How often do you cook dinners from scratch?

[pantsparty]

I mostly cook from scratch, but I also give myself plenty of time to clean during certain parts of cooking. I'd feel bad leaving my H with all the dishes.

[Deleted]

I cook from scratch but its not elaborate. I used to do crazier stuff before having the baby, but now its a lot of one pot meals or simple grilled/baked protein plus sauteed veggies.

[looseseal]

Oh, probably more simple meals than not, but there's generally lots of leftovers so the next night there's less clean-up. I hope that when our kids are older we'll get back to our previous cooking style. Right now it's a lot of super simple meals, but I do like trying new things and cooking.

[TrudyCampbell]

Zero.

[TrickyBob]

5 to 7 nights a week.

I tend to try to use one dish (or as few as possible) and wash it out as I go.

[livinitup]

I cook from scratch - but that doesn't mean I use a lot of pots and pans. In fact, the effort at clean-up always factors into my choice of what to prepare.

I think your DH is being unfair.

[redheadk]

At least 5 nights a week.

If the kitchen is clean then it's simple to clean as you go. There is still some to do at the end but prep bowls, knives, measuring cups, cutting boards, etc can all be rinsed/washed while cooking.

The I-cook/you-clean agreement doesn't give the cook a free pass to make a gigantic mess.

[Kit]

3-4 nights a week, but usually it is my husband who does the cooking.

[ijack]

the majority of our meals are cooked from scratch (sometimes I'll used those boxed rice/couscous things), but they aren't elaborate. With 2 FT working parents and 2 small kids, I do simple stuff.

[Deleted]

Three times a week but I try to clean as I go.

[wowhead]

I cook from scratch quite a bit but I prefer to do the majority of the cooking on the weekend. That way I get to do one huge prep, cook and clean up and the rest of the week I just have to make sides ad microwave. Also, cooking on weekends means H is there to help me which always makes it better.

[wambam]

Between the food choices we make and my H's allergies and my allergy, cooking from scratch is pretty much the only way we eat.

[bania]

A few nights a week.

[candreco]

I cook from scratch most nights, but not hugely elaborate meals, so there's generally not a ton of dishes to wash. Maybe one or two nights a week are on the more complex side. Time is the big limitation, not how many dishes are generated.

[isabel]

Nearly everything we cook is 'from scratch', but I am really good about cleaning up after myself as I go. DH, not so much. I hate cleaning up after him when he cooks because nothing gets cleaned up in the process. Is this something your H does? Maybe he could help you with the clean up. I almost always cook and do the dishes, but DH makes sure the counters are clean and wiped down, that leftovers get put away, etc. It works out well for us.

[bittybomb]

We had a similar deal.  I cook with the least amount of pots/pans/utensils as possible.  Its almost as though my husband goes out of his way to use every single pot and pan we have.  So we used to do the you cook, I'll clean up all dishes thing.  At then I realized I was a sucker.  So now the deal is the cooker cleans as he or she goes, and the non-cooker will clean up the dinner dishes. 

[ElizabethBennet]

If I'm cooking it's from scratch. I clean as I go so it's not horrible after the meal. I probably cook 3-4 nights a week with the rest being fend for yourself, leftovers, or takeout.

[Deleted]

Almost every night.

[Deleted]

With leftovers I would 3 or 4 times a week. 

We rarely do takeout.  Maybe once a month, maybe less.

[papie]

I mostly cook from scratch, but it is usually simple things. But yes. sometimes the mess is gigantic, especially if I get home late and don't have time to clean from breakfast before cooking, then it al piles up.

[eddy]

Three times a week.
I get two meals out of each prepared meal.

[niche]

I do most of my cooking in a crockpot. So there might be a skillet or a mixing bowl, but really not very many dishes at all.

[hisno1girl]

I normally cook everything from scratch but I don't mind used jarred pasta sauce or canned baked beans. I can't make a good homemade spaghetti sauce to save my life and I'm okay with that.

[daisybuchannan]

I guess most nights, but they're not elaborate.

Tomorrow night I'm making chicken rollatini, but using jarred sauce. I guess that's more semi-homemade ala Sandra lee.

I also clean a lot as I go. I'm somewhat anal, and my kitchen is so tiny that even a small mess looks like a disaster.

[katfco]

It depends how you define "from scratch." I use boxed pasta and jarred spaghetti sauce, but most of the products I use are as basic as possible. I have a friend, however, who makes her own pasta, chicken broth and the like. Compared to her, few of my meals are from scratch.

[CurlyQ284]

I cook from scratch but clean as I go. It would drive me insane to leave a trail of mess. DH usually has to rinse and put plates/flatware in the dishwasher, wash maybe a pan or two and clean up the highchair tray.

[Jalapeñomel]

If we cook, it's from scratch. We don't own a microwave, and DH is GF.

[isabel]

Oct 28, 2013 12:41:25 GMT -5 kessieblue said:

Oct 28, 2013 12:28:53 GMT -5 pagas said:

I prefer to cook from scratch because I love cooking, it is more a hobby than a chore.

That being said, maybe talk with your DH about having him clean as he cooks. I try to clean as best I can while I am cooking so I am not faced with a mountain of dishes in the sink after dinner.

He does clean as he cooks a bit. But a lot of the pots and pans are being used right up to the time he serves the food. And then there's stuff that's baked on and has to be scrubbed, and the counter tops have to be wiped. And I have to lift the burner grates and get the splattered stuff on the stove... etc. It seems like most people cook like my H, though - making dinners most nights a week. So I guess I should keep my complaints to myself, and let H continue to serve me delicious food. 

So in this case, if H cooks, I am the one doing the dishes. But in our house, H is responsible for wiping down the counters, cleaning the stove, etc. That might help a bit if you add something to his responsibilities.

[mrsgoontz]

We cook from scratch 4-5 nights a week. It's not necessarily elaborate each time and I agree with the other posters who say cleaning while you cook helps a lot.

With the weather cooling down maybe try for more soups or things that can be done in one pot to help the clean up mess.

[milosh]

Some weeks it's everyday and some weeks it's none. It just depends on what we have going on.