Tired of cooking..
 

I never really enjoyed cooking, sad to say. I think it has to do with the fact that I'm not a hardy eater and my palette is a bit discriminatory. However, my husband was raised by a mid-west mama who cooked three hot meals a day....he loves everything... So, for 30 years I've cooked hardy meals...stuff I don't eat. I can go all day without a thought to eating but hubbie needs his 3 meals so I stop what I'm doing and cook or make him something. 2018, I'm going to introduce a new routine and eat out more. I'd like a break.. Anyone else hit their cooking threshold?

I hit mine many years ago! Hubby was brought up by the kind of mother who served three hearty meals daily and who prepared lunch desserts of fruits made into smiley faces for her children. I was brought up by the kind of mother who thought nothing of serving canned beans and hot dogs for dinners two nights in a row. (Once she did it three nights in a row and I complained!) My style of cooking involves making a hearty soup or one-dish casserole for dinner. Hubs got tired of that type of cooking and wanted more exotic meals. Thirty years later he is the best Indian cook I know! He makes almost all of our meals (not just Indian food) now; I have to fight to make dinner once in awhile.

My older sister did all of the cooking for her family. I don't think her husband ever learned how to boil an egg. She got very tired of the cooking too.

At this point, I think your idea to eat out more often is very practical. The problem we found with eating out is that there are only a very few restaurants that offer the quality of food we want to eat at a price point we find of value.

With eating out, I worry about health impact, too. We are not fast food eaters often and we watch sodium and cholesterol... I cook healthy so it will have to be infrequent. He doesn't mind cooking his own breakfast or lunch on occasion...but dinners are on me. I'm thinking I can solicit his help and we can cook meals together more often. Anything to make it more fun and not such a chore for me. That sounds terrible. I love taking care of my husband just tired of cooking..Lol...

Being "an elder/widowed" am definitely not a Cooking Buff... Of course, most attempts are disheartening "disasters",
Whereas a sister is an exceptional cook.

I'm sure your cooking is not disastrous!! Lol... You just got the quilting gene. My husband brags about my cooking so I have to trust him since a I hate most of the stuff I make for him and I'm not a good taste tester. I eat my cooking because it's healthy. I try new recipes all the time to challenge me but I really still do not enjoy it. I enjoy cooking for company. I think it's just the everyday thing that has worn me down. And it could be that I just baked 5 treat recipes for my family gathering tomorrow at my sisters. HA! I'd like to close the kitchen for the day...

My Mom was/is a wonderful cook but she would never lets us in "her" kitchen. When I got married my husband had to teach me how! He's an amazing cook, a total foodie, and a food chemist. He does a lot of the cooking now but when our kids were little I cooked a lot. I liked cooking for them but nowadays have no interest at all!
But ooohhhh I love to eat :)

hubs raised in german/norwegion midwest family w lots of meat & potatoes ..me german w a gramma who was a great cook ..but like you, i'm not big eater. prefer a bowl of beans to most anything. am a good cook & have always enjoyed cooking. but after years and years and years ..
.....i'm tired of cooking.
only cook on weekends ..he can nuke a freezer meal or leftovers during week.

i dislike leftovers but hubbie gobbles that stuff up so I always make extra for that very reason. He usually eats the leftovers for lunch next day with a bit variation. ....then I'm faced with another dinner to cook. Ugh! Endless cycle.

I do not understand this.
Two adults live in a house, but only one adult does the cooking all the time? I am not surprised that you are fed up, anyone would be. Why not take it in turns - you cook for 2 days and he cooks for 2 days etc. One of you is not a servant, and the other the 'the boss'.

My husband was raised by a southern stay-at-home mama who loved to cook and cooked all the time. I was raised by a midwestern mother in southern California so I cook more like California. He would love for me to cook all the time. I told him when I wasn't working, we'd talk. In 30 years of marriage, I've always worked so only cooked minimally and what I wanted. He finally started grilling so that he could have the meat he wanted cooked like he wanted it. Fine with me. ;)

lol...my posts do make it sound as if I'm subservient. Really..it's not like that. However, your suggestion of switching nights is a good idea.

Sometimes it's not so much the cooking, it's trying to decide what to cook that's the problem.

When I ask the dialog goes something like this -

Me: What are you hungry for?
Him: Whatever you want to fix.
Me: Sorry - we don't have any "whatever" in the house.

or

Me: What do want for supper?
Him: Whatever you want to fix.
Me: Guess we won't be eating, then.

It has gotten somewhat easier -

When we were first married, I think he would have wanted me to fix him "a bite to eat" on the way out of a burning house.

DH learned real fast his expectations of what a wife should do like his mom was not even on my list of being wifey. I worked the same hours as DH so I didn't come home and cook a meal. When the kids got old enough they had to prepare dinner every night. They sure liked the nice things our jobs provided so it was expected for them to earn them. I never cook breakfast or lunch for anyone over the age of 8 unless someone is sick.
When I decided to stop working and stay home I didn't mind having DH a dinner prepared most nights when he came home from work. Now that he is retired we are even again so I don't cook unless I want to.

