Back-To-School Week 1 Dinner and Freezer Recap

I am often asked to explain how I cook ahead/how often I cook, etc. I have a lot of friends who really want to figure this whole dinner gig out, but feel overwhelmed and don't know where to start. So, I thought sharing my (honest) method to the madness might be helpful. This will be the first post in a monthlong series so my friends can see the way I create a stash of homemade meals in the freezer, so I can feed my family well--even on the busiest of days.

Some weeks are smoother than others. This past week ended up looking nothing as I envisioned it would. I had these pipe dreams of the kids heading back to school, and me getting this big jump start on stocking the freezer, spending all of this time working out, catching up with friends, yadda yadda yadda. Well, that didn't happen. My children didn't even start school til Wednesday, and then the bulk of my free time ended up being spent in surprise medical appointments for myself, and playing catch-up with office piles, meetings, etc. Better luck next week. In the meantime:

I started the week with three tubs of Bolognese in the freezer. 

Monday (Labor Day): That afternoon I took a few minutes-- like 15-- to make a big batch of Kale-Almond Pesto, not to eat that night, just to have on hand in the freezer. Dinner was grilled sausages/veggie burger and a bunch of prepared salads picked up from Mrs. Green's (Moroccan carrot slaw, a quinoa salad, potato salad, green beans with shallots, and smashed lima beans from Kibberia, which they carry in their prepared food case).

Tuesday (by kids' request): Cheese tortellini topped with kale-almond pesto (for our vegetarian child + me) and Bolognese (for our 'meatatarian' child + my husband). I didn't actually do any cooking beyond boiling water, and cutting up a few pieces of fruit to have on the side, because I was able to dip into our freezer stash, still ending up with 2 more tubs of Bolognese and a bunch of pesto on hand in the freezer.

Wednesday: Tween book club at our local library means my older child gets pizza and treats at the library and three of us go out simultaneously to the local sushi place. (Monthly tradition that we all enjoy.)

Thursday: All I could think was, "holy moly I am *not* in my back-to-school groove yet...and who knew that I'd be spending all this time this week at MD appts for me. Ugh, annoying." So, I got by with a little help from my friend, Trader Joe's. We had an Indian feast from their frozen section: chicken tikka masala + vegetable biryani + lamb kofta + saag paneer + naan (heat everything in the oven while the kids are bathing) + I cooked up a bag of frozen peas + chopped an apple + sat and relaxed.

Friday: I found/made *just a few minutes* to prep family dinner before we went swimming at a friend's:

• Picked up a marinated kale salad from Green and Tonic earlier in the day (when I was treating myself to a smoothie)
• Picked up lamb chops and a white bean-pasta salad at Whole Foods (grilled the lamb chops when we got home from swimming; white bean-pasta for our vegetarian child's entree)
• Peeled, chopped and roasted a butternut squash (tossed in olive oil + cumin + cinnamon + chili powder + turmeric + salt and pepper at 425 until fork tender before we went swimming, then turned the oven off to keep it warm/room temp til we got home)
• Chopped up cucumbers and tomatoes (a nice neighbor with a green thumb had given us) and dressed them in olive oil + lemon juice + salt and pepper

Saturday: kids and a sitter had a vegetarian baked pasta dish and salad I picked up at Whole Foods (when I ran in for the lamb on Friday)

Sunday: I found myself with time to cook, so decided to make something I could freeze:

• Popped a 4.5lb pork shoulder into the crockpot with 2 cups of white wine + 1/4 cup cider vinegar+ 10 cloves of garlic + 4T ground sage + 2 T ground mustard seed + salt & pepper for 8 hours on low. We had 1/3 of the shredded pork for dinner tonight, slathered in BBQ sauce, and I froze two tubs of pork for future dinners. I purposefully let the braising liquid be rather neutral so I can season the pork, depending upon the future meal (BBQ, Mexican, Asian….)
• Made some quick pickled onions (1 red onion, thinly sliced + 1/2 cup red wine vinegar + salt and pepper in a saucepan over low heat until liquid evaporates)
• Roasted new potatoes
• Tossed arugula in lemon juice and olive oil

