I don’t understand how it can possibly be true, but from what I hear, some of you don’t get a “high” out of pulling out ingredients and stirring together dishes of deliciousness. When you see a new recipe – you don’t get giddy? How can it be?
It seems that instead, some of you very much enjoy mixing chemicals in beakers, changing the oil in a car, running marathons, writing software, organizing closets, crafting adorable items out of old window frames, decorating living rooms, taking pictures, or making quilts. I’m neither good at any of those, nor do I enjoy them – which is likely because I’m not good at them. Every time I try to run, I am then unable to walk for several days afterward. For me, quilting takes three million years of cross-eyed sewing and ripping out mistakes. And last week – someone handed me a camera with lots of cool lenses and I completely panicked because it wasn’t a simple point-and-shoot. They all stood there saying cheese, and I was like, what do I do? what do I do?
But put me in my kitchen, and I’m completely at ease. Ingredients of all kinds give me joy. (Well, not ingredients like margarine. But, you know what I mean, right?) Creating new recipes is one of my favorite hobbies. Making four dishes at one time is therapeutic for me.
Ah yes, we all have different talents, abilities, strengths, weaknesses, and interests. God did that on purpose. It’s a good thing. Seriously, if it were all up to me, all living rooms would be painted white, NASA wouldn’t exist, and there would be no party games.
While I can call in for back-up when picking paint colors, unfortunately, there’s not much of a way those of you who don’t enjoy cooking can avoid the kitchen. After all, we all need to eat three times each day. I’ll even admit that while I love cooking, sometimes even I don’t feel like going to all the trouble to once again feed the forever hungry people in my house.
So to all of you who do not enjoy cooking, or who might be experiencing some kitchen burn-out, I have a few suggestions:
1. Don’t make it hard.
Is it possible that you don’t like cooking because the recipes you try are complex and challenging? I believe one of the reasons I love cooking is that I always stick with very simple recipes. Basic ingredients. Tasty food. The end. I’ll leave recipes which require fourteen complicated steps to gourmet chefs. As for me, I’ll stick with simple prep, real food, and family friendly meals.
2. Don’t give up.
I promise that cooking gets easier the more you do it. Make just a few recipes over and over, then slowly add in a few more as you become comfortable. Don’t overwhelm yourself, feeling like you have to put loads of work into this. Make a simple main dish, toss a salad, steam a veggie…and you’re done.
3. Make the most of your kitchen time.
If you don’t enjoy cooking, do everything possible to save yourself effort. If you’re making one casserole, make three (eat one, freeze two). Brown several pounds of hamburger at once, freezing one pound portions so you just have to pull out cooked meat to stir into sauce or make into tacos. Check out more of my Eat Healthy, Save Time Tips.
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I would say that about 95% of the recipes you’ll find here on my site are very quick to put together. (Homemade Twinkies are the bomb, but who really has time to bake little cakes, and then pipe filling inside except for the rare special treat?)
Here are some of my favorite, super fast and easy recipes to throw together:
- Granola and Dark Chocolate Almond Granola
- Breakfast Cake
- Baked Oatmeal Cups (except that I often skip the cups and just spread the mixture into a pan instead)
- Easy Breakfast Casserole
- Italian Cream Cheese Chicken (fast prep, the crock pot does the work!)
- Chicken Tacos (seriously takes 2 minutes)
- Crock Pot Barbecue Chicken Breasts
- Baked Potatoes in the Crock Pot
- Italian Pasta Bake
- Italian Stew
- Pizza Boats
- Cheesy Beef and Rice
- Cheesy Salsa Enchiladas
Really, the list could continue – just click through all my recipe links in my Recipe drop-down tool bar at the top of my site. And don’t forget to make use of the new Heavenly Homemaker’s Recipe Search By Ingredient Box, located at the top of my right-hand side bar. It can take the thinking out of “what should I make?”
Don’t like to cook? No problem. I’ll do everything I can to make this healthy eating journey easier for you!
Let’s get an idea of how many of you love cooking, or dislike cooking. Share in the comments section! Those of you who don’t like cooking – what other activities do you enjoy? :)