Well, sometimes you’re tired after work. Cook? Hell with that.
TV dinners count?
10 minutes, I’m
Eating and five
Minutes more,,,
I’m cleaned Up.
I can do the same thing with rice dishes.
I have a panini press, and I can throw two pieces of bread, three slices of cheese, and two kinds of deli meat on the grill and have a fancy looking sandwich in less than two and a half minutes.
All of those solve the problem of food when I don't want to cook although advanced preparation is required.
Eating out is mostly for when I am traveling.
Get an Instant Pot.
Whole chicken with fixings in about 40m start to finish. Just put the chicken and fixings in the pot, add a little water, put the lid on and program it for 26m or so.
Eat leftovers for a couple days at least.
Chicken is good on sandwiches, on chips as chicken nachos, on a salad, etc.
Cook the one night and eat for several days including taking lunch if you wish.
Can do the same thing with a roast. Roast with potatoes and carrots, roast beef sandwiches, shredded roast beef on a salad, etc...
And you know nobody spit on your food while they were plating it. Unless you want that sort of thing.
There are (probably literally a billion) instant pot recipes out there.
And unless you’re cooking something very basic, or in very large quantities, it isn’t that much cheaper to cook at home.
Yes ... it's relaxing.
...sometimes you’re tired after work...
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Which is why it’s smart to cook double batches and freeze meal-sized portions for those days. Takes no energy to set out the frozen, prepared meals and warm them up.
Not a lot of temptation where I live and I like to cook. I still don’t do it every day. The take out or sit down meals available in the country are pitiful. We cook better ourselves.
Don’t like to make those double batches? Buy frozen pizza and add toppings. Form ground beef into patties, cook what you’ll eat and freeze the extras. Keep tortillas on hand and make wraps or burritos with whatever you like or have on hand. When all else palls, sometimes a quick-baked microwaved potato topped with butter and cheese (more if you’re ambitious), hits the spot.
I feel guilty if I spend $10 a serving at a restaurant. I can feed the two of us dinner for a week on that.