Tag: #makeahead

Slow Cooker to the Rescue! Pork Chops with Apple, Potato, and Kale (Gluten Free!)

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A slow cooker is a fantastic tool for anyone interested in creating time-saving healthy dishes.  My Mom first bought one in the late 70’s when she went back to work part-time after being home with three kids for many years.  She made a great beef pot roast with this tool and I’m sure she appreciated coming home to a fully cooked, warm, nutritious meal after a busy workday.  As an adult, I did not own a slow cooker until about 12 years ago when I inherited one. Since this appliance takes up valuable kitchen real estate, I thought I’d better figure out more recipes than Mom’s pot roast if it was going to be worth it to keep the slow cooker in my house.

I did figure out a number of recipes to make in the slow cooker and it has become an important tool in our house to help with weekday meal planning.  Many of the published slow cooker recipes call for searing the meat ahead of time and I never did that because I didn’t want to have another pan to clean…it seemed to defeat the purpose of the ease of using a slow cooker.  So, when my slow cooker broke a little more than a year ago, I investigated slow cookers with a sear option…I found this one with a stovetop-safe cooking pot that is very easy to clean…..I totally recommend this unit and would never again buy one without this option.  When I made Mom’s pot roast recipe with the new cooker, the increase in the depth and intensity of the flavour was amazing! 

So, this fall in my quest to create a new recipe for my slow cooker, I came up with this pork chop recipe that was cooked with apples, potatoes, carrots, onions, and kale.  Whenever I use the slow cooker, I always want to make sure that the dish is a balanced meal in itself so that there is nothing else you need to do for that meal. (Of course, adding a salad is always a good plan!)  We loved the flavours in this dish! It was slightly sweet because of the apples, which was a nice departure from my usual savoury cooking. There were four servings in this dish, with leftover veggies and broth. After the four servings were enjoyed, I didn’t want to throw away the remaining broth and veggies, so I pureed them with my hand blender and now had a lovely soup to enjoy for a few lunches!  You have to love it when your efforts limit waste and also provide easy extra meals!  The picture on the left is the pork chop dinner and the picture on the right is the leftover veggies, apples and broth blended into soup.  (If you are not into soup, use 6 pork chops and that would use up all the veggies).

Here’s what it looked like in progress:

Try this recipe out and let me know how you liked it!  Also, I’d love to hear about your favourite slow cooker recipes. Happy cooking friends!

Turkey Tips to Reduce Your Stress in the Kitchen

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Canadian Thanksgiving is coming up this weekend and many of us have turkey at this time.  Lots of people think that cooking a turkey is complicated and stressful, and I get that.  But, if you’ve ever roasted a chicken, you can roast a turkey!  It’s just a lot bigger!!  To be honest, I get why people are stressed about it.  It takes time and there’s a lot of mess that goes along with it.  The only way to avoid the time and the mess is to find a restaurant that serves turkey dinner, or order the pre-cooked turkey and sides from your local grocery store.  Those may be perfectly good options for many families at times, so don’t hesitate to go for it if that’s what you need.  Being together is what’s important!  Chances are if you are reading a food blog, you are not going to choose those options, but you are looking for ways to make a great dinner and to simplify it where you can.  One way to do that is to opt for a potluck.  If you are hosting, perhaps you’ll do the turkey, stuffing, and gravy and ask the rest of the friends and family to bring the appetizers, side dishes, and dessert.  This is perfectly acceptable and I’ve found that friends and family are always happy to contribute in this way.

If you choose to do it all yourself, you’ll need some stress saving tips!  The biggest suggestion I have is to make your turkey a day ahead.  Yes, you read that correctly.  If you’ve read my post What does cooking ahead at Christmas look like at our house?  you’ll recognize some of the information below and you’ll know that we’ve been doing this in our family for many years. It’s been a great success and a stress reliever.  To be honest, we thought it was a terrible idea when my Mom suggested it way back then, but it works like a charm.  The turkey is tender and delicious every time.  (Keep reading to find out how we keep it from drying out).  My husband and I even do all the side dishes (except for one) and gravy the day ahead and reheat them before the dinner.  It’s not actually a time saver because it takes the same amount of time to do it ahead, but it’s definitely a stress reliever!

