Make-Ahead Meals For Easy Family Dinners

It's 5:45 and you've just walked in the door. The kids are starving and you've got 20 minutes to get a nutritious meal on the table before a serious toddler meltdown occurs. If this sounds like your typical weeknight, spending a little time on the weekend to prep some key ingredients will make tackling the weeknight dinner rush simple. We'll point out which components you should make-ahead to simplify your weekday mealtime.

The Menu

Monday: Honey-Hoisin Chicken With Rice

Tuesday: Pasta with Broccoli and Chicken Sausage

Wednesday: Veggie Fried Rice

Thursday: Panko-Topped Fish with Easy Greek Salad

Friday: Asian Burgers with Pineapple-Mango Salad

Spending an hour of your time prepping the following ingredients will allow you to make every recipe in this meal plan in under 20 minutes.

•Make 6 cups of brown rice according to package instructions. Store half of the rice in an airtight container in the refrigerator for dinner Monday. Freeze the remaining rice in a freezer-safe bag for Wednesday's dinner.

(5 minutes prep, 45 minutes cook)While Rice Cooks

• Prepare Panko-Topped Fish for Thursday's dinner. Freeze fish on the parchment paper for 1 hour, or until firm, then place in a single layer in an airtight freezer container. (15 minutes prep, 15 minutes cook)

• Mix together the Honey Hoisin Glaze for Monday's chicken dish. Store in a covered container in the refrigerator. (5 minutes)

• Chop the ginger, scallions, and garlic used in Wednesday's rice dish. Store in zip-top bags in the produce drawer. (10 minutes)

• Prepare the Asian Burgers for Friday's dinner. To freeze, layer the uncooked patties between sheets of parchment paper in an airtight freezer container; move to the refrigerator to defrost on Thursday. (15 minutes)

• Make the dough for the Wednesday's Chicken Mole Empanadas. (5 Minutes Prep, 1 hr. chill)While the dough chills:

• Mince five cloves garlic. Place the minced garlic in a small zip-top bag in the produce drawer for use in Monday's Chinese Beef & Broccoli and Tuesday's Shrimp Scampi Pasta. (5 minutes)

• Make the marinade for Monday's dinner. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. (5 minutes)

• Cut the broccoli, slice the pepper and grate the ginger for Monday's Chinese Beef and Broccoli. Store each item in a separate zip-top bag in the produce drawer. (10 Minutes)

• Prepare the southwestern burger patties for Thursday's dinner. To freeze, layer the uncooked patties between sheets of parchment paper in an airtight freezer container; make a note to move to the refrigerator to defrost on Wednesday night. (10 minutes)Take a 30 minute break while the dough you made finishes chilling. You deserve it!

• Cook the filling for Friday's Chicken Mole Empanada's, then assemble the empanadas using the chilled dough. Freeze uncooked empanadas in a single layer in an airtight freezer container. (30 minutes)