That works ... and make use of your freezer!

While I live alone, I cook a meal with planned-overs.
That could mean making extra rice, and freezing it in single size packets to mix in or serve with other meals.
Or likewise for pasta.
Most soups can be frozen too.

A hamburg hash, the extra gets frozen into single portions, ready to zap in the microwave.
This time of the year ... turkey dinners into the freezer from leftovers. Again, ready to zap.
And so on with other

Company here ... I might bring out two or three of the singles to put together in a soup pot or combine in a casserole dish etc. Or I just make a bigger meal, with plans for all those wonderful leftovers!

Makes for some pretty easy but quality eating when I don't want to cook!
Works perfectly when I want to sit and sew ............ :)

I got sick of cooking a few years ago. I have cooked full meals since I was 11 yrs old. I had 4 brothers and no sisters. Yes after 65 yrs of cooking i don't like it a bit.

I have cooked about 60 years. Married 56 and still cook. Husband makes his own breakfast during the week and every weekend. That started maybe 15 -20 yr.s, weekends maybe 8-10 years.
I like to make a big pot of beans, soup, chili, stroganoff, etc. Then we have leftovers we love for dinner we just have to nuke the food. Then I break it up with fish, hamburgers, chili dogs and such for a while. We do not enjoy eating out. I would rather cook than go hungry.

I am very lucky to have a husband who loves to cook. He tells me all the time that I do not have to if I don't feel like it. He does dinner many nights. That is why I enjoy making cookies, pumpkin bread, and brownies for him.

I hit mine a long time ago. I very rarely cook and my dh asks me to buy TV dinners, so that's what he eats. I also never liked cooking, and my dh is the picky one, which doesn't help if you don't like to cook in the first place.

For years I didn't mind it. Then a couple years ago got very tired of cooking. Mr stitchnripper was still working and I was retired so thought I could have a meal of sorts when he got home. He is not a fussy eater and what he usually got was some kind of meat cooked on the George Foreman grill and a bag of vegetables steamed in the microwave. He never complained and always said thank you and cleaned up the kitchen. Now we are both retired and I have discovered the fun of cooking in the Instant Pot. I feel rejuvenated. He is thrilled. He still cleans up and sometimes says "if I go get the ingredients will you make such and such in the Instant Pot." Yes I could teach him to use it. But really I don't mind. I don't like to eat out too often. Too fattening for us. We both love leftovers too.

I don't cook much anymore. When I do its soup or crock pot.

Deciding is exactly the issue we have in our house too. I am more of a salad, fish, veggie kind of gal and my DH is a meat and potato guy. I don’t grocery shop like normal households, we often pick things up the same or previous day.
Often times we just fend for ourselves.

Without sounding whiny, let me just say I’ve been cooking over 55 years. Nonstop. We eat out two or three times a week. That’s no longer fun, either. At least we haven’t had to collect and eat manna for 40 years! Hubs does not eat leftovers. Ever. If I cook, he does the clean up and vice versa. He can cook a few things, but they are all fried, except mashed spuds! LOL!

Edited for spelling.

My husband of fifty two years, doesn't cook (At all). I have been cooking since I was thirteen. I cook three meals a day. When I make breakfast pancakes for example, I do meal sizes to freeze so all he has to do is pop one pkg in the micro wave. Other mornings it's cereal, french toast etc. Lunch I make different sandwiches each day or home made soup. I'm always cooking new recipes for dinner, I don't like cooking the same old thing for dinner so, he never knows what he's getting. LOL. I use my crockpot a lot, especially in the winter.

Switching up the days for cooking works for me. DH is retired and I work 60 hrs a week. He cooks or at least tries (lol) each week day night and I get to cook every Sat or Sun that is if I don't make reservations. I enjoy it- take out a cookbook or go on Pinterest to find a new recipe and start being creative. Some are hits and some are misses but the joy is preparing something new. The hardest part is finding gourmet recipes that won't have a lot of leftovers. That is the one thing I could do without. So many times just halve the recipe.

I never minded cooking meals...was sort of "my job". Most things from scratch. When kids were small, I was stay at home mom and he brought home the paycheck...I once was sick enough to be in bed for a week and he became "housemom"-he never got out of his pjs and said he was ever thankful for what I did, he would sooner dig ditches than run a house w/children....

then kids grew up and out of house..I began working so meals were simpler for us two...I cooked a lot over weekend, froze for week.

Now widowed, dd lives with me, we take turns cooking simple meals, or go to a restaurant..not fast food, and with recipes on line with so many variations, it is kind of fun to try some of the "new" things......
btw, dh would eat anything I cooked, except tuna casserole!

I try to remember to be grateful that:

food is available and we can afford to buy it
that our digestive systems are still working well
that we have a place to cook food
that we have a place to eat food
that we have running water to do clean up

But sometimes I forget and don't want to be bothered about cooking.

