Bachelor cooking; need some help.

[bob loblaw]

Hello all,
After the age of 30, I swore off frozen pizzas forever. Since then, I have been trying to improve my diet as best I can. I work very long hours and often do not have the ability to make anything elaborate every day.
I was considering getting a slow cooker along with some other cooking-related accesories. Could someone suggest some items I should look for and ideas on what to make? Ideally, I would eat food throughout the week that I prepared on Sunday night.
I enjoy eating gazpacho, pasta, hummus, and I am not a vegetarian so meat-based recipes such as pot roasts are fine.
Thanks!

[kuan]

Maybe you should get something like this:

Amazon.com: Braun M880 Multimix 4-in-1 Handmixer: Kitchen & Dining The immersion blender comes in real handy. Also get one good thick 10" aluminum pan which you can toss in the oven without worry.

Anyway, here's a good way to make pot roast.

Get a piece of chuck roast and salt and pepper it. Brown it on both sides in some oil. Remove from pan and place in crock pot. Defat with a paper towel and deglaze the pan with some red wine. Dump this into the crock pot. Add some low or no sodium beef stock into the crock pot until it covers the roast 3/4 of the way. Add 1 chopped onion, 2 chopped carrots, and 2 sticks of celery, also chopped up. Put the lid on the crockpot and let it cook until it's fork tender, I don't know how many hours, maybe someone can provide guidance. I'd guess all day.

When it's done, remove the roast and try and skim as much fat off the top as possible. Then using an immersion blender, puree the contents of the crockpot. Taste, add salt and pepper, mix it up a bit more and you're done! Pot roast and gravy.

Add mashed potatoes to complete your meal.

[shipscook]

Pasta is my stand by for quick meals. So good--orzo tossed with olive oil, some tasted pine nuts, minced garlic, sundried tomatoes and some fresh spinach or arugala?? you could add some Italian sausage, or? I use this same method with ravioli.

Grilled shrimp or salmon tossed with pasta with a citrus, garlic, cilantro dressing. Maybe a bit of sesame oil and some red pepper flakes--this is one I wing.

I do not use slow cookers a lot, but I did bookmark this, many, many recipes--

MSN Lifestyle - Food & Entertaining - Slow Cooker Recipes

enjoy,
Nan

[Luc_H]

Bob Loblaw... (this guy must be Canadian!)
I thought that was the president of Loblaws!!!

Hehehe.
Luc H.

[geese4u]

Pan seared steaks with a pan sauce are my favorite quick meals. Our local market has finally started carrying flat iron steaks, and from start to finish, I can have them on the table with a baked potato, and steamed broccoli/sauteed zucchini in about 20 minutes (@%$&^ on Rachel Ray).

[SparklinBurgndy]

Grilled chicken breasts topped with mushrooms, spinach, and alfredo sauce.

From the store, get chicken breasts, pre-sliced mushrooms (the dry kind in the produce section, not the canned kind), alfredo sauce, and baby spinach in a bag (also in produce section)

First, grill chicken breasts on a hibachi grill, gas grill, or my personal choice, a George Foreman grill (awesome thing; I love it) grill for about four minutes; just enough to cook it most of the way through.

Next, put aluminum foil on a pan/cookie sheet/something that will survive the over. Put the grilled chicken on that, put the baby spinach leaves on top of the chicken so that they cover it like a blanket. Put the sliced mushrooms on top of that, then pour a little alfredo sauce over the top.

Fold up the aluminum foil like a little packet and stick it in the oven for about ten to fifteen minutes at 400 degrees.

You are done. Keep it in the aluminum foil until you're ready to re-heat it. It's yummy and filling.

[shel]

So how do you bake a potato in 20 minutes?

scb

[quote=geese4u;219399]Pan seared steaks with a pan sauce are my favorite quick meals. Our local market has finally started carrying flat iron steaks, and from start to finish, I can have them on the table with a baked potato, and steamed broccoli/sauteed zucchini in about 20 minutes (@%$&^ on Rachel Ray).[/quote]

[geese4u]

[quote=shel;219415]So how do you bake a potato in 20 minutes?

scb


You have to cheat a little, but if you start them in the microwave, and finish them in the oven with the steaks, they are easy to complete in 20 minutes.

[MaryB]

Invest in a food saver and make large batches of chili, soup, roasts, you name it. Vacuum bag it and you have boil in a bag leftovers straight from the freezer. For liquids like soup I freeze it in a bowl, pop it out then vac pack it. Still munching on the last bit of BBQ pulled pork from last falls big cook.

[greyeaglem]

It takes some planning to get fast meals together, but once you get the hang of it, it's easy. I have a miniature (5 qt.) Nesco electric roaster that I prefer over a crock pot. I like it because it can work like a crock pot on low setting, but can also roast a chicken, beef or pork roast not to mention ribs, soups, stews or chili. They cost between $30 and$ 40. I also like my George Foreman grill. You can cook a pork chop from frozen to done in about 12 min. And a basic microwave. Mine is probably ten years old, and I love it. It is a Samsung that has settings for thawing frozen meats and cooking vegetables, both raw and frozen. P.M. me for specific dishes using the above mentioned equipment, if you are interested.

[tralfaz]

I use my 8" heavy aluminum omelette pan more than any other pan in my kitchen. It's just a smooth surface aluminum, no non-stick or anodized surface, but heavily seasoned. I mail ordered it from a restaurant supply company for about $15 plus a silicone handle cover that came separately. It works for sauteeing and frying, steaming, braising, stir frying, even the occasional quicky biscuit based pizza. It goes into the oven to finish off a piece of fish, etc. I also happen to have a lid that fits perfectly.

I also do this crazy thing, I roast a chicken every week or so, eat off it for a day or two, freeze the meat in chunks in a ziplock bag for later meals and make stock from the carcass (that I freeze in ice cube trays). After that I'll make a stirfry, Thai curry, Indian curry, even just some braised kale, then throw the frozen chicken chunks in the last 3 minutes, and viola, skillet dinner in minutes.

p.s. evidence for the last 20 years seems to show that aluminum is NOT linked with Alzheimer's, despite all the rumors. The Alzheimer's Association had a link to an article.

[shroomgirl]

Cast Iron, stove top to oven.....inexpensive and gives good crust.
I roasted a pork loin with rosemary, salt and pepper in it last night.....whole chickens, roasting roots......
"Joy of Cooking" is a basic cookbook.