- You know you are eating out too much when you get annoyed at the server who is trying to do their job.
- You know you are eating out too much when you feel like you are constantly being seated in the screaming child section of the dining room.
- You know you are eating out too much when you have the local pizza place on speed dial of your cell phone.
I am sure I am not the only who has had these thoughts!! Anyone else brave enough to raise their hands?? Well since Rob and I have moved to Ohio, we have realized that we need to cut back on eating out. When we lived in Connecticut we would average eating out (fast food, take out, or sit down restaurant) about 5 times a week for either lunch or dinner. This didn't count my "breaks" that I had at work where I would spend money on my 30 minute break for a snack. So yes we did eat out A LOT. We will both admit that, too. So now that we are in a new place we are going to work on eating at home A LOT more. :)
So far we have done pretty good. This past weekend was a bit rough since he went to Connecticut with his dad to pack up the rest of the house where there is literally no food or cooking items left at the house. This last week though we did good. We had went to the store and purchased quite a bit of meat that could be frozen and then thawed out when needed. It has been nice cooking at home again. I may not be the greatest cook, but I am at least willing to try, though. Since his mom has been staying with me for the weekend, we did good about trying eat at home as well! Since Saturday, she and I have only ate out twice. Once for lunch on Saturday and then tonight for dinner. The other nights I have been creative on trying to fix meals here at the house for her and I. I was able to make a meal that she and I would enjoy that I would not normally be able to make when Rob is around since he does not like shrimp.
But Rob and I have decided that we can not just completely cut the whole eating out thing. I see it as kind of like going on a diet or budgeting. While on a diet or a strict budget you still have to leave some give room or some reward room so that you do not fail. If you are use to eating out all of the time then trying to quit cold turkey it will fail every time. We have decided that we will eat out twice a week. Once a week we will treat the dogs to a car ride and dinner at a fast food place like Sonic and then once a week he and I will go out and have a meal at a sit down place. This way it feel more special than, "well where do you want to go tonight?" I know it is easy right now, but the real test will be when both of us start working. I am hoping that we can have a routine down before then, but it will be a struggle for awhile, I am sure.
So for all of you lovely friends who cook...send me your favorite EASY meals that you like to cook. I am a picky eater, but I am trying to broaden my palate a bit. Rob and I tend to cook on a weekly basis: Chicken, Pork, and Beef. So feel free to send me anything with these meats in it. I would love to try some of your dishes!!
My favorite easy chicken recipe is Chicken and Rice. Take 1 Cup Rice, 2 Cups Water (or chicken broth) and a can of mushroom soup. Mix together in a rectangular baking dish. Put chicken pieces (boneless chicken breasts or thighs work. Bone in chicken works good too)on top of the rice mixture. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 1 hour to 1 hour and 30 Minutes until chicken is done. It takes a few minutes to put together and a long time to cook, but it's a good meal for when you get home and aren't quite hungry yet. Boneless chicken cooks faster of course. I've made it from frozen too.
ReplyDeleteI've had to cut back on eating out myself. I went on assistance recently so I've had to watch my eating habits and food spending so I don't run out before the end of the month. My big challenge is my kitchen is always a mess and I'm really bad about thinking "Oh, the kitchen's a mess. I don't want to cook" and then I get take out.
Megan that sounds yummy!!!
ReplyDeleteI understand about the kitchen always being messy. That was one reason why we didn't cook much either. I am trying to keep the dishes out of the sink and try to run a load of dishes in the dishwasher every other day. :)
This is one of my favorite recipes! You don't have to tell anyone that you found it online...It is super easy, and can be done in less than 30 minutes! Plus its a meatless main dish, so good for the environment!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.barillaus.com/Recipes/Fettuccine-Rigate-with-Vodka-Sauce.aspx
Also, I am most sucessful eating "in" when I plan out my menu for the week in advance. I make my list of meals that I want to cook. ( I have alot of cookbooks, so I always write the book and the page where I found it). Then I inventory and make my shopping list, and go shopping of course. This way, at 5pm on Thursday, you don't have to "decide" what to have, and you already know you have all the ingredients. My final advice, is to have a backup plan! I always pick up a couple of skillet meals (think Chicken Voila, or the TGI Friday freezer meals) and/or a frozen pizza for the night where I do fail to cook. A digorno pizza is much cheaper than a $15 pizza from delivery.
Also, plan to give yourself an easy night every now and then too! If you have a grill, plan burgers once a week, or grilled chicken too....There are lots of great ways to make them interesting. If you don't have an outdoor grill, you can do burgers on a small grill, or george foreman.
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