Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Cooking After A Busy Day

The last thing you want to do after a busy day is cook. The problem is what to eat? Do you go for a quick but fattening take out? Eat dinner at yet another restaurant or food court? Whip pout the microwave dinners? Or just eat another bowl of cereal and call it a day?
You can create easy and filling meals even when you’re too pooped to care what you eat. The key is to shop when you have the time and anticipate dinner hours like this. You can also shop on the way home to ensure you get fresh ingredients as well. I like to stock up on cans of deviled ham and chicken. Mix these with mayo, some tarragon or celery seeds and I have a creamy and tasty filling for sandwiches or a spread for crackers. Another must have is a can of tuna, whether plain or flavored. I usually have a tin of the Bumblebee lemon pepper flavored one. I love this in a simple salad of Romaine lettuce, grape tomatoes and assorted other veggies. I just put a simple vinaigrette on I,t serve it with crackers and it’s a filling yet light dinner. There’s also very little clean up too,

Of course there is the lure of a hot meal , especially after a hard or trying day. To me there’s nothing like a hot open faced roast beef or turkey sandwich. Just buy some fresh sliced meat at your deli counter, along with a jar of gravy and Kaiser rolls. Pour the heated gravy over the open faced sandwich and - voila- a hot comfort food. You can whip up some instant mashed potatoes if your prefer that with your meat and gravy. Another good idea is Knorr‘s Soup mixes. Their cream of leek and cream of spinach is a nice spin on soup and tastes like homemade. You can also cook up their spring vegetable a thin kind of soup, and load it up with orzo or pastina. This creates a flavorful and filling dish in no time. It’s better than a plate of pasta and just as satisfying.

Don’t despair after a busy day. There are plenty of easy , hot or cold filling dinners to make and create. They require very little time and very little effort. All you have to do is just kick back and savor them.

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