Since we are talking about food: how long does it typically take you to make a dinner?

[La Lioness Priyanka]

I generally make a protein, a starch, a cooked green and a fresh salad.

Typically takes me 1.5 hours w. prep time. I come home around 6 and serve dinner around 8.

So how long does it typically take you? what do you generally make?

[Rabrrrrrr]

1. Anywhere from 15 minutes to a few days.

Though normally, for the kind of supper I normally eat, I'd say about 20-30 minutes actual cook and prep time.

I can usually turn on my recording of Jeopardy, start the cooking process (pulling stuff out of the fridge), skip past the commercials, and have a meal on the table on or about the time of the final jeopardy question.

And that would be for, say, a piece of meat, some veggies or two, and a salad.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

4. wow that is quick. what recipes do you generally use for the meat?

[Rabrrrrrr]

24. Usually just pan fry it, sometimes braise it.

Add some salt and pepper, maybe a few other herbs or spices, whip up a sauce afterward, and call it done. Maybe toss some mushrooms or asparagus or something in the sauce.

Or if braising, I'll do it with a bit of chicken or beef broth, and then thicken that when it's done to make some sauce.

If slow braising - I like this one - use beef or chicken broth, and toss in some potatoes, turnips, parsnips, carrots, garlic, onions, whatever into the braise as well, and slow braise it in the oven for an hour or two.

[XemaSab]

2. For company? For family? Or for myself?

Anywhere from two hours to ten minutes, but usually under an hour.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

5. on a daily basis. not for company

[XemaSab]

12. Typically 20 minutes or less

I'm planning a dinner of salmon, collards, and potatoes tonight, and not counting putting the potatoes on to boil, it should be about 20 minutes of "work."

[La Lioness Priyanka]

15. oh yeah mine doesnt take all that much work. i suppose i should have worded that better

the work part is 30 mins or so. :)

[XemaSab]

17. Ah ok

That makes more sense.

I was picturing an hour and a half laboring over a stove every night, and thinking "damn." :P

[La Lioness Priyanka]

19. i think i labor for an hour. the other time is cooking time.

in between i go shower :)

[skygazer]

3. Depends on what setting I have the toaster on

:P

[La Lioness Priyanka]

7. LOL

[kimmerspixelated]

6. Dang, and I thought I was slow!

Just kidding!....I try to do mine in 30 minutes. Or less, and I'm not Rachel Ray or anything. Sometimes we don't have full courses. While it's cooking I also clean up the kitchen somewhat so that I don't have to spend another eternity in there. Sometimes I really dread KP duty!

[La Lioness Priyanka]

8. i thought i was fast for the food i cook.

:)

[kimmerspixelated]

42. Oh, Sweetie...you probably are.

I bet it tastes wonderful!

[crim son]

9. For a regular meal, not including foods that require hours-long simmering or whatever,

about one and a half to two hours. I don't do either breakfasts or lunches, so I really don't mind cooking a real dinner.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

10. i generally pack dinner leftovers for lunch. i am glad i am not the slowest

[crim son]

27. Me too. And I'd eat dinner for breakfast if I ate breakfast.

I don't think I'm that slow, but I do almost everything from scratch. :D

[Lyric]

11. It depends on what we have and how I'm feeling.

If it's a Pain Day, then dinner is something fast and simple--sandwiches, wraps, and so on. I usually try to add some fresh veggies when we have them, but we don't always have them. When we don't, LyricKid is cool with some canned carrots or green beans.

If I'm feeling okay, then it usually takes somewhere between 1-2 hours. I make a lot of roasted meats (because it's yummy and easy, and even cheap meats taste good roasted,) potatoes in assorted varieties, sweet potatoes, pasta (although not a lot of this,) lots of rice, frozen veggies cooked with sauces, etc.

We don't currently have a functional oven, so I can't make up casseroles and freeze them like I used to. Still, we can do amazing things with a gas range, a microwave, and an electric skillet.

:hi:

[XemaSab]

16. You should get a convection oven

When the door fell off our oven, it was all we had.

And in true Redding style, it was on the back porch. :eyes:

[Lost in CT]

13. Unless I am crockpotting it under an hour.

Heck steaks and steamed veggies are about twenty minutes.

[sakabatou]

14. Depends on what I'm making.

[Lavender Brown]

18. Unfortunately, I don't have a typical mealtime anymore

because my schedule's so messed up. But my favorite weeknight dinners take anywhere between 10 minutes and an hour to prepare, I guess.

[Lilith Velkor]

20. 30-45 minutes.

Maybe an hour if I'm making bulk food to microwave later.

[redqueen]

21. 1 - 2 hours.

I'm slow. :P

I do a protein, a starch, and a veggie or two.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

22. most stews take about that kind of time

:)

[redqueen]

23. Roasted chicken takes me that long.

I dunno if I'm doing it wrong or what... but it's delicious and the kids love it... so eh!

