Weeknight Dinners - Dread or Delight

Weeknight meals. On some days, fixing dinner is a struggle, or a challenge, or just a bit of an ongoing nuisance in an effort to simplify it. Eating out was formerly the default, but with budget and healthy eating priorities, that has been redefined. Perhaps you can relate to this dilemma.

The weekday, or workday in my situation, zooms by. I often find myself at the end, unprepared to do the dinner thing. As the sun sets, so sink my ambitions of fixing something fast and flavorful. Some weeks, I plan, I shop, therefore I am ready. Other weeks, it is like a daily surprise that sneaks up on me. Really? It is time once again to gather around a plate or bowl that does not mysteriously fill itself. So I seek and search out sages of survival, like my mom, who could serve a meal and make it look effortless and taste satisfying.

In Bread & Wine, by Shauna Niequist, I found some worthy advice. I found her common sense information practical and comforting. On page 265, she writes a few pages of down-to-earth tips and advice that made my weeknight dinner life look more hopeful. And I discovered I am not alone in this. At the end of the day, we are tired, time is short, and people are hungry. The perfect storm of feeding.

By the way, Bread & Wine is a great book to read, especially if you enjoy cooking and shared meals with those you love, friends and family. I appreciated this honest look at life and how centering a shared meal can be.

Here is a summary I created of a section near the end of the book. This is useful to me for personal reference. You may find it helpful as well, so I wanted to share it here. My notes are somewhat abbreviated, so I apologize if something does not make complete sense here, and suggest grabbing the book to broaden your understanding and to get many more great insights, ideas on life and food, including recipes. The following is adapted from the section titled "On Weeknight Cooking, With Pantry List:"

Weeknight dinner rules of thumb:

• They are largely about what you have already done, as in cooked for another meal, a.k.a. leftovers.
• Planning and shopping are necessary.

Step 1: Look for leftovers. Leftovers lead the way.

Step 2: Ask…salad, soup, rice bowl, or taco? [Other options: pasta, sandwich] - Brilliant suggestions!

Step 3: Select and begin. 

Option 1: Salad...go big...full meal...no sides. Suggestions: Start with baby spinach, add protein (diced chicken), add crunch (pecans), add fruit (dried or fresh), add cheese, and toss with vinaigrette. My friend just introduced me to a salad like this with cheese tortellini as the protein.

Option 2: Soup...starting of course with the aromatics (onion, garlic, or perhaps ginger). Use rice, chicken, veggies (perhaps a can of diced tomatoes), and fresh herbs. Niequist suggests an easy chicken and rice soup combo: onion, cooked chicken, rice, broth, salt and pepper. She suggests other alternatives in the book. I liked her ideas to add a handful baby spinach or frozen peas, carrots, celery, or cubed potatoes. She notes that carrots and potatoes increase cooking time, so be aware.

Option 3: Rice Bowl...brown rice, chicken or chicken sausages, broccoli, and softened onion. She does include easy to follow steps for creating a simple rice bowl. The sauce she suggested made my mouth water: into the pan where the cook just pan-fried chicken breasts or sausage, add softened onion back in (cooked prior to the chicken), spoonful of Dijon, a splash of white wine or a few tablespoons broth. Let it mix and bubble and cook down to a quick pan sauce. Option: add a bit of butter or a few tablespoons of heavy cream or whole milk. Yum! Niequist also goes on to describe creative simple alternatives to change this up a bit.

Option 4: Tacos...she's served scrambled egg tacos, which might be worth a try. Also, she suggests black bean and goat cheese tacos or sliced avocado and hummus tacos with a splash of salsa. She provides more direction and suggestions to create quick tacos with what's on hand.

Lists: I am a list junkie. On pages 271-272, Niequist gives lists for what to keep on hand in the pantry, freezer, and refrigerator to make the weeknight dinner routine more drama-free. I'll lean into those lists as I continue to try to plan and shop to make dinner nice and not a nightmare.

"Who's up for scrambled eggs, pickles and syrup for dinner?" she cheered, and then realized with Shauna's lists, her dinnertime drama would soon end.

I feel empowered. What are your tips and tricks for weeknight dinners?

Note: I married a guy skilled in the kitchen with the gift of being able to throw open cupboard doors and like magic create a good meal, when I just stand there staring and groaning that there is nothing to eat. I am blessed to have a partner in the effort to provide dinner. Mondays are even his assigned night, since I'm doing all our laundry that day. Teamwork! So the weight of evening meals is not my burden to bear alone. for which I am grateful to him.

"There's nothing to eat for dinner," she cried in despair.

Good-bye Old Stove!

“The estimate for the repair is over $500?”

