September is really designed to test us, isn’t it? Summer's demise means the end of casual meals thrown together easily, eaten leisurely, and the beginning of the relentless, we’re-late-ness of it all. If you’ve somehow managed to get your kids fed, to school on time, carrying a healthy lunch on their person, it just seems mean spirited that anyone should expect you to come up with dinner, too. And yet they do.
Making dinner is like working out, once you’re doing it regularly it’s not too bad. In fact, it’s often fun and you’re always glad you did it after the fact. But to help you get your dinner groove back you need a couple of tricks. Here’s my all time favourite.
The most important part of making dinner is actually something you do before you’re out of your pj’s: make a decision. Whether it’s pulling out the chicken thighs out of the freezer, pulling down the box of couscous and putting it on the counter or making a list of things you’re going to grab at the market on your lunch break – make a decision about dinner in the morning. Now you’re on your way! It’s one small step for you, one giant step for dinner.
My favourite version of this rule is involves doing a little cooking in the morning with the help of my profoundly un-sexy slow cooker. I’d love to hate the thing but I just plain love it. Spend a few minutes with it in the morning and you come home to the smell of dinner. And an actual dinner. There are a million slow cooker recipes out there and I promise, once you’ve made a few dinners this way, you’ll be hooked.
This Simple Chicken Stew is one of my favourite Fall recipes:
Ingredients:
6 chicken thighs, skinless, bone in
1 potato, peeled and cubed
2 onions, chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
splash vegetable oil
1 tablespoon fresh thyme (1 teaspoon if you’re using dried)
1 or 2 bay leaves
1/4 cup flour
2 cups low sodium chicken stock
1 cup fresh or frozen peas
1/2 cup light cream
Parboil the potatoes for about two minutes.
In a Dutch oven or high-sided skillet, sautee onions, celery and carrots in a splash of vegetable oil for about five minutes.
Add the flour, thyme and bay leaves and stir for a minute.
Add the stock and stir until smooth. Simmer for 3 or 4 minutes until sauce thickens.
Add parboiled potatoes and add salt and pepper to taste.
Place chicken thighs in the bottom of your trusty slow cooker and spoon the vegetable mixture over. Seal and set for 6 hours.
Check chicken to see that it’s cooked through. Add peas and cream and seal and cook for 10 more minutes. Serve!
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