What’s for dinner tonight around here? Maybe Mediterranean couscous tilapia. Or boursin pasta. Or perhaps a nice London broil.

If you knew me in real life, you’d be scratching your head, because frankly, I’m an indifferent cook (meaning I don’t know how, and I am too old, tired, and lazy to learn). But recently my husband, who has faced one too many meals of chicken dinosaurs and peas, saw a sign at our local market for a new meal prep program and hinted, strongly, that I might enjoy it.

And I do! It’s fantastic. I sign up ahead of time for twelve entrees. When I arrive at the immaculate prep kitchen, I move from station to station putting together my food. All the ingredients are there, from meat cuts to shredded cheeses to obscure spices that I would NEVER purchase for one mere recipe. (OK, fresh ginger is not that obscure, but I’m still not going to buy it.) As I finish one meal, I pop it in a big bucket in the fridge and move on. In the end I have a cooler full of dinners, with cooking instructions attached.

I put three in my refrigerator and the rest in the freezer, and we’re set.

And while the service has been nice for our home life, it’s even better for my own self-confidence. I’ve learned that I can cook up a pan-seared salmon, or crab cakes, or pork roast. I’m not incompetent. I’ll probably never really be in love with cooking (though baking is another story - I have a chocolate cake that could knock your socks off), but this service has absolutely removed the dread.

Oh, and did I mention the best part? They do the clean-up.

Posted by MommaSteph.