From scratch mama's, how long does it take you to cook meals?

[Satori]

I am feeling REALLY burnt out and SICK OF THE KITCHEN! Were gluten free and I don't buy mixes becasue of the cost except for cake and pizza which are rare treats. My day has looked like this ALL WEEK!

Breakfast: 30-60 minutes, what am I making? Oatmeal, I have to use Bobs Red Mill and the GF oats are not quick cooking and take 20-30 min to cook and that's if I'm standing there. I usually end up burning the pot and I don't remember to scrub it until the next morning when I need to make more (we don't even have a dishwasher so I have to wash everything by hand and that adds time to being in the kitchen). I'm going to try making a large batch in the crock pot and freezing serving size portions we can pull out the night before. 8 yr old has literally become violently opposed to cereal and flips out if we don't have a hot meal. : and her blood sugar tanks and makes things worse if she doesn't eat

Lunch: Assuming were having left overs, 30 minutes at least, usually an hour becasue I have to deal with the kids who won't leave each other alone. It can be 1-2 hours if I need to actually assemble something like a sandwich (oh yes, bread takes at least 3 hours to make and a commercial sized loaf is gone in 1.5 days because dd pigs out on it and then wonders why I don't feel like spending 3 hours making it daily and making it in the machine the texture just comes out wrong, I would NEVER get out of the kitchen!) or a Tostada, Burrito, ect. I have to chop everything by hand which further slows things down.

Dinner: I kid you not... 4-5 HOURS. The other night I made Spaghetti with Garlic bread, 5 FREAKING HOURS to make the french bread (a rare treat), the sauce was jarred and the spaghetti was boxed and I just had to cook it (20 min to boil the water and almost 25 min to cook, gotta love high altitude!) then make the garlic butter (just crushed garlic and mixed it into the butter) then still had to toast it.

Tonight I made Pizza, chopped the veggies last night, the meat was packaged so I only had to open it, used a mix for the crust (Whole Foods makes a REALLY GOOD GF pizza crust!). Made the sauce from scratch from a fantastic sounding recipe on allrecipes (it was really good on the pizza!). 4 HOURS.

Monday I made Chili, I make it at least 2x a month and its something I can throw together pretty fast usually (that would be under an hour here), it took 3 HOURS!

I just feel like I'm moving in slow motion or something and its taking forever to get things done. I have to intervene with the kids every 30 seconds it seems becasue they can't seem to stop tormenting each other or the cat this week which really slows things down.

I'm having to constantly wash dishes which slows things down, especially when you need to stop every other dish to break up a fight or investigate screaming.

Usually I have a lot of stuff pre prepped but were sick of the same stuff we usually eat so were eating all new stuff and its just taking forever! Even in a hurry it takes at least an hour to 1.5 hours but this week has been crazy. I do have to admit I was able to freeze a meals worth of food from each dinner but still...

Do you spend this much time cooking from scratch?

[MamaFern]

my first suggestion is to soak the oats/hot cereal overnight. it really increases the nutritional value, and it makes cooking time a lot less! also cooking it on low works just as well and no burnt pots...the crock pot idea is great too. i make oatmeal for my kids 3 times a week. i soak it with the raisins overnight and then add whole milk (for more protein and fat..my kids NEED this) and vanilla and a wee bit of xylitol to sweeten and cook it up like that in a glass covered pot. it doesn't take long. as lomng as you throw the pot in the sink right after you serve it out, it will just wipe out. crusty oatmeal is not my friend either!

what about french toast? we have that 2 times a week.. you can make it with gluten free bread. its a great protein rich breakfast that takes seconds to make. i make mine with 2 eggs, a splash of vanilla, whipping cream or whole milk and a sprinkle of xylitol. with the glutenfree bread you may have to soak it for less time to avoid crumble.
my kids like it with btter and maple syrup. just a tad.

