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May 07, 2007
Planning ahead is the key
Are homemade, sit-down dinners a thing of the past in your home? Here are some tips to help you get dinner on the table...quick and healthy.
1. Start the night before, even if it's only to cut up some carrots, bell peppers, celery and cucumber; then, when the ravenous family arrives, they can snack on vegetables with dip while you fling together a batch of chili or grill some fish fillets.
2. The night before is also the time to load the slow-cooker with ingredients for stews or braises. Refrigerate it, then plug it in next morning before you leave for work.
3. Realize that you are probably tired at the end of the day. Think about dinner ahead, and get at least part of a meal ready in advance. Just having to think about what you are going to serve is enough to make youcall for takeout.
4. Plan on cooking more meat than you need at one meal, and use it in another. An extra chicken breast or salmon fillet comes in handy. So does a double batch of rice or tomato sauce. Making a big batch of soup, pasta sauce, meatloaf or muffins on the weekend is another suggestion.
5. Freezer and pantry shelves can be loaded up with supplies. Fill you freezer full of fruit and vegetables, chicken and fish, the pantry stocked with canned beans, rice and pasta, low-sodium sauces, dressings and marinades, peanut butter and nuts.
6. Combine cooking steps to speed things up. For example: When cooking pasta, add vegetables to the boiling water at the last minute - along with a tomato or meat sauce heated in another pot.
7. Buy a whole barbecued chicken: It makes a really good dinner with a baked potato and ready-cut salad. And ready-chopped fresh vegetables make easy stir-fried dishes.
Posted by Lisa at May 7, 2007 07:37 AM
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Tracked on September 23, 2007 09:47 AM