Dinner Done by 9 am: The What

This is the third post in my Dinner Done by 9 am series. Click here to read the first post on The Why, or here to read the second post on The How regarding Dinner Done by 9 am.

Now that we've covered the reasons why I cook dinner by 9 am and the techniques that help me do this we'll cover some of my favorite make-ahead dinners and breakdown what steps I do in the morning and what I do just prior to meal time. (Click the link on the name of each dish to see the recipe.)

Fish Tacos with Cayenne Lime Sour Cream Sauce with Cilantro Lime Slaw and Refried Black Beans
-In the morning I make the sour cream sauce, shred the cabbage and chop the cilantro for the toppings, make the slaw, make the refried beans, refrigerate everything until the evening.
-Just before serving I season and cook the fish, re-heat the beans, set out the slaw, tortillas, sour cream sauce and all the toppings just before eating.

White Chicken Chili with cornbread
-In the morning I completely make the chili and cornbread, refrigerating the chili and leaving the cornbread at room temperature.
-Just before serving I reheat the chili (and cornbread, if desired) and set out any toppings.

Lasagna
-In the morning I fully assemble the lasagna without baking and then refrigerate.
-Just before serving I bake the lasagna as directed and serve with roasted veggies or a salad.

Build your own taco/ burrito/ taco salad bar with Slow Cooker Mexican Chicken, Cuban Black Beans, Homemade Salsa and Guacamole (easily serves people who are gluten free, vegan, or picky since everyone gets to assemble their own)
-In the morning I cook the beans, put the chicken in the slow cooker and make the salsa.
-Just before serving I shred the chicken, re-heat the beans, cook rice (if using), set out all the toppings and make the guacamole. (To make the guacamole I simply stir a few Tbsp of the salsa with 2-4 diced avocados adding a little salt and hot sauce if needed).

Curried Chicken Pasta Salad
-In the morning I completely assemble the pasta salad and refrigerate. Then I simply take this out of the fridge when it's time to serve.

Chicken Gyros with Tzatziki, Hummus and Tabouleh
-In the morning I marinate the chicken, make the tzatziki, chop whatever toppings I'm using, make the hummus, make the tabouleh and refrigerate everything.
-Just before serving I take everything out of the fridge and set it up and cook the chicken.

Korean Beef (gluten free)
-In the morning I completely make the beef in the morning, chop the green onions for topping and then refrigerate both.
-Just before serving I re-heat the beef, set out the onions and sriracha for topping and cook some rice.

Picadillo (gluten free)
-In the morning I completely make the picadillo, chop parsley or cilantro for garnish and refrigerate.
-Just before serving I re-heat the picadillo, set out the toppings and cook the rice.

Bolognese Sauce over pasta
-In the morning I completely make the sauce and refrigerate.
-Just before serving I reheat the sauce, cook the pasta and roast some veggies to serve with it.

Slow Cooker Indian Curry (gluten free, vegan)
-In the morning I throw all of the ingredients except the spinach in the slow cooker.
-Just before serving I stir in the spinach and cook rice to serve the curry over.

Slow Cooker Ratatouille (gluten free, vegan)
-In the morning I get everything set up in the slow cooker.
-Just before serving I set out parmesan cheese for topping and cook the pasta.

Dinner Done by 9 am: The How

This is the second post in my Dinner Done by 9 am series. To see the first post on the reasons why I cook dinner by 9 am click here.

I've already covered why I try to cook dinner by 9 am each day. In this post I'll cover more details on how I do this.

Not all dinners lend themselves well to being cooked in advance. Casseroles, soups, stews and salads tend to be dishes that can easily be prepared in advance without compromising quality. Things like seafood, seared/ grilled meats that are served warm and pasta are not usually reheated with as good of quality the second go around, but there is still a lot that can be done in advance when preparing dinners including these components.

The list below is a good breakdown of what cooking activities I do in the morning and what I save for the hour prior to meal time.

Things I do in advance;
-assemble salads, but don't dress them
-make salad dressing
-make all sauces (dipping sauce, sauce bases for pasta dishes...)
-marinate, wrap, stuff or chop meat
-wash and chop herbs and vegetables
-pre-cook vegetables (when applicable)
-fully assemble any casseroles (mac and cheese, lasagna, green bean casserole, breakfast casserole...)up to the point of baking, refrigerate and then bake immediately prior to serving
-fully cook all soups, chilis, stews and curries, refrigerate and then heat back up prior to serving
-make any dough or baked goods that are necessary
-throw everything in the slow cooker when using it
-fully prepare any cold salads/ pasta salad (like chicken salad, pasta salad, curried chicken pasta salad, sesame noodles..,)

Things I do directly before eating;
-reheat any soups, stews, curries etc.
-add fresh herbs into soups or stews
-dress salad
-cook any seared/ grilled/ roasted meats
-bake any casseroles
-roast veggies for side dishes
-cook and add pasta to soups or sauced pasta dishes
-cook rice when using

Stay tuned next Monday for the next post in this series with links to many of my favorite make-ahead dinners and tips on what I serve them with, what I do in advance, and what I save for the last minute. Don't forget to follow me on social media or subscribe to my blog to make sure you don't miss the next post.

Dinner Done By 9 am: The Why

I get a lot of questions and comments about my #dinnerdoneby9am that I've been using for a year so I decided to do a blog series about this concept and hopefully answer once and for all the many questions that have been asked. This first post in the series will be dedicated to explaining what #dinnerdoneby9am is, and the why behind it. I plan to do a couple more posts including more details on the how and my favorite dinner done by 9 am dinners. If you have any questions please comment on the posts and I will answer all the questions on the final post of the series.

The Why

Whatever the opposite of a procrastinator is, that is what I am. I like to do things WAY ahead of time. I start planning my friend's baby showers when they're still in the first trimester, sometimes even before they are pregnant. Why put off until tomorrow what you can do today is my mantra. I like to finish my work before I play. I like to get all of the errands, cleaning, cooking, bill paying, emailing etc. done first thing each day so that I know how much time I have to play and can be totally present while I am playing- not distracted by what I have to get done later. This helps me to be more present in those play moments enjoying the people around me. I also know from experience that in having small kids around there are always unexpected things that come up in my days. I know that 3-6 pm is the most challenging time of day with my kids. We have homework to get done and my kids are tired and cranky as bed time approaches. If I waited until the evening to get dinner done it would be a much more stressful process because there are so many people and things competing for my attention all at once. My kids are at their best, most rested and happy selves in the morning so they are more inclined to entertain themselves and need less intervention. One of my kids is also at school in the morning, so we have less people around the house all together. I am a morning person. I get up between 5 and 6 everyday ready to jump right into my day.

With this in mind, several years ago I started cooking dinner first thing in the morning. Not all meals lend themselves well to being prepared in advance but many do, especially soups, casseroles, pasta salads, curries, lasagnas, stews, chilis, even the sauce bases for warm pasta dishes can easily be prepared in advance. Anywhere from 4-7 dinners that I prepare each week are prepared ahead of time in the morning. Even dinners that can't be fully prepared ahead of time I will chop, marinate and prep for in the morning and just finish off the final cooking before we eat in the evening.

This is what works for me. You may be different. You may not be a morning person. You may be rushed to get out the door in the morning and not have extra time then (in which case if I were you I would do all of this preparing and prepping the prior evening to when I was going to eat each meal).

Stay tuned for my next post providing more details on the how and what behind #dinnerdoneby9am. If you don't want to miss the rest of the series of #dinnerdoneby9am posts follow me on social media and/ or sign up to follow my blog via email or a reader in the right column below.