Dinner Together

A long day finished. Let’s come together to share a glass of wine, a home cooked meal, some hygge. Pour some wine, use your pretty glasses, slip into some comfortable clothes and start the meal.

Home made chicken pot pie!

We love to cook and rarely go out to eat, especially in the winter here in the Bold North. Putting together a home cooked meal takes planning. And that planning doesn’t start at 4:30 in the afternoon when you get home! If you wait until then, dinner often disappoints you and yours with just what ever can be cooked with what is on hand.

Let’s plan

Menus! I gather recipes through using some of my favorite magazines, web pages and social media (yes, Pinterest and Instagram!) and save them to add to my menu planning. Since I shop on Saturdays, I develop the menu for the next week all week long. When I find a recipe that sounds like it belongs on my dinner plate, I put it in my menu notebook, and add any ingredients I might need to my shopping list. I do look for recipes that list items already in my kitchen. Look at tomorrow’s menu today so you can pull things from the freezer!

Recipes! We both love food made with fresh, simple, and seasonal ingredients. Mostly, we like the same foods. I especially love vegetables, cheese, pasta and pizza! The husband…not so much. He likes his food more plain, less spice, skip the cheese and totally pass on the pizza altogether and nothing green. What’s a couple to do? Not eat what you love? Be forced to eat something you don’t like? That is no way to end your day.

I do what few will do, but something you should consider. I will cook 2 separate meals. Sometimes it is as simple as his chicken has no cheesy sauce, while mine is deliciously covered. Sometimes it is 2 completely different meals.

Too much work you cry! Here are some of the ways I get this done with ease:

• When I make a meal, I make enough to have leftovers later in the week or freeze a second meal. Then when I want to have a meal that is all about me, I can pull this stand by out, and heat up while I whip up something else. Last night, I served leftovers of his favorite meal, and made a garlic sherry mushroom pasta for me. Smiles!
• Use 2 pans and add the yummy items he does not care for into my pan!
• Add the sides you enjoy and make the ones he enjoys. Same with salads. We do the same with wine!

Weekend prep. This is the time to prep long cooking items like squash. If I am using the oven for a weekend meal, I add the extras for the week on in. I also make the salad dressing to have on hand for the week.

Appliances. This may seem like an unlikely tip for cooking evening meals. Having great kitchen appliances make the whole weekday meal so much simpler. Must haves? A crock-pot, an Instapot and most importantly, an Air Fryer.  (You can cook everything in an Air Fryer! ) Using these kitchen gems will get an up-scaled home cooked meal on the table in record time. You also need a vacuum sealer to preserve your leftovers for another quick meal.

I have a thing for kitchen appliances…can you tell? Plenty more did not make the picture!