A Bittersweet Existence » cooking/baking

Shortcut Cooking

Dawana — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 03:31:05 +0000

So at some point last year, I told y’all about the things that I have to have in my pantry. I’d like to add an addendum to that post and go further and talk about the things that I have added to my kitchen’s repertoire due to ease-of-use and how much time I am saved when cooking.

First of all, for Pea. She is a picky eater and her eating habits consist of:

Hot Dogs
Chicken Nuggets
Fish Sticks
Pizza
Macaroni & Cheese
Corn
Broccoli
and French Fries

if she feels like it and not necessarily in that order. She will, on any given day, refuse to eat whatever it is that I’ve cooked. For that, I have perfected making Pea something to eat in about 15 minutes or less thanks to:

Fish sticks and chicken nuggets, frozen and ready to be thrown into the toaster oven for less than ten minutes are always on hand- always. I never run low. If they even look like they are running low, I restock. Also on hand for Pea- Easy Mac and turkey hot dogs.

Moving on.

I am all about shortcuts in the kitchen. I love to cook and I really love to eat, but I love sitting in my sweatpants in the evening watching tv with my family even more. Therefore, the less time that I have to spend cooking on the weekdays, the better. So, I shop with convenience in mind- what is going to take the least amount of time possible to cook?

When I need something to accompany my meats I may reach for one of the three items pictured above.

Suddenly Salad- I mean the name says it all. Suddenly… there’s salad! And Hallelujah for that.
Boil in a Bag rice- I love it more than my rice cooker. The rice cooker takes about 25 minutes. Boil in a Bag rice? Ten minutes. Easy choice.
Instant Mashed Potatoes- Do I even need to give a reason?

Individually wrapped chicken breast is the new next best thing. Am I going to pay maybe 1 or 2 dollars more to have that extra plastic? The answer is yes. That extra plastic, already wrapped around the chicken saves me slave labor after battling it out at Walmart for an hour. I no longer need to separate fresh meat, bag and freeze it. Cause some genius already did it for me. The grilled filets, I don’t eat, but my husband does. And on days that I don’t want to cook at all? I pop those bad boys in the microwave and bam! Dinner.

Judge all you want, but any and all froze and canned vegetables are welcome in my home. They are especially welcome on the days that I ~~make love to~~ use my slow cooker to produce dinner- I toss in my canned or frozen veggies along with other assorted items, cover and go to work.

More things that make my life easy. I love the McCormick seasoning packs. I just do. Especially the ones that you throw in a bag and then throw the bag into the oven. I also use these in the slow cooker to create magnificent concoctions. For example, the White Chicken Chili should be cooked on the stove top, but tomorrow I will put the white beans, diced tomatoes, corn (all from a can), chicken breasts and the McCormick seasoning in my slow cooker and watch the magic happen.

Did I mention my love for canned goods? I live in the canned goods aisle.

I love meatballs. I really do. More importantly, I love Fosters Farms turkey meatballs. No one else makes this deliciousness in a frozen bag. On weekends, I may make meatballs from scratch. During the week? These awesome meatballs can be thrown in a slow cookers, popped in the microwave, or put on the stove top in your favorite pasta sauce- they are pre-cooked, so they don’t take all that long to heat up. LOVE. THESE. When Costco started selling these in bulk, I think I wet my pants a little.

While I’d love to come home from work (usually after 5 or 6 pm), throw on my apron and throw down in the kitchen like Betty Crocker, it’s just not reasonable for me. If I want to hang out with Pea, the husband and watch tv and decompress and grade papers? I need to cut corners while still producing a delicious meal.

I’ll save my inner Paula Deen for summertime when school is out and I have more time on my hands.

What shortcuts do you use? I’m always looking for more.

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Secret Mommy-hood Confessions: I Don’t Wanna

Dawana — Sun, 01 May 2011 00:38:22 +0000

My “I’ve never met her in real life, but if I did people better watch out cause we’re way too compatible” friend Katie always does Secret Mommy-hood Confessions on Saturdays and I’m feelin’ like confessing today too. Secret Mommy-hood Confessions is from Kim’s great blog and so here is my confession of the week.

Don’t.

Want.

To Cook.

Never ever any more.

And? If I hit the lotto, one of the first things that I would do is either hire a chef or subscribe to some kind of food service.

Now, I love cooking. I really do. Remember when I was blogging as a stay-at-home mom and I would always post recipes and photos of all of my cuisine masterpieces.

