As the non-cook in my family, it has really helped to have a few simple meals that I can deal with, such as rice with other stuff, eggs with other stuff, etc. When my SO has time-shifting hobby or work changes, I have to resort to getting out the pan that I've been allowed to use (talk about gear nuts - I'm not allowed to use the fancy Williams-Sonoma pans, which I find humorous.) I feel pretty good about being able to do this. Of course, cooking a larger quantity ahead of time with plenty of leftovers is a good solution, from my standpoint. We also have decent take-out in town.