Archive for April 2010

Potato Pie Side Dish

By Quick Chef · Comments (1)
Friday, April 30th, 2010

Unique side dishes you can make ahead and freeze aren’t always easy to find.  I love this one because it adds a veggie into the mix.  Plus my daughter absolutely LOVES anything with mashed potatoes.  Since the recipe only calls for 1 pie crust it is a great recipe to double up.

3 pound of mashed potatoes
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
2 tsp garlic powder
2 cups cheese (your favorite will do)
1 piecrust for the bottom only
1 package of frozen broccoli drained and dried a little

1.  Bake the piecrust in a pie tin for 10 mins in a 425-degree oven.

2.  Mix the mashed potatoes, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and 1 1/2 cup of cheese together until well combined.

3.  Fold in the broccoli put mixture in the piecrust evenly.

4.  Top with the remaining cheese.

At this point if you are going to freeze the pie, let it cool completely.  Cover tightly with aluminum foil and freeze.

Thaw pie for at least 24 hours before cooking.  Bake for 20 mins at 350 degrees.  The cheese will be melted and golden brown.

This recipe is an excellent accompaniment to steak tips or porterhouse steak. You can also substitute fried onions on the top for that last 1/2 cup of cheese.

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Meal Planning Tips

By Quick Chef · Comments (1)
Thursday, April 29th, 2010

Meal planning can save you a lot of time throughout the week and month, as well as money.  If you are not used to sitting down at the beginning of the week and planning your meals, it can be a frustrating process.  Here are some tips to help you get started:

  • Ask For Suggestions: Simply figuring out what to make for dinner can be harder than the cooking and cleaning up.  It isn’t easy trying to think of something that everyone will like, and that you haven’t already ate three times in the last month.  If you run out of ideas for what to cook, ask your family for suggestions.  Getting them involved decreases your stress level and you are more likely to have food created that your family will also eat.
  • Watch Cooking Shows: Watching the shows on the Food Network can be a great way to learn new cooking methods and techniques, inspire ideas for new recipes, and can simply be quite relaxing.  If you haven’t already got a favorite cooking program or “TV chef,” tune in and see what new tips you can learn.  My family and I watch a lot of the Food Network.  From extravagant gourmet shows to quick, low ingredient one’s.  There are tips and menu ideas we pick up from each of them.
  • Experiment And Have Fun: Preparing your family’s meals doesn’t have to be a chore; it can actually be quite fun.  As you plan your meals, experiment with new foods, flavors, and textures.  If you normally have sandwiches for lunch, try wraps instead.  If your family’s routine was stuck in a rut of hamburgers, hot dogs, pizza and spaghetti, break out of that routine in a big way and try Pasta Primavera or a Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry. You’ll never know what your family will and will not like until you try it.
  • Get Everyone Involved: One of the best benefits to meal planning is that you will have more family time.  Studies show that families who eat meals together are happier and more connected.  Get your family involved in the process, whether it is helping you cross items off the list at the grocery store, chopping vegetables, setting the table or washing the dishes.  Everyone should be doing their part!
  • Have Theme Nights: Since you are planning your meals and know what you will be having for dinner from one day to the next, you can get creative and have “Theme Nights”.  If you are going to have a Chinese-inspired entrée, create a fun environment by setting out chopsticks and hanging paper lanterns.  Having a Mexican dinner? You can find a piñata at a party supply store and fill it with a few small treats and let your kids have fun whacking it open.

It may take a few weeks, but sooner or later you will get into a rhythm of meal planning.  You will find ways to add your family’s personality into the process, and that can add up to a lot of fun, family dinners.

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What is Freezer Cooking?

By Quick Chef · Comments (0)
Wednesday, April 28th, 2010

The concept of creating a month’s worth of meals in one weekend is known by several different names, such as “freezer cooking,” “bulk cooking” and “once a month cooking”.  There is no doubt about it that this method of cooking requires a lot of planning and a lot of work, but if you have the time and energy to devote one weekend to cooking each month, you can feed your family for an entire month.