But now? I’m teaching full-time, 22 6 & 7 year-olds and I am out of the house from around 6:45 a.m. to about 5:30ish p.m. I pick up my two-year old, make dinner, grade homework or tests or go over lesson plans and work my second job (writing articles for people for money) and omg I’m exhausted.

So, yes, I love to cook, but right now? The reality is, I’m too tired to cook.

And that’s where the Mommy Guilt kicks in.

I feel bad that I don’t want to cook.

Isn’t that what Mommies and Wives do? They cook for their families?

Sure, my husband can cook. But his hours are wonky (yes, I said wonky) and we never know if he’s coming home at 7 pm or 11 pm.

I feel bad that I want to go through the Jimmy John’s drive-thru or hit up Panera Bread for their “you pick two” or GOD FORBID go to McDonald’s for a carb-infused meal.

Mmmmmmmmm

So that’s my secret Mommy confession. I don’t want to cook anymore.

I’m done cooking… but not really cause I know I have to.

But it really sucks and I wish I felt good or okay ordering out more often than not.

Have a secret mommy-hood confession? Blog it and then link it up here.

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Beer-Basted Chicken with Asian Flavors

Dawana — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 16:07:58 +0000

I had an entire chicken that needed to be cooked and I didn’t want to just throw it in the oven- as usual. So I took to the internet for a recipe that looked yummy. I found this one and thought I’d share. It actually came out pretty good and tasted great.

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 3 1/2- to 4-pound chicken
1 12-ounce can beer
6 green onions, chopped
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons (packed) golden brown sugar
2 tablespoons chopped peeled fresh ginger
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 tablespoon oriental sesame oil

Preparation:

Combine all ingredients in heavy large resealable plastic bag. Refrigerate 1 hour and up to 1 day, turning bag occasionally.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Place chicken and marinade in 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan. Roast chicken until juices run clear when thigh is pierced, basting occasionally, about 1 hour 20 minutes.

Transfer chicken to platter. Pour pan juices into medium saucepan; spoon off fat and discard. Boil until sauce is reduced to 1 cup, about 6 minutes. Serve chicken with sauce.

Click here to see this recipe and others!

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Wordless Wednesday: I’m Makin’ The Cake

Dawana — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 00:00:08 +0000

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Cooking With Momma: Week of 3/21

Dawana — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 02:47:20 +0000

Yesterday: Spaghetti and Meatballs

Monday: Mashed Potato Bowls (Got the recipe from MomStart) Grilled chicken, mashed potatoes, corn, gravy & topped with cheese- in a bowl.

Tuesday: One-Pot Mexican

Wednesday: Beef Stew & Rice

Thursday: Mesquite Chicken & Mac/Cheese

Friday & Saturday: Take Out

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Cooking With Momma: Pantry Must-Haves

Dawana — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 23:33:40 +0000

Although I try to make a menu every week, sometimes, it just doesn’t happen. I wanted to list a few things that I believe are must-haves in the pantry. With these things in my pantry and freezer, I will always have a meal to make.

Pantry Must-Haves:

Diced tomatoes- there is ALWAYS a meal that can use diced tomatoes, so I always have at least two cans of these in the pantry.
Black beans- I can give you three recipes that I have right now that call for black beans and one of those recipes takes about 20 minutes to make- fast. easy. That’s my thing. So I always have about two cans of these.
Rice- Do I even need to say why? You should never run low on rice, or the next three items:
- Macaroni
- Spaghetti
- Mashed Potato Mix
With those, you always have a side for whatever meat you are cooking or you have a meal (with the spaghetti).
Corn- This is my go-to veggie. Hubby and I are pretty bad about cooking vegetables, but I’ve always got a can of corn that I can throw in.

Freezer Must-Haves:

I buy my meat in large packages, this way, I don’t have to buy it every week. We don’t eat too much beef in here (as I am an ex-vegetarian, I still limit my beef intake) so when I do want to cook beef, I just go buy it. Here are my must-haves for the freezer:

Diced Onions- Since there are only 3 of us in this house and I don’t necessarily use onions unless it’s called for, when I do buy a whole onion, sometimes it goes bad and I get pissed. If I have a bag of frozen onions ALREADY DICED a) I cut back on prep time because I don’t have to cut it and b) I can use it when necessary and therefore don’t have to throw away an onion that’s gone bad.
Peppers- I always. always have a bag of pre-cut peppers in the freezer. Red, yellow & green peppers and I actually have one bag of diced green peppers in there too (so if a recipe calls for green peppers, I don’t have to pick them out one-by-one in the mixed bag). I have a ton of recipes that call for peppers, but just like onions, sometimes they go bad and I hate wasting stuff.
Frozen carrots- Same excuse. Carrots come in a really large bag and we won’t usually eat ‘em all.
Ground Turkey
Chicken Breasts- I usually buy these at Costco, but sometimes if you go to the grocery store you can find a large tray of breasts on sale because they are set to expire in a day or two. The prices are drastically cut and if you know you are going to take it home and freeze it right away- you just saved a bunch of money. I bought two trays on sale at WalMart about one month ago and just replenished that supply today.

Now, if you don’t own a Crock-Pot/slow cooker- you better ask somebody. Hubby got me one for Christmas about three years ago- best. investment. ever. Seriously, on those very lazy days when you know you don’t even FEEL like slaving over a hot stove- the slow cooker is your friend.

I had an issue few weeks ago:

To which my Tweep, The Renegade Mom replied:

Ya, I put frozen chicken, a can of diced tomatoes and frozen red peppers with a little water into the slow cooker and BAM! Hubby came home and said “Mmm watcha cookin’ honey?”

That’s right… don’t hate. That’s how we do things around here.

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Cooking With Momma: Week of 2/14

Dawana — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 01:39:41 +0000

You may have noticed that I didn’t put up my weekly menu this Sunday. Here are the reasons why:

I didn’t make one because:
I don’t feel like cooking this week- at all.

Alas, I did cook.

Yesterday we had grilled chicken & baked french fries.
Today? I have no clue what we are going to eat yet… Ah well.

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Cooking With Momma: “It’s Italian” Sausage Soup

Dawana — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 02:11:50 +0000

I don’t know what cooking magazine I tore this recipe out of, so I don’t know who to give props to for this recipe.

I DO know that it looked good on paper, then I started to cook it and thought “uh-oh this is gonna be gross.” That ever happen to you?

Alas, I think I just got overwhelmed by the smell of tomatoes in the kitchen, you know like when your kid puts too much ketchup on the plate, then it just sits there? That smell.

It’s actually really tasty. So, I thought I’d share. This recipe makes 8 servings (according to them), so I split it in 1/2 so we didn’t have a whole bunch.

Cooking Time:

Prep: 1 1/4 hrs.
Chill: 2 hrs.
Heat: 35 mins.

Ingredients:

1 lb. bulk Italian sausage (I use turkey italian sausage)
1 large onion, chopped
1 medium carrot, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
8 cups chicken broth
1 14 1/2-oz. can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 8-oz. can tomato sauce
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. dried oregano, crushed
1/2 tsp. dried rosemary, crushed
1/2 tsp. dried basil, crushed
1/2 tsp. dried thyme, crushed
1/4 tsp. fennel seeds, crushed (I left these out)
1/2 cup dried Orzo pasta
Finely shredded Parmesan cheese (optional)

In 4-quart Dutch oven, cook sausage, onion, carrot and celery over medium heat until sausage is brown. Drain off fat.
Add broth, tomatoes, tomato sauce, bay leaf, oregano, rosemary, basil, garlic, thyme and fennel seed. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 1 hour. Transfer to storage container. Cover and chill for 2 to 24 hours. (I’m not really sure why they have you do this)
To serve, return mixture to Dutch oven. Bring to boiling. Stir in pasta. Return to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Discard bay leaf. If desired, sprinkle each serving with Parmesan cheese.

*Nutritional Info (for my friends watching what they eat):
Per Serving: 286 calories, 19 g total fat (6 g saturated fat), 46 mg chol., 1,622 mg sodium, 17 g carbo., 2 g fiber, 12 g pro.*

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Cooking With Momma: This Week’s Menu 2/7

Dawana — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 00:11:34 +0000

“It’s Italian” Sausage Soup

Turkey Meatloaf & Baked Potatoes

Spaghetti & Meat

Pasta e Fagioli Soup

A1 Beef Stew (frozen 2 weeks ago)

2 Days allowed for take out

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Cake Making #Fail

Dawana — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 19:26:56 +0000

I thought I would get my Betty Crocker on again yesterday and this is the result.

Come on!! It looks like a mushroom!

So, my baking friends. I ask: Why did this happen? Why did the top sink in like that? I haven’t tasted it yet, but my dear husband- who would eat a rock if I cooked it- said it was “good.” Pffffff

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