Here are the benefits:

  • You can prepare everything at your own pace without worrying when the guests will arrive
  • You can be free to chat with your friends and family because you don’t need to spend all afternoon in the kitchen getting things ready
  • You’ll have more energy on the day you are hosting because you haven’t been cooking since the early morning
  • The very messy parts of dealing with the carving of the turkey and cleaning all the greasy pans gets done the day before your guests arrive.  You simply warm up all the dishes in your oven and pull them out when it’s time to serve!

If you haven’t heard of making your turkey a day ahead, you should really give it a go the next time you are roasting a turkey.  Here’s how you do it:

  1. Stuff and roast the turkey as you normally would
  2. Once the turkey is fully cooked, as indicated by the meat thermometer, take it out of the oven and let it rest for about 15 minutes
  3. Remove the skin from the breasts and underside of the turkey and set aside
  4. Carve the turkey into slices, remove legs and wings
  5. Place your turkey slices into an oven safe dish and cover completely with the skin of the turkey.  (The skin is what will keep the turkey moist when you reheat it).  Place the legs and wings on the sides of the dish.
  6. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight
  7. The next day, bring the dish to room temperature before placing in the oven at 275 degrees for about a half hour to 40 minutes.  Keep the dish covered.  (Time will vary depending on the amount of turkey you have as well as your oven temperature)

 

turkey a day ahead
Moist and tender turkey, roasted a day ahead!

 

Our turkey always comes out moist and tasty when we do it this way.  The biggest tip I have for making this a success is to use a meat thermometer.  It is virtually foolproof and takes the guesswork out of wondering if your roast is done.  I have used that same meat thermometer for almost 30 years now and it works like a charm on roasts of all kinds.  If you don’t have a meat thermometer, get one today!  It’s a great way to be sure your meat is done properly and an efficient way to monitor the cooking progress.

I don’t eat a lot of things with gravy anymore, but I do love gravy with my turkey!  I find it very stressful to make gravy once the roast is done and you’re trying to get everything to the table while it’s still hot.  So, one day a few years ago, I searched the internet to see if there was a way to make gravy without drippings and I found a great recipe that I have been using ever since for any kind of roast.  I follow the directions and just add my own drippings to it at the end.  It’s not quite as good as Mom’s, but it is very tasty and cuts down on the last-minute stress.  Here’s the link:

Gravy without drippings recipe

My husband and I also like to do all the side dishes ahead of time and reheat them too.  I never thought that reheated mashed potatoes would be good, but they have worked for us when we reheated them in the microwave.  I like to make sure I have vegetables of different colours. It’s nutritious, tasty, interesting and looks great on the plate.  So, we have done a combination of potatoes (mashed or roasted), squash, glazed carrots, green beans (steamed or roasted), mashed cauliflower, and brussel sprouts with prosciutto over the years.  (We do the brussel sprouts and prociutto only about an hour before serving to keep the bright green colour…I’ll post that recipe in a future blog post). 

We always choose one white, one orange and one green vegetable.  We put all of the cooked side dishes in separate oven-safe dishes and then reheat them in the oven along with the turkey, or microwave if we need more space than we have in the oven.  Of course, doing it this way means you use most of the oven-safe dishes you own!  But it’s still easier and less stressful clean up compared to doing everything from scratch on the day you are hosting.  So, give it all a try and reduce your stress…If you’ve got any questions or suggestions, drop me a note in the comment section or at everydayhomegourmet@gmail.com

Happy cooking, happy hosting, and Happy Thanksgiving!

*some of this information was previously posted by everydayhomegourmet in What does cooking ahead at Christmas look like at our house?

