Nearly 3pm and I don't have a clue yet. I am dropping a daughter at netball training at 4.15, so we will duck into the local supermarket, and I'll find something then. Nothing like leaving it to the last minute.

It's becoming a bit of a worry - this slackness of attitude in the kitchen department. (See, I can berate myself as well as my offspring!) Once upon a time I was pretty enthusiastic about coming up with a variety of decent meals for the family, and I even had a vague plan for the week of what meals we would have each night. Even stocked up meat in the freezer with a vague notion of what meals it was intended for. I've never been anything out of the box as a cook, but I can follow a recipe, and I'm quite capable of serving a fairly balanced meal. At one time I didn't mind doing so, although I do recall way back - after nearly 4 years of marriage (I was pregnant with #1), actually saying to my Mum "Thank you Mum for all those years of you cooking dinner every night. I never appreciated it when I was growing up, but I do now."

I'm not quite sure when 'the wheels fell off', but it's safe to say that I'm finding it all a real drag these days. I'm not sure if it's the annoyance factor (that I feel) of Marc rarely being home from work in time to eat with us. Two nights a week he is definitely late because he plays Touch.. the other three... who knows. (It's not that he ever complains about having to reheat stuff - It just annoys me.) And then there are the likes and dislikes spread across three children - not that they are particularly fussy. I've seen many who are much worse, and they are usually expected to eat what they are given. The one big pain is fish, because the eldest absolutely flatly refuses to eat it. With Marc not being fussed on 'tinned fish', it rules out a few easy tuna or salmon dishes.

Maybe it's that most afternoons I'm doing some sort of taxi run, so I don't have the luxury of a couple of hours preparation time leading up to it. I don't know how people who work manage to do it! And here is me who quite frequently has several hours up her sleeve during the day.. I am sure you can't imagine what the issue is. But I'm not into cutting up veggies for dinner early in the day, and it's also a bit hard to do that if you don't know what you're having yet!

I do like variety in meals, but I seem to get stuck on the same few things over and over again. (And always chicken, too much chicken!) I try to prepare relatively healthy meals, but I all too frequently get a complete slack-attack, and do what I did last night: I bought frozen pies to heat up. (It was that or no maths!) And you know what? The kids went "yummmm... I love pies". Hardly an incentive to go creating some other masterpiece, is it?

I don't grill meat at home anymore - not when it tastes so bloody good on the BBQ - so I leave that for weekend meals, which I guess limits my weeknight choices. If I do a random survey of what other people are cooking for dinner, just to give me ideas, I usually find that it isn't something the kids would be keen on, or me for that matter!!

A slow cooker is starting to look like a good idea, but I have two problems with that. Cupboard space (and a lack of energy to do a kitchen cupboard clean-out), and the fact that you actually DO have to know what you're having more than an hour in advance!

So, this week, so far - it has been... Monday night - chicken schnitzel (lazy, chicken shop prepared type, but I bake it, so no frying.), with pasta, corn, broccoli and carrot. Tuesday night - Zucchini slice - done in muffin tins, new potatoes, pre-boiled and then squashed flat on a tray, sprayed with oil, and baked till crisp, and salad. Last night, pies, peas and new potatoes.
Tomorrow night will have to be spag bol, as an easy meal to have when I get home from swimming at 7pm.

OK, here's an invitation. What's your favourite EASY midweek meal? Hit me with a recipe... (but let me know if it's in North American measurements so I can convert somehow, and bear in mind that there seems to be some common meal favourites over there that we don't really have here - which I won't know till I see, so please don't be offended if I ask 'what's that?!!)

The kids (and me) aren't into really spicy stuff - and I'm not really into cooking Asian cuisine (like Thai) apart from basic stirfries. Some stuff I'm just happy to save to enjoy in a restaurant!!!

And I'm not into stuff that uses a vast array of cooking utensils, pots and pans etc, to prepare. If there's one thing I'm more fed up with than cooking right now, it's washing up!

Labels: cooking, daily