Going into next week, here's what I have on hand in the freezer:

• 2 tubs of Shredded Pork (that can become tacos, sliders, stir-fry, quesadillas, salad, hash, soup, etc.)
• 7 tubs of Kale-Almond Pesto (that can go over pasta, get stirred into soup or risotto, become a pizza/flatbread topping, can make a gooey, protein-packed grilled cheese, etc.)
• 2 tubs of Bolognese (that I use as a pasta topping or lasagna layer)
• I'm also long on Trader Joe's Macaroni and Cheese and Indian entrees, and a variety of frozen raviolis, which I can pull out in a pinch until our homemade stash builds up. 

Going forward, my hope is to whip up 1-2 freezer-friendly recipes/ week. Most of them will come from my Stock Your Freezer in a Snap ebooks, because those are tried and true favorites. If you want to join me, you're welcome to download your own set of done-for-you shopping lists, recipes, and packaging recommendations. You can either follow along with recipes I mention, or choose your own freezer-friendly recipes to tackle:

• Stock Your Freezer in a Snap
• Stock Your Freezer in a Snap - Second Batch

Hopefully this post helps you see how I keep ahead of the dinner curve (most nights!). Here's to bonus hours, and family dinners, even on the busiest of days!!

jambalaya in a jiffy

A few posts ago (before we got on our red food streak), I excitedly told you about this packaged meal helper that had become my latest food crush. It had caught my eye on a recent grocery marketing trip, but I must admit that I was totally skeptical... but ha, I love when I discover something great. {Insert little pat on the back.} Once I knew the product was excellent, I stocked up on a few more... and then I came home to a care package of several more boxes the other night, sent to me by the nice folks at cooksimple. For me, they're kind of a safety net in the pantry. But, in honor of Fat Tuesday (I will look for any excuse to make a special meal)...

and because one of our carpenters gave me these homemade sausages today (I'm telling you people, I have the most amazing crew working on my kitchen right now-- one carpenter makes me pickles, the other makes me sausages, and if you haven't seen the construction pics yet, check 'em out-- boy, those pics need updating, but anyway-- homemade sausages from one, homemade pickles from another and the world's most gorgeous kitchen...). OK, anyway, back to dinner. A jambalaya kit + homemade sausages can mean only one thing: jambalaya!

But wait-- jambalaya in less than 20 minutes! As in, spend the afternoon studying for your last nutrition exam, and help your little one finish his Valentine's, and have a virtual coffee date with a friend while the kids are playing, and still manage to have a dinner everyone loved on the table at a reasonable time.

Jambalaya in a Jiffy

(4 generous servings)

3 smoked sausages, chopped*
28 oz. can diced tomatoes
2 1/2 cups water
1 package cook simple jambalaya

My instructions are pretty much the same as the box: saute sausage in a bit of olive oil, then add tomatoes, water, and brown rice/spice packet. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to a simmer, stirring once or twice during the 18 minute cook time, until the rice is done. How easy is that?

*You may not have a carpenter who also moonlights as a sausage maker... if not, I recommend Wellshire Andouille Sausage if you like spicy, or Wellshire Farms Smoked Linguica for a milder variety.

Full disclosure: my older son loved it, my younger son found this meal too spicy. To temper the spice, I added a dollop of sour cream to his bowl.... which I am sure is sacrilegious when it comes to jambalaya, but it worked! If you'd like to get your hands on some of these dinner kits, they have a well-stocked shelf at Whole Foods in Darien, Amazon sells them for my Idaho friends who do their grocery marketing via Amazon (which I think is so funny), otherwise you should check to see if they sell them at your favorite supermarket! I did not receive any compensation for this glowing review, but they did send me 4 other varieties to try... and rumor has it, they're offering the same sweet gift to a few of my readers, so stay tuned!!

easy app: grilled chorizo with queso

This past weekend, I was in charge of the food for a community gathering of almost 40 parents. Now, I love to cook, but I'm not a caterer, so 10-12 people is my max for a full dinner spread. We ordered the food from a local Mexican restaurant (which ended up being fabulous) and I simply made a couple of very easy appetizers + my (phenomenal, totally decadent) cinnamon-chocolate brownies... since I can only stay out of the kitchen for so long. Anyway, knowing this group of guys regularly eats meat straight off the cutting board when they're on father-child camp outs together, this was the "carnivore" app option... These would be perfect accompaniments to the "make-ahead Mexican-themed dinner party" post I shared with you earlier this month because in addition to being super easy (and crowd-pleasing), you can grill the sausages ahead of time, then assembled them and just serve them room temp.

