comes to time spent getting it ready. They both have to be planned to cut down on prep time.

first get yourself some good vegetarian cook books.

Plan your meals for the week. Go over your recipes and see what you can chop or prepare ahead of time.

Do some things in the evening. For instance the table can be set the night before and some prep can be done then. 15 minutes spent at night can cut down dramaticly on what you have to do to get a meal ready. For instance the meal you stated you had. If you had set the table the night before you wouldn't have burnt the burgers.

Know that you are not a bad cook or a "bad wife". We all started out like you but we learned short cuts and ways to make our time count.

Lpink, I'm going to be in the same boat as you come Tuesday so I'll be watching for suggestions. I stink at getting meals on the table, especially after I've been out all day.There are days I feel like a "bad mother" because of our meals, so you're not alone in the feeling bad department.

My daughter is going to school so I'm going back to work full time. I will get home around 3:30pm, but my son is starving since he will only eat a Clif Bar for lunch. I know I'll feel rushed to get dinner on the table. He is used to eating between 3:00 and 4:00.

I'm going to try to prep some vegetables on the weekend and I have a few things in the freezer, but any tips will be appreciated. At this point I can see us living on pasta and grilled cheese.

Tracey

Work your time line backwards. Do as much prep as you can ahead of time, completing cold dishes such as salads, only withholding the dressing. And then analyze the labor-intensive jobs. You can boil the pasta while doing something else, for example, but don't stop in the middle of a more labor-intensive or critical job to start the pasta. One hang-up, and yes, the burgers get burned. So work your entire labor time-table backwards. The crashed potatoes (already prepped) take 10 minutes in the oven. The salmon will take 8 minutes stove top. Have everything ready to go, start the potatoes, then start the fish.

Prep work is one of the biggest keys. And leave yourself some wiggle room. If you are working a new recipe, and the time doesn't come out right, then you'll be okay. But I'd prefer to try new recipes in the middle of other things that I know well and can predict. Does that make sense?

It's like when I leave home to get somewhere on time: I don't think "I have to be at the dentist at 10", instead I think "I have to be backing out the driveway no later than 9:40 in order to get to the dentist on time." There is a real difference in how you process time using the two methods.

Sounds like my typical simple weeknight meal. Scheduled for 7, lucky if it gets on the table by 8, invariably the planned vegetable or other side is completely forgotten until I sit down, at which point I say screw it.

Ha! I am glad I'm not the only one! My poor, patient (but eventually well fed) husband never knows if he will have dinner at six or at nine.

However, when I go through my organized spells, there are a few things that help. Most often, the nights we end up eating at nine happen because I didn't start thinking about what to make for dinner until six.

Plan ahead!

A quickly seared piece of fish, chicken breast or tuna steak can be turned into something above the blah simply by topping it with something. Most sauces, herb butters and other toppings like chutney, flavored applesauce, spiced tomato-vegetable compotes can be frozen in small quantities for near instant use.

I don't chop/prep vegetables too far ahead of time because that shortens their shelf life...but, having the stuff you're going to cook them with ready is very helpful. Things like grated ginger, herb pestos, tomato paste, lemon zest or juice, I put into ziplock bags, press all the air out, and smooth into thin packages. Then, when I'm cooking, I can open one and break off just the amount I need for a veggie stir fry enhancement. No peeling, chopping, grating or mincing before I can get going!

Lpink, you know that I put a good meal on the table every night. I do next to none of the planning mentioned by Oilpainting. I almost always shop on a daily basis. I usually have an idea of what I want to make for dinner and I usually shop either on the way to work or on the way home. Sometimes I pick up extra veggies that will be used the next day and maybe I'll plan far enough ahead and buy a chicken to presalt for a day or two later in the week. If I want a pot roast I will get it ready in the morning and just have Moe put it in the oven mid afternoon. It will be done by the time I get home from work and I just need to do the sides. A small chicken can be roasted in less than an hour and while it is roasting the veggies can be prepped and cooked. Pasta is always good for a quick meal. Usually by the time the water boils and the pasta is cooked a sauce can be made.