My immediate family is extremely easy to cook for. It's just that cooking is not one of those jobs like painting the house that only needs to be done every few years.

I'm on the fence. I hate cooking. But, thankfully, I only have to fix one meal a day. I don't do breakfast or lunch. But, I also pretty much hate to eat out. I feel that that quality of the food out has gone down hill. We only eat out maybe 1 x a month an for the most point it's a splurge at a nice restaurant. I am a decent cook.

DH is just set in his ways. Won't eat left overs, won't eat one dish meals, doesn't eat soups or stews, vegetables seriously, if it's not broccoli or creamed corn *yuck* then he's not eating it. (I like the broccoli, not the corn.). I am so bored making the same old stuff over and over. It gets to the point that I just don't eat much anymore. I also have to be very careful of what I eat and what time, as I suffer from acid reflux. Where as, he likes to eat at 8:00 at night.

And, clean up, that's all on me too. There has never been a fair division of that in our house. And, no matter the time, I will clean it up. I hate to see or smell a dirty kitchen in the morning.

So, wish I could give up cooking altogether. But, just can't for money and taste wise.

I'm glad I'm not the only one that doesn't like to cook. Hubby is a good cook but getting him to cook is another story. Since he works full time I'm stuck with having to cook. He's a meat and potatoes guy and I like to try different things. If I had my way we would eat out most nights but that's too expensive. My ex was a great cook and I rarely had to cook dinner and that was just fine with me.

I'm not that young to think it's modern ideas but housework, cooking, managing the kids are not a wife's job if she works outside the home. It's half her job. The husband has a half of it too. I have a life just as my DH does and he is not going to rob me of hours of it by cooking and cleaning for him because I'm the wife.

I finally came to the conclusion many years ago that it's not the actual cooking part that I hate. It's cooking for only 2 people all the time that I hate! I enjoy cooking for a horde of people (as I'll be doing next week) and can and will be doing it for hours. But for 2 people, day in, day out - not so much. DH does not mind cooking at all and will frequently do so. He's a far more creative cook than I am. He works an ungodly number of hours per week. Me - very part time. But he will still willingly cook dinner any given night. He's also a volunteer fireman and EMT. Between that and the hours he works, I cook meals that can be ready in 5 minutes or things that can cook for 5 hrs and not be ruined. It can be a challenge. Otherwise - it's reservations!

My hubby says the best thing I make for dinner is reservations. Or Israelite meals - you know - burnt offerings. We eat out 5-6 nites a week but make healthier choices. I will say that I do make a killer Thanksgiving Dinner w/all the trimmings. Glad I'm not the only one who didn't get the cooking gene.

I love this thread! Have been feeling the same way for the last couple of years. It's not the cooking per se, it's the planning. Tell me what you want to eat and I'll gladly cook it for you, but when I'm not hungry for something in particular, I'm lost. I will say DH is a great grocery shopper. If it's on the list, he'll bring it home even if he has to go to more than one store. One time he brought home All laundry detergent, a brand I had never used before. I asked if it was on sale and he said no, it was on the list and handed me the list. At the top of the paper, I had doodled trying to get my pen to work. It looked like All written in cursive! LOL We've laughed a lot about that over the years.

My family is spoiled. I cook pretty much every night after work. I do get off at 3:00. My DH and kids always got a full cooked meal every night. I enjoy cooking as you can tell looking at my waistline. I do try to cook healthy. If my DH had his way nearly everything would be fried like his mom made it. After 35 years of marriage he doesn't want as many things fried. We do order pizza on occasion, we rarely eat fast food. While I love it it isn't very healthy.

I stopped cooking much a few years ago. I've reached a point in my life when nothing sounds good. My poor husband would love hot meals a couple times a day, but he really doesn't complain. Maybe once or twice a week I'll make a hot meal. Oftentimes I won't eat much of it, but my husband then has leftovers.

52 years! That's wonderful. Congratulations! I use my crockpot a lot and hubbie helps cut up ingredients. He does the grocery shopping too but gets a bit over zealous with the sales and typically comes back with more than what was on the list. Lol...

i have an Aunt that told my uncle she retired from cooking when he retired from employment. They eat out every night. Last I spoke with her, they signed up for that food company that delivers complete meals packages (not meals on wheels) healthy stuff with instructions on how to prepare. My uncle is the cook now. Cracks me up.

hilarious! He sounds like such a trooper. My hubbie is a great bargain shopper. He takes his elderly mother grocery shopping every week. It's their special time together and, between the two of them, they buy in bulk and spit stuff. I never know what he'll bring home. My pantry is ridiculous so I asked him to slow down...

hahaha! I love holiday cooking or for company but everyday cooking...blah... Since retirement, I encourage hubbie to go meet his buddies for lunch or breakfast, which he does. This has helped.

oh wow....that has to be challenging with his pallet. My hubbie eats everything except beets. And, he clears the table and loads dishwasher...though...his hands never touch soapy water..HA..which means, hand washing is all on me. And we eat early everyday...by 4pm. That's my rule. I have claimed evenings for ME!