Grilled Chorizo with Quesito (or Queso Blanco/Fresco)

(I'm not listing amts b/c you can make as many as you'd like...)

Chorizo sausages

Queso Fresco, Queso Blanco or Quesito cheese

Grill sausages, then slice on the diagonal. Top with a square of your favorite Mexican cheese. Stick a toothpick in each one, if you'd like. Serve warm or room temp.

More on chorizo: my favorite brand of chorizo is D'Artagnan. It's smokey but not too spicy. If you want to learn everything there is to know about chorizo, I recommend going here. 

More on queso: Queso blanco and queso fresco are white cheeses with a mild, tangy taste. They are typically made with cow's milk and crumble quite easily, like a Feta cheese, so they are perfect atop salads, enchiladas or soups. This sort of cheese also worked cutting it into wedges, as I did in this appetizer. Because this cheese won't get "oily" or "sweat" sitting out during a party, it's a great option for a make-ahead app. I went to a local supermarket that has plentiful ethnic products, knowing they would have several queso blanco and queso fresos to choose from. A local (Stamford, CT) company, La Finquita, happened to be sampling that afternoon, and after getting the thumbs up from me, and my trusted 5-year-old sidekick, I used their "quesito" variety. A little went a long way. One 14 oz. round topped 8 grilled chorizo sausages (making approximately 50 appetizer pieces).

follow-up to the roasted veggie post: what they went into next

This is a follow-up to yesterday's post about roasted root vegetables. The burning question from friends new and old seems to be "whether you really cook for your family every night?!" What do you think? I mean really folks. If you think I cook from scratch each day, then you overestimate me! But, what I do have is a fabulously stocked pantry/fridge/freezer so I can "make" dinner even on the busiest of days. A while back I mentioned those Maya Kaimal sauces. They came in handy again the other night. I purposefully roasted a ton of root veggies and tucked the remainder in the fridge. The next night, I knew everyone wouldn't want the same dinner, so I simply chopped the remaining pork tenderloin up into bite-size pieces, and tossed that and the root veggies into a pot with a Maya Kaimal curry sauce. Dinner was made in, oh, about 5 minutes. Fabulous.

I had intended to make this curry with just the root vegetables and some tofu I had picked up at the store. But, my meat-lover husband lucked out since we had the second pork tenderloin...and it ended up being a pork curry instead. For for those of you looking for more meatless meal ideas, the combination of roasted veggies + tofu + sauce (or just the hearty veggies alone + sauce!) would be delicious. I served our bowls over brown rice (those genius frozen packets that are ready in 3 minutes) + a dollop of Whole Food's Mango Salsa (found in the produce section). And it was really, really good.

Here are two more ideas of sauces to keep on hand for those who might like a few more ideas of things to keep on hand to make mealtime easy.

Pork Two Simple, Family-Pleasing Ways – Day Two

As mentioned in my last post, my goal last week was to model Health Magazine’s Double Delicious article. In the article, the cooking was primarily done one day, and then meals were enjoyed in two different variations on two different nights. The challenge was to create dinners with half the effort, but that were still varied and delicious…like I pride myself on being about to make from scratch on the busiest of days. This two-night-pork-gig was a winner, one that I'll definitely repeat during a busy week ahead.

