Cooking For The Whole Week

 Weekend cooking  can be a pain but it pays off, especially if you are planning to have it for the entire week. Saturday and Sunday are perfect days  to make those frozen meals for week night dining. There's so much you can make for a full five busy days ahead.

Be ready when you want  to cook a lot.Make sure that the cutting board is clean and wiped down. Are the knives sharpened? Do you have the right ones? Are the pots , both for stove top or for the microwave also clean and ready? When the utensils and gadgets are ready then look at what you have? Jarred sauces and pasta make for good weeknight dinners. They both store and freeze easily. Have boxes of your favorite pasta along with lasagna sheets for cooking. Have both read and white pasta sauces to cook with to vary the upcoming agenda of meals.beans are a vital ingredient in soups and stews. Make sure you have the appropriate number of cans . Also have a variety too, Chickpeas are versatile and can be used in everything form soups to  curries. red kidney beans are another must. They add flavor to soups like minestrone. Do you have enough herbs and spices. Make sure there is enough garlic and onion powder along with oregano and rosemary. Do you have enough of the basic seasonings such a as sea salt and peppercorns that can be freshly ground? Most importantly  - do you have the storage containers ready to be filled and stored.

As for recipes, again a hearty pasta such as penne or bucatini work well with reheating. You can just cook the pasta and then let everyone microwave their own cup of sauce. for later eating. They can be cooked together too.Another dish that can last well into the next weekend isa bean stew. Add any kind of bean you like or a combo of them such as chickpeas and cannellini along with a veggie such as spinach . Tomato paste and vegetable broth give it a smooth texture.  Keep in mind that you can add chicken or beef to this along with stretching it out with rice. or quinoa.For easier cooking with this use your crockpot It allows you to to go about yoru Saturday chores and errands with only having to check in once or twice to see how it's cooking. A meat based stew even lets you make some dumplings for a more filling meal. These can be made either plain or with herbs for a tasty extra.Of  course soups are a good dish to make. They're easy to to store and easy to reheat in the microwave. Take advantage of the season's bounty. A good squash, cauliflower ro pumpkin soup is easy to whip up especially if you have a bof soup pot and an immersion blender.

It's so easy to devote a weekend for weeknight cooking.Decide what you want to make. Get the ingredients and cook. You;ll have delicious homemade meals for the week ahead,

Casseroles With Punch

 Mention caseerole for dinner and most will cringe or frown. It's not always the asked for dinner choice. Yet adds some punch and your family may change their minds about it.

Lasagna surprisingly is one example of this classic dish.It's usually layers of lasagna noodles, tomato sauce both ricotta and mozzarella cheeses and ground beef. You could easily sub in a bechamel or white sauce Piedmontese style or  make it Valdostana from the Val" D'osta. This last is layered with yummy fontina cheese and ham, This lasagna is rich with cream  instead of tomatoes  You could also zing up traditional lasagna by adding a good dose of chili powder or red pepper flakes. This makes it arrabiata style. Another pasta based casserole is backed mac. This recipe can be varied and you can have fun with it. The classic recipe is  a mix of elbow macaroni, butter ,flour ,cheddar and milk. Red pepper is sdded to these usually bland blend to liven it up. Yet you could also add breadcrumbs on top for crunch along with a sprinkling of bacon bits. You could also add chopped ham to baked mac as well. Subbing in a different pasta can also give baked mac some excitement. Think penne  for a different take. Add some Parmesan for a different flavor too.

Chicken casserole. is usually made with shredded chicken , cream of chicken soup and cheddar cheese . This is layered and usually topped with a mix of breadcrumbs . shredded cheddar cheese and melted butter. You could add some peas and carrots to give it a pot pie feel.Another idea is adding kidney beans. For a Mexican flavor use Montery Jack cheese instead of the cheddar along with a base of rice and beans.You could also add a can fo tomato sauce or pureed ones for an enchilada vibe. There's also beef casseroles, always made with ground beef, You can have fun with this. Try a Sloppy Joe one topped with Hawaiian roll.s This is a great Friday or Saturday night dinner suggestion. It's taking ground chuck cooked with onion, bell peppers , onions and crushed tomatoes. Ketchup,  yellow mustard and dill pickle relish add some zest to it along with Worcester sauce and chili powder. You cna add cheddar cheese of you want or Montery Jack. The dish is topped with those split rolls and then brushed with butter. You could add bacon ot this or try a mix of beef and prok for something different.

Zest up that boring casseroles. Add a new ingedient like red pepper or change up the recipe.with a new sauce. Do what you want to create a casserole that everyone will love.

The Vegan Stew Dilemma

One of the highlights of any stew is the chunks of meat bobbing in it. They give it flavor and chewiness, along with much needed oomph. What happens when its' eliminated from the equation? There in lies the problem.

That is my dilemma, I 'm a meat eater in a vegan household.There was a recipe in Wednesday's New York Times Food section by regular Melissa Clark, It was a beef and onion stew , fortified with beer. It 's based on the Flemish carbonnade. It sounds wonderful and I can imagine the marriage of earthy beef with sweet onion,.Unfortunately the neat has to be erased from the picture. Do I make it anyway with just more onions? That would be eight onions!! It would turn into a side dish at that point  do I sub in firm tofu at that point?Or add faux beef crumbles to it. That works with Bolognese sauce and chili a stew itself,.The last is the kind that lets all the ingredients shine.A spoonful of it  and you have equal flavors of the protein, tomatoes and chiles. Yet one that solely or partially relies on the meat for taste is at a loss when the lesser stars such as carrots and potatoes have to carry the dish. Probably the best bet is getting the vegan beef chunks from Vegetarian Plus which is sold at Whole Foods. Theylook like lumpy meat balls. Hopefully the taste will compensate for that along with their ability to blend in.

Another idea is to look at vegan stew recipes that focus on the vegetables.Potatoes are pretty hearty and they could be considered the "meat" if there is none. One recipe that I could try is vegan Hungarian paprika stew.It's an intriguing blend of two kinds of paprika, sweet and smoked along with onions, bell peppers and tomatoes. A blob of yogurt tops it off , giving the fiery dish a refreshing dash of cool.Another potato based stew has leeks along with carrots,bell peppers and nutritional yeast.Cauliflower, cannellini beans  and kale can also be added to give it more body.Flax and chia seeds can also be added for more nutritional value. Chickpeas, the bean of the moment ,can also be the star of vegetarian stews. What I love about them is that they're so meaty and versatile. In a way they're like meat, flavoring the stew and acting as the backbone. Go exotic with a Lebanese style one, rich with za'atar and cumin. Tomato paste also are added for color and zing.It also has garlic but theis can be omitted if you want.

Yes, it would be nice to have an old fashioned beef or chicken stew.sadly, that;s a no go in my house. Luckily veggies and beans are great stand ins. They can give a rich, tasty stew, perfect on a cold day,