lunch: what about having soup in the slow cooker? i try to make something like soup or stew or a big stirfry that i can quickly reheat on the stove or toaster oven. even making burritos in big batches (i make mine with refried beans, raw sunflower seeds, slightly sauteed red onions, peppers, mushrooms or whatever veggies and cheese. i wrap them up and freeze them on a cookie tray then put in a baggie in the freezer. warmed up in a pan on the stove till crispy on all sides takes maybe 10 minutes and yum. hot lunch with all the protein//veggies you need. and making 12 takes about as long as making 2.

im all about making large meals that last over a few days!

to answer..some days i feel like it takes me a lot of time, but im pretty quick and efficient at cooking and i can make a hot meal in less than 30 minutes.

what about getting some cookbooks, like quick healthy meals or smething from the library and see what you can do?

wish i could be more helpful. NAK

[LemonPie]

What about rationing the bread? Hide it in the freezer and just pull out what you'll need for the next day at night and stick it in the fridge. Maybe spend 1 day/week making bread and do a simpler meal that night.

Have you tried getting your kids involved in the cooking so they quit bugging each other AND you get some help? An 8 yr old should be able to handle simple kitchen tasks, even chopping veggies under supervision. Even small kids can help with washing, stirring, etc.

Do you have a food processor? If not, is it possible to invest in one? I use mine for everything. Chopping veggies (they aren't perfectly cubed, but the sizes come out pretty uniform), shredding, even pie crust.

When you do chop/shred things, do double or triple the amount and throw some in the freezer for next time.

There was a great baked oatmeal recipe floating around this board too. . . you put everything together the night before and pop it in the oven the next day.

[Satori]

Originally Posted by Tiger Lily

What about rationing the bread? Hide it in the freezer and just pull out what you'll need for the next day at night and stick it in the fridge. Maybe spend 1 day/week making bread and do a simpler meal that night.

BTDT with Pancakes and waffles, she sneaks it

Have you tried getting your kids involved in the cooking so they quit bugging each other AND you get some help? An 8 yr old should be able to handle simple kitchen tasks, even chopping veggies under supervision. Even small kids can help with washing, stirring, etc.

Cooking takes even longer with her "helping" since she's careless and everything ends up on the floor. 2 yr old just makes a huge mess at the sink and makes the floor slippery.

Do you have a food processor? If not, is it possible to invest in one? I use mine for everything. Chopping veggies (they aren't perfectly cubed, but the sizes come out pretty uniform), shredding, even pie crust.

I had my moms but she finally demanded it back I did use it for a lot of things though. I used my Magic Bullet mixer a lot too and the thing finally broke on me last month so that adds a lot of time to doing things. No money to replace it but I'm thinking I might just need to suck it up and buy both since this is the one time of year I have some money.

When you do chop/shred things, do double or triple the amount and throw some in the freezer for next time.

I always try to do that but its usually used up the very next time.

[AngelBee]

Great question! :

[bigeyes]

I definitely don't take that long to cook.

I think cooking big batches and freezing is a great idea for you, the oatmeal for breakfast can be done in containers for the fridge for several days to warm up (I don't think I'd freeze it) and you can make a lot of spaghetti sauce, soup or chili at once to freeze for later meals. Bread freezes, so do pancakes and muffins. Lots of things warm up in microwaves or toaster ovens. Since you're gluten free, you may have to experiment a little to see what ingredients do and don't reheat well, most of my knowledge pertains to corn and wheat.

You might want to check out some freezer cooking or 'once a month cooking' groups for ideas. A lot of them are based on icky canned soups, but there are some other things you can work with that will work with your dietary needs.

I believe this woman has celiac disease, and her blog is all about cooking in the crock-pot, so you should be able to find some time-savers there and you won't have to change any ingredients.
http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2009...-crockpot.html

You're working way too hard. I bake bread, make my own mixes for everything because I avoid certain ingredients that are in commercial cr@p (and it's cheaper) and I don't spend nearly as much time as you do in the kitchen. I keep big jars of homemade pancake mixes, cake mixes and 'bisquick' in the fridge and have the recipes I use most often taped to the inside of my cabinet doors so I don't have to look for them in a hurry. It's hard when the dcs are small, but if you can make extra meals whenever you do cook, you can get some breaks.