I took the remaining pork tenderloin from Day 1, and chopped it up into (about) ½” pieces, then tossed it into a large sauté pan with a little olive oil, some diced onion, a rinsed and drained can of chickpeas (I thought I had black beans in the pantry but didn’t) and Rosa Mexicano’s Granadilla Sauce (which contains: tomato puree, black beans, crushed tomatillos, onion, chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, sugar, salt, red wine vinegar, pomegranate juice concentrate, garlic, cilantro, dried guajillo peppers, dried morita peppers, cloves, allspice). I found the sauce at Whole Foods in Westport, where I often find wonderful, slightly unique sauces to keep in my pantry.

Again, it’s all about having a well-stocked pantry if you want to be able to make simple, delicious dinners any night of the week. My rule of thumb is that these short-cuts are totally fine, as long as I recognize all of the ingredients in a product, and those ingredients are something I would cook with too.

I could have followed Health Magazine’s recipe for Pork and Black Bean Tacos…but, aside from the fact that I didn’t have black beans on hand, I was also having too much fun with my kids to slave over the stove. And so, after combining the pre-cooked pork tenderloin, chickpeas and sauce, I simply put a toppings bar together and let each person assemble their own soft tacos. It was delicious, and truly could not have been easier.

Quick note on the tortillas: I found these Sonoma brand Organic Tortillas at Walter Stewart’s in the refrigerated section over by the eggs. They are wonderful. Search them out!

Pork Two Simple, Family-Pleasing Ways – Day One

Before the snow melted into this random patchiness, we were spending our afternoons outside in the yard sledding and scooping snow. This didn’t leave a lot of time to make dinner so I tried out that theory of “cook once for two day’s meals”. One two meal set, involving pork, was fabulous. The one two-night-gig with salmon was excellent the first night, but no matter how you package it, leftover fish is just sort of, um, nasty.

This recipe was inspired by Health Magazine’s January/February 2010 article, Double Delicious. The magazine proposed Horseradish-Crusted Pork Tenderloin on night one, and Pork & Black Bean Tacos on night two. Because I liked the idea, but didn’t have the ingredients for their recipes on hand (nor the time in the case of night one), here is what I whipped up.

Sweet & Spicy Crusted Pork Tenderloin

As I think I have mentioned before, if you keep a packet of Urban Accents Dry Glazes on hand (sold at Walter Stewart's in town as well as many other markets), you will always be able to whip up a gourmet meal in minutes. The one I happened to have in my pantry was “Bombay Blitz” Dryglaze (which contains: granulated honey, sea salt, sugar, cumin, bell pepper, white peppercorn, coriander, onion, turmeric, Cayenne pepper, green peppercorns, black peppercorns, and vanilla bean powder). It’s a shortcut, but I recognize all the ingredients within, so we’re good to go. I simply rubbed a bit of olive oil on the two 1-pound(ish) pork tenderloins, then sprinkled one bag of dryglaze amongst the two tenderloins (each box of dryglaze comes with two bags), and then went out to sled with the kids. When we came back in, I roasted the pork in a 425 degree oven for about 20 minutes. Done!

Then alongside the pork tenderloin, I roasted brussel sprouts (drizzled with olive oil and dusted with a little kosher salt and cumin) and red peppers. The veggies were also roasted at 425 degrees, which made the whole thing very easy. For a starch, I always keep a couple of those Seeds of Change Whole Grain Basmati rice packets in the pantry, which rounded out the meal.

The pork was a little too spicy for my children, so I cut the caramelized crust off, and they basically had plain pork tenderloin and roasted veggies. But everyone was happy. As soon as I pop the kiddos into the tub I can quickly type up what we had on night two with the leftover pork tenderloin, as it was equally delicious (and easy)….

Toting lunch into the city

As I mentioned in a post a couple weeks ago, we’ve figured out ways of saving here and there. Both my husband and I feel thankful for what we have and feel like it is only natural to be prudent given the state of economic affairs. That paired with the fact that I tend to cook large quantities of food led him to pack up a lunch each day. Or rather, I place an extra serving into a Tupperware for him to tote into the big, bad city. It wasn’t something we set out to do, it just sort of happened and then he realized the quality was much better than the salad bar joints he was frequenting, and he noticed how much less cash he was blowing through weekly. Well, now the expectation is that lunch will be sitting in the fridge waiting. I am sure he would tell you that some days are better than others. I think he’ll be psyched for tomorrow’s lunch.

