A Good Meal is (sometimes) Just In the Freezer

If you watched the Food Network, Fine Living TV, Travel Channel, and Discovery nonstop, you might get the impression that you as a person should be cooking every meal at home from scratch every single day of your life. It's easy to get that impression when so many shows want to show you how "EASY" it is to make their food. Or how much healthier the from-scratch versions are. Or how you'll "never buy store-bought again."

That's nice sentiment in small doses, but too much of it can lead to an unhealthy and unrealistic view of the world that exists in your everyday life.

Fact is, we are work people and play people. When we're not working, we're probably playing if not sleeping. A delicious home-cooked meal may be just 30 minutes away in some cases, but there will be days where that 30 minutes would be much better spent on the back porch drinking a beer or watching the news.

We may be Men in Aprons here, but when I get home, there are days that I could care less about whipping up a gorgeous meal for my wife, complete with wine and fine china. Nope, for us, the freezer is the place to go when we're too tired and pizza is often stocked their for just these occasions.

The freezer case can be a pretty good source of quick-fix meals if you take some time to check it out. No longer is it just frozen peas and pizza. One of our favorite new items are the Bertolli Skillet Dinners. Just remove from freezer and put in hot skillet. A perfectly proportioned meal for two people in one bag.

If you've been watching so much Food TV that you feel guilty when you don't cook a meal from scratch, stop beating yourself up about it. Feel free to open the freezer and pop something into the oven. And take one of my most important mantras about life, the universe, and everything.

You are human. Be human. Do not be a robot.