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Kitchen Goddess

Beyond the Casserole

Get a Home-Cooked Meal on the Table Every Night

January 4, 2008
by Andrea Farmun

 
 

Getting dinner on the table every night has somehow turned into a Herculean task. After a hard day at the office, the last thing we want to do is more work. Hence the question: How can I feed my family a nice, home-cooked meal and not have my head explode?

In the 1950s, the modern woman embraced all of the conveniences that food marketers sent her way. Bring on the TV dinners, frozen foods and condensed soup for those ever-popular casserole dishes! At the time, the novelty was fun and we were happy to pretend we were living in an episode of The Jetsons.

Being Italian, my grandmother and mother eschewed modern conveniences. The closest thing to a casserole that we ever got was a tray of lasagna (with both the noodles and sauce made at home, of course). My first encounter with a casserole — the ubiquitous tuna with fried onion pieces — was in seventh-grade home economics. I remember thinking, “So this is what other people eat for dinner!”

A casserole revival is unlikely, but you can still get a delicious, nutritious, home-cooked meal on the table in minutes flat. If you are tired of delivery pizza and Won Ton soup, read on. Your family will thank you.

Grill It

It really is as simple as it sounds. Gas grills have revolutionized outdoor cooking. What could be easier than throwing a steak, chicken breast, tofu or pork chop on a hot grill? Pair your grilled meats or tofu with a microwaved baked potato and a salad and you have an entire meal.

If you want to get really crazy, marinate your protein in a plastic bag with a store-bought marinade or even a zesty salad dressing. Marinate the meat or tofu before you leave for work in the morning and it will be perfect for grilling when you get home.

Cook for an Army

In my family, size matters when it comes to cooking. I pity the fool who would prepare a meal that feeds just the number of guests at a table. Abbondanza is, indeed, the name of the game. You never know when people will drop in, and leftovers mean extra meals and snacks. How do you think meatball sandwiches were ever invented anyway?

Think about doubling your recipes. That extra tray of lasagna, pot of chili or container of soup is a future night’s dinner. Some recipes naturally lend themselves to freezing, particularly meatloaf, stews, enchiladas, pot pies and even some desserts, such as cheesecake and certain pies and cookies.

Look at it this way: You get two or three meals and only one cleanup. If that doesn’t motivate you, nothing will.

Full-Meal Salads

It was Baltimore’s own John Waters who deemed iceberg lettuce the “polyester of vegetables.” But salads have moved beyond the green with no food value. Previously thought of as a side dish with minimal ingredients, salads have been elevated to entrée-like status. Salads today typically include every category on the food pyramid and are perfect as an easy-to-make evening meal.

With the advent of prewashed and packaged lettuces, salad-making could not be easier. Add a piece of grilled meat or fish, cheese, veggies, nuts, olives and even fruit. Get creative with your greens: The sky really is the limit when it comes to the salad bowl.

Soup’s On

Talk about comfort food. Give us your tired, your poor, your huddled masses — soup makes it all better. If you can chop, you can make soup. No need to spend days making broth on the stovetop, either. High-quality vegetable, chicken and beef stocks are available in any grocery store.

Whether you use a crockpot or a stock-pot, soup is an easy, nutritious and satisfying one-pot meal. Double up on any recipe and you have another night’s dinner sitting in the freezer.

Keep in mind, though, that when making a soup with noodles, pasta or rice, it’s best to cook the starch separately and add it to the soup when serving. Adding the starch beforehand can make it mushy.

The Frozen-Food Section

For some of us, there is nothing so liberating as popping dinner into the microwave, pressing a button and — voilà! — a meal in minutes. The brainchild of Clarence Birds-eye, frozen food didn’t catch on until the 1950s, when Swanson marketed its frozen meals as TV dinners.

Although some frozen foods are notoriously high in saturated fat and sodium, many brands now are actually good for you. Freezing fruits and vegetables at their peak helps them retain more vitamins than canned or even fresh versions.

I use frozen dinners as a fallback when family members are eating at different times or everyone is just too exhausted to think of even boiling a pot of water. Remember to read labels carefully to find the healthiest frozen meals.

Pasta Perfect

The great Italian filmmaker Federico Fellini was right when he said, “Life is a combination of magic and pasta.” This easy, fat-free and economical food is versatile enough to serve as a simple dinner for family or as something fancier for guests. Coming in a myriad of shapes and sizes, pasta is a pantry staple that can turn into a spur-of-the-moment feast.

You can keep things simple and toss pasta with some garlic, olive oil and parmesan, or you can make an elaborate sauce — it really depends on your mood and how much time you have. There is also no shame in buying ready-made pasta sauces — there are so many on the market that some supermarkets devote an entire aisle to them.

The key to good pasta-making is fully boiling water. Pasta added to water before it boils becomes mushy. Intense heat is necessary to get the desired al dente texture.

The Incredible Egg

Often thought to be the world’s most perfect food, the egg is rich in protein and vitamins. Previously given a bad rap for having too much cholesterol, the egg has been redeemed: The American Heart Association
has raised the weekly dietary allowance from three to four eggs for a healthy person. If cholesterol is really an issue, consider substituting egg whites or use a manufactured egg product.

Not just for breakfast, eggs can be a lifesaver at dinnertime. Next time you are struggling to come up with an idea for an evening meal, get the carton out of the fridge and consider putting together a frittata, an omelet, a quiche, huevos rancheros or even spaghetti carbonara. Perhaps it’s time to look at this morning staple in a new light. Let’s get cracking!

ANDREA FARNUM is a caterer, event planner and entertaining specialist with more than 20 years of culinary experience. Before turning to catering, Farnum worked for four years as a police officer in New York City. Visit her website at www.kitchen-goddess.com.

 
 
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