Cook Once Dinner Fix

July 19, 2021
Busy parents are treated to a savvy strategy for knockout, plan-ahead recipes from Fed + Fit blogger Garcia (Cook Once Eat All Week). Built upon her “Dinner Series Concept”—which takes components from a meal to create new and “completely different” fare—Garcia’s collection serves up ideas for 60 dishes with a second act. “Dinner doesn’t have to be difficult to be delicious,” she writes, ably demonstrating exactly that with 120 paired recipes that are innovative, flexible, and, most importantly, simple to execute. Preparation is straightforward: chicken thighs from sun-dried tomato bacon chicken pasta are transformed into Jamaican-inspired chicken bowls, while roasted potatoes serve double duty, first on a pesto potato and mushroom pizza, then as the star of a tzatziki-topped potato bowl with cauliflower tabbouleh. Hacks for smart cooking include a thorough how-to on freezing foods (beginning with a flash tutorial on the “science of freezing”), a list of must-have tools, and suggestions for subbing out ingredients. Elsewhere, a helpful chart cross-references recipes by dietary restrictions: dairy-free, egg-free, gluten-free, grain-free, low-carb, and nut-free options abound. And while some recipes are not quick, their utility in multiple dishes ultimately saves planning time down the line. This is sure to satisfy everyone at the table. Agent: Lisa Grubka, Fletcher and Co.