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For years, fans of the Duggar family have wondered just how much parenting Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar do in a given day.

We know that’s an odd question to ask of a couple who’s raised 19 children, and the obvious answer would seem to be "a lot."

Michelle Ruark
(TLC)

But over the years, Jim Bob and Michelle have spent a lot of time traveling and tending to their many business ventures while their household seemingly ran itself.

But it didn’t run itself, of course.

A tremendous amount of work went into clothing and feeding so many children — but much of it was done by the Duggar children themselves.

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Much has been made of how many chores Jana Duggar seems to do around the home, but she’s certainly not alone.

All of the older Duggars help out around the house, especially in the kitchen.

In fact, some fans claim there’s evidence that Michelle hasn’t done any cooking of her own in years.

Duggar, Michelle
(TLC)

Indeed, it’s difficult to find any indication that Michelle spends much time in the kitchen these days.

Though to be fair, she’s admitted in the past that it wouldn’t be possible to feed such a large brood if everyone didn’t pitch in.

“Some of the boys are really good cooks. They have lots of fun getting in there and being creative,” Michelle once wrote in a blog post.

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“We usually have teams of three or four kids that’ll work together on the cooking. … There’s a leader and then the rest of them follow the instructions of the leader.”

In the same post, Michelle went into detail regarding the challenges of grocery shopping for such a sizable family.

“Our goal for our monthly food budget is $3,000. It used to be more like $2,000, but we’ve noticed the costs of groceries have gone up,” she wrote. 

“For groceries, we mainly shop at discount grocery stores, warehouse clubs and co-ops. You can save thousands of dollars by doing just that," she added.

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"We buy mostly in bulk and stock up once a month on staples like butter, cereal and oats–it’s just cheaper."

Michelle says that out of necessity, she does all of the grocery shopping, as budgeting remains a challenge, even as the older kids leave the house and start families of their own.

As for the actual cooking, Michelle admits to receiving a considerable amount of help from her offspring.

And tellingly, she’s dodged questions about whether she knows how to cook at all.

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Fans have made much of the Duggars’ bizarre dinner concoctions over the years, with descriptors such as "prison food" being thrown about frequently.

So is it possible that such odd combinations as barbecue sauce and canned tuna are a result of the fact that no one in the house really knows their way around a kitchen?

We may never kniow for sure, but it would certainly explain a lot.