Dinner. Done. ✅

Assembly meals for when you're out of ideas.

Have you noticed the week before Thanksgiving feels like one of the craziest weeks of the year? Bookmark this post for later.

mytherapistsays

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I have never felt so seen. It’s, like, almost the holidays but not quite the holidays, so we’re packing in All the Normal Things before my favorite time of year (aka “This can wait until January!”) begins.

And since we pack in All the Normal Things (social events, school events, work deadlines, prepping for the biggest meal/family event of the year like we are some kind of catering company!?), the absolute last thing I want to do is make dinner. The. Absolute. Last. Thing. So there are two things I find myself doing in this week when I Simply Cannot with food:

1. Order take out.

2. Make Assembly Meals

Oh, do I love an Assembly Meal. I love them so much that I sprinkled ideas for them throughout The Simplified Cookbook. So what’s an Assembly Meal? And what are my favorites? I’m so glad you asked.

Assembly Meals are meals that require you to cook very, very, very little — if at all. When it’s 6 p.m. in our house and we’re starving, nobody cares what we eat. We just want to eat—and I just want to throw something together and be done with it. I don’t even want to wait for pizza delivery or to have to text the DoorDash guy if he gets lost in the neighborhood.

Cooking doesn’t spark joy for me, even in the best of times. And you know what? You don’t need a culinary degree or a pantry full of exotic ingredients to make something quick and delicious. Sometimes the best meals come together with just a few ingredients and zero prep. You’re just using what you have on hand. The two words that are your best friends here are “creativity” and “flexibility.”

For example: Let’s say you have a some leftover rotisserie chicken from your latest grocery run, some veggies in the crisper, a bag of ready rice, and a jar of sauce (like, any sauce!) in your pantry. Microwave the rice, take it out, put some olive oil in the pan, throw in the chicken and veggies for a few minutes, then drizzle on that sauce at the end and serve with rice.  Boom—there’s dinner. No recipe. No fancy techniques.

The key to assembly meals is: keeping a few staples on hand in your fridge, freezer, and pantry.

That way you’ll always know you can count on these ingredients for quick meals. Here’s what I keep stocked (do not be impressed with my professionally organized pantry made this way for a photoshoot - it is not currently this fantastic):