I know this is a regular question in my house: WHATS FOR DINNER? I also know the response to that questions is: What are YOU cooking?
How many times do you hear and/or ask that question? How many times do you wish your spouse would pitch in to help with preparing dinner? I know I do. I love cooking but sometimes I just don’t feel like it. There are other times I just wish he would come in the kitchen with me & help.
This help comes in twofold: I get to talk to him while hes in there; and, he gets to understand that just cooking dinner isn’t as easy (sometimes) as he thinks it is.
So in our house, we have devised a plan that we cook together. Yep, you guessed it QUALITY TIME.
I know, I know you saying its not easy to get my spouse to help with cooking. Well, let me tell you: its your job to approach the subject & the activity in a way that appeals to your spouse. You know your spouse and what they like to do and what they don’t. Don’t say they don’t like to cook. Make it fun! Make it not seem like work or cooking.
This activity is all about SPENDING TIME TOGETHER.
Whats for dinner?
Here is a pictorial of us cooking a meal together. It was really fun because really I did most of the work, but the fact that he was my third hand (getting me the stuff I needed) was great. We talked. He asked questions like” Why are you putting the noodles in the skillet?”
This gave me an opportunity to share with him what I do & also love. He was able to learn something but the ultimate prize was the bonding we did.
Remember cooking together is not about the food but the bonding. We shared stories of our moms & grandmothers and fathers in the kitchen. The stories was funny to say the least.
When we finished dinner, I wasn’t resentful that he sitting and watching TV; and he wasn’t mad it was taking a long time. So I challenge you to get your spouse in the kitchen to cook.
Quality time: Cooking together
but how…
- Plan a day to cook together
- Make it fun
- Don’t choose a recipe that is hard to make or cost a lot of money
- Fix the drinks first (this way you can sip on your favorite beverage while you cook)
- Accept the help that is given….some spouses are not comfortable cooking but they can help get you things..they can stir…they can gather the dishes..whatever, just meet them where they are when it comes to cooking.
- Don’t be rigid…if something gets burned its ok! Its y’all burned meal…give it a cutesy name & either eat & enjoy or throw away & laugh about it. Whatever is decided just make sure it don’t offend your spouse.
- HAVE FUN!
What did we have for dinner?
We are busy folks but also love to eat! I’ve had the pleasure of getting a few meal suggestions from emeals. eMeals has made our life easier and have given us meals we can prepare together & have more time for US! If you are looking for a weekly meal planning with grocery list definitely check out emeals. But since I hadn’t gone to the grocery store, we had a meal with items we had on hand lol
- 1 box of spaghetti noodles
- 1 jar of spaghetti sauce
- salt, black pepper to taste
- 1 pkg of ground turkey
- 1/2 bell pepper (dice cut)*
- 1/2 onion (dice cut)*
- 1 can of roasted tomatoes
- minced garlic (as much or less as you like)
- 1/2 teaspoon of Italian seasoning
- Olive oil
- 4 oz 3 cheese blend (buy 8 oz bag)
- *You can use the Season Blend or Three Pepper Blend found in your grocery freezer.
- Preheat oven to 300
- Boil water in pot for spaghetti noodles
- Once water begin to boil, add noodles, a drop of olive oil, a some minced garlic to the boiling water.
- Let boil until noodles are al dente, normally 3-5 mins (this means not to hard but definitely not mushy)
- Chop bell pepper and onion into dice size
- Place chopped pepper and onion in skillet with garlic & saute until soft
- Add ground turkey and season with salt & black pepper
- Brown turkey meat
- Remove from heat & drain fat
- Add spaghetti sauce to meat, onion, garlic, and peppers
- Let simmer
- Remove cooked spaghetti noodles from boiling water with slotted spatula.
- Add cooked noodles to turkey meat sauce.
- If need to thin out spaghetti sauce, use a spoonful of spaghetti water (this is optional)
- Combine noodles with sauce
- Add some cheese to combined spaghetti and sauce. Stir
- Pour spaghetti, cheese and sauce combination in to a baking dish.
- Add remaining cheese to top of spaghetti
- Bake in oven for 10 mins or until cheese melted
- Enjoy with your spouse & a bottle of wine.
So when the question: Whats for dinner? is asked make it a fun reply that is inviting your spouse to help!
Mandi says
Oh you know we like to get in the kitchen and “burn”!! It really is a great way for us to connect. When we were both full time chefs, we hated cooking at home because we cooked ALL DAY LONG, but doing it together made it easier.