With the school year under way and soccer season in full swing, our summer days of eating dinner together every night have dwindled. On any given night, dinner is served at three different times: once at 5 p.m. for my son who is playing soccer at 6:30 p.m., once around 6 p.m. when his sister gets hungry, and a third time around 8:30 p.m. when my husband gets my son home from soccer practice.
It’s during these times that thinking strategically about dinner really comes in handy. Sure there are a few things like chili that are easy to reheat and serve multiple times, but there’s only so much chili or tacos that a family is willing to eat. My kids like variety, and I like to keep things simple. I have found that it is the side dishes that take the longest to cook, so I have discovered a great way to speed things along—freezing them. Many foods that you may never have considered can be frozen ahead with great results. Foods like pasta take nearly half an hour when you have to boil water.
Instead, I make an entire box of pasta on a Sunday and freeze it for use throughout the week. To freeze pasta, cook it until it is al dente, then line a cookie sheet with parchment, spray with olive oil and lay the noodles on it so that they do not touch. Place it the freezer and when it is completely frozen, take the pasta off the cookie sheet and make individual portions in plastic baggies. When it is time to serve, just pop it in the microwave or place the baggie under hot water. Add sauce (I typically make a big batch and freeze that as well), and your side dish is ready within five minutes.
The same strategy works well for rice and mashed potatoes. Grill a quick piece of chicken or flank steak, make a fast salad, and you have a well-balanced meal that is ready when you are. And ready again an hour later—and a few hours after that.
