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Quick and Healthy Meals

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How To Get An Easy, Healthy Dinner On The Table Fast!

Quick, healthy meals are a necessity in today's busy world. Although cooking has always been one of my passions, it soon turned into a dreaded task after having four kids in 7 years while simultaneously starting a home based business. So I invested some time and energy into learning some new methods. Now I use a mix of freezer meals, weekend prep, and my trusty crock pot to put meals on the table in 15-30 minutes.Taking the stress out of cooking has allowed me to include my children (all boys!) in the process, too. Meals are now quick, healthy, and a great deal of fun!

Enjoy!

Maureen Kellis :-) 

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Quick And Easy Summer Meals

Here's my newest collection of summer easy meals and tips...

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5 Tips for Cooking Fast

Here's my top 5 tips for quick and simple meals. I'd be lost without them! If you are not used to these techniques, I suggest trying one at a time, develop some mastery and move to the next.

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  • Use weekends for prepping ahead.Spending an hour on Saturday or Sunday while making your weekend meal can literally help you put meals on the table in 15 minutes during the week. For example, this weekend I prepped the veggies for a beef stew to go into the crock and for a homemade chicken soup. While I was at it, I made a good amount of fresh veggie sticks for everyone to munch on during the week.
  • Make large batches and freeze. This can be done with anything. I'll frequently make large batches of pasta, coat with olive oil and freeze for future meals. The secret to keeping pasta (and all starches) from getting mushy in the freezer is to cook them only half way. I also grill more chicken breasts than I will use in a meal and freeze or save them for chicken ceasar salad, or a healthy lo-fat chicken alfredo primavera during the week. Roast 2 chickens at a time in the same roasting pan. Use the meat from the extra bird for other quick meals and make sure to skin the carcasses and use them to make a vat of homemade soup.
  • Skip the 'browning meat' instructions in slow cooker recipes. I have found, most of the time, that my meal comes out just fine if I skip this step. I can literally (esp. if I prepped the veggies over the weekend) get the meal in the crock in less than five minutes.
  • Keep your counters clear! Clutter in the kitchen adds to cooking time. Take a cue from Rachael Ray, get everything you need in one or two trips around the kitchen. I don't use a garbage bowl (more dishes to wash), but I have always cooked with one of those plastic grocery bags on the counter to toss the garbage as I go.
  • Make your surroundings pleasant. It'll seem less like work if you enjoy your surroundings in you kitchen. Short of a $50,000 dream kitchen makeover, there are inexpensive and free things you can do:

    1.) Clearing the clutter and painting your kitchen a light color will make it seem more spacious.

    2.)Adding organic material such as wood, wicker baskets, and stone tile will add warmth- especially in a modern kitchen. Just don't overdue the decorations. You may want to consider adding these to the tops of your cabinets or on a shelf to keep the counters clear.

    3.)Add a few personal touches as photos or Grandma's special plate.

    4.)Don't forget to put a candle by your sink. Clean up doesn't seem nearly as bad by candle light.

Quick Fix Meals With Robin Miller

Robin Rescues Dinner: 52 Weeks of Quick-Fix Meals, 350 Recipes, and a Realistic Plan to Get Weeknight Dinners on the Table

Robin Rescues Dinner: 52 Weeks of Quick-Fix Meals, 350 Recipes, and a Realistic Plan to Get Weeknight Dinners on the Table

by: Robin Miller

Amazon Price: $10.57 (as of 02/17/2012)Buy Now

Ms. Miller is a food editor with a masters degree in nutrition. I find her recipes to be healthy without being extreme.

What I find most impressive is her technique. I have always done something similar, but not with the precision and certainly not to do this for most of the meals in a week.

Basically she takes one main ingredient cooks it once, along with some other meal prep and turns it into 3 completely different main dishes. This did seem rather different to me, as a I couldn't fathom having chicken three night a week. Did you ever have so much chicken you thought you'd start growing feathers? Well, I found that not to be the case with this technique. The three dishes from the main ingredient are so different, your taste buds do not get bored.

In addition the time savings are tremendous. One hour during the weekend to cook and prep ahead, and you can get your meals on the table in 15 minutes or less.

My routine now is to use Robin Miller's method for 50% of my cooking, and the freezer and crockpot methods, 40%. 10% eating out.

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Grilling- A Quick and Healthy Dinner Year Round!

Quick and Healthy Grilling Tips

Grilling food is actually better for you than one would think. This is not dependent on the type of grill you have it is the grilling process. Here are some ways to make your next grilling adventure a healthy one for the family.
  • Choose the Right Cut of Meat - Cut off the excess fat when working with chicken. If you aren't the type who likes to mess with chicken parts, buy them already skinned and boneless. Usually all traces of fat have been removed in the store before packaging.

    Steaks are a bit different. Outer fat on the steaks should be cut away but it is okay to have the marbled effect within the meat.
  • Steam your vegetables on the grill. You are cooking the meat on there, why not the rest of the meal? Spray a piece of aluminum foil with non-stick cooking spray and then wrap your sliced vegetables in it. The heat from the grill will create convection current inside the foil. Make sure that you tent the foil so that the air can move among the vegetables. Or, if you do not want to use
  • The Fish Alernative- Fillets of fish crumble up easy so put them in foil just like the vegetables to keep them together during grilling. Fish steaks are better for direct grill cooking than fillets. They are thick but will cook quicker than other meats so don't turn your back on them. As an alternative, make fish packets in foil or use the special fish cookers for the grill.

Try Something New - Grilled Bison!

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Freezer Cooking

30 Day Gourmet's BIG Book of Freezer Cooking

30 Day Gourmet's BIG Book of Freezer Cooking

by: Nanci Slagle, Carol Santee

Amazon Price: $155.95 (as of 02/17/2012)Buy Now

This is my favorite freezer cooking cookbook. Nanci Slagle takes you through the steps to produce one to three months of meals in a few days. For those of us who are not up to tackling that much cooking in a single shot, there are adaptable plans for less ambitious cooks. A complete guide of freezing techniques is included. Also included is a password to the website that houses hundred more recipes and a forum for freezer cooks. 5 stars!

Slow Cooking

Biggest Book of Slow Cooker Recipes (Better Homes & Gardens)

Biggest Book of Slow Cooker Recipes (Better Homes & Gardens)

by: Better Homes & Gardens

Amazon Price: $4.50 (as of 02/17/2012)Buy Now

This book isa great value with hundreds of tested recipes and informative tips. Included are recipes for appetizers, beverages, soups, stews, main dishes, and desserts. This is one of the largest slow cooker books of its kind. * Bonus chapters offer 5-ingredient recipes and one-dish meals. Plenty of timesaving tips and advice for smoother meal prep.

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Awesome Healthy and Quick Meal Ideas

These are some of my favorite cookbooks. I have used them all.
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About The Author

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mmkellis

Maureen Kellis is mom to four boys who love cooking and watching cooking shows almost as much as she does. She is currently home schooling all four so... more »

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