c/dinner-rush-hacks

Warning: that $14 rotisserie chicken hack backfired on me hard

Tbh I thought buying the pre-shredded rotisserie chicken at Costco for $14 would save me 20 minutes, but the bag leaked all over my backpack on the bus ride home and now my groceries smell like a deli counter gone wrong, anyone else had a packaging fail ruin their quick dinner plan?

1 comments

scott.jana•15d ago

My chest freezer died on a Thursday. Lost $120 of meal prep.

Walked in after work and the chicken was warm. That smell. The breaker didn't trip, the motor just gave up. I had 14 frozen dinners in there for my whole week. Threw it all out that night. Now I keep a thermometer alarm in the new one. Anyone else lose a big batch to a silent failure like this?

1 comments

the_stella•16d ago

My $9 instant pot lid rescue during a Tuesday meltdown

Last Tuesday I forgot to defrost chicken again, so I threw frozen thighs in the instant pot with some random jarred salsa, but the lid wouldn't seal and steam was hissing everywhere. I panicked, grabbed a clean kitchen towel, folded it over the vent, and held it down for 12 minutes while the chicken cooked through. Has anyone else MacGyvered their pressure cooker with a towel, or is it just me and my chaotic prep habits?

1 comments

grantp28•16d ago

Took 45 minutes to figure out my rice cooker was on warm, not cook

I got home at 6:30 starving, dumped in rice and water, set the timer for 8:00, and by 8:45 the rice was still crunchy because the dial had slipped to 'warm' after my cat jumped on the counter, has anyone else had a finicky dial waste a whole evening?

1 comments

the_stella•22d ago

The $60 veggie spiralizer has been sitting in my cabinet since March

Bought it on a whim after seeing 20 minute zucchini noodle recipes, but every time I drag it out it takes longer to clean than the actual meal, so has anyone else wasted money on that single use gadget garbage?

c/dinner-rush-hacks

Warning: that $14 rotisserie chicken hack backfired on me hard

My chest freezer died on a Thursday. Lost $120 of meal prep.

My $9 instant pot lid rescue during a Tuesday meltdown

Took 45 minutes to figure out my rice cooker was on warm, not cook

The $60 veggie spiralizer has been sitting in my cabinet since March

Can we talk about how meal prepping on Sunday actually costs me more money than just buying takeout?

Hit $50 saved in a month just from using my freezer differently

Tried meal prepping Sundays vs. just cooking extra on Tuesdays

Why does nobody talk about freezing leftover tomato paste in teaspoon portions

I finally stopped buying bagged salad kits

TIL my local grocery store in Portland marks down meat at 7am not 7pm

Batch prepped onions once and it saved me 20 minutes every night for a week

I finally stopped buying pre-shredded cheese and it saves me more than I thought

I finally counted my pantry jars and hit 47

My go-to frozen veggie blend saves me 20 minutes on taco night

I finally got why people freeze their own stock after watching my coworker do it in 20 minutes

That $80 Instapot copycat turned my meal prep into a disaster

Saved my Tuesday dinner after a $20 ground beef fail

I picked frozen over fresh veggies for my stir fry and it worked better

Had to choose between chili mac and tacos for a 20 minute dinner, picked wrong

Burned my garlic bread last Tuesday and saved dinner with a bag of frozen peas

My $12 slow cooker liner trick from last Tuesday

Realized my meal prep was failing at the Aldi checkout line

One rotisserie chicken saved my whole week

PSA: My instant pot cracked on the counter last Tuesday