Too Tired to Cook

So, a new school year is upon us, and once again, I'm wiped out in the evening. Monday evening, in particular, is brutal. I work two jobs, the kids go to school, I help with homework, help my daughter with her reading, miraculously find the right outfits, and then send kids off to ballet and gymnastics. God help me.

At least all the activities happen on Monday, but sheesh! The last thing that I want to do is cook.

So, I looked into a number of companies that offer sort of homemade prepared meals. There is one nearby me, Dream Dinners, in which you go in and assemble the meals. It seemed sort of pricey and it was a big up-front financial commitment for meals I wasn't sure my family would eat.

Why not just another night of quesadillas? Well, to be honest.... I'm sick of quesadillas... and pretty much everything else I cooked all summer long. I wanted something a little fancy from time to time without dragging all the people out to a restaurant.

Then I got an e-mail at work. It seems there is a group of people who get food delivered from the Soup Peddler. This is an extremely cool concept. It all started with this guy in Austin who started selling soup and delivering it (in reusable containers) on his bike.

Now it's bigger, but still not too big. It's a little hole in the wall store. With incredible customer service. And the best soup ever.

The soup tastes homemade because it is. Only problem is -- the containers aren't the greatest. The soup comes in a plastic bag. Boo. The salads and quiches come in a recyclable plastic pie container. Recyclable, but plastic. Boo.

But I am a soupie. I can't help myself. And it's not just the soup. I just had the strawberry rhubarb crisp and it's so good that it makes me want to cry.

Does it help that I recycle the recyclables and it keeps me from running to the store at lunch time?