You've heard it before: weeknight cooking is easier with a little bit of preparation. But how prepared do you really have to be? That's up to you.
If you know you've got a crazy-busy week ahead, take a few hours over the weekend and do all five of these things. If the week ahead is looking a little less hectic, just knock a few of these off the list. Even if you only have time for one thing, it will help you cook better, smarter, and faster throughout your week.
Sometimes the only thing standing between you and a home-cooked dinner is an empty fridge. Who has time or energy to go grocery shoppingandcook when you just got home from a hectic day at the office?
Take a moment over the weekend to sketch out a menu plan for the week, and shop for the ingredients you'll need to make it happen.We've got some menu inspiration for youif you want it.
If you don't have time to figure out a whole menu, make sure you have some basics in the fridge and pantry that you can turn into dinners, like hearty greens, eggs, pasta, and canned beans. And if you don't have time to get to the grocery store,you can always order online.
As soon as you bring home fresh herbs and greens, wash and dry them. This one little step seems so simple, but can save you loads of time when it gets to dinner rush hour. If it's kale, collards, or chard, you can even remove the stem and chop the leaves so they're ready for cooking later in the week.
Let the greens (or herbs) dry throughly, then wrap them gently in a damp paper towel or dish cloth and seal in a plastic bag. Or transfer them to one of these niftyproduce keepers.
A container of cooked whole grains—be it farro, rice, or barley— in the fridge is like money in the bank. It takes anywhere from 15 to 45 minutes to cook a big batch of whole grains, which you can do while you catch up on Netflix on Sunday night. Beans take slightly longer, but are also a good bet for a variety of weeknight meals.
Spread them out on a half sheet pan to cool faster before putting them in the fridgein a resealable container, or freeze individual portions in resealable bags. Once you have those grains, you can make so many salad bowls, orturn them into fritters for dinner.
One roast chicken can turn intoan awful lot of meals.. You could also roast a pork butt or some turkey legs or a brisket and use them in many ways throughout the week.
Or, since it is summer, get the grill going andgrill off a bunch of meat you can enjoy throughout the week.
One flavor-packed sauce can be your magic potion for a handful of meals. In our$50 dinner party menu, we used one make-aheadherbed olive oilto pack flavor into dip,soup, andrice.
Make a batch of herbed oil, ormake a spicy garlic oiland use it in much the same way. Or makea creamy tahini dressingthat you can then turn into three different sauces throughout the week.