I use the kitchenaid mixer to do all my kneaded breads, and I use the artisan bread method for unkneaded breads, where you keep the dough in the fridge and just take it out to let it rise before baking. I think you could alter the recipe to suit your diet and then you would be able to save yourself some time there.
According to their blog, they will have a new book out in December with some gluten free recipes.
http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/?p=195

this isn't as easy, but not terrible:
http://stanford.wellsphere.com/celia...en-free/175115

hth

[tinuviel_k]

I cook from scratch almost all the time: soups stocks, sauces, yogurt, bread, breakfast, lunch, dinner...and it does not take me anywhere NEAR that long! That sounds like a lot of time in the kitchen. I think you could definitly streamline things down quite a bit.

Breakfast: If you have the spare funds invest in a "fuzzy logic" rice cooker. It is worth it's weight in gold, I promise you!!! These are the fancy computerized rice cookers that you can program. My rice cooker makes perfect oatmeal. I load up the oats, water, and salt the evening before, set the timer to finish cooking at 7:30am, and go to bed. The oats soak all night and the cooker kicks on around 6:45am, finishing right at 7:30am for when my daughter gets up. Add sweetener, butter, raisins, or whatever your kids like to the finished oatmeal. Breakfast in 3 minutes and no burned-on oatmeal pots. I also make great cream of rice cereal and corn porridge in it. Yummy!

Lunch: I'd ditch the bread products or cut way down. I was GF for awhile while I was trying to figure out allergies, and I found that the bread was SO not worth the time, effort, or extra money to eat every day. I saved it for a once or twice a week treat. Your kids may miss it but they can learn to eat and enjoy other things, too. There is no reason for you to have to spend 4-5 hours every other day making bread if you don't want to!
The aforementioned rice cooker could be a great asset here. Stir fry is quick and easy, and you can load up the rice cooker with rice after breakfast and set it to go off at lunch time. It will keep the rice warm for hours and hours should lunch be late.

Soups make great lunches. You can make awesome and easy bean soup right in the rice cooker (can you tel I use that thing all the time? ). Just soak one cup of beans the night before, put them in the rice cooker when soaked, add a few spices and 4 cups of water, and a splash of olive oil and press start: bean soup will be finished in 1.5 hours. Add salt when done. The machine will keep it warm for hours until you are ready to eat.
If you get a rice cooker I recommend getting the book, The Ultimate Rice Cooker Cookbook. It has hundreds of great recipes for rice, breakfast porridges, bean dishes, desserts, and much more.

Other soups can be made on the stove top, but make HUGE batches! I often make double or triple recipes, then freeze all the leftovers in wide-mouth pint mason jars. When I want soup for lunch I defrost the jar slightly in hot water, then heat it up on the stove. It takes 15 minutes tops. I try to have 4-5 different soups in the freezer at a time.

Dinner: Again, it sounds like the bread products are killing you. I'd cut back on that as much as possible. There are plenty of yummy things that you can make that don't have a 4 our prep time.
If you have a slow cooker that can be a huge help! If you don't have the big oval size with a programmable timer and an automatic "keep warm" cycle then I recommend you get one. It is indispensable in my kitchen. I would also get a copy of the cookbook, Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook. Good slow cooker recipes still require some prep time, but once they are in you can forget about them, especially if your slow cooker switches to 'keep warm" after the pre-determined cooking time.
Give quick cooking grains a try to take the place of bread. Rice is good, of course, as is quinoa (and you can cook it in the rice cooker).
You can buy pre-mixed salad greens and store them in the fridge, and chop a few quick veggies for a nice green salad. Add nuts and dried fruit and cheese (if you are not DF) to fill it out quickly.

