10 Tips for Fast Weeknight Dinners
These 10 Tips for Fast Weeknight Dinners are the ways that I try to make a faster and easier real good meal. I’m not telling you what to do. I’m just sharing what works for us.
1. How about cooking some meals on a sheet pan in the oven. Of course it works best if all of your ingredients are going to take the same amount of time to cook. Here are a few examples of Sheet Pan Dinners that have worked nicely for us. If you see one that you and your gang might like, give it a go! And, to make the cleanup even faster and easier you could just line the pan with aluminum foil and lightly oil it. Also, doing your whole meal in one skillet or pot. It is simple and also cuts down on your cleanup. Here are a few one skillet meals for you.
2. And, what about keeping some good sliced bread in the freezer. And, or, some bread dough in the fridge. It will be ready for you when you are putting together your weeknight dinner. You could just pop some of either one in your toaster oven or air fryer for some fresh warm homemade bread with your supper. You could see how we do both the freezer and the raw dough part in this Poppop’s easy bread post.
3. Finishing cooking your pasta in whatever sauce that you are going to serve it with. When you are making a dish like Fettuccine Alfredo or Aglio e Olio you could stop cooking the pasta when it is still a little more firm than al dente and add it to the Alfredo or the Aglio e Olio skillet. And, stir it into the sauce a few times as it finishes cooking. Oh, and adding just about a tablespoon or two the pasta water to the skillet will thicken the sauce a little and will help the pasta absorb the flavors from the sauce. When we are having our pasta with a dish that is going to use Tomato sauce, like meatballs or sausage or parmesan of some kind. I stop cooking the pasta when it is just shy of al dente. Drain all but a little of the pasta water from the pot and add the sauce to the pot. Then put the pot back on the stove. The pasta finishes cooking in the sauce and it picks up some of the sauces flavors.
4. When dinner includes some rice or beans you could cook up a big batch. Much bigger than needed for your dinner. And, put all of that extra zip lock bags in the freezer so it will be there for you when it can help. And, speaking of big batches. When you make things that will freeze easily and be just as good when warmed up on a busy weeknight. Like, Chicken parmesan, or Chicken Piccata or Marinara sauce or lasagna or Minestrone soup just make a lot more than you need at the time and save the rest for quick and easy microwave warm ups.
5. Use an instant read meat thermometer so that you will easily and accurately know when the meat is done. It will take the guess work out of getting the food done right and save you some time and mess ups.
6. We use our microwave oven to save a lot of time . And, it opens up some doors to dishes that would otherwise take a lot of time. Like Baked potatoes or carrots. Here are some microwave tips and tricks for you.
7. I strongly suggest keeping your knives sharp. I know It sounds obvious. But, it’s an easy thing to forget to do. There is an old saying that a dull knife can bounce off a loaf of bread and still cut your finger. Use a good steel to keep the knife honed. And, a sharpening stone. Hone it on the steel just about every time that you use it and sharpen it on the stone about twice a year. It will make cooking easier and safer for you.
8. How about keeping a supply of things in your freezer of things that cook quick . Things like frozen veggies, frozen shrimp and fish, frozen chicken breasts and tenders. And on and on. I’ll bet that you are already ahead of me on that one, but, I just had to say it.
9. Every once in a while I get a rotisserie chicken, some cole slaw, potato salad , baked beans and macaroni salad at the grocery store and then I don’t cook nuttin. Plus, the leftover chicken works great for other quick and easy meals. Like in risotto or with Pasta Aglio e Olio or in a tossed caprese salad.
10. Please look up some easy but good meals that cook fast. There are hundreds of them on our website, poppopcooks.com.
Any questions just email me at jack@poppopcooks.com
I’d be very happy to chat and answer any questions. AND, I’d be really happy to get some tips from you!
Hope that this was helpful!
Your friend Poppop aka Jack Kelly
