There’s an old saying that goes that a carpenter’s house is never finished. In my industry that could be translated to a chef’s pantry is always empty.

I imagine people think that because I am chef, our family spends hours in the kitchen sharing cooking stories and tales of the day, all while I spend hours slaving over a hot stove, preparing elaborate multicourse meals night after night.

The reality though is far different. As anyone in our industry will tell you, we spend five, if not six, nights a week, away from our family dinner table, taking care of others.

The rare nights that we get away from the kitchen, we usually don’t want to spend hours strapped to our family stove. I am thankful to have a loving wife who prepares well-balanced, home-cooked meals for our family, bringing us to the table together as often as we can.

I can’t make it to everyone of these, but I do my best. It’s as much about the gathering of the family unit and sharing stories of our day as it is for the nourishment. It amazes me how many people my age tell me they have no idea how to cook or that they spend more time on the phone ordering takeout than they do in their kitchens. I have met friends of our children who are amazed when they come over for dinner and find us sitting around the table together, eating vegetables they haven’t heard of before or salad, a real salad. It’s depressing to hear this and know that these kids are no longer a rare breed.

Here’s the harsh truth. It doesn’t have to be this way. We can still gather around the table and make a well-balanced meal without having to sacrifice much of our precious personal time. There are countless meals that can be put together in less than half an hour, featuring fun and tasty ingredients that kids will eat, and can also be healthy.

It’s about organizing your time, taking an hour out of your week, planning your basic meals, and then doing a weekly grocery trip. Planning this way can help you to be more efficient in your spending, preparation, and cooking time. I can attest to this because I do try to help my wife at least once a week, but as I said before, I don’t love spending my entire day away from cooking, so I choose items that are fresh, tasty and easy to put together. Making items like stir fry, pasta dishes, fajitas, etc. can all be made in less than an hour and can help you get your busy family together for a few moments of quality time together.

Here is a great recipe I prepared for my family this past week, making fresh salsa, salsa verde, spicy tomato rice, and beef fajitas, all in under an hour’s time. The best part, it fed my family of four with leftovers for less than $30.

You can do this too, or you even cut a few of the details out and chop the time in half. Don’t want to chop fresh salsa, buy a good quality fresh product. Don’t feel like trying to prepare rice from scratch, pick up a five-bean salad from the deli of your local grocery store. It doesn’t have to be so complicated to do it yourself.

Feeds: 4

Prep & Cooking Time: 60 minutes tops!

Spicy Tomato Rice
2 cups jasmine rice
2 cups stock, chicken or beef
1 cup diced tomatoes
cup tomato paste
cup fresh salsa
cup red onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
cup canola oil
bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
Tabasco or Franks Red Hot to taste
Salt and pepper to taste
Preheat the oven to 400F
Heat a medium oven safe pot to medium-high heat
Add the cooking oil, then the red onion and garlic, saute until translucent
Add the rice and stir to coat evenly with the cooking oil
Add the tomato paste and stir to blend in
Quickly deglaze with the stock
Add the salsa, diced tomatoes, salt and pepper, stir to combine

Cover the pot with a lid, place in the oven, and cook until the stock has been absorbed, 18-20 minutes, check the rice for texture, it may require another cup of stock

Remove the pot from heat when cooked, finish with Tabasco and fresh cilantro and seasoning

 

Salsa Verde

6 tomatillos
fresh Serrano pepper
bunch fresh cilantro
fresh red onion, chopped
cup water or stock
2 Tsbp. Canola oil
Tabasco to taste
Salt and pepper to taste

Remove the tomatillos from its protective outer wrapping, and quarter

Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor and pulse until very smooth

Adjust the seasoning and spice to your liking

Chill, it can stay fresh refrigerated for up to a week

 

Beef & Vegetable Fajita

16 oz. sirloin or striploin, sliced, excess fat removed
2 Tbsp. canola oil
2 Tbsp. chili powder (chipotle if you can find it)
2 Tbsp. paprika
1 Tbsp. smoked paprika
1 Tbsp. garlic powder
1 Tbsp. onion powder
1 Tbsp. kosher salt
cup tomato juice
1 Tbsp. Tabasco sauce
red onion, sliced
1 green pepper, sliced
1 red pepper, sliced
6 mushrooms, sliced
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup jalapeno havarti (we’ll use this when we put the fajitas together)
4 to 6 9 inch tortillas (these too!)

This is a basic beef quesadilla recipe, you can easily adjust most ingredients to your liking. For example, if you like things really spicy, increase the chili powder, if you don’t like mushrooms, leave them out, if you prefer chicken or prawns, use them instead. The point here is to understand the basics so that you can experiment.

Heat a saut pan to high heat

Combine dry spices to prepare your very own dry rub

Add the canola to the hot pan, followed by the beef and saut

Once lightly browned, add the chopped vegetables, and saut

Add the dry rub to your liking, starting with 2 tbsp.

Finish with tomato juice and Tabasco sauce

Remove the medley from the heat, and allow to cool

 

Fresh Salsa

3 vine ripened tomatoes, use some heirlooms if you like, chopped medium dice
red onion, chopped medium dice
green pepper, chopped medium dice
red pepper, chopped medium dice
serrano pepper, chopped medium dice
bunch cilantro, chopped
1 Tbsp. Tabasco, red hot, etc.
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl, adjust the seasoning and spice to your liking

Assembly

Warm the tortillas slightly in the oven 1-2 minutes

Top the warm tortillas with cheese, followed by beef medley, then the fresh salsa

Roll the wrap up, tucking the ends in and top with some salsa verde

Serve with tasty spicy tomato rice and get ready to enjoy a memorable family meal!

Who’s hungry?