Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, November 1, 1995 TAG: 9511010016
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ALMENA HUGHES FOOD EDITOR
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
However, most of us know that it is the flurry of activities and tasks that flood year's end, starting right about now.
There are places to go, presents to buy, cleaning and sprucing up and battening down to do. Hosts offer to entertain us, and there are guests for us to entertain.
Anything that simplifies our schedules or spares us holiday hustle hassles surely is good news.
To pare time in the kitchen without sacrificing nutrition or taste, take advantage of precut, premixed and prepackaged foods. Sargento Foods' free brochure includes 10 versatile recipes using the company's several gourmet cheese blends. For a copy, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to Sargento Free Recipes, P.O. Box 2063-D, Rock Island, Ill. 61204-2063; or call (800) 603-4356.
Once you've minimized the preparation time, cut the time it takes for the food to cook, or use a method, such as crockpot cooking or oven baking or roasting, that frees you to do other things. True to its title, Mary Jane Koch's ``The Keep It Short & Simple Cookbook'' (Northwest Publishing Inc.) avoids special equipment and complicated or tedious tasks, uses the microwave whenever possible and often combines fresh and frozen prepared foods to create good fare without a lot of fuss. It may be ordered by calling (801) 266-5900.
Linda Gassenheimer's ``Dinner In Minutes'' ($14.95, Chapters Publishing) includes 250 recipes plus meal plans, shopping lists, timetables and time-saving hints, such as these:
Shopping at the end of the day is tiring. Keep a cooler in the trunk of your car so that you can shop before work or at lunch.
For quick, fluffy rice, cook it like pasta in a lot of boiling water. It will roll in the water and take only about 10 minutes to cook.
Keep a couple of unopened cans of low-sodium chicken stock in the refrigerator. The fat will harden and can easily be skimmed off.
Let your supermarket help you by precutting vegetables and fruits, slicing meats and poultry for stir-frying, even shelling and cleaning shrimp.
``Dinner In Minutes'' is available at local retailers, or call (800) 892-0220.
Recipes for:
FOUR CHEESE CHICKEN AND RICE CASSEROLE
TURKEY WITH CORN DUMPLINGS
BEEF TACO-MAC
VEGETABLE STUFFED POTATOES
BREAKFAST IN A MUFFIN
SPICY SEAFOOD PASTA
LAST MINUTE PARTY TORTE
by CNB