Apples and Broccoli – a recipe that emerged from looking in the fridge

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One of the things I like to do best is look in the fridge to see what’s available and try to combine ingredients in a way I haven’t done before.  About a year ago, I had a ton of broccoli on hand and we’d already eaten it a few different ways that week, so I was looking for some way to use up the broccoli and create something new for us.  That was the birth of the Broccoli Apple Salad with red onions and pine nuts.  I love the colours together and the flavours work well too.  Typically, I use red or white wine vinegar in my salad dressings, but I thought the slightly milder, sweet flavour of rice wine would work here and I really like how it comes out.  I’ve done this salad with broccoli that was already steamed and also with raw broccoli.  I prefer the raw version, but I know that some diners would prefer more tender broccoli…so, as always, choose what’s best for you!  I also like leaving the skin on the apple…it adds fibre and nutrients, it looks nice – and, it saves time!

*Drop me a note to let me know about dishes you created with ingredients on hand…I’m always looking for new ideas!  Happy Cooking, Friends!

Broccoli Apple Salad

  • Servings: 8
  • Difficulty: very easy
  • Print

Broccoli, apple, red onion, pine nuts, rice vinegar (1)

I came up with this recipe when I had lots of broccoli and wanted to use it in a different way.  I checked the fridge to see what was there and this is what I created…try it with grilled or roasted meats of any kind, as well as burgers.  It could also be a great accompaniment to a traditional quiche or frittata.

Ingredients

  • 6 to 8 cups chopped broccoli
  • 1 apple, skin on, cut into about one-inch pieces
  • about ⅛ cup thinly sliced red onion (the thinner, the better!)
  • about ⅛ cup toasted pine nuts (optional)

Dressing:

  • a little less than ¼ cup olive oil
  • about ½ cup rice vinegar
  • about ½ tsp salt
  • about ¼ tsp ground pepper

Directions

  1. Toast pine nuts until golden brown, about 4 minutes in pan on the stove on medium.  Watch carefully so they don’t burn. Set aside to cool
  2. Combine broccoli, apples, onions and nuts in a serving bowl
  3. Add oil, vinegar, salt and pepper and combine well
  4. Let sit for at least 15 minutes to allow dressing to absorb into broccoli, especially if using raw broccoli

Variations:  Use raw or lightly steamed broccoli.  Use walnuts or pecans instead of pine nuts, or make it nut-free.  Keeps nicely in the refrigerator for 4 or 5 days

recipe by: everydayhomegourmet.blog/  

Summer cook ahead #3 – Tri-colour Pasta Salad

Posted in Side dishes, Summer cook ahead1 Comment

When I was young, I was not a pasta fan, which is not typical for kids, and certainly not for kids of Italian backgrounds!  I think it was the soft texture that didn’t agree with me at that time. There were lots of soft foods I did not like. I loved all the sauces my Mom and grandmother made and would enjoy them with crusty bread and their wonderful salads.  When I started to do some of my own cooking in my late teens, I knew very well that most people loved pasta and I wanted to like it too, so I began adding lots of crunchy veggies to my dishes to help me overcome my texture issues. After all, pasta is available in many shapes and colours and is a versatile and affordable food, so I knew I needed to like it!  The pasta salad recipe I developed became a very popular dish at my parties, and a number of my family members now make that salad regularly too. My Mom and grandmother used to call it Macaroni Salad…in fact, I think we referred to most pasta as macaroni in those days. I remember my grandmother asking, “What kind of macaroni do you want?”.

I started making my pasta salad recipe for parties and get-togethers, but for many years now, I‘ve been including pasta salad in my rotation of summer cook ahead salads.  (Check out previous posts for other summer cook ahead dishes and tips).  This Tri-Colour Pasta Salad a great side dish with lots of crunchy vegetables in it and if you top it with grilled chicken or other grilled meat or fish, it can be a complete meal too. For vegetarians or vegans, you can use chickpeas or other beans and legumes as the protein.  I like to use 3 coloured fusilli for this dish, but you can use any pasta you like. For those who require gluten-free dishes, there are many good gluten-free pasta options available as well.

Pasta Salad (2)My dressing uses olive oil, red wine vinegar, dijon mustard, salt, and pepper.  Cook the pasta according to directions for ‘al dente’. When the pasta is still quite hot add the dressing.  This will allow the pasta to fully absorb the dressing, increasing the flavour of the dish and you won’t have to adjust the seasonings before serving.  Thanks again to our local chef friend, Tim C. for that tip years ago! It has improved all my summer side salads immensely! I used to find it so frustrating to make the potato, rice or pasta salad that tasted great when I first made it, only to find when I went to serve it a few hours later, it tasted like it didn’t have enough dressing, so I’d add more.  Thanks to Tim’s direction, I never have to adjust the seasonings before serving. I love that!

