Room temperature

A question I get a lot is how dinner can even arrive on the table when your kitchen may as well be a three ring circus with a toddler running around on her 498th crisis of the day, two large dogs begging for dinner, and no personal assistant to do the dishes and chop the veggies? A lot of people say, slow cooker, and I'm a big fan, as I've said, but as we get to the warmer months (I'm still waiting...), the slow cooker really begins to lose its appeal. 30 minute meals as pictured on TV are awesome for the person who does not have 30 minutes of distractions baked into the 30 min meal plan, making it an hour gone not even counting dishes.

So, I've given it much thought, and I've decided the solution is room temperature meals. You can assemble it earlier in the day, (night before works too, or a weekend to be eaten mid-week!) pop it in the fridge and then take it out an hour or so before eating to get it to a nice temperature. This works with all sorts of recipes, and here are a few ideas:

Heather's Quinoa
Kale Chorizo Frittata
Grilling vegetables in advance
Rice or grain salads using this handy tool.
Cold soups like Gazpacho

And if none of those ideas speak to you tonight, take a look at this. 101 Simple Meals ready in 10 minutes or less. It takes more time to select your frozen pizza and cook it than to do some of these (often healthy, very fresh) meals.

I hope this helps some of you get dinner on the table this week. Happy eating!