Lafleur

Our chefs make your life easier with their helpful ideas, plus five recipes that’ll have your family rushing to the table.

Whether you’re arriving home from a long healthy walk or a long day at the office, everyone loves a house that smells, well, comforting. Here are five tips from the experts, along with five delectable recipes guaranteed to get your family rushing to the dinner table.

Five tips for weekday cooking

When you have a family to feed, few questions cause more stress at the end of your workday than “what are we eating tonight?” Inevitably, instead of a wholesome homemade meal, we turn to ready-made foods, an expensive and often unhealthy choice. Avoid the last-minute meal dilemma by adopting these five clever habits:

1. Plan your weekday suppers the weekend before. To help you along, create a themed meal schedule, for example:
• Monday: Italian, Asian or Mexican
• Tuesday: A new recipe
• Wednesday: A stewed dish or a meal-size soup
• Thursday: Stir-fried or pan-fried leftovers
• Friday: Children’s choice!
2. Make your grocery list based on specials of the week. Ideally, with two family-size packages of meat and four kinds of vegetables, you should be able to cook up the main course for five separate meals.
3. Go for recipes whose leftovers you can use to make multiple meals. For example, chop up your grilled sausages and add them to spaghetti sauce, or cube your roast ham and use it in a ham and cauliflower bake.
4. Cook as much as you can on the weekend. Plan for no more than one last-minute element, such as a grilled meat or a green salad. For side dishes such as rice or pasta, double or even triple the amounts you cook.
5. Each evening after supper, set aside 15 minutes to plan the next day’s meal. Transfer the meat from the freezer to the fridge, prepare a marinade, chop your vegetables, grate your cheese, etc. Remember these small tasks that help reduce the preparation time for the next day’s supper.

Five recipes for inspiration

After a day playing outside, what could be more appealing than a delicious stew served piping hot? This Ham stew with cranberries and maple syrup is bound to become a classic at your supper table.

Melted cheese is a proven way to get kids to eat their veggies. Try these delightful Sausages au gratin with zucchini and peppers, a sure bet to please palates of all ages.

Bake it on the weekend, and this mouth-watering Country-style picnic smoked pork shoulder pie will taste even better when reheated. Try it the next time you need a last-minute meal solution.

Ready in just 30 minutes, this Ham with maple syrup and rosemary passes easily from the supper table to the lunch box. Your sandwiches will have never tasted so good!

Soup’s up! Add warmth to your household with this nutritious Creamy carrot soup with bacon and cheddar, a classic of French country cooking with a local touch.