“That’s what he said. Time to go look for a new stove. What are you doing tomorrow morning?”

“Looking for a new stove with you.”

“I think so!”

Our first married stove, and the first stove I’ve ever even owned, was purchased in the spring of 1995. That was eighteen years ago. Today, we bought that stove's replacement.  For me, it is a bit stressful to spend on a new appliance and to take a guess on selecting one that will prove worth that investment.

We had been hand-lighting the top burners on the old stove for years. They quit igniting along the way. Our old stove clock, in times of power outages or time changes, could only be reset by unplugging, plugging it back in, and then setting the time. The timer hasn’t worked for years. We just dealt with it and took it in stride. Inconveniences, but not essentials. Then this week the oven died. That was the crushing blow that resulted in our new purchase.

My husband, who enjoys cooking, too, has opinions on these matters. We had fun looking for the new stove together. We debated getting the cheapest stove we could find or one more expensive, yet more suited to our needs over time. This one will serve us better in the long run.

We got it loaded in the truck and, with help from a friend, moved it into our kitchen. That saved a delivery charge and we did not have to wait to get it home. He confidently installed it, with only two trips to the local hardware store. He also cleaned behind the old stove, for which I am so grateful. That was a dusty, grimy scene, evidence of housekeeping neglect for who knows how long.

New, shiny, and so clean...

So, we have started the clock to see how long the new stove will last. We bought the five-year warranty, which I’ve come to accept as necessary these days. Appliances are not as reputable as in our parents' days. Replacing appliances has its financial challenges all bundled with hopes for a good product that will serve and last.

Our new gas range is a better-looking appliance, of course, as styles and tastes change through the years. Once we got it home, I realized a simple pleasure for the first time in my grown-up life: a white refrigerator, white dishwasher, and now white range. They all match. Our old stove front and the top panel were black, which now looked dreary and dreadful. 

 

Old Faithful...

Aside from color changes, the new stove comes with minimal razzle-dazzle technology and dashboard of keypads, which we learned to use quickly.  It comes with a bigger oven and five burners, which my husband thinks will be useful, especially with two couples cooking in this house - and all four people cook, the men and the women. [Another couple lives upstairs]

Our new KitchenAid range

Now we have burners that actually ignite when you turn the switch/knob, a bit of a thrill that I do not take for granted. The clock/timer problems are now solved, additional pleasures of the purchase. I'm feeling a bit spoiled.

We can now roast or bake with a convection oven. That will save energy, something pro-environment for me. It seems easy enough to do, according to the instruction manual.

Within less than 24-hours, we broke in our new stove and gave it a whirl: 

First baked item, Monkey Bread – a worthy choice.

First spill – melting butter with brown sugar.

• First piece of popcorn hit the stove top and came to rest – proof that love is in the air and plenty to share.

• Grease spattered while cooking this morning's breakfast bacon. I had to back down almost immediately from my new vow of hyper-vigilance in keeping the stove top clean all the time, though I am hoping we keep it cleaner than the one we are retiring.

I was feeling a bit reflective with the transition in stoves, another turn of the page of time. A stove is so central to our home life, to the kitchen, to the meal. A tool for nourishment and connection. The stove itself, a choice, a selection made by two minds, two sets of opinions, with hopes of being able to afford it, and dreams that it will last a long time. It is a blessing to have a marriage that outlasts a stove these days!

Thoughts included summers where it is too hot to cook. Holidays where certain baking and roasting smells fill our home and announce a season or a festive meal. Watching cheese melt and bubble on a pizza through the oven window at the end of a busy weekday. Anticipating a cake or cookies or fresh fruit crisp for a sweet treat. New recipes to try with humbled expectations and fun in the process. All these things revolve around a stove. The sizzle of sauté whether onions or garlic or something else. Stirring a hearty soup. Caramelizing anything. These are some of our delicious times around the stove that create bonds and memories, anticipation of something good, and value for the process.

So, out with the old...in with the new. Good-bye old stove! Now we have to figure out what to do with the old one. It looks so used and dirty with the new one nearby. It served us well for many years and now we will dispose of it in an environmentally conscious way.
 
Did you know new ovens no longer include broiler pans? Do you think replacing a major appliance ever comes at a convenient time?

Taking Stock of Chicken Stock - Homemade (Sort of)

Last night, we devoured a rotisserie chicken for dinner, leaving, of course, the carcass. That word carcass - ewe. I don't like it. So let me rephrase. Last night, we devoured a rotisserie chicken for dinner, leaving, of course, the bones and stuff. Still seems barbaric. Third try. Last night, we devoured a rotisserie chicken for dinner, leaving, of course, the frame of the bird. OK. Moving on. That's the background story.

