Missy, I'm going to link a post I did for Lee at Gails drat, it's the Paragraph from Hades...
okay, I'm going to RE-FORMAT the link as well....
(and I'm adding more text to clarify things too)
I think this idea would work for one person. I certainly applied it for the two years I lived alone in NJ.
One hour of dicing and slicing veggies gives four meals: Stir-Fry, Pasta Primavera, Ratatouille and Calabacitas
Posted at Gail's Swap: Marilyn in FL:
Mar 15, 2001 6:41 PM
...supplemented with brown rice (the bagged stuff that cooks in 10 minutes), pasta, whole wheat cous-cous, or tortillas and beans.
Precutting the veggies saves an infinite amount of prep time for those days when you drag into the house and the most you want to do is grab Ben & Jerry...or at least one of their containers.
But you--you clever person! were smart and had spent one hour slicing and dicing a bunch of fresh veggies, so whipping up a tasty meal is now only going to take you 10 minutes. And it will be healthy! So you can still have your B&J, but without the guilt-ridden topping.
I won't address precise cooking times or exact ingredients. This varies with each person's likes or dislikes. And I've listed ingredients for each recipe, but the cook can use whatever he or she likes.
I always start with the onions to bring out the natural sugars, then work from there adding the hardest density ingredients first, then medium density, then soft foods which require little cooking time.
I only blanch two veggies--broccoli and cauliflower--for 4 minutes in already boiling water, remove and run under cold water to stop cooking. Dry on paper towels and then add as medium density. Or sometimes I don't and just add them fresh and crunchy.
Cooking methodology
Hard: (needs the most time to cook): carrots, bell peppers, onions.
Medium: zucchini, squash, blanced veggies, eggplant
Soft: mushrooms, waterchestnuts, peas, cabbage, green onions (scallions)
Some things you've got to do last minute so you don't lose the immediacy of the flavoring:
minced fresh ginger
minced fresh garlic
This takes a little practice, because precise cooking times imply everyone cuts up the food the exact same size. Heck, I don't even cut up my own food the same way each time. But I do cook my carrots until they're done the way we like them.
Some folks may like their veggies a little crunchy, some may like them cooked to mush. It's up to you.
A farmer's market is a great place to pick up veggies at a great price. I never cease to be amazed that 4 large bags of veggies is the same cash outlay as one small chunk of meat. Have good quality zip-lock bags handy and dice or slice the foods, keeping them separate.
However...don't prep more than you'll use up
within a few days because they'll go bad quicker after being peeled and cut up.
But, on the other hand...they'll also get used up quicker if they're prepped to cook.
Here we go...have fun!
Stir-Fry: (10 min)
Diced Onions
Minced Garlic **fresh day of cooking
Minced Fresh Ginger **fresh day of cooking
Carrot Coins
Sweet Red Peppers
Zucchini slices
Yellow Squash coins
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Red Cabbage
Canned or Fresh mushrooms
Canned waterchestnuts
Green Onions
Snowpeas
Stir-fry in peanut oil, working with hardest veggies up to softest. Add a little chicken broth if things stick. Season with soy sauce and chili-garlic sauce, a condiment that I could not live without. Top with peanuts or sesame seeds over a bed of brown rice.
Pasta Primavera: (10 min)
Diced Onions
Minced Garlic
Carrot Coins
Sweet Red Peppers
Broccoli
Canned or Fresh mushrooms
Green onion
Heavy Cream
Cook veggies in same manner as stir-fry, except use olive oil instead of peanut oil. Season with oregano and basil, salt and pepper.
In separate pan, reduce heavy cream to 1/2, stir in a bit of butter and some good parmesan cheese. Have pasta cooked, then nap sauce over veggies and pasta.
Ciao!
Ratatouille: (30 min)
Onions
diced Eggplant (which I may or may not add depending on the position of the moon and which side of the web I crawled out of...)
Zucchini
Mushrooms
Large Can of Tomatoes (packed in puree)
Garlic, minced
Saute onions till soft, add garlic.
Add 1 Tbl dried basil, 1 heaping teaspoon of salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper.
Add eggplant, zucchini, and tomatoes. Add mushrooms. Cook until it looks French.
This works well over noodles, cous-cous, or stuffed in pita bread. It also works with pasta and tortillas. Crusty French bread is a given if another starch isn't used.
Bon Appétit!
Calabacitas: (20 min)
Onions
Garlic
Fresh or canned Corn
Canned green chilies
Canned tomatoes
Zucchini
Yellow Squash
Cheddar or Mexican cheese
Saute onions. Add garlic. Add zucchini, squash and some canned chicken broth. Add canned tomatoes, corn, and green chiles. Grate Cheddar Cheese or Mexican mixed cheese over the top. Serve with warm tortillas and black beans.
Buenas noches!
http://boards.epicurious.com/thread.jspa?messageID=426235
The strips come out so straight and all the fat drips out. (We've yet to use it for anything else