[avendesora]

My first impression is that you're trying really hard to make foods that are so tasty and catering to your family's taste differences. I've been fortunate enough to not have to deal with picky eaters, so I don't have any useful experience to draw on. But here's my idea: give yourself a vacation from the kitchen as much as possible for one week, and buy a rice cooker. They range anywhere from $15 - $200, with a varied amount of functionality. Give yourself permission to just cook rice&beans for dinner every night, and oatmeal from the rice cooker or slow cooker in the morning. Lunches can be leftover rice&beans. If they complain that they don't like it, just stand your ground and tell them that you're not cooking anything else, and they can take it or leave it. To help with that, maybe you can plan an outing so you can say, "i didn't have time to cook X because we were so busy having fun doing Y." Most kids will learn to be as picky as you allow them to be, or they will adjust to whatever foods you offer (I know that there are some legitimate sensory issues out there, but my experience is that most kids are picky by choice.)

However, about the bread - I make four loaves all at once, and it lasts a week. Can you make bread in bulk?

Aven

[kjbrown92]

We're avoiding way more than gluten, and I don't spend nearly that much time in the kitchen, even when I'm experiments. For dinner I spent 20 minutes making salad and dressing in the afternoon when the kids were otherwise occupied, then chucked it in the fridge. For dinner we had salmon (bakes 15 minutes), steamed broccoli (same 15 minutes), and I use a rice cooker too (mine doesn't have a timer but keeps it warm when it's done so it doesn't have to be done at EXACTLY the same time and I don't have to watch it).

breakfast: cream of rice cereal doesn't take that long. We've also been doing hot cream of buckwheat cereal. It doesn't take as long as oatmeal and it's really good. Scrambled eggs are pretty quick and full of protein. Sometimes we do buckwheat pancakes. Even when I do that it's only half hour from start to finish.

lunch: can you do a wrap with corn tortillas? safe deli turkey or roast beef, spread a little smashed avocado on there and roll it up.

dinner: I use the crockpot alot so that I can prep dinner at the same time as I'm prepping breakfast. But there's other quick things: turkey meatball in homemade bone broth.

Whenever I roast a chicken, I make stock (24 hours in crockpot). The night it's done, we have chicken soup. The leftover stock goes in the freezer for other recipes. I also make yogurt, which is labor intensive, but I only do that once every two weeks. When I make bread, I put it in the mixer. That's 20 minutes. Then it sits to rise. It's not like I'm watching it all the time. Then an hour later I pop it in the oven. Yes, the process takes 3 hours, but it's not like you're doing something with it that whole 3 hours.

The kids being "involved" or constanly bickering nearby makes everything FEEL like it takes forever. Is there something that they can be doing while you're prepping to make it easier? Let the 8yo set the table for the meal or put away some of the dishes from the meal before.... give the 2 year old some "job" (not a messy one; just something for them to do). One of the things we have right near the kitchen is the basket with all their trains/tracks in it. So if they're annoying me, I say "oooh, you guys haven't made a train track in a while -- why don't you make a really good one for me..." and off they go (for 2-3 minutes of peace anyway). Maybe you just need some quicker recipes.

[mamadelbosque]

I generally start dinner an hour or so ahead. That seems to be my typical cooking time, about an hour. Sometimes a bit more or less, but generally right around an hour for most things. Some stuff (lasagna) does take longer, but I can't think of anything that takes more than 2 hours.

Of course, I wouldn't count all the time I'm waiting for my bread to rise as 'cooking' time. During that time I'm doing other stuff (reading, messing online, playing with DS, cleaning, etc), so I don't think that really counts, personally.

[Delicateflower]

Originally Posted by Satori

Breakfast: 30-60 minutes, what am I making? Oatmeal, I have to use Bobs Red Mill and the GF oats are not quick cooking and take 20-30 min to cook and that's if I'm standing there.

I cook oats in the microwave. For non-quick cooking it's 2 min on high, stir and then 2 more min. I know steel cut takes longer, but no burnt pan. Then the used bowls have to soak in the sink.

