This evening is one of those evenings I can't muster the will to make dinner. Even though it was Sunday, it was an intense workday with no rest for the weary. This morning, anticipating the long and exhausting day ahead, I did a little dinner prep before the day got the best of me, and I won the "What's for dinner?" game. I hope these tips help you one day.
Last night, I put rice on while I was in the kitchen anyway. It took me just a minute to prepare. I used the tip my friend Chef Marie taught me: boil the rice for about four minutes, then take it off the heat, cover it, and let it sit. Now it is ready to use.
This morning, before getting to my desk, I baked chicken thighs in lemon and cream. This is also quick to prepare in about ten minutes and a divine dish my whole family loves- the best part is the lemon and cream sauce over the rice.
As for a vegetable to complete the meal, I put whole tomatoes on the table, some basil, olive oil, Celtic salt, and pepper, and everyone made their own tomato salad—like a Caprese without mozzarella. This is a perfect first course for summer, and it was ready in one second!
A dinner like this is a breeze to prepare when you cook in stages. If I had to start from scratch tonight, it would have felt overwhelming- and taken longer! Instead, all I had to do was wait for dinner to warm. After I put the rice and chicken in the oven (covered so it didn't dry out), I found a moment to rest and enjoy one of my favorite treats: a few minutes to peruse an old French cookbook and imagine what I'll make when I have more time. If you know you'll be short on time this week, what can you cook ahead?
After a delightful dinner, my daughter cleared the table, and my husband did the dishes. Behind every good dinner is a good team. Thinking ahead, I washed cherries and sliced melon and pondered the possibilities for tomorrow.
Cherries or melon and basil for a third course?
Or perhaps melon and prosciutto for a first course? This week, bring your family members into the kitchen with you. It's a meaningful moment to continue to dinner conversation and plan what's for dinner tomorrow.
I don't know what tomorrow will hold, but I do know that leftover chicken and rice make a great lunch, whether packed for work or school. Another tasty idea is to toss the leftover chicken and lemon cream sauce with pasta or roll it into crêpes. Serve this two days later, and no one will know it's leftovers—just a delicious pasta dish or crêpes!
If the idea of crêpes as an easy dinner option intrigues you, a secret is to make extra crêpes and freeze them. Frozen crêpes snap apart easily and warm in the oven in just two minutes. You can find an easy recipe for crêpes here.
