Whats for Dinner? 5 Questions to Help You Figure It Out

Isnt that always the question? Every day? And a challenge for the cook, too. Sometimes its easy and sometimes its hard, but its got to be answered one way or the other if people want to eat. I ask myself that question about five times a week. The other two nights, Im either traveling or were eating out. But five nights a week is still a lot of nights to find the answer to the question of whats for dinner.So I will share with you my process for deciding. Consider it a food triage system.1. First question: Whats fresh? Did I just go food-shopping and get fresh fish? Are there salad greens or veggies that are still good and need to be eaten? What expiration dates are closing in on food in the fridge that needs to be dealt with? Thats where I start to build my dinner. Those ingredients determine the meal, unless there is nothing freshthen I ask the next question: 80 expert tips and techniques for selecting the freshest, ripest produce, from your garden or at the market. 2. Whats in the pantry? I always make sure to have lots of whole wheat pasta and brown rice and jars of tomato sauce and cans o beans. My latest favorite grain is farro because its quicker than brown rice and less processed than pastait goes well in soups, salads, and also just by itself with butter or cheese. Add some veggies and voil! Youve got dinner. But in case that isnt enough to inspire you, the third question is this:Use airtight food-storage containers, and know which bulk foods need to stay in the fridge. 3. Whats in the freezer? Do I have some organic hamburger or sausage to cook up? Do I really want to use the frozen from-the-garden tomato sauce or pesto? (jewels of the freezer). Are there frozen organic piecrusts for a quiche; is there broth for a soup (with the farro)? I always have lots of frozen meats and vegetables handy, which helps either as the base of the dinner or to fill out the sides. 4. What do I feel like eating? If Im in the need of comfort, then it might be burgers, fries, or mac and cheese. If Im feeling especially healthy, I might do a veggie stir-fry with brown rice and a few cashews on top. For some reason, spaghetti is always what we want when we get home from traveling. Do I want to spend time cooking, or just whip something up quick? Which leads to the final question I usually ask: A new study shows that shifting your food dollars to beans and grains gives you the healthiest bang for your hard-earned bucks. 5. Whats easy? Sometimes, when I am working out at the gym and the Food Network is playing on one of the giant TVs (which seems counterproductive to watch while working out, honestly), I cant believe all the elaborate machinations people on TV go through to cook stuff. Holy cow, its all too much work! At the end of the day, I just want to eat (and feed my family) something that is organic, healthy, and yummy. The easier the better! I find that good-quality organic food doesnt need much to make it taste good. And having a few favorite recipes to go to every week make it easy to cookand even easier to answer the question whats for dinner every night!By the way, all the recipes on my blog are tried-and-true family favorites. Feel free to try them!

Maria tells it how it is on her blog, Marias Farm Country Kitchen.