As far as vegetables go, I steam broccoli for 2 minutes leaving it a bright green.  I used to include those miniature canned corn cobs too, which people liked, but I haven’t included those for a few years now, mostly because it’s something that I only used in this dish and I didn’t regularly stock it in my pantry.  (As time has passed, I prefer to keep my pantry stocked with a wide variety of ingredients that I use for multiple dishes. It makes things so much easier! Hmmm…sounds like an idea for another blog post!).  I also like to use green onions, red and green peppers, artichoke hearts, and sliced olives.  Of course, you can use whatever vegetables you like to make this your own. But finishing with fresh basil is a must! I hope you enjoy this versatile dish as much as my family and I do. Head on over to the recipe tab for full instructions. If you create another version, I’d love to hear about it! Happy cooking, friends!

 

Keep it Easy in the Summer Kitchen…Cook ahead!

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If you’ve read this blog before, you’ll know I am a big fan of spending some time on advance preparation to make healthy and delicious weekday meals and to make clean up easier.  Usually, when we think of cooking ahead, soups, stews, and casseroles come to mind, but typically that is not food most of us would want to eat on hot summer days. Now that we are well into the summer heat, many people want to spend as much time outdoors and as little time in the kitchen as possible.  Of course, we still need to eat healthy balanced meals, so how can we put all that together?

Once again, for me the key is choosing cook ahead options, but with a summer flair!  When I was growing up, our house did not have air conditioning and on those hottest summer days our Mom would announce in the morning, “Tonight we are having ‘cold supper’!”  These meals were not less work for my Mom, but it was time spent chopping rather than time spent using a hot stove or oven that would heat up the house even more. I always loved “cold supper” because we got some great salads that Mom made like tomato and cucumber salad, homemade coleslaw, marinated green and yellow beans, potato salad and our favourite Italian cold cuts or cold roasted chicken from the grocery store.  The store-bought chicken was a rare occurrence because our Mom usually made everything from scratch. It was all delicious and there was lots of variety in those meals!

In my own kitchen, I’ve used the memory of those dinners to keep cooking easy in the summer and always have cold salads and fresh marinated veggies on hand to make quick and easy meals.  Planning ahead also takes the guesswork out of what you are going to make and also ensures that you have a healthy meal on hand. Each week, I spend an hour or two making either a rice, pasta, couscous or potato salad and then prepare some fresh beans to marinate, or Mom’s tomato and cucumber salad, or some grilled asparagus or zucchini.  Then, throw a quick marinade on your favourite protein and grill away! I usually make enough of the salads and side dishes for four days worth of meals and we usually add a fresh green salad too.

As an example, here is how my 4 nights of summer cook ahead options looked when I made a rice salad, coleslaw, and marinated green beans a couple of weeks ago:

Day 1:  Make the Rice Salad, coleslaw and green beans and have it with a burger

Day 2:  Grilled chicken, rice salad, coleslaw, green beans (and a green salad, if you like)

Day 3:  Grilled fish, rice salad, coleslaw, green beans (and a green salad)

Day 4:  Grilled steak, rice salad, coleslaw, green beans (and I always add sauteed mushrooms with steak!  It’s worth the extra few minutes of effort…)

 

Some skeptics might think this is a bit repetitive, but when you vary the protein, everything tastes different – and you’ll be so happy with the ease of not having to build an entire meal from scratch, while still getting to eat a great meal.  Once you have all the sides decided on and prepared, it takes very little thinking or time to add the meat, chicken, or fish to complete the meal, which reduces the stress of the question…”What are we having tonight?”

At the end of day 1, put all of your pre-prepared salads and side dishes in containers and you’ll be so happy on day 2, 3, and 4 when all you have to do is pull out those containers from the fridge and grill your favourite protein!  (Maybe it’s tofu for vegetarians or vegans!).IMG-2411 (2)

 

If you follow this plan, your prep and clean up will be a breeze.  You can also follow this plan when entertaining large groups. Get as much done ahead of time as you can and all that will be left to do is the grilling and socializing!