Pork Tenderloin with Urban Accents Athenian Herb Dry Glaze + Butternut Squash + Baby Zucchini…roasted everything in a 425 oven. Minimal prep, excellent meal. In lower Fairfield County, I’ve picked up Urban Accents’ Dry Glazes at Walter Stewart’s and Whole Foods/Westport. But I’ve linked them above so you can search them out near you too. They are excellent to keep in your pantry for a night when you’d like a nice meal, but aren’t feeling like spending a lot of time at the stove! This is one of those products I wished I’d thought of!

Dinner Party Idea - An Oktoberfest Feast

Is there anything better than being invited over to friend’s home for a dinner party? It’s such a relaxing way to spend a weekend evening. But, is it as much fun to be the host? So many friends tell me they are hesitant to throw a dinner party because “they can’t cook” or “it’s too much work”. And so, when I can find some blips of free time, I am going to suggest a couple of menus to make entertaining easy…and yes, fun to host.

When planning a dinner party there are two things to keep in mind. First, a dinner party need not be fancy. No need to pull out the china and crystal. What’s important is that you’re gathering with friends over good food whether it be filet or grandma's casserole recipe. And second, it will be much more fun for you, the host, if you do the cooking ahead of time. This way, you get to actually enjoy the company of friends.

One of my go-to dinner parties I love to do in the fall is around the Savory Pumpkin Cannelloni I make each year. One weekend I’ll set aside time to make this rich, comforting dish, and I’ll make enough for a couple of gatherings, popping the dishes in the freezer. Serve it with a green salad and dinner is done…and wow, do the guests swoon. I'll have to post that recipe while we're all still thinking pumkin.

On a recent drizzly weekend, I made an Oktoberfest-themed dinner for a group of friends. I will admit that I spent several hours cooking on Friday, not because the recipes were laborious, but because I was actually reading recipes this go round (instead of cooking based upon what I have on hand, or relying on my own sense of flavors and textures). I had memories of German food from my time in Europe as an AFS exchange student, but I’d never actually prepared these foods. When planning the menu, I knew I would make one of my go-to fall recipes: Balsamic Braised Cabbage as a side, but the rest of these recipes I got by simply doing a google search for Oktoberfest recipes. I’ve linked to all of the recipes I made, in case you want to cook up your own Oktoberfest-themed feast. I considered it another fabulous evening, since everyone could relax over good food, and all of the recipes could be made in advance (including grilling the sausages), and then warmed in a low temp oven, or taken out of the fridge at mealtime.

“Oktoberfest” Dinner Party Menu

Trader Joe’s Cheese Puffs

Brown Sugar Bacon

Bavarian Cheese Spread on thinly sliced dark rye bread*

Trader Joe’s Pumpernickel Pretzels

*I wasn't so sure of this cheese spread when I first made it (shown above, before being "mushed") but it was actually pretty good. It's definitely a strong taste because of the brie, blue cheese, onions and beer but everyone enjoyed it...

Karottesalat (Carrot Salad)

Gurkensalat (Cucumber Salad)

Sausages**

Balsamic Braised Red Cabbage with Apricots (pictured above, before cooking)

Turnip Potato Gratin (pictured above before getting a heavy dose of cream and cheese)

Grainy Mustard

**Bratwurst, Knackwurst, Weisswurst…Walter Stewart’s carries the full line of Schaller and Weber sausages.

Trader Joe’s Apple Strudels (in the frozen dessert section of the market)

Ginger, Cinnamon or Vanilla Ice Cream

And of course, a hearty selection of German beers to go along with the feast. (I found this wide selection at Stew Leonard’s Spirits in Norwalk.)