[/quote]

Lunch: Assuming were having left overs, 30 minutes at least, usually an hour becasue I have to deal with the kids who won't leave each other alone. It can be 1-2 hours if I need to actually assemble something like a sandwich (oh yes, bread takes at least 3 hours to make and a commercial sized loaf is gone in 1.5 days because dd pigs out on it and then wonders why I don't feel like spending 3 hours making it daily and making it in the machine the texture just comes out wrong, I would NEVER get out of the kitchen!) or a Tostada, Burrito, ect. I have to chop everything by hand which further slows things down. [/quote]

How about freezing bread or skipping it entirely? Buy cheese pre-sliced, have the children make their own sandwiches, serve things like soups which you can make ahead and freeze.

Why is bread taking you so long? I don't know about gluten free but when I make bread by hand I use recipes where the dough sits overnight or in the fridge for days. Even using a traditional recipe it's just a few minutes here and there: ten minutes to mix the ingredients and knead; 5-10 more minutes to knock down and shape; five seconds to put it in the oven.

Dinner: I kid you not... 4-5 HOURS. The other night I made Spaghetti with Garlic bread, 5 FREAKING HOURS to make the french bread (a rare treat), the sauce was jarred and the spaghetti was boxed and I just had to cook it (20 min to boil the water and almost 25 min to cook, gotta love high altitude!) then make the garlic butter (just crushed garlic and mixed it into the butter) then still had to toast it.

I just feel like I'm moving in slow motion or something and its taking forever to get things done. I have to intervene with the kids every 30 seconds it seems becasue they can't seem to stop tormenting each other or the cat this week which really slows things down.

I'm having to constantly wash dishes which slows things down, especially when you need to stop every other dish to break up a fight or investigate screaming.

It doesn't sound like cooking is taking you a long time, but that you don't have time to cook when you're trying to cook. I use TV/computer to amuse one child while the other is asleep, and do as much prep as I can during nap. Often this means the main meal is at lunch time rather than dinnner time, but that's supposed to be good for you.

[cristeen]

It sounds like it's not necessarily the food that's taking so long - it's the kids. Although I would stop making bread more than once a week. And I'd also make the 8 y.o. get involved in making bread, since she's the bread-hog. At 8, yes she may be messy, but if she wants bread, she can help make it. If she makes a mess, she's old enough to clean it up. Heck, by 8 I was expected to wash dishes after dinner every other night (my sister and I traded nights). She may not be able to handle pots and pans, but she can definitely handle plates and bowls and forks and spoons. If she gets water everywhere, then she needs to clean it up. This also has the benefit of keeping the fights under some kind of control. If you can corral the 2 y.o. somewhere with something to keep him busy, have the 8 y.o. helping you in the kitchen, that should cut down on time in the kitchen. She will learn to be more careful with practice, since I'd bet she doesn't want to clean up the messes any more than you do. I'd also hazard that from your description of her "carb-fiend" behaviors that she's addicted to carbs already, which is another really good reason to cut back on them. Try increasing her fat and protein intake, and see if that doesn't help with some of those behaviors.

I would also really think about cutting down on the types of meals you're making. If you need oatmeal in the morning, do it in the crockpot, or make baked oatmeal. Soaking it overnight really does help with the cooking time, and if you put it over a low flame, you can walk away from it while it cooks (just stir it every 5 minutes or so). I always make my steel cut oatmeal with 1/2 milk, 1/2 water - that makes it richer and helps it stick with me longer. Lunch should not be taking more than 10 minutes to get together if you're eating leftovers. Whether that's pouring soup into a pan and sticking it on the stove to heat up, or heating up tortillas and stuffing them with leftover stir-fry. Again, have the 8 y.o. help if she wants to eat - even if she's just pulling carrot sticks out of the fridge or putting plates on the table.

For dinner - I never make a 4 hour dish unless it's the weekend. During the week it's a quick stir-fry or something baked that I can walk away from. Also get accustomed to preparing everything before you start cooking. This saves a lot of time. I have little dishes that I can use to hold spices and sauces so everything can be prepared and measured out before I even start. It may seem silly, but it really is a time saver, particularly with children underfoot.