An Asian stir fry is another easy meal to make. I put the water on to boil for the rice and while I'm waiting for it to come to a boil I cut up the veggies/chicken/etc.. I usually don't even start cooking the main ingredients until the rice is cooked and left to rest.

I enjoy my time in the kitchen. After working all day it is my wind down time.

Ann

All the advice so far has been great. I just want to mention that the very first task I always do when I start cooking dinner is clean off and set the table...I don't start anything else until that is done...it does make it easier to then concentrate on the food preparation. We're not vegetarian so a lot of my meals are quick things like put the potatoes in the oven to bake then deal with whatever meat we're having and the veggies are always last because they are usually quicker. My favorite meals are those that can be done in the oven like casseroles. I think it is just practice that will make it easier...it's something you just learn by doing!
Joann

One thought: why don't you take one meal, like the one you described, think it through, then execute it a few nights in a row and see what works/doesn't work. Sounds like you might also benefit from writing your steps down, adjusting as you go.

You're just out of practice and/or not leaving yourself quite enough time. That's all. No big deal.

Burgers and two salads sounds simple, but can still easily take 1 hour from pulling meat from refrigerator to sitting down to eat, and if you're distracted, or rusty, or if a butterfly sneezes in New Zealand, it can take more.

Just remember: since you can put on a fancy dinner, you can get a simple weeknight dinner on the table.

Basic sequence:
- Start pre-heating oven or grill, if needed. Clean work area, sink, etc. Pour a glass of wine.
- Start the dishes that need time - time to marinate, simmer, thaw, slow-cook, etc. Soups, roasts, braised stuff, etc.
- Do the dishes that can get cooked then wait for service or finishing. Anything that can sit covered, on "simmer", on a warming shelf, etc. Get those done and set aside. Veg often falls in this category.
- Get everything prepped and ready for the a-la-minute dishes that need to be cooked and served right away - before it gets cold and greasy. Burgers, fish, most fried foods, omelettes, etc.
- Set table if you haven't already. Run through checklist. Are your other dishes ready? Is the wine chilling? Are you wearing clothes?
- Cook the a-la-minute stuff, plate, serve.

So, that's enough about that.

Now, here is what I am concerned about.

You do not want to train the new S.O. to be a ''come home and get served dinner'' kind of guy. He needs to pull his weight. I don't care if he works all day and spends an hour in traffic, that still means he has been sitting on his rear for 1 hour before walking in the door and, unless he's a lumberjack, probably for 10 hours before that. Cooking is therapy, sort-of exercise (hey, at least you're standing), and togetherness.

Sure, do the prep work, set the table, cook the do-aheads, pour him a drink when he arrives, but then put a spatula in his hand and tell him to earn his dinner.

To "get dinner on the table fast, elegant and healthy," is something I think every working person would like to be able to do. I don't think it's always do-able. I do like a lot of the advice given above. Lots of times I don't know what I'm making for dinner until I come home from work, or driving home from work and I'll pick up some things to make it.

My sister is vegetarian & my brother-in-law is vegan. They love the website (I do to and I'm not vegan or vegetarian) Post Punk Kitchen, www.theppk.com. They have very cool yummy dishes for vegans. They might help to give you ideas of what to make.

lpink, I'm sure you just need some practice with timing and the multitasking that's required for everything to be done at the same time.

While I'm lucky enough to be a stay at home wife/mom these days, it wasn't so long ago that we both worked full time and had 5 kids in the house, including a baby. To compound the normal difficulties, we are a blended family so the four older children weren't there every night so it made meal planning a nightmare at times.

I learned to do a lot of simple meals - soup, casseroles and the like. To this day one of my favorite easy meals for a busy day is meatloaf with baked potatoes and a salad. Or cooked carrots. Or whatever your veggie of choice is. I know you don't eat meat, but you get the idea - the simpler the better. And if your SO is anything like mine, a warmed up loaf of bread is always a welcome addition to the meal.

I don't know how much more I can add to what's already been suggested, but I will say that once I started keeping a sink full of soapy water in one side of my double sink, cleanup started going a lot faster. I can just throw utensils and what have you in the sink as I cook and by the time I'm ready to clean them a quick swipe of the spnge is all it takes because they've been soaking. Not only that, anything that needs to be hand washed is already done - just rinse it and put it in a drainer to air dry.

