Short Cut Cooking

Don't have time to baste, broil and bake? Don't worry! We've got tricks that'll help you turn convenience foods into memorable meals — in minutes.

If you're sick of takeout and too tired to spend an hour in the kitchen, we have simple and tasty solutions for you. Many convenience foods can be easily doctored up so that your meals taste like home cooking — but involve far less effort.

Shortcut strategies

- Purchase dried bean, rice and pasta mixes with flavor packets so that you don't have to measure out lots of spices and seasonings. (Buy reduced-sodium varieties if you're following a low-salt diet.)

- Eliminate slicing and dicing with packages of fresh or frozen vegetables that are already cleaned and chopped or shredded.

- Take home a whole roasted chicken to make a quick chicken salad, burrito or wrap.

- Use canned and dehydrated soups as bases for heartier soups and stews.

Short on time, long on flavor

Jodie Shield, MEd, RD, recipe developer and nutrition consultant to The Chicago Tribune, shares some of her super-fast meal ideas below. A few more tips come from Bev Bennett, cookbook author and weight-loss columnist for The Los Angeles Times Syndicate.

- For quick jambalaya, stir-fry salad-size shrimp, diced low-fat Italian sausage and chopped bell pepper. Combine with a cooked Cajun-style rice mix until well blended.

- One-dish pasta entrées make simple family meals. Try adding chopped broccoli and diced lean ham to a cooked reduced-fat macaroni-and-cheese mix. Or make a vegetarian version with chopped fresh tomatoes and lightly steamed asparagus tips.

- Feed a crowd with a wild rice-turkey casserole: Stir-fry leftover turkey breast, chopped broccoli and dried cranberries; combine with a cooked wild-rice mix.

- Go vegetarian with black bean burritos. Stir-fry diced onions and combine them with canned black beans (rinsed and drained) and a cooked rice mix. Layer down the center of tortillas, top with salsa and low-fat shredded cheddar cheese, roll up, and bake until heated through and the tortillas are slightly browned.

- Add a dash of lime juice, hot sauce and a cup of chopped cooked chicken breast to canned chicken soup. Sprinkle with cilantro and you've got hot-and-sour soup in a jiffy.

- Slice and arrange store-bought, precooked polenta in a 9-inch square pan; top with soy-based chorizo and a little tomato sauce. Bake until just heated through; and you'll be dining Italian-style with almost no effort.

13 Quick Dishes
Now that you have your pantry stocked, here are just a few of the delicious dishes you can toss together—no recipe required!

Chicken Salad: Combine pre-cooked chicken breast, diced roasted red peppers, fat-free mayonnaise and gourmet mustard; spoon mixture into a whole-wheat pita.

Hummus: Purée together chickpeas, tahini, garlic and lemon juice; serve with baked corn chips or whole-wheat pita wedges.

Tomato Pie: Top prepared pizza crust with garden-style pasta sauce, reduced-fat Parmesan cheese and oregano.

Royal Rueben: Make coleslaw (combine shredded cabbage/carrot mix and fat-free mayo); place slaw on whole-grain bread; top with lean roast beef and reduced-fat Swiss cheese.

Spicy Salmon: Combine canned salmon, diced pickled jalapeños, gourmet mustard and fat-free mayo.

Asian Chicken: Coat cubed, pre-cooked chicken breast with hoisin sauce; toss with water chestnuts and chopped celery.

Chicken Fajitas: Top whole-wheat tortillas with slices of pre-cooked chicken breast, green bell peppers and red onion; serve with fat-free sour cream and salsa.

Moroccan Couscous: Add boiling water to whole-wheat couscous; let stand 5 minutes. Add chopped mixed dried fruit, ground cumin and sliced almonds.

Turkey Wrap: Spread gourmet mustard on a whole-wheat tortilla; top with smoked turkey breast, reduced-fat cheese, shredded lettuce and sliced tomato; roll up.

Mexican Beans: Combine three bean varieties (black, white, pink), canned tomatoes, diced yellow bell pepper, chopped fresh cilantro and chili powder.

Chicken-Chutney Sandwich: Spread chutney on whole-grain bread; top with slices of pre-cooked chicken breast and red lettuce.

Thai Fruit: Combine fresh and/or canned fruit (such as pineapple, mango, melon, grapes, papaya), sliced almonds and light coconut milk.

Barbecued Pulled Pork: Combine shredded, cooked pork and barbecue sauce; serve on whole-grain bread.


By: Leslie Fink, MS, RD, WW