[KamaAina]

25. Anything over a half hour is a major production

Zat's red beans 'n' rice, for instance, clocks in at about 45 minutes, but feeds two, or one hopeless bachelor twice.

[yellowdogintexas]

31. same here. I throw something on the grill, steam a veg, whip up a salad

and that is it.

I tend to make long cooking things like stews, soups, and so on on the weekend.

Stir Fry I can have on the table in 45 minutes.

[My Good Babushka]

26. about an hour

I used to start dinner at 5-5:30 whenever Sesame Street was on, then finish up by 6:30, when my husband used to come home from work, when he had a job. Now he's home all the time, and we eat whenever.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

28. However long the cooks at the diner or the Chinese place take.

:P

[MissMillie]

29. between 30 minutes and 1 hour

tonight we had chicken tacos and homemade Mexican rice

[MrSlayer]

30. I can whip up a nice steak dinner in 15 minutes.

It really depends on what you're making. Some things take days of prep.

[AwakeAtLast]

32. I try to be quicker than one hour

Sometimes it works, sometimes not.

I'm so happy it is getting warmer, because grilling takes so much less time and it taste so great!

[PVnRT]

33. If I made a boatload sauce over the weekend, about 15 minutes

Up to 30 minutes, if I feel like breading some chicken and throwing it on top of the pasta.

[AlCzervik]

34. tonight it took 45 minutes total, i had already marinated the chicken so that moved things along.

i had stir fry vegetables and tofu, i don't eat meat so i cook 2 different meals.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

35. It seldom takes more than about 5 minutes to microwave something.

[Kali]

36. depend, but usually 90 minutes to 2 hours

even when I think it will go fast, it seems to take that long

[no name no slogan]

37. 5-15 minutes

It depends on 1) how far away the restaurant is away from my home, and 2) how long I have to wait to get my take-out or get seated.

(I don't cook. I'm single and live alone, and either eat out or eat from the deli most nights, or make a sandwich or a salad for supper).

[sniffa]

38. Usually 1-2 hours

but that's from start to finish. Most of that time is spent drinking over MSNBC after prep and placing in/on the stove. I don't do meals that need constant attention - I spend a lot of time on prep and expect the stove to do the cooking with minimal attention. Bi-Baby is the opposite: I'll do the prop for some of her meals while she keeps watchful eye at the stove. 1 hour is closer to the norm but for many of the meals I like to make it's at least one hour of leaving the stove alone after prep work.

I made a big meal last night that had great potential but I half-assed it on the seasoning (poured it on rather than make a proper rub). I also panicked when it started to burn at about 15 minutes and decided to add a thin layer of water (garlic stuffed pork loin on a bed of baby red onions and garlic). I overdid it and added a little too much water and it didn't have a good flavor. Looking back I shouldn't have added any water as the onions should have more than enough water in them. I panicked.

Last night was probably 2.5 hours with about an hour chunk at least of doing nothing. Served with asparagus sauteed in garlic and olive oil, boxed pork stuffing, and even jarred pork gravy. The jar was a backup. I kick ass at making a home made roast beef gravy but I've never tried pork.

[flvegan]

39. I eat 6 meals a day.

If I spend more than a half hour making dinner, it must be a weekend day.

[TreasonousBastard]

40. 2 minutes to make the call.

[Chan790]

41. It depends on what we're counting...

I eat a lot of dried legumes, part of that veg*n thing. I don't really count the time they spend soaking in water as I just dump them in the water and go do other things. I never have to wait for the steak to defrost though. Generally, veg foods cook super fast. I only eat fresh vegetables and try to stick to fresh grains, so that's really the wild card. Some things cook in 1 hour, some cook in 3 hours and some cook in 5 minutes. I also make most of my sauces at home, but I can do that while other things cook. I also have the advantage of professional tools and experience in a restaurant kitchen.

If I average it all out, from the beginning of active-prep to table is usually about 1 hour. I've also had fancy meals to impress dates where I started cooking at 1PM for an 8PM dinner.

[KitchenWitch]

43. Usually about 45 minutes to an hour

Depending upon what I make.

[NMDemDist2]

44. with that menu you listed 20-30 minutes

:hi:

:P

[BreweryYardRat]

45. Not too terribly long.

Unless I'm cooking a large roast that's intended to provide several days worth of meals, no more than an hour, and usually less than 30 minutes.

[BarenakedLady]

46. Depends

Though I must say that I don't put too much time into it because inevitably one or more of the kids will turn their nose up at it and piss me off.

[Bennyboy]

47. 1/2 hr to an hour....

I am a grillin' fool. Salad, potato or rice and something grilled. Yumsters.

But tonight gonna have spaghetti and meatballs. Already made the meatballs, just add the Newmans Sockarooni and cook the noods and I am done!

[Dangerously Amused]

48. Let's see...

1. Pour cereal into bowl: 2 seconds.
2. Pour rice milk into cereal: 3 seconds

TOTAL: 5 seconds