I do have a suggestion for Tracey though about a hungry son after school. When our youngest son was in elementary school he would come home exhausted and didn't always realize that he was hungry. I started giving him a bowl of cereal with milk or some other sort of substantial snack after school so he could make it until dinnertime, which can be as late as 7PM depending on my DH's schedule. It made all the difference in his being able to hold it together and my being able to calmly get a meal on the table. Even now, if it looks like it's going to be a late night I cut up some fruit or veggies and put them out on a plate for us to snack on so we don't get too cranky LOL.

Hope this helps - good luck, and make sure you pour yourself a glass of wine to sip while you cook :-)

Becky

We don't plan our meals for the week. We eat what we feel like on any given day or what meat is in the freezer. Though Fridays are usually reserved for fish/seafood of some sort. We keep vac packed meats, fish, etc. in the freezer and take them out in the morning to defrost. Pick up fresh veggies on the way home from work. If we want a baked potato with dinner we start it off in the microwave and finish it off in the oven so it doesn't take so long baking. We prep our veggies and side dishes before we start cooking the main entree. That way they are ready to go into the pot or steamer by the time the entree is almost done cooking. When we are prepping we also get a glass of wine and talk about the day or what plans we may have for the evening. Get caught up with each other.
And no you are not a bad wife just because everything didn't come out all at the same time. Wayne and I both have done that more then once and it is not a big deal. We just roll with it. If it would help, get yourself a multi function timer and set it so it will remind you when you need to put your side dish on so it will be ready by the time the meat is done. NancyLouise

Don't bother laying the table for a week day dinner. Or get OH to do it. I just put out napkins and cutlery and fill the wine jug. That's all we need to sit down and enjoy the meal!

Tracey? April is going to school? Yikes!

Lots of great hints and tips from everyone!

Develop some short-cuts...

-Sliced or chopped bell peppers and onions in the freezer for quick stir fry or adding to soup or casseroles.

-I look for discounted mushrooms at the store. Slice and saute in butter and freeze in small portions. Easy to add to all kinds of things - egg dishes, stir fry, casseroles...

-Pre-cooked ground beef (freezer). I boil 5# of ground beef at a time and divide it into smaller amounts. I save the beef-flavored water, refrigerate it, remove the fat, and use the broth for soup.

-Pre-cooked beans and rice (freezer). Cook your own beans and save a lot of money. Any meal I reduce the amount of meat per serving, I'll also add some beans, eggs or cheese to provide a non-meat protein.

-A well-stocked pantry is a must.

-I keep to a generic plan to keep-on-track (outlined below). A guideline where I can easily exchange one day for another; or leave a day out and not mess the whole thing up; but at least I know what direction I'm going in each day for the evening meal.

-I try to make one or two new dishes each week to justify all those cookbooks (LOL) and to help stay out of a cooking "rut".

-Think ahead and make ahead... The freezer is my friend - make once and eat for many meals. That large batch of chili is frozen in individual servings and used not only for lunches, but also as a topping for a baked potato or a taco salad for supper. I make mashed potatoes when I can get potatoes - buy one bag get one free - and make freezer mashed potatoes. I also make twice-baked potatoes and stick them in the freezer.

MONDAY: Big Meal
Think of a traditional Sunday Dinner with all the trimmings... This meal includes a large cut of meat that is utilized for other meals and lunches during the week, possibly the base for soup (chicken or turkey carcass), and usually some for the freezer.

TUESDAY: Leftovers (from Monday)
Usually takes on a whole different look from the day before, but it doesn't have to. A good day for a casserole, or Shepherd's Pie....

WEDNESDAY: Stir fry
If you plan well, you will have your veggies already prepared from the previous two days of meals, or use frozen veggies, or a combination of fresh/frozen. Meat portions are also ready-to-go - either raw or pre-cooked and often found in the freezer. The same seasoned and pre-cooked meat I use for stir fry I also use as a topper for a dinner salad or in wraps, so I make up a large batch and divide it into user-friendly portions in the freezer.

