Jaime’s Jem: What’s for Dinner?
I don’t know about you, but I love, love love summer grilling! I like it all year round (the George Forman Grill works well indoors), but especially in the summer, paired with a little cocktail, out on the patio – Yum-o! I have found with summer in full bloom now, spending a lot of time preparing dinner is not something I am particularly fond of. So my Jem for this week is how to plan ahead for some quick and easy meals.
When I can, I try to buy in bulk, chicken, beef, fish, whatever I fancy. If you’re a member of Sam’s Club or BJ’s, you can always get great deals, but often your grocery store will have sales and cheaper prices when you buy in bulk, or you can purchase “family packs”. When you get home from the store, separate your meat/fish into Ziploc bags – one meal per bag – and throw in a marinade. There are lots of store bought ones that are great, but you can also make your own according to your taste. Put it all in the fridge and keep it in for a day or two, then throw anything you won’t be eating in the next few days in the freezer. When you are ready to cook it up, pull it out of the freezer, defrost and pop it on the grill. Viola! Throw it on a salad, cook up some sides, it really doesn’t matter. A little prep ahead of time, and dinner is effortless. And an added bonus to using Ziploc bags is that they’re great for holding marinades, take up less room in your refrigerator and freezer, and you throw them away when you are done – alleviating pots and pans to clean. Sweet!
This may sound like a cheesy plug for Ziploc, but it seriously is not. It really does make my summer grilling so easy. And any readers out there from Ziploc, just have your people put my check in the mail. ;)
Happy Grilling and Happy Summer!
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LOVE the ziploc baggies too. Kraft makes a great Light Asion Toasted Sesame dressing. It’s really good with chicken or beef.