November 6, 2007

Weekend Cooking

Every night when I get home, my one year old stands in the middle of the kitchen crying until I get food on the table. She is hungry and she can't wait to eat. So, if I don't have a plan for dinner that can be made in about 15-30 minutes (I can usually distract her with toys for that long), it can make for some uncomfortable moments.

As a result, I have vowed to start cooking more food ahead of time so all I have to do is reheat or cut down the preparation time. This weekend I was able to follow my own advice and make some food in advance. I made twice the amount of food for the meal we ate on Saturday so we could have the leftovers. On Sunday I cooked some chicken so I could use it to make several dishes throughout the week.

I am so excited to have some items ready to put into meals for this week. I can tell you that last night I had dinner on the table in 15 minutes and dinner time was so easy.

Here are some tips for cooking ahead of time to make your dinners as easy as mine.

* Cook twice or triple the amount needed for one meal. Reheat leftovers (to 165 degrees) for an easy dinner or take some for your lunch at work.

* Pre cook meat like ground beef, chicken, or pork. Use meats to make a variety of dishes throughout the week. Make sure any dish with precooked meat is heated to 165 degrees.

* Make a large batch of soup or stew. Refrigerate enough for another meal and freeze the rest for meals in upcoming weeks.

* On the weekend, plan out what to serve each night for the upcoming week and grocery shop according to your plan. It saves time in thinking about what to make and you will be sure to have the ingredients.

* Preassemble a casserole or baked dish (like lasagna). Refrigerate or freeze until ready to use.

Since we are cooking and storing food to use later, we need to keep in mind some food safety tips. Leftovers are only good in the refrigerator for a few days and in the freezer for a few months. Check out the link from the Food Safety division of the Food and Drug Administration on How Long to Store Food. Also here are some tips on How to Properly Chill your food

Posted by Jennifer McCaffrey at 10:09 AM |