I like to serve brown rice with stir fry meals. I always make more than I need and freeze the rest.

THURSDAY: International
Often something with pasta, beans or tortillas. I try to use less meat per serving, and add beans and other non-meat protein to save money.

FRIDAY: Vegetarian
Save money using lower-costing meat substitutes like beans, gluten, cheese, eggs... Occasionally we'll have breakfast for supper because it's easy to make it meatless - a nice veggie-filled omelet for instance. A stack of homemade bean burgers and homemade multi-grain burger buns in the freezer make a quick vegetarian meal before going to the high school football game.

SATURDAY: Soup and/or sandwiches
We're always busy on Saturday, so a freezer stocked with homemade soup (individual containers) and leftover sliced or ground meat is used for sandwiches or wraps, or quick-to-fix quesadillas keep us out of the fast-food joints.

SUNDAY: Homemade pizza or a dinner salad.
A great way to clean out the vegetable drawer.

Meals include fruit for dessert served in LOTS of ways. Whole foods are also Nature's original "fast food". I use lots of whole grains in side dishes to increase nutrition and fiber.

-Grainlady

Oh dear, Tracey, your baby is starting school? So is Bruvver, I can't believe how quickly those babies grew. Sigh.

L, I've always worked full time and it was interesting when the kids were still in school.

I found that prepping vegetables or salad the night before helped, or putting something like cabbage rolls into the crockpot the night before so I could just turn it on the next day helped. One less thing to do at mealtime and I am so not a morning person, so Ann T's morning prep wouldn't happen here, LOL.

If you're home and SO isn't, you could set the table at 2 in the afternoon and it wouldn't make a difference, no one is there to see it, so do as much in advance as possible.

Vegetarian cooking is not much different than "regular" cooking, Amanda was a vegetarian all the way through high school and the result was that the rest of us ate more vegetarians meals. An eggplant lasagna doesn't take any more time than a regular meat lasagna!

Like Ann T, I seldom plan meals ahead any more. In fact, Elery will be here in a few hours and I don't know what's for supper yet!

Annie

I still screw it up sometimes, but some things that help me are only having one time-sensitive food (ok to have something else simmering or roasting, but only one thing pan frying or steaming) and setting a timer. I sort of keep tabs on my stress level. If I'm doing a couple of things at once, I know I'm prone to letting something burn, so I set a timer for a little less time than I think it needs (even when it's something that doesn't usually need a timer, like pan frying chicken). I agree that you'll get used to it fast. You will start noticing when things smell done and not be bothered by stopping right in the middle of another task to check the food on the stove.

PS. Don't be a wife before you're a wife. It's nice to cook up something he brings home for you, but I don't think you should make him dinner every night.

jessicavanderhoff said

''PS. Don't be a wife before you're a wife. It's nice to cook up something he brings home for you, but I don't think you should make him dinner every night.''

Even after you're a wife (presuming that's the future that is desired), you shouldn't make him dinner every night!

Even if you are a wife or mother you should share the meal preparation duties. Both will need the skills at some point in their lives.

When our children were at home they started when they were very young helping with simple food preparation tasks and table setting. By the time they were pre-teens, until they left home, each planned and cooked one evening meal and hubby did one on the weekend. If they forgot, they paid to take us out to dinner. The kids each only forgot ONCE! Each meal had to include a meat (or meat substitute), veggie, fruit, dairy, and a grain. Our children left home with a stack of cookbooks and a recipe box. My husband has his own recipe box and adds our favorites regularly to it to this day.

It's no wonder our husbands and grown children can't cook - they were never taught how and it's difficult to pick it up from a frozen dinner with microwave instructions on the back.

I developed a class for elderly men through the County Extension Office in conjunction with the Senior Center. For one reason or another these gentlemen were having to take over the shopping and meal preparation duties. It all started when I noticed an elderly man wandering aimlessly around the grocery store and I asked him if he needed some help. He nearly broke down and cried at my offer and allowed me to help him with his shopping and gave him some general instructions. His wife was too ill to cook anymore and he was completely unprepared for the task. He said there was a lot more to cooking than throwing a steak or hamburger on the grill (LOL).