HTH

[ghostlykisses]

I agree that the rising and baking times do not count. Those things really do not require your active pariticipation.

For lunch I bet your kids would like it if you gave them what I call "picky trays". One or two days a week you could prep items for the trays and then just select some items each day rather than making a big fuss over lunch. Think finger foods and maybe dips for example

sliced apples (soak in water that you squeezed a lemon, lime or orange in to prevent browning)

grapes

sliced bananas (these have to be done on the spot of course)

sliced orange "smiles"

pineapple chunks

cut up veggies

grape tomatoes

olives

pickles

cheese cut into cubes or sticks

pita triangles or crackers (I think you said you are gf so I am not sure how that would work for you)

strawberries

sliced meat or chunks of roast chicken or beef

hard boiled eggs cut in half or deviled eggs

dips or dressings in little cups

dried fruits

jerky

cooked beans like chick peas

sugar snap peas in the pod

edamame

Go for a combination of colors, tastes, and textures. Kids of all ages seem to like this and they don't feel like they are missing anything. You could use the same items to top a salad for yourself if you felt like you wanted something a little more grown up and filling. All of this stuff can be prepped ahead of time and stored in glass jars, ziplocks, or tupperware and you can just pull out whatever you want that day.

It also sounds like you either need to set aside a time of day to do prep work or you need a special kitchen time activity for the kids. Is there something that would not make too much mess but would keep the kids busy for a half hour at the table? Make it something they ONLY get to do during prep time. Homemade playdough is fun, making sculptures with pipe cleaners is fun and there is no mess, ummm a rice/bean/sand table (usually it is just a big flatish plastic container with a lid that you can move around) would be fun but can be messy.

Maybe a prep DAY would be helpful if you can get someone to watch the kids. Do all the chopping, cook anything that can be made ahead, bake, plan what needs to be done each day after that. Robin Miller has some nice recipes using mostly whole foods that might be useful. I have her first cookbook and enjoy it. She has a bunch of dinners you can prep ahead as well as dinners that have a planned leftover for three meals. Everything is very nice but quick. The menu morph ones usually take more prep but give you three meals.

Those are my probably unhelpful ideas

[Kimchee]

Hi
You have my sympathy! All of our meals are gf too (2 of the 5 of us are gf by necessity). I WOH and cook everything from scratch too, so I think you can streamline what you do... I have a few standby meals that mostly all of us like, and they are what I resort to most. I will make a huge pot of chili; bowls of chili for dinner one night, and 'tacos' (chili for the meat filling) another night, or chili over baked potatoes to stretch the leftovers into another dinner. Also make tostadas with canned refried beans, shredded lettuce or cabbage, and grated cheese, plus jarred salsa (I get one of the kids to shred the cheese). I do all my chopping by hand too -- no food processor. Do you make your bread one loaf at a time? I mix up 3 loaves worth at once, bang it all into the tins, slice all three loaves when they are cool, and freeze the slices in big ziploc bags. Then just pull a few slices out of the freezer as needed. It still takes the three hours (or whatever) to make bread, but you get three loaves instead of one for your time... And sounds like you need a crockpot! Stew fixins or a roast or a meatloaf or a whole chicken gets thrown in there in the morning to cook on low all afternoon...only a salad or (my time-dodge) frozen veg to get ready at dinner time.
And for a quick lunch for the kids I often put sliced (deli) meat, sliced cheese, cut-up apples, and lettuce leaves out on a big plate; the kids assemble their own 'lettuce wraps' or just eat some combination of the ingredients.
Good luck!

[rhiandmoi]

How old is your DD that she is sneaking food out of the freezer? Besides making you run out of the breads earlier than you plan, this could be building towards a bad relationship with food as she grows up.

Personally I would just stop trying to do GF bread substitutes in every day life. Make them special occasion food only.