Photo credit: secretingredient411.blogspot.com

About 10:30pm, on my way through the kitchen, I observed the remains of the bird still on the counter. Disclaimer: not my night to take care of dinner. On the stove, I also noticed the unused stock pot full of water, prepared to boil pasta, which had not occurred.

 

Leftover chicken. Large pot of water. Yep. You guessed it. I rushed to my computer and Googled, as anyone might, "rotisserie chicken stock recipe." Of course! I'd often wanted to try my hand at making stock from scratch -- well, almost scratch.

Please understand, I am a foodie, an eater of whole foods when possible, prefer home cooked to processed, and I love to collect recipes. Collect them. And randomly occasionally actually try new recipes. Or repeat old ones, even less frequently. I explore the process of cooking, not interested with perfection, just fun and flavor. With two adults and no kids in our home, cooking nightly meals is not an expected, though always met with gratitude, task in my day. I am not a good cook. I am a good enough cook. Simple steps and few ingredients. That's me. All that to say, I got a bit ambitious at this very moment. The lie, "How hard can it be?" plagued me. I succumbed instantly and jumped into the project.

So I found a recipe online and naively decided at 10:30pm to try to make homemade chicken stock. Amazed that an onion, celery, carrots, and a bay leaf were all in the kitchen somewhere at the same time, a miracle in itself, I began the process.

I submerged the chicken in the stock pot of cold water. I added a brown onion cut in large chunks, skin on, for the recipe said it would add a nice color. I did rinse the onion first. I added two carrots chopped in big chunks, not peeled per the recipe. I rough chopped two stalks of celery. I tossed in a bay leaf, and minced a couple garlic cloves and tossed them in, even though they were not mentioned in the recipe. I turned on the heat and watched the pot come to a rolling bubbly boil. A watched pot does boil, in case anyone asks.

momsbistro.net

A comforting aroma began to flood the kitchen. I reduced the heat to low and set my timer for 90-minutes to reduce the liquid to about one quart, per the directions. By now it was getting later, naturally, and I was running out of ambition, naturally.

I stayed up as late as I could, losing interest in the stock as the clock approached midnight. I read, played Solitaire, showered, did whatever I could think of to stay awake as I babysat the stock. Yawn.

A side note - the house began to smell wonderful. Like Thanksgiving. Or Sunday-after-church meals of days gone by. Always a good thing. My husband and dog had been asleep for an hour, and I envied them.

Seventy-minutes later, I gave up, turned off the burner and started the cooling process, deciding to just let it cool down overnight. It was a cool night in the house after all so that seemed safe enough.

Morning came. The house still smelled like a feast had happened. The broth had cooled. It looked great. Now what?

I removed the chicken and threw it away. I then poured the liquid and chunks of vegetables through a colander and splashed the counter, myself, and watched it run onto the floor by way of the below counter cupboards while I held the colander. Remember, this was a work day morning -- never a leisurely time. I was in over my head.

I poured the strained liquid, resembling a urine sample -- that made me laugh, into small resealable plastic bags in one-cup portions. I know -- the dangers of plastic and freezing it -- I've read the articles. This was my best option. I lined up the bags in a baking pan, and placed the pan in the freezer for the first freeze. Once those get firm, I'll bag them in a big resealable bag labeled "Chicken Stock 4-15-13." Then I cleaned up the kitchen from stock splash. And it was good. And I rested.

Note to self - If I had it to do over again, here's what I'd do differently:

1. Start much earlier in the day. A weekend day, not a work day.
2. Take remaining eatable meat off the chicken and save for another meal before plunging it into its bath.
3. Put the chicken in the pot first and then cover with cool water. I had too much water to begin with, but being environmentally conscious this was all partly to save the water and repurpose it, to avoid throwing it out on the plants in the yard, which is not a bad idea either.
4. Determine exactly what one quart of liquid really looks like, if that is the goal.
5. Have freezable quart containers on hand to store the stock when finished.
6. Set it in the fridge to cool and skim off the fat then, before moving on.
7. Use a mesh strainer instead of a colander to clear the stock of chicken and vegetable parts.
8. Wear an apron to catch the splashes, though that would be resolved with a mesh strainer for the most part, but better safe than sorry. 
9. Have friends over to help with the packaging part and to share the stock, since I do not have enough room in my freezer for all the stock that resulted. Of course, if I'd ended with 1-quart of liquid, that would be manageable. Maybe a stock co-op would work. Gather a group of women and their quart containers several times a year to strain and contain the homemade stock and share together. We could rotate stock making duties throughout the year and gather to collect the finished delights.

simplyrecipes.com

 

10. Or just buy it.

Have you made chicken stock at home? Any tips or tales to tell? Please share.