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Say goodbye to the lazy days of summer and reluctantly welcome back days of tight, organized scheduling, busy from dawn to dusk. Packing lunches, preparing after-school snacks, office meetings, chauffeur duties and having a well-balanced, delicious meal on the table at dinnertime are today’s parenting challenge.

Everyone in the family has their own rigid schedule to keep, coming and going, with barely a moment to spare for a nibble or conversation.

So much of Jewish lifestyle is centered around food as a symbol of physical and spiritual nourishment that our Jewish mother (or father) souls ache when we can’t provide the perfect meal. Despite our busy schedules, we need to sit down and dine together with our families, sharing a tasty, healthful meal and rehashing the day’s events.

This presents a dilemma for the cook in the family because time is such a precious commodity. One-dish meals that can be made ahead, frozen or refrigerated, and reheated just before serving are a wonderfully efficient solution. Rather than the conventional protein, starch and vegetable cooked separately, the following dishes incorporate them into one easy-to-execute dish. These dishes take much less preparation time and require less cleanup.

Here are freezer-proof recipes that will yield food that is fresh tasting, exciting and flavorful.

 

Chicken Bouillabaisse

Serves 8

3 Tbs. olive oil

1 onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 large bulb fennel, trimmed and chopped

1⁄4 tsp. saffron

1⁄2 tsp. thyme

1⁄4 tsp. red pepper flakes

1⁄2 cup white wine

1⁄2 cup chicken stock

4 cups chopped tomatoes

1 bay leaf

5 lbs. chicken pieces, skinned if desired

salt and pepper

1⁄2 cup chopped basil

Heat oil in large sauté pan. Cook onion, garlic and fennel until soft. Stir in saffron, thyme and pepper flakes and cook 3 minutes. Add wine, stock, tomatoes and bay leaf. Bring to boil and partially cover and let simmer 45 minutes. Add chicken pieces and cook on low heat another 35 minutes. Taste for salt and pepper. Let cool and refrigerate up to 3 days or freeze up to 1 month. Reheat gently and serve with rice. Garnish with basil.

 

Pasta Shells Baked with Vegetables, Olives and Mozzarella

Serves 6-8

3 Tbs. olive oil

2 zucchini, trimmed and cut into 1⁄2-inch cubes

1 red pepper, seeded and diced

1 small red onion, diced

1 small eggplant, diced

1⁄2 tsp. salt

1⁄4 tsp. pepper

4 plum tomatoes, canned or fresh, seeded and diced

1 cup pitted kalamata olives, halved

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

12 oz. mozzarella, diced

1 lb. freshly cooked small pasta shells

In large skillet, heat oil, cook zucchini, pepper, onion, eggplant and salt and pepper until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Remove to a large bowl and combine with tomato, olives, 1⁄2 cup Parmesan, 1⁄2 the mozzarella and the pasta.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a shallow baking dish. Spoon pasta into dish and top with remaining cheeses. Bake about 15 minutes or until bubbly. To freeze, let cool and wrap tightly in foil.

Louise Fiszer is a Palo Alto cooking teacher, author and the co-author of “Jewish Holiday Cooking.” Her columns alternate with those of Faith Kramer. Questions and recipe ideas can be sent to j. or to [email protected].