[Satori]

Thank you everyone for your responses. Its just been the past couple of weeks food has been taking for ever and I identified a couple of things that are problems. The biggest is I realized I'm about 3 weeks late on my B12 shot which makes me a little ditzy, spacey and exhusted therefore making things take longer in the kitchen. Were trying new recipes which means I don't have mixes made up for them and don't make them until we know we like the food. Were out of some basic staples like chicken and canned black beans so we were kind of forced into trying new recipes but the kids were sick of the same things anyway. I usually double or quadruple a recipe so I have enough for 2-3 freezer meals but I didn't do that for a couple of weeks and now were feeling the pinch since I can't just pull out a meal 2-3 times a week. Giving up bread and increasing fat/protein is not an option. Both my kids are on an ultra low fat, low protein, high carb diet for a metabolic disorder which rules out a lot of food right off the bat. My older dd will not eat rice or plain beans (chili ok, bean soup? no way).

I'm not really catering to my kids tastes but my 8 yr old is really picky due to sensory issues. Telling her I'm not going to cook for her means she will go hungry and end up in a violent meltdown due to low blood sugar. (this is a child who didn't START eating solid food until 33 MONTHS OLD due to severe oral aversion due to pain from eating. Carbs are one thing I can be sure she will eat and with the metabolic issue its what her body needs. For the first time in her life she's not complaining of pain on a daily basis becasue we were not pushing the fats/protein which were making her sick.

Someone asked why GF bread takes so long, it takes so long because your usually mixing at least 4+ different flours plus another 10 to 15 ingredients to get something that doesn't resemble a brick. You have to check on it constantly during rising to start the oven at the right time. Everything effects the baking of GF bread from house temp to humidity. You can't just leave it to rise for 45 minutes and expect a perfect loaf to happen. I usually make up a bunch of bread mix at once to help but we had to stop eating our usual bread due to the fat content and are trying to find a new one while dealing with a ton of allergies and fwiw, no you can't throw GF bread batter in the fridge and bake it later.

[Pinky Tuscadero]

Instead of always serving yeast breads, maybe you could do some quick breads. I find that the alternative flours work really well with those and they are super fast and easy to make. Things like banana bread, applesauce bread, pumpkin bread, etc. Plus, they tend to be denser and more filling than yeast breads.
Just a thought...

[bigeyes]

Sounds like you're having to make more than one meal at a time, which is difficult and time consuming. Add being tired to that and I'd think it would be overwhelming.

[LemonPie]

Also get accustomed to preparing everything before you start cooking. This saves a lot of time. I have little dishes that I can use to hold spices and sauces so everything can be prepared and measured out before I even start. It may seem silly, but it really is a time saver, particularly with children underfoot.

I do this a lot. I have a new baby, so when she's napping, I hurry and get my stuff prepped for dinner (or even assemble it if it's something like enchiladas or lasagna). 4-6 p.m. gets a little crazy around here anyway, but then my son goes to Karate a couple of nights a week from 4-5, so it helps to have things that I can throw together or pop into the oven.

I also strongly second the crockpot suggestion. I do a lot of soups in mine. Pasta and potatoes get mushy if they're cooked all day, so I just have them ready to go and throw them in an hour or so before dinnertime.

I thought the suggestion for quick breads was a great one too. We aren't GF, but my kids love things like banana, zucchini and pumpkin bread. My 3 yo is extremely picky and won't eat fresh fruits and veggies, so this is one of the ways I sneak them past her. A slice of quick-bread and some scrambled eggs is a pretty fast breakfast to put together. Quick breads can also be baked as muffins and they freeze beautifully, so you can just pull out a few at a time. I do this a lot when I have fruit/veggies that I need to use up.

If a food pro is too expensive for you right now, you might find something like a Mandolin or a chopper (like THIS little gadget from Pampered Chef) saves you a lot of time for a lot less money. I have the Handy Chopper and use it ALL the time. It's great for things like onions and peppers. A lot of things can be grated rather than chopped too.

[SquishyBuggles]

I cook mostly from scratch and it doesn't take me long in the kitchen at all. I usually set aside one day per week where I spend a lot of time in the kitchen, baking breads, ready-to-eat breakfasts, etc, and prepping things to cook throughout the week.