-Grainlady

Yes Annie and Woodie she is going to school. She will be 6 in November. Time really flies by. Bruvver is going too? Wow!

There are a lot of great suggestions that I'm going to try to use. I know I have to be organized but I'm usually not when it comes to cooking. I think I wll let them each pick a meal. That will help.

My kids are also difficult, well my daughter more than my son now. Neither of them particularly care for ground beef but my son will eat what I've made. My daughter is another story. If she doesn't like what I have she'll usually have yogurt.

Becky, Thanks for the suggestion. My poor son will have to get off the bus at the nursing home where I work. I plan on having something for him to eat, but he hates to eat anything there. If he doesn't eat there he will have to wait 45 minutes until I come home.

Lpink, Are you serving elegant meals every night? If so stop. You don't want to spoil him:)

Tracey

Thanks for all the tips and encouragement. BF absolutely helps, I have no complaints in that department. And he cooks meals for me too and helps pay for the food. I just want to cook dinners for him since I enjoy his company, and like I said, he works very hard during the day and has a long commute. I don't have to commute, at least right now, and the little work I do get is sitting work at home on the computer.

I think my "pre-prep" skills are what is going to have to shift and improve. That was the main reason I ate so basic when I was on my own. I was too tired to do any prep. at the end of the day when I came home from work. Also, I was working long hours and really didn't even have the prep time even if I was up for it. Very often I didn't get home until 7 PM. My prep. days were Saturday and Sunday, but now BF wants to spend those times with me doing fun things. (Not a bad problem to have, lol!)

I've got to expand my repertoire of quick meals. My vegetarian standards are soup and bread, and pasta, and stir fry, and bean and cheese nachos (which are not that popular with non-veggies I have found). BF loves omelettes which I suck at. I'd like to be able to learn to make a good quesadilla too, that would be a great alternative to nachos. Plus, I should probably buy some chicken and cook it and freeze it in small portions for adding to stuff. I can't afford nor justify buying the boneless breast meat pieces fresh. I really can't afford a lot of the quickie stuff you can buy in the store, I have to find ways to do the pre-prep myself, I can't pay the price to have someone at the store do it.

Oh yeah, PS the burning issue has a lot to do with my stove being on it's last legs. Sometimes it doesn't even go on unless you crank it up to high, and then it goes on like gangbusters and then doesn't go right down again either. I didn't actually burn the burgers, I burned the falafel that I was making for me. First they just sat there soaking up oil, then they burned.

I was joking about the "bad wife" part since I am not a wife, but I am 50 years old and have never lived or eaten on a regular basis with anyone else as an adult since my college days, which is pretty funny (as in peculiar, and maybe a bit humerous also!) :) So I'm a newbie at this civilized dinner thing, lol!

BF actually does hard physical labor all day, he's a carpenter. Like I said, he's totally into helping, but sometimes I just want to let him sit back and relax and enjoy a meal I made. He's in no danger of getting spoiled, and plus, he's a sweetie and deserves a little spoiling now and again.

I have a lot of cookbooks, which is why I posted here for some ideas, I don't have any more room on the bookshelf, lol! I have a collection of recipes but they were geared towards parties and potlucks, and family gatherings. I do need to up my game in the meal planning department too. Doesn't take much planning to have a PB&J every night! Last night I POOFED a mediterannean meze platter out of leftover stuff I had in the fridge. It made it to the table intact and not too late. BF helped set the table and made guacamole.

BTW, do you think I could freeze hummus? BF and I seem to be eating gallons of the stuff.

I'm sure you can freeze hummus. In fact I have purchased some large containers of it at Costco and found that there was an unusually cold center in the container. Try to have as little airspace at the top of the container and put it in a ziploc freezer bag.

My husband likes mostly vegetarian and it has taken me years to find out that he could a variation of the same meal every night. Stir fried vegetables, rice, beans and perhaps some fish.
Don't kill yourself with trying to have great variety- sometimes it's just a meal.

LPink, nothing wrong with making dinner for someone you love or care for whether once a week or seven days a week.

