My Homemade Sofrito: One of My Favorite Back-to-School Kitchen Shortcuts

My Homemade Sofrito: One of My Favorite Back-to-School Kitchen Shortcuts

A little preparation now can make those busy school-night dinners so much easier.

When back-to-school season begins, everything seems to start moving a little faster.

The mornings are busier. The afternoons fill up. There are school schedules, work, appointments, activities, homework—and eventually someone asks the question we all knew was coming:

“What's for dinner?”

One of the things that makes my life easier during busy weeks is something very simple:

I make my sofrito ahead of time .

If you grew up in a home where sofrito was always somewhere in the kitchen, you already know how useful it can be

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For me, having homemade sofrito ready means I already have the beginning of a meal waiting for me.

I can take chicken out and start marinating it.

I can season meat.

I can add it to beans.

I can use it as the beginning of a soup.

I can use it when I'm preparing rice or another quick family meal.

Instead of standing in the kitchen after a long day thinking, Where do I even start? I've already done part of the work.

And during back-to-school season, anything that makes dinner easier is a win in my house.

Why I Make My Sofrito Ahead of Time

For me, meal preparation doesn't necessarily mean spending an entire Sunday cooking fifteen containers of food.

Sometimes preparation is simply having the right things ready.

Sofrito is one of those things.

When I know we're entering a busy week, I can prepare a batch and have it ready for the meals I'll be making.

And because I love growing herbs and cooking with fresh ingredients, I especially enjoy using what I can from the garden.

There's something special about walking outside, gathering something you've grown and bringing it directly into your kitchen.

But there's another reason cooking means so much to me.

Many of the things I know in the kitchen were taught to me by my grandmother.

Some recipes are more than ingredients.

They're memories.

They're watching someone cook without measuring everything.

They're learning by standing beside her.

They're flavors you recognize before you even know how to explain them.

And now, when I prepare certain foods for my own family, I'm not simply making dinner.

I'm carrying something forward.

Because intentional living happens in the kitchen.

It happens around the table.

It happens in gardens.

It happens in the recipes we inherit and eventually teach someone else.

My Homemade Sofrito

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My Back-to-School Tip

Don't wait until you're exhausted on a Wednesday evening to begin thinking about everything you need for dinner.

Choose one or two things you can prepare ahead.

For me, one of those things is sofrito.

You don't necessarily need seven days of meals sitting in containers.

Sometimes having your seasonings prepared, vegetables washed, meat ready to marinate and a basic idea of what you're cooking can take a lot of pressure off the week.

Prepare a little today so that tomorrow's version of you has one less thing to figure out.

What I Put in My Sofrito

I use:

Fresh cilantro

Red onion

Yellow onion

Green bell pepper

Red bell pepper

Celery

Fresh garlic

Green olives

A little oregano

A little salt

A splash of vinegar

Then I blend everything together until it reaches the consistency I like.

That's it.

Fresh, flavorful and ready for the week.

And the smell when everything comes together?

So good.

Okay… A Little Sofrito Secret 😂

Now that I've told you how much I love making my own sofrito, I have to tell you the truth.

Sometimes I'm lazy and I don't make it.

And that's when having a best friend who makes an amazing sofrito becomes very convenient. 😂

My best friend makes a delicious sofrito too, and I love hers. So every once in a while, I find myself at her house taking some of her sofrito home with me.

Listen—we're not judging over here at Love Me Therapy. We're surviving busy weeks!

Take out your chicken.

Add your sofrito and seasonings.

Marinate it.

And you've already started dinner.

The same goes for pork chops, beans, soups, rice and so many of the meals I make at home.

Sometimes intentional living isn't about doing more.

Sometimes it's about preparing something today that makes tomorrow a little easier.

And if your best friend happens to make the sofrito this week?

Well…

That's what community is for. 😂

And We're Just Getting Started in the Kitchen

Fall and the holidays are coming, which means I'll be spending even more time in the kitchen—and I'm bringing some of those recipes here to Love Me Therapy.

I'll be sharing how I use my sofrito and seasonings to marinate different meats, including some of my favorite ways to prepare:

Chicken • Pork Chops • Pernil • Turkey • Soups • Beans • Holiday Meals

And yes, we're definitely going to talk about pernil.

Not just any pork roast.

That flavorful, marinated, traditional pernil that fills the whole house with that smell that lets everybody know:

Something good is cooking.

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♡ From my kitchen to yours,

Love Me Therapy

From My Kitchen to Yours

I'll be sharing more recipes here at Love Me Therapy, including some inspired by the foods and cooking traditions my grandmother taught me.

There will be quick family meals, soups for the colder months, garden-to-table ideas, seasonings, tacos and some of the meals I actually prepare at home.

Because wellness isn't only what happens in a therapy room.

Sometimes wellness looks like slowing down long enough to prepare something nourishing for the people you love—and yourself.

Want More Recipes From My Kitchen?

Join the Love Me Therapy community and I'll send new recipes, seasonal ideas and other intentional-living content directly to your inbox.

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SEND ME THE RECIPES →

Because sometimes a handwritten recipe becomes part of a family'

COMING SOON ♡