Good food to cook together...from afar
September 20, 2015 7:43 PM Subscribe
What are some kid- and leftover-friendly meal ideas for a group of people across the US to make together, in two or fewer hours, with ingredients that are readily available and high-quality?
My sisters and I are starting to make Sunday dinners together. The catch: we live in three separate cities, so we cook "together" on Facetime or Google Hangout.
Extra challenge: one of us has a two-year old.
Extra extra challenge: ingredients need to be readily available in non-specialty grocery stores.
Ideally, the meal we make is done from start to finish in two or fewer hours, and it results in leftovers that reheat well and turn into lunch or transform into other meals for us and our respective partners a few times in the coming week. One sister lives in San Antonio and has nothing beyond HEB nearby, with no close specialty food stores, so assume that even non-exotic ingredients like kimchi might be hard to find for some of us.
All of us are experienced cooks with well stocked kitchens but not a lot of free time, so ideally we make things that are fun, adventurous, and delicious. Even if we eat the same leftovers a few times, the once-a-week adventure and together time working on a project is the goal.
We've been at it for a few weeks, and things that have worked well have been:
-The Momofuku Bossam pork, of course (sans kimchi for some of us) - sister used leftovers for a bahn mi and reports that is was amazing
-Lasagne
-Chicken enchiladas suisas
Thank you!
My sisters and I are starting to make Sunday dinners together. The catch: we live in three separate cities, so we cook "together" on Facetime or Google Hangout.
Extra challenge: one of us has a two-year old.
Extra extra challenge: ingredients need to be readily available in non-specialty grocery stores.
Ideally, the meal we make is done from start to finish in two or fewer hours, and it results in leftovers that reheat well and turn into lunch or transform into other meals for us and our respective partners a few times in the coming week. One sister lives in San Antonio and has nothing beyond HEB nearby, with no close specialty food stores, so assume that even non-exotic ingredients like kimchi might be hard to find for some of us.
All of us are experienced cooks with well stocked kitchens but not a lot of free time, so ideally we make things that are fun, adventurous, and delicious. Even if we eat the same leftovers a few times, the once-a-week adventure and together time working on a project is the goal.
We've been at it for a few weeks, and things that have worked well have been:
-The Momofuku Bossam pork, of course (sans kimchi for some of us) - sister used leftovers for a bahn mi and reports that is was amazing
-Lasagne
-Chicken enchiladas suisas
Thank you!
King Ranch Chicken Casserole from scratch (as opposed to dump-the-Campbells-can) is a favorite in our house. I use this recipe. Everything is readily available in the grocery store, it makes a ton (but can still be easily doubled for a larger dish).
posted by honeybee413 at 8:50 PM on September 20, 2015
posted by honeybee413 at 8:50 PM on September 20, 2015
Macaroni and cheese. You can gussy it up a million different ways, it's kid-friendly, and becomes adult friendly with a bright salad with an acidic dressing or apples or something.
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 9:39 PM on September 20, 2015
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 9:39 PM on September 20, 2015
My thought was Southern Chicken and Rice - PERLO.
Just tonight, I saved awesome chicken fat (schmaltz) from a really tasty organic roasted chicken to brown the thighs, veg, and sausage to make this recipe. I'm enthusiastic about this dish! I'm sure if you browned the skinless thighs from the recipe in olive oil it would be great. You might even adapt this recipe for a slow cooker pre-warmed to HIGH, and meet your goals of including the little ones and finishing in 2 hrs.
posted by jbenben at 3:05 AM on September 21, 2015
Just tonight, I saved awesome chicken fat (schmaltz) from a really tasty organic roasted chicken to brown the thighs, veg, and sausage to make this recipe. I'm enthusiastic about this dish! I'm sure if you browned the skinless thighs from the recipe in olive oil it would be great. You might even adapt this recipe for a slow cooker pre-warmed to HIGH, and meet your goals of including the little ones and finishing in 2 hrs.
posted by jbenben at 3:05 AM on September 21, 2015
Stir fry would work great for this. You really don't need a wok, although it's easier with one.
posted by raisingsand at 5:37 AM on September 21, 2015
posted by raisingsand at 5:37 AM on September 21, 2015
This thread is closed to new comments.
Personally, I'm a sucker for chicken tikka masala (not 'real' Indian food, but so choice). There are dozens of iterations, and it can be relatively simple. Our 4 year old digs on it, even when heavily spiced.
Saag paneer (sub paneer for queso fresco in a pinch!) works well for this too. this one is a tougher sell for the kids.
posted by furnace.heart at 7:54 PM on September 20, 2015