Moe has never cooked a meal and we have been together for 37 years. I don't feel hard done by or resentful. He is happy to eat whatever I cook and if I don't feel like cooking we go out or order in.

Matthew is a great cook, but he never cooked at home either. But food was always an important topic in our family and he was introduced to lots of different foods both at home and in restaurants. So the interest was there. Same for me. I never cooked at home but I always cared about food more than anyone else in my family did. I started cooking as soon as I moved out of my parents home.

Ann

I don't have a lot of great advice except to keep things as simple as possible. The more courses and complications you incorporate, the more difficult it is to get dinner on the table. I'm a huge fan of one pot meals. I'm also into advance prep AND leftovers. For example, make a veggie lasagna one night after dinner and stick it in the fridge. The next day, pop it in the oven and make a salad. Then freeze the leftovers and serve them again in a couple of weeks, creating another no-cook night with a cooked meal.

Keeping the number of courses down to a minimum is a huge help in timing. One or two things to make is enough for me when I'm optimizing time. Unless it's a special occasion, I almost never make more than two courses. Instead, I incorporate (mostly) everything into one. Thus the one pot meals.

I definitely second the one-pot meals (maybe check over at the dinner for one thread... lots of ideas that might help).

Also, about once (or twice!) a week I make "assembled" meals. For example, Enchilada Verde Lasagne could be done the full recipe way with cooking your own chicken and roasting your own tomatillo salsa -or- TJ's jarred tomatilla salsa is on hand, pick up a rotisserie chicken on your way home, then assemble, layering shredded cooked chicken, sliced avocado, warmed corn tortillas and the salsa. Top with shredded cheddar cheese and put in the toaster oven to broil/melt cheese. Serve with green salad or corn relish (purchased or homemade). Done in less than 30 minutes.

Which reminds me... whether or not you're a Rachel Ray fan, she has lots of tips and ideas for putting together balanced one-pot meals in a short amount of time. You might check out her site or show.

I agree that you are just out of practice -- once you get in the swing of things, you'll be good.

I cook for my husband because I enjoy cooking and he can't cook. He sets table, makes drinks, cleans up and helps with whatever I ask. Does he EXPECT dinner? No. He appreciates every bite I put in front of him.

I have a couple of Rachael Ray's cookbooks and both are full of recipes designed for the busy lifestyle. One of the books has a handy "what you should always have on-hand" pantry list, so you should always have stuff on-hand for those POOP nights.

When I am not in the mood to cook, and also not in the mood to go out, we will have cereal, yogurt smoothies, a munchie dinner of cheese and crackers, olives, cold-cuts, smoked salmon, etc. I can also whip up individual omelets in no-time flat, and always have salad fixings and cut vegetables available to stay healthy!

I cook for my husband because I enjoy cooking and he can't cook. He sets table, makes drinks, cleans up and helps with whatever I ask. Does he EXPECT dinner? No. He appreciates every bite I put in front of him.

Oh yeah! I coulda written that same thing. He does do steaks on the grill sometimes but aside from that and some very simple instant type foods, he can't cook. And I do enjoy cooking for him BECAUSE he is appreciative and eats whatever I make with no complaints.

So put me on the list of people who see nothing wrong with cooking for my husband every night. I'm happy doing it, he's happy doing the clean up and whatever else, so who's to say it's not a good set up?

Thanks for the tips ladies! I definately need to practice to get it down, and cut down on the number of dishes I make at one meal. I seem to have no "in between" style of cooking under my belt, it has always been either dinner party style or cold pizza and warm coke at my house! Even when I made the meze platter the other night, BF looked at it and said, "All this just for me??!!" He couldn't eat it all.

I tried scanning thru some of Rachel Ray's stuff, but I found another Web site today that I like even better, Eatingwell.com. I have liked some of their recipes, although I usually have to double up some ingredients to make them taste OK.