 

In summary, here are my tips for easy summer cooking and eating:

  • Fill your freezer with a variety of meats – buy what’s on sale in large quantities and bag them in freezer bags in smaller portions for easy use
  • Marinate your beef, poultry, fish, pork, or lamb ahead of time with your favourite flavours and put the portions and marinade in a freezer bag for later use.  (This saves time and clean up on the night you cook)
  • Choose either a rice, pasta, couscous, or potato salad and make enough for about 4 nights to keep your weekday prep and clean up simple
  • Decide on a vegetable side dish that can also be made ahead to complete the meal (my favourites are steamed marinated green beans, grilled asparagus, grilled zucchini and tomato/cucumber salad)
  • Add a green salad to any meal for some variety, leafy greens and extra veggies
  • For desserts:  keep ice-cream, frozen yogurt and individual sponge cakes on hand.  Top them with seasonal fruit, caramel or chocolate sauce and/or whipped cream.  These are minimal prep, delicious and fresh tasting options

I’ll be featuring my make-ahead salad and side dish recipes for the next few weeks, so be sure to check back to get the recipes…Lemon couscous salad will be the next recipe!  It’s yummy! Thanks for reading and please feel free to leave a comment with your tips for summer cooking, eating and entertaining! I’d love to hear your ideas.

Happy cooking!

 

Tomato Stuffed Grilled Peppers – great for summer BBQ’s!

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In my last post, I talked about our five couple dinner group that’s been together for many years.  Part of the reason that the group has been so successful in maintaining the five times per year joint dinner parties is that the dates are set one year in advance.  Typically, we get together in September, December, February, April, and June. If you’ve caught the subtlety of where I started the year of get-togethers, you might guess that a number of people in the group are involved in education.  September is the start of the new year for educators!! And that means that June is year end!

Our June party happened around the middle of the month, and this is typically the most casual of the get-togethers since it’s a backyard / pool party, and the start of easy, breezy times with family and friends.  As a host, it’s probably the least complicated in terms of food prep. One couple brings appetizers. The hosts barbeque the main course, other couples bring salads and dessert. We hosted the June party and did Greek flavoured chicken and beef brochettes for the main meal, using this awesome marinade my brother made for us last summer.  We also served Greek flavoured lemon potatoes and an interesting side dish that I’d been wanting to try for a while.

About 5 years ago, I cut a recipe out of the Boston Globe Magazine on a trip to Cape Cod for Roasted Peppers Stuffed with Grape Tomatoes that I knew I would love to try.  So, five years later, I finally tried it!!  It was so pretty and elevated the simple, healthy ingredients to something special, and it’s definitely doable for all home cooks!  These are ingredients that I always have on hand and are presented in a way that makes everyone think you did something fancy. To me, that’s the essence of being an ‘Everyday Home Gourmet’….use simple ingredients, make them tasty, and present them in a visually interesting way!  No need for fancy or complicated ingredients or cooking methods! Simple is beautiful…it’s the essence of Mediterranean cooking.

This was the first time I made this beautiful and tasty side dish, and I’ll definitely do it again!  The original recipe involved roasted peppers stuffed with the uncooked tomato salad and served at room temperature.  In our version, we grilled the peppers slightly, then stuffed them with the marinated tomato salad and roasted them in the oven until the tomatoes were warm and slightly blistered.  

They were delicious and would be amazing as intended in the original recipe or warmed as we did. The key is to roast the peppers enough to get grill marks and the amazing roasted pepper flavour, but still keep the peppers firm enough to stuff.  Also, the original recipe called for sardines, but I’m not a big fan of sardines, so I used sliced Kalamata olives instead to get the salty flavour and contrast in texture as compared to the tomatoes. This can be made ahead and is such a pretty and tasty dish that will satisfy and impress your guests!  I love healthy everyday ingredients that are elevated into something special! It’s what makes the ‘everyday turn into home gourmet’….Happy cooking everyone!  Experiment and be well.