Your Cooking Tips

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shouldbesad

Cathlete
How 'bout starting a thread of your best cooking tips for all of our New Years clean and/or quick cooking we plan on doing.

I will start with what I am doing today. Yesterday at Safeway I bought 4 young chickens that were on sale for .69cents/lb at about 3.25lbs each. Today I will boil them up 2 at a time with spices/onion/celery in Dutch Oven. Then I will cool and shread the meat. I divide into piles for about 2.5-3 stacks per chicken and freeze in these portions. I now will have ~ 10-12 packets of chicken ready to quickly throw into soups, enchaladas, or whatever. And in a pinch, a Tuna Helper meal in lieu of tuna or in a box Suddenly Salad.

I will take 1-2 packets today and put back into the strained liquid left over from the boilings and make the best Chicken Noodle Soup ever. Yum.

So, what are your great kitchen tips to help us all keep eating better?

Diane
 
I find having my romaine lettuce & sometimes fresh spinach cut up and placed into large ziplocks makes it easy to grab a quick salad and of course, the same with cutting up your veggies so they are easy to grab.


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Your-Friend-In-Fitness, DebbieH (AKA "Den Mother Debbie") http://www.clicksmilies.com/s0105/aktion/action-smiley-066.gif[/img] If You Get The Choice To Sit It Out Or Dance, I Hope You DANCE!
 
On Sunday nights I make a casserole of sorts with brown rice, spinach, tomatoes and tofu. I can get 4 servings out of this and I bring it with me for lunch. I also hard cook a dozen eggs for snacks.
 
>On Sunday nights I make a casserole of sorts with brown rice,
>spinach, tomatoes and tofu. I can get 4 servings out of this
>and I bring it with me for lunch. I also hard cook a dozen
>eggs for snacks.

This sounds SO good! Would you mind sharing your recipe?

TIA!! :D
 
Jessica Seinfeld cookbook & yummy oatmeal

I received a cookbook called Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld for Christmas (I asked for it) in an attempt to get my kids to eat better. The recipes are based on adding vegetable purees and disguising the appearance and taste so the kids don't know they're eating vegetables but still get the benefit. I saw her on Regis & Kelly and she said she still serves vegetables on the side so the kids realize the importance of eating their vegetables. I thought that was a good point.

Anyway, I started this morning with a yummy oatmeal recipe that included milk, pumpkin, brown sugar, vanilla, oatmeal and peanut butter. The pumpkin was the pureed vegetable. It was simply scrumptious! :9

Tonight I'm going to try spaghetti pie with broccoli and carrot puree. We'll see if my picky eaters go for it.

Sue
 
Along the same lines as Diane with the chicken. I make what I call Salsa Chicken. On a Sunday night, I will put several boneless skinless chicken breasts in a crock pot or slow cooker and cover it wtih a jar of salsa. Cook it on low heat for about 6 hours then shred it up using 2 forks and mix it back in with the salsa and liquid.

Then I'll take some chicken and lo-carb wraps and rolls some up, and wrap it in plastic wrap. Zap on 30 seconds and you're golden. These are also good cold, when I'm in a REAL hurry.

The rest of the chicken, I'll leave in a dish in the fridge. I'll toss it on top of a tossed salad, in toast for a sandwich, or eat it over baked whole wheat tortillas and topped with shredded lettuce, chopped tomato and onion for homemade Nachos Grande! YUMMO!

Gayle
 
>Along the same lines as Diane with the chicken. I make what
>I call Salsa Chicken. On a Sunday night, I will put several
>boneless skinless chicken breasts in a crock pot or slow
>cooker and cover it wtih a jar of salsa. Cook it on low heat
>for about 6 hours then shred it up using 2 forks and mix it
>back in with the salsa and liquid.
>
>Then I'll take some chicken and lo-carb wraps and rolls some
>up, and wrap it in plastic wrap. Zap on 30 seconds and you're
>golden. These are also good cold, when I'm in a REAL hurry.
>
>The rest of the chicken, I'll leave in a dish in the fridge.
>I'll toss it on top of a tossed salad, in toast for a
>sandwich, or eat it over baked whole wheat tortillas and
>topped with shredded lettuce, chopped tomato and onion for
>homemade Nachos Grande! YUMMO!
>
>Gayle

Ummm.
 
