OT Lazy Cooking with Cat!

[Howie]

That's the spirit Virginia, and Agate and myself are still ready to be the taste testers!

[Catdancer]

Bulbs of garlic last a long time in the refrigerator, and you can just pull off cloves as you need them. Chopped Garlic also can be frozen. On days when I don't have much to do I'll often chop garlic and onion and put them in freezer bags, pop in the freezer. Then I can pull them out, break off a portion that I need, throw the package back into the freezer. The onion gets soft when frozen, but if you're using it in a recipe that is cooked, the softness doesn't matter.

[agate]

I got tired of chopping onions and eventually started buying bags of frozen chopped onion for cooking. It worked fine. Cheaper if you chop your own and freeze it of course but I'll pay to make my life easier.

[Catdancer]

I got tired of chopping onions and eventually started buying bags of frozen chopped onion for cooking. It worked fine. Cheaper if you chop your own and freeze it of course but I'll pay to make my life easier.

Yes, those work too! :) I often buy green peppers that way. Works fine for soups and stews, spaghetti sauce, or on top of pizza.

[Lazarus]

Yes, those work too! :) I often buy green peppers that way. Works fine for soups and stews, spaghetti sauce, or on top of pizza.

I stopped chopping peppers and just break them into pieces. I like the look, it is easy to do and I am surprised I have not done it before. The onion idea is really good. It would make cooking more fun to reduce some of those tiresome first steps.

[agate]

I didn't know about the frozen chopped green peppers. It's good to know they're available.

If you can stand frozen meals, that preparation has all been done for you. There isn't a lot of variety and the flavoring can be bland and you spend more money on food, but some of us are willing to go that route just because it's so easy.

Some people are going in for services like Hello Fresh:

Only registered and activated users can see links., Click Here To Register...


You get the ingredients for meals delivered to you, along with the recipe cards for the meals, but it looks to me as if you'd still need to do the peeling, chopping, mincing, slicing, etc.

Or do food processors do all of that now? Every time I've thought about getting one, it's seemed as if it would be one more thing to have to clean up--and have in the way.

[Sunshine]

Food processors really help when chopping larger quantities.or for purée.

Also, with FP I pulverize cooked chicken, add mayo and chopped celery, onion, add some capers.or raisins... Makes good sandwich for DH.

[Sunshine]

That Hellofresh is expensive!

[Catdancer]

I have a small Cuisinart (food processor). I love it. I use it for all sorts of things -- chopping, slicing, pureeing. Theti problem with frozen dinners is that they're usually high in sodium -- salt. If you cook at home, you can monitor the use of salt, and not consume so much.

I find stir-frying quick and easy, and a sure way to consume vegetables. If you don't want to do all the chopping (and here's one place where a food processor helps), you can buy packages of stir-fry veggies in the freezer department with the rest of the frozen veggies. They have no salt or other ingredients, just the chopped veggies. A chicken breast (which you would have to chop), the bag of veggies and a can or box of chicken broth, a few minutes in a fry pan, and you have a nutritious dinner. Look for chicken tenders - they're already cut up. You can add whatever seasoning you like. Use beef or pork, and soy sauce works too. Mix with rice, or cooked pasta, or dump over a baked potato (which takes around 6 minutes in the microwave to bake).

[Lazarus]

I started buying cut butternut squash and then I quarter several onions and mix both veggies with oil, salt, pepper and dried oregano. Space it in one layer on a cookie sheet and bake at 400° for 25 minutes...turn the pieces and bake 25 minutes more. Roasting the squash makes it so sweet!

Since I put it on parchment paper there is no cleanup!

[Sunshine]

Sounds yummy. I roast all my veggies. Squeeze a bit of lemon on it before roasting. It brightens the flavor.

[Catdancer]

[QUOTE=Lazarus;72969]I started buying cut butternut squash and then I quarter several onions and mix both veggies with oil, salt, pepper and dried oregano. Space it in one layer on a cookie sheet and bake at 400° for 25 minutes...turn the pieces and bake 25 minutes more. Roasting the squash makes it so sweet!

Since I put it on parchment paper there is no cleanup![./QUOTE]

This is great to do with sweet potatoes or russests, or baking potatoes, too. You can mix up the seasonings: I like Roasemary, or cumin, or basil and oregano, for example.

[Virginia]

stillstANNding, you are so fast. I fixed the green bean and potato soup today and I forgot to do any of it ahead of time. You said it took you 30 min. It took me well over an hour. By the time I got everything out, peeled the potatoes and cubed them, then broke the ends off the green beans (also I just snaped them because I forgot to cut them on the slant). Then I measured the olive oil out. I did sit down to cut the garlic. I really messed up with the garlic. I just grabbed a whole garlic while I was in the grocery and it was totally dried out. I did the best I could with it, but I could not taste any of it in the green beans. Also, I might have over browned it.

So, I will have the beans and potatoes left over tomorrow with some meatloaf that was in the freezer.

I definitely will make the green beans and potatoes again. I will be careful about buying the garlic. Also, the green beans were not very pretty ones. But they will look better in another month or so and I will get more.

Still don't see how you did it in 30 minutes.

[SuzE-Q]

Sorry it wasn't as tasty as you'd hoped, Virginia.

I so hate spending a ton of time and exertion on something, looked so forward to it, only to have it not meet my taste bud's expectations. I can't tell you how many times I've gone hungry because dinner tasted like crud, and I just didn't have the energy to make something else. Not saying yours tasted like that, I just don't have the Martha Stewart touch.

Hopefully, your meal tomorrow will make up for it!

[stillstANNding]

You can buy green beans pre-trimmed and ready to steam. No one says you can't use them in soup instead.

Regarding the garlic, I saw a plastic bag of whole peeled garlic cloves in the fresh vegetable bins that are refrigerated against a wall. Those would just need sliced.

The potatoes could be switched w very clean Yukons. Just wash them and chopped them up, skin on.

I hope these short cuts help.
ANN