Ten Legit Hacks For Easier Weeknight Suppers
Thursday is invariably the night my dinner mojo wavers, when my family is weary from work & school & sports practices. The siren song of a no clean-up, take-out meal can be verrrry seductive. And look, there is nothing wrong with take-out. Practical convenience is something I will never begrudge anyone! We’re all just going our best, are we not?
But to the extent it’s possible, I certainly prefer to feed my family wholesome, homemade, minimally-processed food. (The data on highly-processed food has me thoroughly shook.) You can keep the wheels from coming off your weekly menu plan. I have some ideas…
Write a (realistic!) menu plan. Consider which nights you actually have time to cook, whether you need dinner hot at different hours for different people, and what your social plans are. Be SO honest. Pencil in leftovers, pizza, I don’t care — just having a plan is immensely comforting.
I do all of my menu planning on my Sugar Paper calendar, with which all of you know I am truly & properly obsessed. (Thank you to my pals at Sugar Paper for offering my audience 15% off with code HEATHER15.)
Get inspired! Nothing propels me into the kitchen faster than a new cookbook I’m excited about. Melissa Clark is the QUEEN of delicious, efficient weeknight cooking, so I highly recommend her books Dinner: Changing The Game and Dinner in One. I also frequently refer to the extensive library at NYT Cooking, an online subscription worth every penny. And when all else fails, you know our girl, Ina, has the answers.
Have a consistent repertoire. Inspiration aside, you don’t need to reinvent the culinary wheel every week. Make one or two new dishes per week, max, and then fill in the rest of your menu plan with go-to’s (a taco night, a rice bowl-based meal, a simple back-pocket pasta). All of my family’s tested-and-approved favorites can be found here!
Use epicurean-approved pantry goods. I am v. particular about my ingredients & prefer to make sauces, dressings & seasonings from scratch. However, truth bomb: this just isn’t realistic for the season of life I’m in right now, so shortcuts are essential. My personal favorites are Frontera Taco Seasoning Sauce (a primo shortcut for The Defined Dish’s Crunchy Turkey Tacos), Jersey Italian Gravy (the only jarred pasta sauce I will eat), Brianna’s Real French Vinaigrette (which performs well as a salad dressing & a marinade), and spice blends from Oaktown Spice Shop (their Shichimi Togarashi and Better Than Everything Bagel Spice are elite.)
Embrace prepped produce like peeled garlic, peeled shallots, trimmed beans, pre-washed salad greens & pre-cubed squash, because your v.v.v. valuable time is worth more than whatever extra it costs at the grocery.
Double batch & freeze. Do Future You a solid by making a double batch when you do have time to cook & then tossing it in the freezer. This glass storage set is CHIC & def not your mother’s tupperware.
Buy a rice cooker. Like, right now, because it will change your life. I steam rice weekly as the base of family favorite dishes like Chicken Katsu and Shaking Beef, as part of the homemade dog food I make for Domino (yes, I am that person), and to accompany dinner party dishes like Momofuku’s Bo Ssam. I am especially grateful for it when I have a child home sick — is there anything more comforting than a bowl of soy sauce rice? Have & LOVE the Zojirushi Neurofuzzy model.
Be prepared when your kids complain. “I’m hungry” is le worst, so I leave a bowl of cleaned, raw veggies on the counter while I cook. This either quiets them down or gets them to eat vegetables. Either is fine!
When all else fails, make breakfast for dinner. You probably have the ingredients for pancakes on-hand & children are always delighted by the rule-breaking spirit of having breakfast at the wrong time.
Cut yourself some slack. Contrary to what Tradwives’ Instagram traffic may lead you to believe, it’s not attainable (or even reasonably aspirational) to make every single element of a meal from scratch. I mean, if that blows your skirt up, by all means, make homemade bbq potato chips while you whisper narrate for a bedtime snack, but most people I know don’t have that kind of time. Do the things you enjoy & outsource the stuff you don’t. The End!