Tips To Make Cooking Quicker And Easier

It occurred to me that I have a few little tricks I use to make decent meals quickly and without a lot of fuss. Nothing groundbreaking here; these are mostly common sense. Still, they may be helpful to consider, especially if you're feeling culinarily-stressed around the holidays.

-Make grains in large batches: About once a month, I make a huge pot of brown rice. I then section it out into individual servings and freeze them in plastic bags, then defrost them as needed. This is great because I'm not always stuck waiting for rice to cook (it takes so long!) and also because I can defrost exactly the amount if rice that is necessary for the recipe I'm making (no waste!).

I also like to make a big pot of quinoa on Sunday nights so I can use it as a side dish or base all week.

-Buy preminced garlic: I have a feeling a lot of people will find this sacrilegious, but for me it's much easier to just plop some already chopped garlic out of a jar than deal with buying cloves and slicing them as needed. Cuts prep time quite a bit for me, as I use garlic very frequently, and a big jar lasts me months.

-Always have canned tomatoes in the cabinet: I buy canned tomatoes almost every third time I grocery shop, because I use them so often. They're perfect as a base for so many different things, including chili, pasta sauce, tacos, enchiladas, jambalaya, whatever. The store brand ones are often very cheap and already flavored with stuff like oregano and green chile, too.

-Don't be afraid to modify the recipe: If you don't have something you need, don't be afraid to omit it or substitute for something similar. This recipe tasted perfectly fine without onions, and this one was fine with extra spinach instead of kale. For baked goods, I especially like subbing for eggs with applesauce; the recipe always ends up really moist (use about 1/4 cup applesauce per egg). For an added bonus, it's vegan.

Have any similar time-saving tips? Anything you do to simplify recipes or simplify cooking in general?

On an unrelated note, here we are, your Master of Fine Eats bloggers, dressed up and clowning around at an event last weekend.

Photo by Yvette Lopez

The Four-Minute Magical Breakfast

This is the breakfast that has changed my mornings. I first read about it in a magazine a couple of months ago, decided to try it, and have been hooked ever since; I eat it a minimum of three times a week. I call it "magical" because it is just so good, so fast, so easy, so basic (4 ingredients!) and so healthy (protein and veggies!!), it seems too good to be true. This little egg dish keeps me full and happy for hours, and it is the perfect morning meal when I have a long day of teaching and class ahead of me.

The Four-Minute Magical Breakfast

Ingredients:

2 or 3 eggs
splash of milk
tomatoes, spinach, onions, mushrooms, whatever vegetable(s) your heart desires
small handful of shredded cheese

1. Break the eggs into a fairly deep microwave-safe bowl and add a splash of milk. Whisk with fork.



2. Chop some veggies directly into the bowl. Here I used baby spinach (torn into smaller pieces) and tomatoes. Stir around.



3. Microwave uncovered for 1 minute and 30 seconds.
4. Stir, add small handful of shredded cheese (here I used mozzarella), stir again.
5. Microwave for another 45 seconds to 1 minute depending on your microwave, stir, top with salt and pepper to taste.
6. Eat your scrambled mini-omelet!





Cooking time can vary based on your microwave. You might also want to put a small plate over the top of the bowl to keep the heat in, but this can also affect cooking time. I've heard some people are wary of microwaving eggs, but I love the fact that I don't have to dirty a bowl, a pan, and a cutting board for some good eggs in the morning: as you can see, the whole meal takes place in one little bowl.

One of the best things about this recipe is its versatility. You can make it with egg whites, you can make it with leftover veggies from last night's dinner, you can top it with salsa, you can eat it on toast. Make it spicy with Pepperjack cheese and green chiles, make it Greek with feta. Use more eggs if you're hungrier. Add pre-cooked sausage, add chopped peppers, omit the milk, douse it in hot sauce, use fresh dill or basil---whatever your tastes, you can modify this quick little dish to suit them.

If any of you try this, please let me know what you think. I'm also always open to new suggestions for fast, good and healthy breakfasts, so what do you guys eat in the morning?

In Which I Learn to Love Swiss Chard

I started reading food blogs about a year ago, when I was considerably less adventurous in my attitudes towards unfamiliar ingredients. Leeks? Had no idea what they were. Thai fish sauce? Sounded sketchy. Jicama? Ji-what? I kept reading about a mysterious vegetable called swiss chard, and I was getting pissed off. Was it just me? Was I the only person ignorant to the existence of swiss chard? What was this thing that so many food-conscious people were eating and why didn't I know about it? It sounded weird, scary, gourmet-esque, and undoubtedly out of my grad school student price range. Finally, after about the 17th mention of swiss chard, I googled it and set off to the grocery store to try it for myself.

I'm happy to report that swiss chard is neither "gourmet," nor expensive. Swiss chard is a leafy green similar to spinach, but with an earthier, heartier flavor. It's incredibly healthy (check this out), it's fairly filling, it tastes really good, and it's versatile. And at the Albertson's closest to me, it costs about $1.99 for a huge bunch.

I frequently sautee up some chard as a side dish, but I've also used it in soups and in stir-frys. Here is an easy step-by-step recipe for my favorite way to prepare swiss chard, something I call, uncreatively, "Sauteed Garlic Swiss Chard."

Here is what you'll need:



1/4 to 1/2 of a bunch of swiss chard (1/4 is enough for one person)
2 or so tbsp of olive oil
some garlic (however much you like. Yeah, I use the preminced garlic. It's easier!)
salt and pepper to your taste

1. Chop up your chard. The first time I prepared chard, I read that you're supposed to fold/roll the leaf and tear roughly with the knife, away from the center stem. This works pretty well, but do whatever feels natural to you. You will want to chop off the end stems and discard them. They are edible, but they're a bit more sour.

2. Heat the oil in a medium-sized pan. Once it is hot, add the garlic.

3. Once the garlic is just the teensiest bit browned, add in the chopped chard. It will seem like it is way too much, but chard shrinks down quite a bit. Make sure you toss the chard well in the pan, so it becomes covered with the oil. Probably use a spatula or a wooden spoon for this.

4. Keep stirring/tossing the chard around the pan until it becomes wilted and wet, about 5 or so minutes. Once this happens, cook it about one minute more, until it is hot and seems pretty thoroughly cooked. It should look, more or less, like this:



5. Sprinkle on some salt and pepper and eat!

You can also try adding ginger, red pepper flakes, basil, dill, or whatever spice you like for more flavor. Throw some onions, leeks, or asparagus in the pan if you want a greater variety of vegetables.




Here I'm eating chard as a companion to baked eggs and tomato salad. It is a good meal.

Quick & Easy Meal

If you're looking for a quick & easy Saturday night meal, I made this for dinner a few nights ago. With only 4 ingredients (not counting salt & pepper), chances are you have everything you need for this sitting in your kitchen right now!* FYI, the chicken was perfectly cooked, and tasted terrific over a box of Goya Mexican Rice.

All credit goes to Kristin of Cheap Healthy Good. Check out her interesting feed-my-fiancee-for-a-week on-$25 experiment, going on right now.

*Note to New Mexicans: If you can, use the El Pinto Medium Salsa that comes in the really big jar--perfect seasoning.