We'll see how it goes tonight, just pasta and salad and some yellow squash, which I might bread and fry, since I'm not serving bread with the meal. I also learned NOT to make dessert in the middle of meal prep., since if we even want dessert it will be a while after the meal. This time of year we just eat some version of fresh fruit most of the time anyway.

lpink-
You wrote "I'd like to be able to learn to make a good quesadilla too, that would be a great alternative to nachos. Plus, I should probably buy some chicken and cook it and freeze it in small portions for adding to stuff. I can't afford nor justify buying the boneless breast meat pieces fresh. I really can't afford a lot of the quickie stuff you can buy in the store, I have to find ways to do the pre-prep myself, I can't pay the price to have someone at the store do it."
I couldn't agree more!
The trick to a good quesadilla is the cheese. If you can get some of the fresh Mexican-style cheese, use that. If not, Monterey Jack works in a pinch. My husband likes to use the oven, I use the microwave. Heat the tortilla slightly so it will fold, not break. Put shredded cheese inside, fold and heat again. Top it with whatever floats your quesadilla boat!
The chicken problem is solved, easy-breezy. This is what I do on a weekend (or early on a weekday, depending on my schedule) to have meat ready for chicken salad, chicken quesadillas, chicken chunks on a salad, etc.
Wait for the chicken breasts (with bone and skin) to go on sale. For me it's 99 cents/lb. My market has 3 big ones per package. One package will fix several meals. You drop them in to a pot with enough water to cover the top. Add a chopped carrot, a chopped onion, and a sliced stalk of celery. Add a bay leaf or 2 and some cloves of garlic and turn it on HIGH. Run around doing whatever makes you happy until it starts to boil. Then TURN IT OFF, cover it with the lid, and wait until the centers cook. That should be about 45 minutes. Use your tongs to lift the breasts out of the water and put them aside to cool.
The water is now a broth you can boil down for soup. Each chicken breast gives you almost a cup of juicy, diced meat. The skins and bones seperate from the meat disgustingly easy. I bag up my chicken gold in 1-cup amounts in the freezer-ready for a busy weekday.
Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy.
Jean

Thank you thank you Jean for that tip, I absolutely have to do it!! I am a huge soup maker so I like the idea of having it do double duty. I'm sure after I debone the breasts the bones can go back in the soup pot too!!

I am getting better, last night I managed to get dinner on the table BEFORE seven! (OK, it was 6:50 but still, it's progress!). We had spinach fettucinni (a keeper recipe), fried breaded yellow squash and salad. It really helped that I had the lettuce washed and ready to go in the fridge, and I used presliced mushrooms for the fettucinni, which were the same price as the whole ones. Also I used pre-marinated italian style tofu, a product I feel blessed to be able to get locally at Wegman's. And I started with a clean kitchen, which is one of the great secrets of me getting dinner on the table period. When the kitchen is a mess I don't want to cook because it just means I'll get further behind. Yes, it is a struggle for two working people to eat civilly and healthy. Luckily I have a great partner!!

BTW, I had the day from heck yesterday, since I literally ran around town trying to get my car fixed. Drove to one place, walked around the neighborhood shopping only to discover two hours later that they didn't have the parts to fix it, then went to another place, left my car there and walked home, only to find that they also didn't have the parts (because as I suspected, the car needed WAY more work than just an alignment, the wheel is bent and the tire is shot). But since I had to go out of town, I had to walk back to the car place and get my car and schedule the work for another day. My sweetie helped out last night by doing the pots and pans AND mopping the floor while I was finally able to shower. (I think he had ulterior motives though, I REALLY needed a shower after all that walking around in the heat). And he watched the yellow squash frying for me while I set the table so it didn't burn, lol! Oddly enough, one of the things that is hard for me is to let him help a lot. I feel indebted. A little helping I can deal with, but getting lots of help from someone is something I am not totally comfortable with! I still want the 50/50 concept, but I know in relationships it isn't always 50/50. I'm still obsessed with that number though!

lpinkmountain: any chance of you sharing the recipe for your spinach fettuccine (a keeper recipe) and fried breaded yellow squash?
Jean

Update: I broke down and bought some boneless chicken breasts. They were on sale and they were actually cheaper than the bone in ones! I'm a meat novice, lol! I'm learning that part of the secret is to make no more than one involved dish per meal. For example, I was visiting friends and they made risotto for dinner, but the side was just simple grilled fish and a salad. I'm trying to amass a group of quick dinner recipes and menus. It's funny, at 50 I am dealing with "new bride" issues, :)

Here's the fettucini recipe. I think I either got if from a friend or got it at a health food store on a recipe card.

