Good Housekeeping’s Quick ‘N’ Easy Cook Book: Short-Cut Recipes

Illustration from Good Housekeeping’s Quick ‘N’ Easy Cook Book

We all find ourselves short on times now-and-again. Sometimes we just spread ourselves too thin with outside (of the home) commitments, such as. working, volunteering, or chauffeuring the kids to practices and other extra curricular activities. At times like these, we might just grab fast food drive-thru or pick up something curbside to take home with us. It does not have to be that way. We can still offer our families home cooked meals with a little less effort. Not every meal has to be a gourmet, made from scratch endeavor. Shoot! Most of the time, the meals I prepare are far from gourmet or from scratch. We enjoy a simple grilled, lightly seasoned chicken breast with rice and roasted veggies. Nothing more simple than that.

If you prefer something with a bit more flair, find some short-cut meals that work for your family. The Good Housekeeping Quick ‘N’ Easy Cook Book’s “Short Cut Recipes” section has some tasty vintage offerings to help you out on your busy days!

One of my favorites from the cook book is a simple Chicken Biscuit Pie. I might add some frozen veggies to bake inside or just serve them on the side.

Here is a quick, simple way of making French Toast. The clean-up is a bit easier, too! Add some fresh fruit and you have a lovely breakfast on a hurried morning.

There are so many good, easy recipes in this book. If you can find a copy in your local, used bookstore or at an Antique / vintage shop, I recommend it highly. I found mine on Amazon!

Here is one more recipe to help entice you:

There was a show on the Food Network, a few years ago, that I enjoyed called “Semi-Homemade with Sandra Lee.” She would make wonderfully delicious meals with the help of things already “made” such as boxed or frozen items. She would add to these products to make them a bit more …”special”. A more “modern” take on what the Good Housekeeping Cook Book is offering. An example of one of Sandra Lee’s meals is the Coney Island Chili Dogs that she served with Spicy Fries. She used canned chili sauce but jazzed it up with seasoning and fresh ingredients. She also used frozen fries but added spicy seasoning to give them a kick. Such an easy, yet deliciously kid friendly meal. Sandra Lee also is the author of cook books with the same theme.

photo from the Food Network

As I mentioned, above, a simple meal of chicken and veggies works for my family. One way to get this to the table in little time is the “sheet pan method”. All you do is spread your veggies on the pan with your chicken, or any choice of meat, season, and toss it the oven. So simple and so tasty. We do this with squash (sliced thick), baby carrots (right out of the bag), broccoli, onions, etc. We may serve with rice, pasta, or potatoes. If we use potatoes, they can be roasted right in the same pan. Season how you like, we sometimes use a packet of onion soup mix to add flavor. All kinds of meats do well with this way of preparing meals. Sausage or a turkey tenderloin in a great pairing.

photo from the Foods Network

Of course, if you are REALLY short on time , you could do as a good vintage mama might have done…. serve a TV Dinner!

TV Dinners were invented in 1953, so the Housewife’s of yesteryear had that as an option. “According to the most widely accepted account, a Swanson salesman named Gerry Thomas conceived the company’s frozen dinners in late 1953 when he saw that the company had 260 tons of frozen turkey left over after Thanksgiving, sitting in ten refrigerated railroad cars” Smithsonian Magazine.

A TV Dinner offered a well rounded meal. Most included a protein, such as fried chicken or Salisbury steak, a starch, such as potatoes or pasta, a vegetable, and dessert. We have many more varieties these days with anything from a low calorie Lean Cuisine, gluten or dairy free or even vegan options.

The man in the above advertisment looks happy with his TV Dinner. I would prefer to offer my family something with even a little effort (like a sheet pan or even somthing from the crock pot) but I guess in a pinch, fed is best LOL. Well, at least a TV Dinner is a bit more appetising than a meal in a can like the advertisment below. LOL!!!

We are very fortunate with the options we have in these modern times. Our frozen meals are much more appealing than a meal in an aluminum tray. We have modern appliances that help with the ease of meal preparation, such as an air fryer and instant pot. And let’s not forget, although I mentioned fast food drive thru above, that and curbside pick up was not widely available in the 1950s!!! Drive thru got its start in the 1920s but there were not the variety or location in every town like we see today.  “The drive-in concept was first popularized by a Texas chain of eateries called the Pig Stand, whose first drive-in opened on a highway connecting Dallas and Fort Worth in 1921” from History.com.

I hope this blog gave you some ideas for when you are spead thin but still need to get dinner on the table. It is so fun to compare how we live today to how our home making sisters in the past did things. Thank you so much for reading my posts! I look forward to bringing you more very soon!

XOXO

Tiffany

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6 myths about freezing food.

We are hoping to get an extra freezer in the future, my mom said we could have hers because she hardly ever uses it.  We just have to figure out WHERE we will put it and HOW we will get it here.  It just pains me to miss out on all the great meat sales and frozen veggie deals I see.  I have a few Green Giant Frozen Veggie coupons that are just wasting away in my binder.

When I powered up Yahoo! this morning, this helpful article caught my eye….  It is from the editors of Eating Well Magazine.

Myth: You can freeze all foods.
While it’s true most edibles freeze under the right conditions, there are some that should never see the inside of your freezer. Delicate vegetables like lettuce practically disintegrate when they’re frozen then thawed. Creamy sauces that are frozen separate and “break” or curdle when thawed. Even coffee shouldn’t be stored in the freezer—especially dark roasts. The oils that make them so special break down in freezing temperatures, allowing the coffee to readily absorb off- flavors. The USDA also advises not to freeze canned goods or eggs in their shell. (But you can freeze canned goods if they are removed from their original packaging, as well as eggs as long as they are removed from their shell.)

