No Sweat, Low-Stress, Quick and Easy Dinners

As summer draws to a close, moms and dads are beginning to breathe a sigh of relief that their children will soon be in the hands of their new teachers. On the other hand, they begin to gasp at the thought of busy schedules filled with: homework, after school activities and the dreaded question: "What's for dinner?"

Thankfully, Behind the Burner can provide a few tips, tricks and techniques that can aid families in getting dinner on the table quickly and without any added stress or much thinking for that matter.

Why Put Off for Tomorrow What You Can Do Today?

Make a weekly dinner menu and stick to it. Itemize each day's menu with all ingredients you will need that you don't already have stocked in your pantry. With your list of needed items, select a day (preferably during the weekend) to do all of your weekly shopping. Staying ahead of the game saves trips to and from the store, which in turn allows for more family time during the day.

Which Came First?

The Chicken
One of the easiest "go to" items that has cookbook authors around the globe writing books on the thousands of ways to prepare chicken. To save you the painstaking suffering of searching through all of these recipes, this simple one pot dish (with nothing too specific, except for the chicken of course) should suffice.

Serves 4

1 pound roasting potatoes, cut into 1/8 pieces
2 zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch rounds
2 yellow squash, cut into 1/2-inch rounds
1 pint whole cherry or grape tomatoes
3 cloves garlic minced
1 tbsp. Herbs de Provence
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 tsp. salt, divided in half
2 tsp. pepper, divided in half
1 chicken, leave whole **preferably free range chicken
3 tbsp. olive oil
1 lemon, cut in half
1 bunch fresh thyme

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place all cut vegetables in a large roasting pan and combine garlic, Herbs de Provence, extra virgin olive oil and half of salt and pepper. Toss until well coated.

2. Prepare the chicken by evening spreading olive oil over the entire chicken. Place lemon and thyme in the crevice of the bird and season with remaining salt and pepper.

3. Place roasting pan in oven and cook for 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350 degrees, and continue to cook until all of its juices run clear (figure 15-20 minutes per pound). Allow the chicken to rest for about 20 minutes before cutting.

4. Remove the chicken from the bone and serve with the roasted vegetables.

Or The Egg?
Who says you can't have breakfast for dinner? Eggs are one of the quickest and most versatile foods to cook. Like its counterpart (the chicken) the cooking possibilities are endless.

Believe it or not, eggs can help you clean out leftovers in your refrigerator. How, you may ask? Use your leftover chicken, any vegetables that need to be used up and some cheese and you have the fillings for a quick and delicious omelet. Add a side salad and voila, dinner!

FREEZE!

Stock your freezer with homemade soups, stews and pasta sauces. As mentioned before, use your days off to plan for the week ahead. Make a big batch of your family's favorite soup or pasta sauce, divide it into smaller containers and put in the freezer. If you're really organized, that morning pull out the container that you will need for dinner and let thaw in the refrigerator. Now the only thing left to do before dinner is to reheat the soup or sauce and prepare any last minute accompaniments to your dinner (i.e. pasta, vegetable, salad, etc.).

Where's the Beef?

Try using flank or skirt steak when meat is on the menu. Both are thin cuts of beef that can be cooked quickly either on the grill or in a hot pan. An added bonus to both cuts are that they are affordable and with their size you can get more than one portion in a package. Each extremely flavorful on their own, or even better cut into slices for fajitas or a meaty sandwich.

When the Moon Hits Your Eye...

Put the phone down! We're not talking take-out here. Many stores sell bags of pre-made pizza dough as well as your local pizzeria. Many pizza delivery establishments charge an arm and a leg per topping. This option allows you to add more or your favorite ingredients (including the homemade pizza sauce you have in the freezer-wink, wink). This alternative to take-out is also a wonderful way to get the kids unglued from the television set and their hands into a fun project.

— Written by Hailee Moore

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