With spring sports in full swing and end of the school year activities heating up, most families have no time to cook. To help out, the staff at Chesapeake Family shared some of their secret cooking shortcuts to make the May-hem a little easier.
“I make an extra batch of pancakes on the weekends and freeze them for an easy breakfast during the week. It’s healthier (and cheaper) than buying breakfast in a box.”
— Melissa Tarawali, sales
“When making a meal, cook extra protein — ground turkey, ground beef, boneless chicken breasts, etc. — and refrigerate or freeze the leftovers to use for a future dish. Your protein is cooked and ready to go.”
— Crickett Gibbons, content director
“Make casseroles and one-pot dishes so you can tend to other things, like homework with the kiddos, instead of watching everything cook.”
— Jenny Cardoza, art director
“Rotisserie chicken is my busy night go-to. I usually buy a big baguette to go with it and make a salad. The kids put the chicken on the bread and make fancy sandwiches, and I put the chicken on the salad. Another option is to use the meat from the rotisserie chicken in any chicken dish or casserole when you don’t have time to cook your own chicken!”
— Betsy Stein, editor
“I use the timer on my bread machine so that I can have fresh, warm bread ready by the time I get home and then use the bread to make French toast for dinner. I can even do varieties — cinnamon, whole wheat, raisin, etc.”
— Claire Kovacs, sales
“My secret shortcut for the week is to take an hour on Saturday or Sunday with the kids to cut up vegetables for the week. We make dips to make it a fun affair, snacking while we chop, chop!”
— Dawn Sweeny, sales manager
“My secret is chicken bouillon, specifically Better than Bouillon brand. We eat a lot of chicken and this broth is my go-to bouillon when it needs a little more flavor to make it great. I use it to make chicken and dumplings, chicken piccata, lemon chicken or any chicken pasta dish. Never fails.”
— Jeanne Slaughter, marketing director