It wasn't until I started cooking meals from scratch on a regular basis that I discovered just how much of a fallacy this whole pre-made foods business is. I'm not talking about one of those tasty, pre-roasted chickens or fresh meals you can buy at the supermarket, but rather canned and frozen foods. They are great in a pinch, but they are not a big time saver, and they're certainly not a decent substitute for fresh foods.
So, reading Astin Cubed's post on "Simple Food" today was like reading a rant of my own, without the obsession with snap peas. How can so many of us have forgotten the simplicity of fresh? Or heck, even balancing the two? If you have zero time to make dinner, throw the fish sticks in the oven, boil/microwave/shred and fry some potatoes, or maybe throw some Caesar dressing on some romaine. If you have enough time to go out, wait to be served, eat, wait to pay, and come home, you certainly have enough time to cook up some pasta, fry up some chicken, make a salad, steak, or even stir-fry. Or, even take a day with some free time, make up a lasagna, and eat it during the week, month, or year.
My favorite frozen food: Using those Thanksgiving leftovers to make REAL roasted, carved turkey meals that I can eat all year.
My favorite "fast" food: Leftover fried potatoes with a fried egg on a toasted baguette.
What's yours?
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2When I'm not terribly hungry and I don't have the patience for making anything, I toast some bread, use some jarred berries, peanut butter and a banana and make myself a sandwich reminiscent of childhood. (Okay I'm 23 so I guess it wasn't THAT long ago...)
Otherwise I'm a big fan of pasta and I like boiling a pot of noodles and then mixing in some pantry staples and fresh veggies that you can toss in raw (tomatoes, for example) with some red pepper flakes, olive oil and sauteed garlic.
3You are preaching to the choir, I could not agree with you more. plus the fact that preparing our own meals can save a heck of a lot of money and provide us with twice as many meals.
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4I'm with Moza on this one. TIME is far less of an issue at the end of a hectic day, than ENERGY. I'm fortunate -- I live alone with a boyfriend with very rigid eating patterns, so I don't even have to please multiple people. Just myself. A parent of 4, for instance, may rely on those fish sticks because at the end of an overtime shift, he or she has no energy to battle the appetites and desires of the clan.
My "I have zero energy Fast Food dinner" is almost always buttered toast and eggs over easy.
My "I have a small amount of energy, what's in the freezer" is usually a bag of frozen prawns, which grill up in a flash and get served over the ever-present can of black beans, and whatever herbs I have on hand, or something from Trader Joe's frozen aisle. I am one who hates boiling up huge amounts of pasta. I confess I love the frozen gorgonzola gnocci and frozen alfredo from TJ's. That cooks up in a skillet in a jiffy.
My "I have a small amount of energy, what's in the fridge" is always roasted vegetables. I usually have yams, a head of califlower, cabbage, brussels sprouts, asapragus, etc. Chop them up, tpss them with oil, garlic, sea salt, stick them in a toaster oven, take a bath, and when I'm out of the tub, some are burnt, some are soft, some are still recognizable. Just how I love it. That veggie dish never gets old.
5Ok, I should admit one other thing (in case I didn't type enough already). I make urban fries when I am DEAD DOG OUT OF ENERGY. Take out a bag of frozen thin-cut french fries, bake them until very crispy, and top with drizzled bleu cheese dressing, several hearty shakes of hot sauce, and chopped parsley. It's basically "Buffalo Fries" with the fries standing in for the wings (and I actually hate buffalo wings, but love buffalo fries). That's straight from a restaurant near me, and it's fast, addictive, and has no merit whatsoever, other than comfort.
6The things I almost always have on hand:
Rice - I make a pot about twice a week, freeze the extra in single servings and use it in lunches/dinners.
Chicken tenders (not the nasty breaded kind, but just plain, either fresh or frozen)
Garlic
Mushrooms
Red bell pepper
Frozen broccoli/other veggies
Heat pan, chop garlic. Add oil, then garlic to pan. Chop mushrooms & red bell pepper, add to pan. Chicken to bite size pieces while that's cooking, move garlic/mushroom/pepper mix to side of pan. Salt & pepper chicken, add to pan. While that's cooking, defrost rice in microwave (just enough so it's not all frozen when you add it to the pan), then defrost frozen veggies of your choice in the microwave.
When the chicken's cooked, mix it up with mushroom mixture, add rice & veggies to pan. Continue cooking until all is hot.
Seriously, when I have the rice pre-cooked and the chicken defrosted, this takes 10-15 minutes to make. Sometimes I'll do it with beef instead of chicken if that's what I have defrosted. Vary the seasonings as you want to make it how you like it.
7Most young people don't even know how to cook. My girlfriend wouldn't know the first step in making a simple white sauce. Here idea of cooking is pouring a can of baby corn and a can of mixed vegetables into a pot, heating it up and then draining it. And Baking.....if I asked her to make some muffins it would be like asking a dog to play the piano. I know she is not alone.
8My favorite fast food is fresh soba noodles soups you have to put in the fridge. They are packeged like ramen noodles. I heat the water for them and add a handful of frozen stir fry veggies. then add a tsp of garlic chili paste. If I have even more time I stick a frozen chicken breast in the oven first and throw that in chopped up. Now the soup comes with a flavor packet. I never use the whole packet. It is so salty I like to cut that in half.
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