Of all the things we’ve been able to eliminate with technology, one thing that’s not budging is dinner. Dinner is hanging on like a hair in a biscuit. And it wouldn’t be so bad if it didn’t come every single night.

Night after night, we dirty more pots and pans. My God, we just washed them! I hate to say it, but from where I’m sitting, dinner is highly overrated. It’s all over in 20 minutes regardless of whether you’ve hand-washed the arugula, pressed the garlic cloves or, like me, ripped open that box of Hamburger Helper.

It’s unfortunate that this daily, mundane task has fallen to me, as it does to legions of people who work from home. I am lucky to have married a man who understands my aversion to cooking.

Jerry doesn’t complain and he eats what’s served, in large part because he doesn’t want to take over. And that’s saying a lot because my chicken often has to go back on the grill and the rice is nearly always watery. Needless to say, I make a lot of salads — lovely, no-pressure salads.

There’s only been one time Jerry defected on dinner detail. The steak was so overcooked, he put down his utensils and said simply, “I’m sorry, but I can’t eat this.” Whatever. I get points for trying, right?

A few days ago, Jerry suggested I get him a bread maker for Father’s Day. “You’re going to make bread?” I asked him. “No,” he said. “So you can make me bread.” I laughed so hard my face hurt. “Did you forget who you married?” I howled.

At my house, we actually fight over who gets to eat the leftovers, and they’re not even that good. We could, of course, eat out or order out. But that gets expensive — and fattening. As irony would have it, I’m actually the one in charge of the grocery tab while Jerry picks up other bills. I have an interest in feeding the family and not breaking the budget — an interest, not a love.

As a result, I’m a big proponent of not wasting food — perhaps, I’m willing to admit, to a fault. If the lunch meat is getting ready to expire, I nearly force Jerry to take it for lunch. But I’m honest about it: “Here, eat this. It’s getting ready to go bad.”

Jerry is like the canary in the mine. The other day, my son Tyler wanted a leftover hamburger. “Let’s wait and let Daddy have one first,” I said. “Gee, thanks,” Jerry said back, rolling his eyes. My sister says I should have an attorney on retainer just in case I have a food poisoning case brought against me. She’s only kidding (I think).

Surely, there are other folks out there who, like me, can’t stand the daily dinner drudge. For us, dinner is like a stalker we’re trying constantly to keep at bay, but it’s nothing if not persistent. Over time, I’ve developed a few tips to get by, if you want to call them that.

First, if you have a Harris Teeter in your area, you can buy roasted chickens for $4.99 each on Sundays. I buy two. The first night we have chicken with a few sides, the second night is pasta with chicken; and the third night is some kind of Mexican box dinner with, yes, chicken. Just a warning though: I always get the hairy eyeball from Jerry on that third night, along with “Is this the same chicken from Sunday?” Yeah, well. Quit whining.

Second, when you grill, grill in abundance. Whether it’s burgers, chicken or pork, you’ve answered the question “What's for dinner?” for at least three days — and lunch too, for that matter. Three is kind of a theme with me. Cooking every third day seems about right. And, for the record, can I just say right now that there is nothing wrong with eating the same thing a few days in a row. It builds character.

Lastly, there are two ingredients the anti-foodie must have on hand: canned tomatoes and Italian dressing. These are the kitchen equivalents to Vick’s VapoRub. Let’s say you make too many spaghetti noodles and have only one jar of sauce; add a can of tomatoes to it and there’s dinner for two nights. And if you’ve got a pasta sauce that’s a little sticky or dried out because it’s boiled over (this happens to me a lot), pour in a few splashes of dressing.

Oh, yeah. There’s one other thing you’ll need: wine. Only that’s for you; don’t waste it on the food.