As a child, I fondly remember the holiday tradition of helping my grandmother prepare an enormous batch of potato salad each Christmas. I never understood why this dish was a must for celebrating the birth of Jesus, but it was a fixture on our festive table. My task was to dice the celery, meticulously chopping each stalk into uniform pieces. The hours spent focused on this task have left my fingers with a peculiar quirk—they now bend awkwardly, a souvenir from years of diligent chopping.
Unlike those who can casually toss ingredients into a pot, I am a methodical cook. I take my time, carefully measuring and double-checking recipes before moving on. The idea of just adding a pinch of this or a splash of that is foreign to me. For me, cooking is a labor-intensive process. The most challenging part of my day is the moment I must pause my activities in the afternoon to begin preparing dinner. If I procrastinate, my family ends up eating dinner just before bedtime.
In my quest to streamline meal prep, I turned to the concept of 30-minute meals—recipes designed to be quick and easy with minimal ingredients and steps. Unfortunately, my enthusiasm dwindled as I discovered that many of these recipes involved combining chicken breasts with a can of soup or mixing shredded rotisserie chicken with cream soup. Given that my husband primarily follows a vegetarian diet, relying on canned soup five nights a week is not a viable option for us.
My exploration of 30-minute meal recipes left me disillusioned. Many claimed to be ready in just 30 minutes, but as I attempted them, I quickly realized that was not the case. The only recipe that consistently delivers within my desired timeframe is “Call for takeout.”
If you think my frustrations are unwarranted, I assure you they are not. A common theme I noticed was that recipes often mentioned preparation times that far exceeded 30 minutes. I found one that claimed to take an hour and five minutes—what is that? If I follow it at the pace of an average person, it still takes me over an hour. In my own slow-motion cooking style, it translates to nearly three hours! No one wants to wait that long for a meal.
Cooking may come naturally to some, but for many of us, it’s a frantic scramble to remember where we put the garlic powder and whether we can substitute it with salt instead. Chopping an onion takes me ages, as I need frequent breaks to recover from the sting in my eyes. I don’t need 30-minute meals; I need a 30-minute cooldown after working up a sweat in the kitchen.
I’m ready to admit defeat. Simple meals like pasta with jarred sauce and a daily multivitamin will have to do for now. My family will manage, and perhaps one day, one of my children will take over the cooking duties. I eagerly await that moment.
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Summary
The concept of 30-minute meals often proves to be misleading, as many recipes require significantly more time to prepare than advertised. For those who struggle in the kitchen, it may be better to embrace simpler meal options rather than stress over unrealistic cooking timelines.