Dinner by the Day

Back to school means back to the kitchen, and back to the kitchen brings the dreaded question What’s for dinner?

Having moved beyond the phase of putting breakfast, lunch, and dinner on the table for several people every day, I have to tell you I am impressed that anyone makes it happen. I am impressed that I made it happen. At this stage of things, I’m more than happy to get dinner on the table for anyone who wants to eat at home (which is, more often than not, zero people), but the thought of waking up before dawn to make breakfast and lunch and send everyone off and then turn around and figure out what to serve for dinner? I’m already tired.

This is where theme-night dinners can come in handy. Think about it: If Tuesday is always tacos, there’s no question about what to make, and there’s no question from the peanut gallery about what we’re going to eat. 

But you don’t need to stop with Taco Tuesday. How about Comfort Monday (a.k.a. Meatball Monday)? While no one else has any recollection of it, my father swears my mother did this. It does track. Everyone needs a little extra TLC on Mondays during the school year, don’t we? 

Or Leftover Thursday. When my girls were little, a big spread of leftovers, arranged on the kitchen island for everyone to choose from, was our Thursday-night routine. It made total sense to me: I cooked dinners Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, and there were always leftovers. We knew nobody would be eating at home over the weekend, so it was a clean-out-the-fridge kind of night. (And bonus, I actually love leftovers. If you’ve gone to the trouble to make something and it’s really great, wouldn’t you want to eat it again?)

There’s also the old standby Breakfast-for-Dinner. This one feels extra fun because it turns the day topsy-turvy upside-down. Why should breakfast tacos – or omelettes, or pancakes and bacon, or avocado toast – be relegated to breakfast?

Now I know what you might be thinking – having a set routine for every day of the week is a bit monotonous (don’t we all know those people?). We certainly don’t want to be those people. But if we adopt one theme-night, maybe for a few weeks or months and then we switch things up again, we might find a beloved new family tradition. And an easy way to get dinner on the table.

SUNDAY DINNER OR MEATLESS MONDAY Tex-Mex hominy is the perfect side to fried chicken; it also makes an excellent star for a Meatless Monday. (Photo: Andria Dilling)

Sunday

Pick up fried chicken and serve it with hominy. My Aunt Marilyn, who grew up in the valley, served this every Sunday night when our whole family would get together for dinner. When I lived in Austin, she took me to the grocery store, toured me around, and taught me her recipe. It adds a little Tex-Mex to Sunday night fried chicken – the best!

Aunt Marilyn’s Hominy

1 tablespoon olive oil
½ large yellow onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 15-ounce can yellow hominy, drained and rinsed
1 15-ounce can white hominy, drained and rinsed
1 15-ounce can red enchilada sauce (we like Hatch medium-hot)
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9-by-13-inch baking dish (or equivalent) with nonstick cooking spray. Heat the oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Add the onion and bell pepper, and cook until they are soft and translucent. Stir in the hominy and then the enchilada sauce. Simmer for 10 minutes. 

Pour the hominy mixture into the baking dish. Top with the cheddar cheese. Bake for 25 minutes. Turn on the broiler and cook for another 4 minutes or so, until the cheese bubbles and browns. Let the hominy rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Monday

Whether school is in session or not, everyone can use a little comfort on a Monday night. What is comfier than spaghetti and meatballs? Let’s bring Meatball Monday into our week. (If a Meatless Monday speaks to you, the aforementioned hominy recipe would be a perfect main alongside a green salad.)

This recipe includes homemade sauce. If you’re short on time or just not feeling 100 percent homemade, sub in a jar of store-bought marinara. Carbone and Rao’s are both delicious.