RE: Jessica Seinfeld cookbook & yummy oatmeal

Sue, would you mind posting that oatmeal with pumpkin recipe if you have a chance? Sounds so good!!
 
I don't mind sharing. This is just something I made up.

4 cups of brown rice
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 bag spinach
1 block tofu-cubed

Prepare rice separately. Wilt the spinach in a skillet with some canola oil. Add the tomatoes and tofu and mix together. I usually toss in some red pepper flakes, Italian seasoning and/or garlic pepper for seasoning. Then I mix it all in with cooked rice.

I use prepared tofu but you can use fresh. If you use fresh, you will probably want to brown it a bit.

I have also used whole-wheat pasta in place of the rice and also green peppers in place of the spinach.
 
RE: Jessica Seinfeld cookbook & yummy oatmeal

Here you go, Karin. :) BTW, I have a niece with the same name.

The recipe makes 2 servings but can easily be cut in half.

Oatmeal (with pumpkin or sweet potato)
1 c. skim milk
1/4 c. brown sugar (I used half Splenda to lighten the calories a bit)
1/4 c. canned pumpkin or sweet potato puree
1 t. pure vanilla extract (optional)
1/4 t. cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice
1 c. old-fashioned oats
2 t. natural peanut butter (optional)
dried fruit and nuts (optional)
pure maple syrup for serving (I omitted - sweet enough as is)

In a small saucepan combine the milk, sugar, pumpkin, vanilla, if using, and spice. Bring to a gentle boil and stir in the oatmeal. Reduce the heat and simmer for 2-3 min. until the oatmeal is soft and creamy. Stir in the peanut butter, if using.

Spoon the oatmeal into bowls, sprinke with dried fruit and nuts, if you like, and serve warm with maple syrup.

Enjoy!

Sue
 
Gayle - That's sounds so easy and tasty! I'm going to try that on Sunday. We're always struggling around here as far as what to make for quick meals.

Sue
 
i made that yesterday. it is delicious. since i got Not Your Mother's SlowCooker Cookbook i have been cooking a wide variety of things,including more vegies

laura
 
RE: Jessica Seinfeld cookbook & yummy oatmeal

Here's another oatmeal recipe you might be interested in. I got this off the clean eating discussion board on sparkpeople.com

A 2 quart crockpot is the perfect size for this and the recipe can also be halved as well. It's best on the first morning when it's hot in the crockpot, but it's also good warmed up so I make a full batch and eat the rest during the rest of the week.

2 cups steel cut oats
4 cups water
2 chopped apples
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 cup brown sugar
handful of dried cranberries or cherries
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Mix together and turn crockpot on low before heading to bed. Wake up to a hot and filling breakfast.:)

Enjoy

Angie
 
I started chopping up onions and celery and other veggies that are used in a lot of recipes once or twice a week and keeping them in airtight containers (I use glass ones like these: http://www.tribestlife.com/productcart/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=8&idproduct=381 ). Makes prep time much faster.

I also have been making lots of soups and stews lately (any nutrients lost from food by cooking are retained in the water, and soups and stews are quite forgiving). I just start cooking up some beans (soaked unless they are lentils, mung or split green or yellow peas), then later add the longer cooking veggies, and near the end add greens to wilt.

Throw a handful of spinich in a chocolate smoothie--adds nutrients and you won't even taste it.

"Sauté" in mirin (a japanese cooking wine), cooking sherry or wine, or flavored vinegars (add water as needed) to cut down on added fat.

I like oat bran for breakfast, because it cooks fast (2 minutes), but I also like to mix it with other grains that are slower cooking (and that I might not find as tasty by themselves). I measure out a single serving of the 'other' grain (so far, quinoa, buckwheat, amaranth, teff) and a single serving of the oat bran, and water enough for both, then start cooking the other grain in about 2/3 of the water. When it's 2 minutes away from done, I add the rest of the water, bring to a boil, and add the oat bran. (the extra water helps keep the 'other' grains from sticking, so I don't have to stir so often).

I like to add chopped nuts (2-3 each almonds, brazil nuts, walnuts and macademia) to my oatmeal (or other grains) along with 2-3 chopped dates for sweetener. If you get good Medjool dates, and chop them fine, they are sweet enough so you don't have to add more sweetener (though I sometimes add a bit of agave nectar).
 
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