I however do not always have 2 full days to spend cooking and cleaning.  I do take a couple of hours and cook the meals up for that week or a few extra days.  Some months I can schedule in getting that full month cooked ahead and I love it.  But any way I can fit it in, I love the ease of planning ahead.

Imagine how stress-free the next few weeks will be, when you’ll no longer have to worry about what to serve for dinner.  You’ll be able to serve your family a great tasting, home-cooked meal each night, and the best part is that the meal has already been made.  All you’ll need to do is pop it into the oven.

As you can imagine, bulk cooking calls for bulk shopping.  If you have ever been to a warehouse store, you know how much money you can save by buying in bulk. In the past, buying food in such large quantities may have been daunting.  You may have wondered if you were ever going to use all that food before it went bad.  With freezer cooking, you can shop without worry; when you get home, you are going to assemble all those meals and freeze them.  The food simply won’t have a chance to go bad!

Freezer cooking allows you to avoid the “dinner rush” for an entire month.  Before you go to bed each night, you simply open the freezer and pull out tomorrow’s dinner.  When you get home, it will be in the refrigerator, waiting for you to pop it into the oven.  You are free to spend time with your family and enjoy your evening.

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Organizing Your Food

By Quick Chef · Comments (0)
Tuesday, April 27th, 2010

If it’s been awhile since you cleaned out your cupboards, you may want to give your kitchen an overhaul before your next shopping trip.  You’ll be surprised at how much easier cooking is when you have a tidy kitchen and know your supplies.  Here are some tips on de-cluttering your kitchen:

  • Check your expiration dates; if it is past its prime, throw it out
  • If an item isn’t expired, but no one is interested in eating it, throw it out.  Unopened items can be donated to a local food bank.
  • Group like foods together; for example, store all canned foods in the same cupboard and all dry goods, such as rice and pasta in the same cupboard.  I even store all soups on one side of shelf and beans and tomato products on the other for quicker searching.
  • Keep drink mixes, coffee, and tea in the same area and keep breakfast cereals, breakfast bars, pop tarts, and other breakfast items grouped together.  When you want something, you’ll know right where to go to get it.
  • Keep regularly used items front and center. You’ll save time by not continuously reaching and bending for these items.
  • If you pack a lot of lunches, designate a “lunch” shelf or cupboard.  Place lunch bags, Ziploc bags, and any lunch food that can be stored in a cupboard (peanut butter, crackers, pretzels, etc) in the same place.
  • When you start packing the lunch, you simply open the lunch cupboard, grab your lunch stuff and start packing.  Of course, you’ll need to walk over to the fridge to grab meats, cheeses, jellies, fruits, and so forth, but having the majority of the items in one place will save you a lot of time.
  • Clear out the fridge each week.  Leftovers have a short shelf life and you don’t want to risk getting sick by eating something that should have already been thrown-out.

When you don’t have any clutter in your way, you may find that you actually enjoy cooking for your family much more than before.  Your freezer cooking day will be much more organized when you can find everything quickly and toss meals together.

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Freezer Cooking Reheating Tips

By Quick Chef · Comments (0)
Monday, April 26th, 2010

Reheating certain foods can be tricky. Many times over the years of learning, I’ve overcooked the pasta in a casserole or soup and had mush. Not very appetizing.  Here are some simple reheating tips so your foods will look and taste better:

  • Soup can be a simple but very hearty and satisfying meal.  When it comes to freezer cooking, simply freeze the ingredients.  Frozen soups can lose their consistency when reheated.  If you make your own broth, you can definitely freeze that.  Add a package of frozen broth and a package of frozen chicken broth to one jumbo storage bag and label “chicken soup”.  When it’s time to eat the chicken soup, simply thaw the broth and chicken.  Add your veggies the day you will actually eat the soup.
  • If you find your family doesn’t like a certain ingredient after it’s been frozen, simply omit that item and add it the dish as you are cooking it for that night’s supper.  My family prefers broccoli more firm.  This means I add it to a recipe at the last minute whenever possible.
  • If your dish calls for pasta, remember to assemble it with slightly undercooked pasta.  The pasta will finish cooking when you reheat the dish.
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Categories : Cooking Tips, freezer cooking
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