What to Cook for Dinner Tonight: Let’s Punt
It happens. Sometimes you can’t cook something fancy … or, well, you really would rather not cook at all. On those nights, “cooking” really ends up meaning “arguing over which menu to order from.”
Tonight could be one of those nights. It’s almost Thanksgiving, and it’s the time of year when big changes happen for a lot of businesses and individuals. Moving, beginning the end-of-the-year wind-up… it’s time for all those last minute, “I’ll do it do tomorrow” things to start piling up at work and at home.
Dinner can seem like one more chore after an especially busy day of work.
Of course, it can also seem like a pleasant, relaxing oasis of creativity after a long day of doing things someone else’s way. On most nights, we want to encourage you to think like that.
But it doesn’t always work out that way. So let’s say tonight is one of those nights. How should we handle it? Do we just get out the takeout menu? Do we buy a bucket of pre-fried chicken-product on the way home?
No way.
Tonight, at our house, we are having roast beef sandwiches. We cheated on the roast beef and bought it at the store, but this is better than that bucket ‘o’ chicken we mentioned for a couple of reasons. First off, anything roasted is almost always a better option than anything fried. Second, getting something prepared from the grocery store that is sealed and then incorporating it into a meal is lot safer bet than getting something pre-prepared that’s been sitting, unsealed, under a heat lamp since before dawn.
On one of those future days when you’re feeling creative, you can prepare your own roast beef and freeze it for just such a meal. You know, just if you feel like it… When that day comes, (and it will, my friend, it will) be sure to let your roast rest, just like you would if you were serving it for dinner right away. When it’s ready to slice, go ahead and cut it into to pieces with sandwiches in mind. Ask yourself if you like the kind of roast beef sandwiches that have big slices or small, soft chunks, and slice accordingly. Put the slices into large freezer bags, and add in some juices — you’ll want them when you heat the roast up at a later date.
The plan is just to gently heat the roast beef, then add to some nice soft buns and, ta-da!, sandwiches. That you kind of made yourself. If you prefer the roast beef sandwiches with soft, gravy-soaked chucks, heat your roast in a small sauce pan with some brown gravy. If you prefer the kind of roast beef sandwiches that feature thin slices with a barbecue or juice-based sauce, you can place the slices in pan with a spoonful or two of water and reheat in the oven until they are the desired temperature.
To go with our roast beef sandwiches, we are doing oven baked french fries. Here, again, there are two ways to go. You can get the frozen fries at the store when you pick up your roast beef. Again, this is a much better option than fast food fries, because your fries are really going to be “bakes.” And, not to beat up on the heat-lamp thing… but it’s a risk you take when you go the fast-food route.
For the “not quite cheating option,” you can pick up some nice, long potatoes instead. Peel them, slice them into beautiful, thick (but not too thick) “fries,” and then place them on an ungreased cookie sheet or shallow baking pan. Sprinkle them lightly but evenly with salt and pepper, then bake on 450 for about 30 or 40 minutes, or until they are golden brown and crispy on the edges. For extra flavor, try sprinkling them with seasoned salt or lemon pepper instead.
