Great tips.. and from Lucinda, too.  I also like doing all prep work the night before, then tossing it in the crock pot as I walk out.  No oven heat in the kitchen.  Some things just taste better in an oven, but I still  do as much prep work the night before. 

I find a toaster oven to be a great investment.  I broil fish,shrimp,  and small hamburger patties. Also , some foods don’t reheat as well in a microwave as they do in the toaster oven. ( pizza)

In the cold months, make a big pot of soup or chili or stew.  Freeze half for those days when you are just too tired to do anything but sink into that easy chair.

I appreciate all the information from everyone. I believe it’s very important to keep a well stocked pantry. You’d be surprised how you can always whip up a meal. I use to marvel at how my older brother could go into any-ones kitchen and prepare a wonderful meal. I use to ask him where did you find this stuff? He’d reply in your kitchen you just need to learn how to put things together. His food presentation was lovely.

I rarely buy take out. I prefer cooking my own food. I get these moments when I’ll prepare and cook several meals at a time. I’ll cook only if I’m well rested. I like to take my time and slowly prepare and cook my food. Food preparation and cooking is a ritual for me. It’s  never a rush job.  Once meals are cooked I refrigerate and freeze  them. I also buy lots of fresh vegetables and fruits. This works out perfectly. Sometimes I just want the quickest way to have a nutritious meal without having to go through all the work.

Cooking large pots of stews, spaghetti, chili and soups makes life soooooo wonderful!

I’ve never tried a slow cooker. I always had this vision of it blowing up. Perhaps, I heard a story as a child and I never got over it.

Cooking and sharing a meal with family and friends is one of the most enjoyable and loving experiences.

Add my vote for the slow cooker - it’s a best friend! And what about all the wonderful casseroles we knew about in the 60’s & 70’s., especially those that were made mostly in one pot, without lots of fussy bits to combine? I always made double or triple amounts to freeze. 

My advice to families with children is to teach them the fun of cooking as early as possible. Not only can they then help out, but will develop independence for later. I taught my sons to cook, sew, clean with the admonition to marry for love, not for a maid. It worked!

I would really like to be more of a cook. and i think my problem IS the organization of it. I hate to food shop. It’s something i just don’t think about until i’m actually at the store because we ran out of milk, juice or coffee! then i buy a handful of last minute groceries. this means we eat the same few meals every week at my house. it’s boring. and we eat out more often than we want to or should. I really need to buy a cookbook for healthy meals in under an hour!

In the spring/early summer, before the weather gets hot, I haul out my divided meal "keepers" (the Rubbermaid/Tupperware ones with three compartments).  I steam fresh veggies (or use frozen), roast a chicken, bake some fish, & make some whole wheat pasta/brown rice.  I make my own "TV dinners" & freeze them.

When the weather gets hot & I don’t want another salad/sandwich but it’s too hot to cook (& for whatever reason, I don’t want to go out to eat), I have a nice meal of the kind of food I want.  I don’t care for store-bought TV dinners; most have too much salt, & rarely have enough veggies.

Since it’s just the two of us now, I still like to make a big meal at supper time.  Then can have the left overs the next night.  I still buy in bulk mainly because of the specials at the grocery store.  I hate to run to the store for couple things then I end up with a couple bags of stuff I don’t need.  I freeze alot of meat.

  I also belong to a couple recipe sites.  That helps me come up with different dishes.  I have a binder of "keeper" recipes and a boxfull of printed off recipes that sound good but probly won’t get made.  But dang, they sound good!!

  I also love my crockpot.  As a kid my Mom wouldn’t use one cuz she always was afraid it would start a fire so I never used one until about 10 years ago.  I now have 3 of them,LOL.  I agree that it’s probly a pressure cooker blowing up not a crock pot.  Mom used to use one when we were kids and always told us to stay away from it in the stove cuz it could blow up.  Ya that could scare someone into not wanting to use one and I don’t.  I find a crockpot good for tender meats.  I cook corned beef in mine.