By Lisa Brisch, Certified Personal Chef, Dinner Thyme Personal Chef Service

The holidays are over, and the school/work routine is back in full swing. Perhaps one of your New Year’s resolutions was to eat together as a family at your own dinner table more often. That can be hard between making sure homework is done and getting your kids to their after school activities. Deciding on what’s for dinner can add more stress to your already overloaded day.  Here are some tips on getting a handle on dinner.

A well stocked pantry is the key to getting dinner on the table fast. Things that you should have on hand (assuming you like these and no food allergies):
•  Tomato products such as canned diced, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and jarred marinara
•  Canned beans
•  Pasta and rice
•  Condiments such as olives, roasted red peppers, capers
•  Onions and garlic
•  Olive oil

This is a small sampling of what your pantry should have but just from that list, you could make dinner. Besides the pantry, items that should be in your refrigerator and freezer are:
•  Eggs (breakfast for dinner, anyone?)
•  Bacon
•  Butter
•  Milk
•  Good cheese like Parmigiano Reggiano (a bit pricy but will
last if stored in wax paper and
a zip-top bag)
•  Seasonal produce
•  Frozen vegetables

From the pantry and refrigerator list, you could make Pasta Carbonara (eggs, pasta, garlic, bacon, olive oil or butter, Parmesan cheese). Have a grocery list template. The list is divided into sections of the grocery store (produce, dairy, meat, etc). The list always has items I keep on hand like the above pantry and refrigerator items. I leave room to add ingredients that I will be using for meals for the upcoming week.

Collect recipes that appeal to everyone in the family. There are so many ways to get recipes – cookbooks, cooking magazines, newspapers, and the internet. Having a system to keep recipes categorized is essential. It could be as low-tech as a notebook binder with tabs separating the categories (poultry, beef, pork, vegetables, etc.) or as high-tech as investing in recipe software. With recipe software, you are able to search recipes based on ingredients you have on hand or want to buy (big sale!). Then create your meal plan and shopping list with a push of a button.

Get your family to help in deciding meals. If your kids are picky, let them help in the meal planning process. If they are old enough, let them help cook. They are more likely to eat what they make since they know what ingredients went into the recipe. Get a calendar, get your recipes and mark which days you will eat at home. Assign recipes to the calendar and make your grocery list (what you have on hand and what you need to buy). For the coming week, put all pantry items that will be used on an assigned shelf so everyone knows it’s the dinner shelf and the items will be right at hand when you go to prepare dinner. You could do the same thing for the refrigerator. Especially if you have fridge fairies that steal food you knew you had and needed for dinner.

If you have the time and inclination, do all your cooking for the week on one day and freeze what will be eaten toward the end of the week. Set up reminders to thaw that food or heat it up from frozen if you prefer. For more efficiency, cook double the servings of your family and freeze for a meal next month.

Still too busy to meal plan? Chef Lisa is here to help. Not only does she plan your meals, she shops and cooks it for you. All customized to the way you want to eat.

About Chef Lisa - Lisa Brisch is the chef/owner of Dinner Thyme Personal Chef Service www.dinner-thyme.com. Chef Lisa, a transplant to Middletown, DE from Phoenix, AZ, started her customized cooking business in February 2000 while in Phoenix and introduced her service to Delaware in early 2002. Dinner Thyme offers customized meal service for those individuals and families who are too busy to cook, don’t like to cook, or don’t know how to cook. Chef Lisa is able to provide optimal results by inquiring about your likes and dislikes and any specific dietary requirements you may have. From this information, she develops a personalized menu for your approval. Chef Lisa comes to your home armed with groceries and cooking equipment and prepares personalized meals in your own kitchen. Each meal is labeled, packaged, and stored in your refrigerator and freezer with detailed reheating instructions to ensure your satisfaction.

She graduated March 2001 with highest honors from the Art Institute of Phoenix culinary program. She also has a B.S. in General Business from Arizona State University.  Brisch belongs to the United States Personal Chef Association, a leader in the personal chef industry, and became a USPCA Certified Personal Chef (CPC) in December 2001.  Her CPC designation is an industry endorsement of professional expertise, showing her commitment to excellent customer service. She is also a member of Women Chefs & Restaurateurs and is president of her local USPCA chapter, Mid-Atlantic chefs.
For more information, contact Dinner Thyme at 302-275-7401, www.Dinner-Tyme.com, or email Lisa at lisabrisch@verizon.net.

Testimonial:
“Lisa has cooked for my clients for years. Part of my job as a financial advisor is reviewing the expenses of my clients. My clients were throwing away groceries that were spoiling, ordering out on a regular basis and not eating healthy. After contacting Lisa, all of them were able to lower their monthly food bills by eliminating waste and they were eating much healthier. I’ve personally eaten Lisa’s cooking many times at my clients’ houses and it is delicious. Lisa Brisch will help you design customized meals for any dietary need – and possibly save you money at the
same time.”         ~ Darren D.