Stuffed Acorn Squash + Meat Sauce Too

I didn’t rush to post the recipe for Stuffed Acorn Squash, since my one child that didn’t like the acorn squash the first time still didn’t like it this go round. My goal in posting recipes is to pass along ideas of meals or sides you can make that have a high likelihood that both the kids and the parents will enjoy. But, I still think this one is worth sharing. First it’s such a comforting, cozy Fall dinner. And second, the remaining meat mixture you have left after stuffing the acorn squash can be combined with your favorite jarred tomato sauce and voila!: a fabulous meat sauce (which goes over particularly well here when served over Trader Joe’s Alphabet Pasta). So, all is not lost if one of your kids still isn’t digging the squash.

Stuffed Acorn Squash (makes 4)

2 acorn squashes, sliced in half, seeds scooped out
Olive oil
Rimmed baking sheet
1 lb ground beef (preferably lean)
4 Sweet Italian Sausages, casings removed
1 large (or 2 small) onion(s), chopped
2 handfuls of shredded Mozzarella
1 handful of shredded Asiago or Parmesan
(1 extra handful of either cheese to sprinkle on top)
Kosher salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Drizzle some olive oil on the rimmed baking sheet and rub the cut side of the acorn squash in it so it’s lightly covered. Turn it right side up and pinch a little salt and pepper onto the acorn squash (kids can help with this part). Put it back down on the sheet (cut side down so you’ve got these four little mounds looking at you). Bake it for 25 minutes.

In the meantime, in a large fry pan, sauté the beef, sausage and onion until cooked. Take the pan off the heat and stir in the cheeses. If you get done with this part before the squash is done cooking, let it sit (off the heat) and pick up a magazine. Once the squash comes out of the oven, turn it cut side (sunny side) up (green side down). If it’s too wobbly on its base, simply cut across the base—just a little—enough to make it level. Then stuff each squash with as much of the meat mixture as you can fit in there. Sprinkle with cheese. Pop back into the oven for another 15 minutes, until the squash is tender when pierced with a fork.

This can be made ahead and reheated in the microwave, so perfect for a bust night in the week ahead. And, as mentioned above, any extra meat mixture can be combined with your favorite jarred sauce for an instant second meal of a fabulous meat sauce to go on pasta!

And a Quick 'Asian' Inspired Dinner Too

I’m all about spring cleaning these days, so I am determined to work through the ingredients I have in my pantry…plus the random assortment I amassed during yesterday’s grocery shopping trip. I don’t have much time to cook dinner during the week. I tend to assemble dinner while I am giving my children a snack, and then pop it in the oven while we play before dinner (or they play and I squeeze in a workout, some emailing, and a phone call if I am lucky). This afternoon, I assembled dinner in less that 30 minutes again and it’s cooling down for the boys. It smells amazing. This time dinner has a little more Asian/SE Asian influence (all ingredients from Trader Joe’s for anyone who would like to try it at home):

Pork tenderloin + TJ’s Peanut Sauce: seared the pork tenderloin in a bit of olive oil, then transferred it to a roasting pan and coated it in peanut sauce; roasted at 375 until it reached an internal temp of 160 degrees. If you wanted to dress it up, you could sprinkle some chopped peanuts and cilantro over the top to make it look pretty...

For one veggie, I tossed a bag of organic baby carrots + a little olive oil (would be great with sesame oil too, but my husband isn’t a fan of sesame) + a drizzle of honey + some grated ginger + kosher salt + pepper and roasted the carrots in the same 375 degree oven until they were crisp tender. If you were using sesame oil, and wanted to be fancy, you could shake some black sesame seeds over the top before roasting them. That would be pretty….

There’s really nothing ‘Asian” about the other veggie side, but everyone likes it and I had all the ingredients on hand: 1 bag organic frozen spinach (thawed) + hearty scoop of organic whipped cream cheese + a splash of half & half + small handful of shredded Parm + lemon zest. Combine all of the above in a saucepan and heat on low until melted/combined.

And pictured above, I combined 1 bag of TJ’s brown rice (from the freezer section, heated according to pkg) + with diced mango + fresh mint + a splash of rice vinegar + kosher salt + pepper.

Have to run because we’re going to sit down to an early dinner. Early dinner + early bath + early bed = relaxing evening for you-know-who.