Spaghetti and Meatballs

For the Sauce:

2 tablespoons olive oil
½ yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano
1 ½ teaspoons dried basil
2 teaspoons kosher salt
½ teaspoon fresh ground pepper
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 bay leaves
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes with basil
1 24-ounce jar marinara 

For the Meatballs:

2 slices bread, soaked in ¼ cup milk
2 pounds ground beef
1 pound hot Italian sausage, casings removed
2 eggs, beaten
½ cup grated parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
½ cup minced fresh parsley, plus more for garnish
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon fresh ground pepper
Cooked spaghetti

For the sauce, heat the olive oil in a large, heavy pot over medium-low heat. Add the onion and garlic, and cook until they are soft. Add the oregano, basil, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, and bay leaves and stir. Add the crushed tomatoes and marinara. Fill the empty can of tomatoes with water, and stir the water in. Simmer the sauce, stirring occasionally, for about 3 hours. The sauce will have thickened.

While the sauce simmers, make the meatballs. In a large bowl, use your hands to combine the milk-soaked bread, beef, sausage, eggs, parmesan, garlic, oregano, basil, parsley, salt, and pepper. Roll meat into 3-inch round balls, and place them in a glass baking dish. Cover the meatballs and refrigerate.

When the sauce has thickened, stir in enough water to thin it to the consistency of a thick soup. Gently arrange the meatballs in the sauce, making sure they are covered with sauce. Cover the pot and simmer over medium heat for 20 minutes. Gently turn the meatballs over. Cover the pot and simmer for another 20 minutes. 

Serve the meatballs and sauce over the cooked spaghetti, sprinkling some minced parsley and grated parmesan cheese over the top.

Turn Taco Tuesday around with quesadilla's cousin, Crispy Chicken Tacos. (Photo: Andria Dilling)

Tuesday

Everyone loves a Taco Tuesday. Let’s spice it up a little bit with Crispy Chicken Tacos. For the sake of ease, get your butcher to cut chicken breasts up into ½-inch cubes, or even use ground chicken. This is Taco Tuesday 2.0.

Crispy Chicken Tacos

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into ½-inch cubes
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1 15-ounce can enchilada sauce (Hatch Tex-Mex Style or Hatch Red Enchilada Sauce is good)
1 cup shredded Colby-jack cheese
12 tortillas
For serving: guacamole, pico de gallo, cilantro, lime wedges

Warm 1 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken, season with cumin, oregano, salt, and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes, until the chicken begins to brown. Add the onions, stir, and cook for another 5 minutes or so, until the chicken is browned and the onions are translucent. Add the enchilada sauce and cheese, stir, and simmer for a few minutes, until the cheese has melted and the sauce is thick.

Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in another large skillet over medium heat. Add a scoop or two of the chicken mixture to the center of each tortilla and fold them in half, like a taco. Cook in batches for a few minutes on each side until the tacos are beginning to brown and crisp (you may need to add a little extra oil as you progress). Transfer the crispy tacos to a platter and serve with guacamole, pico de gallo, cilantro, and lime wedges. You can make these ahead of time and crisp them up in an air fryer or the oven just before serving. 

Breakfast-for-Dinner Quiche as a backwards dinner. (Photo: Andria Dilling)

Wednesday

It’s the middle of the week – after today we might as well consider it weekend territory. Breakfast-for-Dinner turns it all around, making fun of dinner and chilling everyone out.

Breakfast-for-Dinner Quiche

½ cup whole milk
⅔ cup heavy cream
2 medium eggs
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
¾ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
½ cup grated cheddar cheese
1 cup cooked edamame
½ cup cooked, crumbled bacon
1 store-bought pie crust

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. In a large bowl, beat together the milk, cream, eggs, basil, salt, and pepper.

Scatter half of the grated cheese in the crust. Top with the edamame and bacon. Pour milk mixture over the top, then sprinkle on the remaining cheese. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until the quiche is set and the top is golden. Let the quiche sit for 10 minutes before slicing it. Serve with a simple salad.

Thursday

You’ve cooked all week; make the most of what’s left with Leftover Thursday. No recipe required. Think of this as a refrigerator clean-out while everyone gets the chance to choose their own dinner. A little of this and a little of that adds up to a sure-to-be favorite night.

Friday and Saturday

We’ve cooked, we’ve cleaned out the leftovers. Time to make reservations.