Wholewheat Fettucini
(serves 4-6)
8 oz. of whole wheat fettucini (I used spinach fettucini which is what I recommend using, but WWH would work fine too if you can't find or afford spinach)
1/4 cup soy sauce (I used 1 TBLSP)
1 TBLSP wine vinegar (I used wine, and probably about 1/8 cup of that)
1 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. each oregano, savory and marjoram (I left out the savory and marjoram, don't really know why, I forgot to add them!)
1/4 tsp. thyme
1/2 lb. tofu, crumbled finely. Here you could substitute a cup of canelinni beans or some chopped chicken if you like. If using tofu, I highly recommend using a baked italian style tofu if you can get it. Then you can skip the marinating bit with the tofu.
2 TBLSP olive oil
1 med. onion, chopped
8 cloves garlic, slivered (I couldn't do that! I used 4 cloves minced garlic)
1 cup chopped mushrooms.
1-2 TBLSP Parmesean (optional)
minced parsley to garnish (I left out)

Mix soy sauce, vinegar and herbs, then pour over tofu in a shallow dish to marinate. Strain after about 1/2 hour. Note: from what I know about tofu, this is a useless step so I would leave it out. Tofu does not absorb marinade. If you want to try something with a marinade, slice the tofu into thin slabs and pour the marinade over it and bake in a 400 degree oven for about 40+ minutes. Turn and rebaste the tofu halfway thru the baking time. This will make the tofu firmer because it will dry out and it will make a coating of spices that will stick to the outside of the tofu. OR, if you're lucky, just buy pre-baked italian style tofu, which is what I did. Or leave out the tofu, use beans or diced cooked chicken instead.

Cook fettucini as per package directions. While water is boiling, start sauteeing the onion and mushrooms in the olive oil. I use a big braising pan from which I can serve the final product. I used presliced mushrooms, which made it go fast. It will take about 10 min. for the onions and mushrooms to start to get a translucent appearance and have flavor concentration. That's about how long it takes to boil the water for the pasta. Now, add your personal choice of spices from the list to the sautee, and use vegetable broth, white wine and a dashes of low salt soy sauce or tamari to keep the mixture from sticking and to dissolve the fond. You'll end up adding about one cup, most of which will be vegetable broth. You can use water in a pinch, but that will make the final product kind of bland. I also added a half a large package of chopped frozen spinach. That was DELICIOUS. You could also add whatever other vegetables you have or like, such as zuchinni, fennel, etc. If they are raw veggies you'd have to add them to the saute earlier on.

When the sauce is finished and the pasta is drained (add a dash of olive oil to the pasta to prevent it from sticking together), add the Parmesean to the sauce if you are using it. Then you can toss all the sauce with the pasta or scoop the sauce out and top individual plates of pasta with it. I combined all the pasta and all the sauce, which is how I like to eat pasta. Garnish with parsley if you feel the need, a drizzle of olive oil and more parmesean (or seasoned bread crumbs if you're counting calories). Serve with a little dish of parmesean on the side to pass around if you're not counting calories!

Spinach with spinach noodles is what made the dish delish for me. You could also do this with feta instead of parmesean. Is OK without cheese, but no where near as yummy, but if you're diet restricts it then that's the way it goes. Is fine as a side dish without spinach or other veggies.

Here's a link to how I did the summer squash, I followed LoriJean's directions. They were DELSIH. However, if I make this combo again, I will slice the squash, layer in single layer in my broiling pan, and top with a mixture of seasoned bread crumbs and olive oil. Then broil well away from the heat for about 8 min., 4 on one side, then pull out, sprinkle crumbs on the other side and 4 more to finish. Not as cool looking, but very tasty and doesn't need all the constant attention that frying does. Can be prepared before starting pasta and then popped in the oven during pasta prep. I don't have a grill, but that would be a good option for a squash side for the fettucini.

Here is a link that might be useful: Breaded fried yellow summer squash