Help! What's for Dinner?
As the kids head back to school and the days get shorter, you might feel pressed for time and healthy dinner ideas. Let us help! We regularly feature recipes on our website from grocery.coop and they offer many more on their website. In addition to the recipes available online, we also offer recipe cards in-store. Next time you're in a rush and not sure what to make for dinner, grab one of the recipe cards in the display near the restrooms. The recipes are quick and easy to make, and the back of each recipe card provides a shopping list, conveniently broken down by grocery department to streamline your shopping trip when you're in a rush.
That's what I did last Friday evening before I headed home. I knew I wanted something warm for dinner since the evening temperatures recently dropped in the Rogue Valley, but I was at a loss for a quick dinner idea. Rather than wander the store aimlessly for 15 minutes and end up at checkout with cheese and chocolate and nothing for dinner, I grabbed the African Groundnut Stew recipe card and quickly found the ingredients I needed on the shopping list.
When I got home Friday evening, there was no need for the dinner guessing game, because the recipe was in my hand and the ingredients in the shopping bag on my shoulder. So with nothing to encourage the usual dinner procrastination dance, I got down to the business of chopping up veggies and prepping the other ingredients for the stew. Within minutes, everything was incorporated in the pan and smelling really wonderful. Thankful for the easy to follow instructions, I moved on to the suggested side dish.
The recipe suggested that the stew be served over rice. When recipes call for rice, I like to mix rice and quinoa together in my rice cooker. The quinoa adds an extra protein kick - always helpful for a vegetarian diet.
After simmering the stew to my desired thickness, the stew was ready to eat and I was more than ready to eat it. I topped the dish off with some cilantro and diced fresh tomato from my garden. (When tomatoes are coming fresh out of the garden, I tend to eat them with every meal.) Dinner was served, and the palates were pleased.
So, the next time you need help with the question that never goes away: "What's for dinner tonight?" Stop by the Co-op and peruse the recipe cards. You just might find a delicious answer there.