What’s For Dinner?

March 17, 2020

I have always had a problem planning ahead for meals, and it has only gotten worse as I have grown older and my work schedule has gotten more hectic. When you are leaving work at the time when most families are sitting down to dinner, the last thing you want to do is go home and spend the evening preparing dinner.

My dinner angst is compounded by the fact that I never know what time my husband will be getting home from his work day, and he seems to appreciate having a hot meal when he is finally ready to eat (talk about high maintenance!)
Looking for a quick hot meal idea that does not require a lot of thinking ahead had been a bit of issue until I finally realized that the answer is right under my nose. Ard’s Market is filled with quick meal options that are freshly made, frozen, and ready to be heated and served.

One day I grabbed a quart of our tomato bacon soup. A bowl of that served with a toasted cheese sandwich was just the hearty meal I needed to keep my husband happy and keep me from spending all of my spare time in the kitchen.
Last night I tried our new Sweet Bourbon infused pork chops. After quick thawing the chops by immersing the packet in a bowl of water, I seared one side of the chop in a hot pan coated with canola oil for about 2-3 minutes, flipped the chop, covered the pan and let the second side cook for 8-10 minutes on very low heat until the juices ran clear. I have a ceramic stove top, so I actually turned the heat totally off and left the residual heat do the work. The end result was deliciously flavored, moist and tender pork chops that made it seem like I had been cooking all night.

There are so many options to choose from – pre-made personal sized meals, as well as house made pizzas, meatloaves, stuffed chicken breasts and more – that I should be able to prepare dinner without thinking for quite a while!