Myth: You can freeze food indefinitely.
This is true at least from a food-safety standpoint, but quality suffers the longer food is frozen. Here are some guidelines from the USDA as to how long to keep food in your freezer (at 0 degrees F) for optimal freshness:

• Soups, stews and casseroles: 2-3 months
• Cooked meat 2-3 months
• Uncooked steaks, roasts or chops: 4-12 months
• Cooked poultry: 4 months
• Uncooked poultry: 9-12 months

Of course how you store the item will lengthen or shorten its freezer life. Air coupled with moisture is the enemy of frozen food (think freezer burn), so if you can keep those two elements out you’ll give your frozen foods a longer life. That’s why I love the vacuum sealer. It sucks air out of the packaging so foods last longer than if they’re just stored in plastic bags or their original packaging.

Myth: Freezing kills bacteria.
Freezing foods renders bacteria inactive but doesn’t actually kill anything. That means if your food went into the freezer contaminated, once thawed it will still harbor the same harmful bacteria. Cooking it to the recommended temperature is the only way to ensure that your food is safe.

Myth: Frozen food has fewer nutrients than fresh.
Actually, the opposite can be true. Frozen fruits and vegetables may be even more healthful than some of the fresh produce sold in supermarkets because they tend to be processed at their peak ripeness, a time when, as a general rule, they are most nutrient-packed. If you’re worried about nutrient loss, eat your frozen fruits and veggies soon after purchase: over many months, nutrients in frozen vegetables do inevitably degrade. Finally, steam or microwave rather than boil your produce to minimize the loss of water-soluble vitamins.

Myth: Once thawed, food cannot be refrozen without cooking it first.
You can freeze and refreeze to your heart’s content as long as the food has not been left outside the fridge for more than 2 hours (or 1 hour in 90-degree heat). One point to be aware of is that refreezing anything uncooked, especially meat, will degrade the quality due to the loss of moisture in the thawing process. So although it is technically safe to eat, from a culinary standpoint, it’s best to avoid refreezing if at all possible.

Myth: You can store frozen food long-term anywhere in your freezer or anywhere that’s cold.
The door of the freezer is a handy place to store frozen items, but not necessarily the best place for long-term storage. The temperature near and on the door fluctuates every time the door is opened. Although the food may remain frozen, the freezing process could be slowed, opening up the possibility for larger ice crystals to form inside the food and destroy its integrity. To prevent this, store frozen foods toward the back of the freezer where a constant 0 degrees F is more likely to be achieved and use goods stored near the front or on the door sooner. And if the power goes out? Don’t open the freezer door! According to the USDA, a full freezer should remain frozen for 2 days. And if you’re tempted to store your freezer overflow in a snowbank—don’t. Even if the temperature is very cold, the sun can still heat up your frozen foods to dangerously warm temperatures. This is still an excellent way to store beer, though. So keep doing that.

Happy Homemaking,

Tiffany

Starkist Tuna Nostalgia

As someone who has been “on a diet” since …well…BIRTH…Tuna is a HUGE part of my everyday menus.  We had tuna fish salad sandwiches during summer breaks, at Mawma’s house, on crackers anytime the families got together….Tuna helper, tuna noodle casserole, tuna melts, tuna this tuns that…my mom even used tuna as a substitute when tricked my dad into thinking he was eating Salmon croquettes when they were first married and she was trying to save money on groceries ( I still make these at least once every few weeks…they are very filling and SOOOOO low carb).

Charlie the Tuna Fish is turning 50 this year!!!!  And what a hipster he is….  Here is some interesting facts I found on Starkist.com

 

Charlie Celebrates 50 Years of Good Taste

Charlie’s a true pop icon, a hipster with attitude and a lovable link to the StarKist brand.  Did you know….
– Charlie the Tuna was created in 1961 by Tom Rogers of the Leo Burnett Advertising Agency.
– America’s favorite spokesfish was based on Henry Nemo, a bit actor and early innovator of jive talk.
– DePatie-Freleng Studios, the creative animation studio behind the Pink Panther, was selected to bring Charlie to life.
– Actor Herschel Bernardi, best known for his Broadway portrayal of Tevye in “Fiddler on the Roof,” was the original voice of Charlie.
– The phrases “Sorry Charlie” and “Tell ‘em Charlie sent ya” are among the most recognized taglines in advertising history.
– Charlie participated in the Advertising Week Walk of Fame on New York City’s Madison Avenue in 2004.
– In 2005, Charlie co-starred in a MasterCard “Priceless” commercial with his fellow legendary Ad Icons.
– Since Charlie’s debut in 1961, he has starred in more than 80 commercials…and counting!
– Charlie celebrated his 50^th Birthday in New York City in February with help from Jillian Harris, former ABC’s “The Bachelorette” and interior design expert on ABC’s “Extreme Makeover:  Home Edition”.

I really like that whoever uploaded this next one on You Tube included the Anti Pollution PSA with the crying Native American….but I guess it was ok to have him in stereotypical paint and clothing?

I love tuna. It has been good to me over the years. If I keep this as part of my diet…and do not go over board with the mayo, cheese, and do NOT make a sandwich or casserole out of it…I lose weight. I can HIGHLY recommend the Starkist pouches, esp the Garlic and Herb one…YUM. I keep a few in my car for emergencies. They are great right out of the pouch.

Happy Homemaking,

Tiffany