Mom's Cafe - The Convenience of Dining at Home

I like to call my kitchen "Mom's Cafe". We have regular menu items you can get anytime, and I have a few specials I pull out from time to time. Every in-home dining facility needs a steady menu of favorite recipes that are quick & easy to prepare. I try to keep all of the ingredients on hand for these 'convenience foods'. When life throws me a curve, I grab all of the ingredients and throw them together without having to really think about what I'm doing, saving myself a lot of time & stress.

Convenience food means different things to different people, and I have developed my own philosophy. Convenience food can be prepared and served faster than it would take to go to a fast food establishment. From the time Hubby walks in the door to the moment we sit down to eat food we've ordered out takes at least 45 minutes. Economy is important -- I hate to spend money that could have been saved through a little planning. Cheap fast food for all 5 of us will cost at least $25. Nutritional quality is also a priority. We'll have 3 teenagers eating us out of house & home by next year. Sometimes I make something full of empty calories that will stave off the 14-year-old son's appetite for an hour, but I still want his body to have all of the basic building blocks needed for healthy growth, so I only do this when I'm feeling like he might start nibbling on ME if I don't provide calories RIGHT NOW. A convenience food will take me less than 45 minutes to prepare, will cost as little as possible, and will be nutritionally wholesome & nourishing.

Following is a Q & A form that outlines the process I use to evaluate menu offerings I can provide at Mom's Cafe vs. all of the 'convenient' dining out options available to us. If you like to fill out questionnaires, please copy the one that follows and use it to enable your thought process.

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1. What is your family's top choice for 'fast food'? _______________
2. How long does it take to get there from home? ____________minutes
3. How much do you spend for a meal if everyone is hungry? $_______
4. On a scale of 1-5, with 1 representing the poorest quality and 5 representing the highest & yummiest values possible, analyze the food your family typically orders & a few other factors:

• Calories [empty or packed with nutrition?] 1--2---3---4---5
• Vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, etc 1--2---3---4---5
• Fiber [low or high] 1--2---3---4---5
• Fats ['bad'/lard or 'good'/olive oil] 1--2---3---4---5
• Yum Factor [how good does it taste?] 1--2---3---4---5
• Affordability $25+... $20-$25 ... $10-$20 ... $5-$10 ... $5 or less
  
• Cleanliness [dining area, bathrooms, staff, etc] 1--2---3---4---5
• Service you normally receive 1--2---3---4---5

If your family frequently dines out, you might wish to use this 'quiz' to analyze all your favorite places to eat. Now, take the information you have collected and answer the following questions:

• Do you have a meal you can prepare from start to serving that takes less time than your answer to question 1 above?
• What is it? _________________________
• Using the same ratings as above, rate your in-home restaurant's menu item and dining environment:
• Calories [empty or packed with nutrition?] 1--2---3---4---5
• Vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, etc 1--2---3---4---5
• Fiber [low or high] 1--2---3---4---5
• Fats ['bad'/lard or 'good'/olive oil] 1--2---3---4---5
• Yum Factor [how good does it taste?] 1--2---3---4---5
• Affordability $25+... $20-$25 ... $10-$20 ... $5-$10 ... $5 or less
  
• Cleanliness [dining area, bathrooms, staff, etc] 1--2---3---4---5
• Service you normally give 1--2---3---4---5

Now, compare your results. I Use something like a highlighter or a check mark to show which restaurant won in each rating category. I'm pretty sure that your in-home restaurant facility easily beat the outside competition!

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Continue to analyze your recipes and try to find at least 5 that are quicker & easier than eating out. It's a good idea to identify these 'emergency standby' recipes & meal ideas so you are sure to have everything you need when the next crisis strikes. The ingredients are usually things in the freezer, cans, or on your pantry shelves. For instance, I prefer to use freshly chopped onions rather than dried; but, I always keep minced dried onions on hand because they are so convenient. When I am pressed for time, I can use 1/4 cup of Dried Minced onions for each chopped onion a recipe calls for -- this eliminates cleanup of a saute pan, a cutting board, a knife, and a trip to the compost pile.

Another thing you can do to eliminate preparation time is pre-mixing ingredients. If your family eats corn bread regularly, mix all the dry ingredients in a sealable container and attach a recipe card reminding you exactly what perishable items you need to add just before popping it in the oven. Also include the oven temperature, pan size needed, cooking time, and anything else you need to know. This saves having to spend time looking up the recipe in a book or your file. Also, you save time by making the mess for the dry ingredients only once. Time yourself & drag everything out on the counter, get all the measuring cups & spoons, put a pile of containers at one end. How long did that take? If it took 3 minutes, then putting together 11 pre-mixed containers saves you 30 minutes of prep time later. Figure that it will take twice as long to put it all away & clean up, at 6 minutes, and you've just saved another hour for a grand total of 1-1/2 hours!

If this has inspired you to expand the menu at your in-home restaurant, then I highly recommend you read "Once a Month Cooking" and "Dinner's in the Freezer". They come up as the top 2 choices if you go to Amazon.com, category 'books' and search for the first title.