Assembly Meals: when you're spent, but your people are hungry

Alternative title: a love letter to Aldi

I’m in my Aldi era. Let’s start with that. On a typical evening, I like to make a dinner that achieves a few key things: 1) healthy-ish, 2) simple to make, 3) fast cleanup. But on some nights (like last night), I need dinner to be stupid easy. These are the nights when you don’t want to order take-out, but you’re so exhausted, you can’t fathom spending more than 15 minutes in the kitchen (and I’m including cooking and cleaning up). This is when it’s time for an “assembly meal.” Assembly meals are meals you can basically thrown together in a cinch, cook, and be on your way. It’s more assembly than chopping, sautéing, or cooking. (Side note: my mom loves to chop things; I do not. If a recipe calls for too much chopping, I’m out).

PS: I realize cooking is a love language for many of you — and in a way, it is for me too. I love feeding my family. But mostly I love sitting around a table eating with my family. It’s the part before and after I don’t love so much. : )

Back to the good stuff. Assembly meals. Here are five that save my life after an insanely long day.

• Manicotti. If you don’t have an Aldi near you, it’s time to move. We don’t have a Trader Joes or a Whole Foods, but we do have two Aldi’s. So basically, we’re winning at life. Aldi’s prices make me giddy. But their manicotti is a slam dunk for pure joy at my house. Everyone loves it. My oldest can assemble it. Here’s how you do it — get a jar of Raos marinara sauce. Pour half in the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish. Put the manicotti on top (the Aldi version comes with ten, perfect for our family of five). Put the rest of the marinara sauce on top. Throw some shredded mozzarella or whatever you have on it. Cook for 35 mins at 400. Caroline says it’s as good as Nana’s lasagna. Don’t tell Nana.