This post was sponsored by Ling Ling as part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central and all opinions expressed in my post are my own.
The lazy days of summer mean… I’m a little lazy about dinner time, too! After a morning at the pool, and an afternoon reading or doing small chores with my little boys leaves me little motivation for prepping dinner. Having a well-stocked freezer can help keep summer dinners easy on our schedule. And sometimes “well-stocked” means having a few prepared meals a la Ling Ling up your sleeve!
Keeping Summer Dinners Easy on your Schedule
Even if your freezer is full, that doesn’t mean dinner is going to come easy! I often make the mistake of thinking I have dinner in hand, only to misjudge how long it takes a large piece of meat to thaw. Or mistaking that package of plain tomato sauce for chili. Oops!
And then there’s our summer schedule, which is vastly different than the rest of the year (although I love it!). In June and July, we are at the pool all morning and into the mid-afternoon, so our boys can enjoy swimming and tennis lessons. For a homeschool mom like me, this is the equivalent of having a full-time job! It’s so much more time out of the house than I am used to! It’s a sudden shock from the days we typically spend at home where I can do some dinner prep in between lessons and other tasks.
I needed some quick and easy dinners to keep our home moving smoothly during this busy season. Add to that, little boys whose first thought is “What’s for dessert?!” – meaning I sometimes have a challenge to create family meals that they’ll eat!
So this week, we tried out Ling Ling Fried Rice as an easy family meal. And I must say, it was a smashing success! Ling Ling Fried Rice comes in five unique flavors. Each dish has been inspired by real Asian recipes from various countries: Japan, China, Korea, and Thailand.
Make summer dinners easy and fun!
I found Ling Ling Fried Rice in the freezer section at Stop & Shop and was impressed to see their full selection available (also they have potstickers and other sides!). I picked out Yakitori Chicken and Yakiniku Beef for our meal, figuring that would offer something for everyone in the family. Other dishes included: Thai-style Chicken, Chinese-Style Vegetable, and Bibimbap Beef.
We like to keep our meals simple – there’s usually a main dish and a salad, sometimes a side dish. Since I planned to cook both Fried Rice meals on the same night, I went with just a salad. I picked up some fortune cookies for dessert, because I know my boys would have fun opening them!
Prepping the rice was so easy. Each box contains two pouches so you can choose how much to make for each meal. That’s perfect for nights when you may want to serve just a portion of the rice as a side dish instead of a main course. Or if you have fewer people to serve.
My boys had a neighborhood friend stop by, so they were playing outside while I made dinner. I heated oil in a large skillet, poured in the two pouches, and let the rice fry up over medium heat. The rice only requires a small stir every minute or so while cooking, so I could pop outside and keep an eye on the boys. I also set the table outside for dinner and prepped a homemade Asian-inspired Garlic-Ginger salad dressing while cooking. I told you it was that easy!
In about ten minutes, the Yakitori chicken dish was done. I transferred it to a bowl and began cooking the Yakiniku Beef package. So basically, dinner was on the table in less than twenty minutes. Now that’s what I call easy!
Our boys went nuts for the rice dishes, and declared them yummy! No cajoling to get them to finish their dinner! Surprisingly, they each had a different favorite flavor! The Yakiniku Beef has a mildly spicy kick to it (not overwhelming at all though). And the Yakitori Chicken is what you’d probably typically expect out of a chicken fried rice dish, and is chock full of veggies too! My personal favorite was the chicken!
Here’s my quick Garlic-Ginger Vinaigrette Recipe:
- 1/3 cup rice vinegar
- 1/4 cup oil (a lighter oil like sunflower, olive will be very heavy)
- 1 T soy sauce
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/8 tsp ginger powder
- salt to taste
- add a dash of water if it seems too oily
- optional: sesame seeds
Infused flavor makes staying in taste special
Ling Ling uses an Infusion Cooking Method to ensure each grain of rice has rich flavor. Unlike pouring a sauce over food after cooking, where you might get pockets of flavor with patches of bland areas, the infused flavor ensures that each bite tastes delicious! I’d say, it’s not much different than getting fried rice at a favorite restaurant!
Plus, there are no artificial ingredients in Ling Ling Fried Rice. Real meat, real veggies. No artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives either!
We enjoyed trying out Ling Ling Fried Rice. Certainly, it’s fun to have a themed meal, and also it’s relaxing to have dinner ready to go in the freezer on busy summer nights!
Follow Ling Ling on Facebook to get more inspiration for keeping summer dinners easy on your schedule!
This post was sponsored by Ling Ling as part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central and all opinions expressed in my post are my own.
