Worth Repeating: The”What’s for Dinner Solution

You know I love Kathi Lipp.

Her latest book, The What’s for Dinner? Solution has caused my husband fall in love with her, too.

As of today, Day 7, we have three family-sized portions of frozen chicken breasts, trimmed and marinated, waiting in the freezer. $1.77/pound, baby. You read that right…

We also have two meatloaves, pre-cooked, ready to re0heat. I know it’s plebian, but I LOVE meatloaf. The more ketchup, the better. And my kids love it too.

And three dozen Italian-style meatballs, a Gabe specialty.

And four packages of mirepoix, ready for the next soup adventure.

Two quiches, spinach, and two packages of cooked, cut chicken ready to bless a future stir fry or soup on the run, and a couple of Shepherd’s Pies, another Yankee favorite.

Why,all this work you ask? Because making dinner stinks. I hate it. I hate it when Gabe calls me a 3 o’clock every day and asks me “What’s for dinner?” I hate it because I don’t have an answer, and we end up eating an unplanned, unbalanced meal. I hate that our produce is rotting in the crisper, unused.

But no more.  With Kathi’s help, we are ending these old, wasteful, unhealthy ways. We are planning ahead. We are LOOPing (Left Overs On Purpose) and we are eating better, day by day, bit by bit.

So tomorrow, when the phone rings at 3pm, I can proudly say “Lentil soup! And whole wheat bread!” or “Grilled tandoori chicken!” or even, “Flank Steak, baked potatoes and salad!” with confidence and pride.

Day by day, bit by bit.