This Indian chicken curry (left) and Thai peanut chicken curry (right) freeze really well. Defrost them during the week, pick up some pita/naan bread or quick cooking Thai rice noodles, and a homemade dinner will await you on a busy weeknight.

The cooler weather has finally arrived in New York City! As a born and bred Canadian, I love cold weather. I love when Summer ends and Fall begins. I love warm sweaters and falling leaves and slow-cooked stews for dinner. As a full-time working mom of a 3-year old, I’m always thinking about our weekly meal plan. Who has time to cook every night during the week, right? I totally agree, running out of the office, catching a bus up Madison Avenue, rushing to daycare, and getting dinner on the table on time is a small marathon everyday. But as much as we love eating out in Manhattan, we try hard to eat home cooking everyday. There is something so satisfying about home cooking, even the most simplest dishes. Here is one trick I use: make a homemade dinner over the weekend and freeze it so you can easily defrost it during the week. Whether you’re a single guy in college or a working mother of 3, this can work for you.

Photo source: parents.com

What to make?

Curries. Indian curries, Thai curries, South African curries, any curry you like. Just like spaghetti sauce and lasagna, most curries freeze and defrost extremely well. The truth is, not everything freezes well. Potatoes and carrots, for instance, once cooked, don’t freeze well. This means they don’t survive the defrosting process well, and end up mushy when the dish is reheated. So I avoid certain vegetables in curries when I plan on freezing them.

As much as I love potatoes in curries, they don’t freeze well, so I drop them from the recipe

I have two winners for you, both are easy to make, even for beginners. Plus, they’re tummy warming and deeply satisfying on a cold evening after a long commute and day at work: Daddy’s Chicken Curry (without potatoes) and my Thai Peanut Chicken Curry. The best part is you can find all the ingredients in any local supermarket. Before we were married, when Sean was doing his PhD at living in a tiny student apartment, I would make huge batches of these curries and freeze them in individual Ziploc bags for him. Before leaving for campus in the morning, he would pull one out to defrost in the fridge — once he got home at the end of the day, all he would have to do is steam some rice or pick up some pita or naan bread on the way home, and quickly reheat his dinner. Sean would go through these “little frozen packets” (as his roommate Noah called them) so quickly that I couldn’t keep up!

Daddy’s Chicken Curry (without potatoes) — click for the recipe

Thai Peanut Chicken Curry — click for the recipe

The Plan: 3 easy steps

I. Pick a Saturday or Sunday to cook. Over the weekend, when you will have a bit more free time and can commit at least an hour to cooking, you can get this done.

II. Plan a quick visit to your local supermarket. Take the ingredients lists for these two curries and visit your local supermarket. To make it easy on yourself, pick up convenience produce like pre-cut onions and peeled garlic, which are big time savers. Make sure you get a box of quart-sized Ziploc bags if you’re freezing for one or larger Ziploc bags if you’re freezing for a whole family.

III. Invest in a few key spices. These will go a long way, you can use them in a variety of dishes, and they keep in your cupboard for at least a couple of years. These two recipes will tell you everything you need, but if you want to really boost your pantry, check out my 5-10-5 Rule for Indian cooking. Trust me, you can never go wrong with my cheat sheet.

Brands like McCormick carry ever spice you will need to make lots of curries (Photo Source: McCormick.com)

And then, as my 3-year old says…TA DA!

Once the curry is cooled to room temperature, using a medium-sized mixing bowl, open up a freezer bag and fit it inside, this will help you keep it open. Using a small ladle or large spoon, carefully dole out individual portions. Both these curries will yield 4 servings each. In the picture here, I used an extra large freezer bag and froze all 4 servings of Daddy’s Chicken Curry, figuring that I would set it out to defrost for the whole family to eat for supper one evening. Alternatively, I sometimes freeze spaghetti sauce in individual portions so anyone in the family can defrost one serving as they need it. Please, please, please try this trick, I promise you it will be a saving grace for busy weeknights. Let me know if you do it and how it turns out by posting a comment below!