How do you plan ahead when it comes to cooking?
-- Food Goddess
As we all know, the dining deity is never shy about tooting her own horn. She happily reports that her resolution to be more organized about mealtime has been a success! That bit of extra planning has returned the joie de vivre to her post-holiday cooking blahs. But as always, the goddess is nothing without her disciples. She wants to thank her faithful readers for responding with both encouragement and their own tips to help keep order in the kitchen.
For some, like Betty Stephens of Monroe, it's all in the equipment. Stephens, who's 70 years young and has been cooking for over 55 years, knows what she's talking about. For her, efficiency comes from using and reusing favorite appliances. She reports, "I wouldn't consider cooking without my pressure cooker. I use it all the time, sometimes multiple times during a recipe. When making Brunswick stew, I cook the hen, remove it and then add the Boston butt. If I have enough broth left, I cook rice in it, too." She also touts her food processor for thinly and evenly slicing vegetables "in about two seconds. Perfect for dishes like scalloped potatoes." Stephens is so committed to sharing her years of wisdom she even has her own blog, grannystips.blogspot.com
Carolyn Lantelme of Atlanta gets the most out of meal-making by multitasking. She writes: “I plan a variety of entrees for the week, alternating chicken, beef, pork, etc., and I almost always make enough for two nights. I make a lot of side dishes while things are cooking, rice or potatoes and several veggies or salads. Then I serve the leftover veggies in different ways.
Two of her favorite things to whip up are hearty soups that can be served several nights with different side dishes for variety and homemade fried rice to use leftover rice and veggies. She adds: “I supplement what I have on hand with frozen mixed vegetables for color and add lots of scallions. I keep frozen egg rolls or Chinese dumplings in the freezer to round out a great meal that takes less than 30 minutes to prepare.”
The goddess, as always, sends a big thank-you to her followers for sharing their sage advice.
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