ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, January 10, 1996 TAG: 9601100103
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ALMENA HUGHES FOOD EDITOR
At one of the final get-togethers of this past holiday season, a guest glanced disinterestedly at the goodies-laden buffet table and admitted, "By this time, I'm just fooded out."
She said that since the end of October she had been cooking fancy foods, baking, making appetizers and hors d'oeuvres, plus cooking regular meals for her family. She'd done her fair share of eating those foods, too. All she wanted, she said, lackadaisically nibbling at a bit of raw broccoli swiped through a sour-cream dip, was something light - maybe soup or broth or a simple salad - and for the whole "food binge" to end.
Well, the binge may be over, but the need to eat goes on.
"Fooded-out" cooks can, of course, detour the kitchen by taking the fast-food route. But that's not the best source for simple, nourishing meals. Besides, fast food may not be all that fast or cost-effective. A recent experiment by a writer for the Kansas City Star found that preparing a home-cooked meal for four people took about 12 minutes shopping time, 30 minutes to prepare and cost $13.12, while a comparable fast-food meal required waiting in line about 20 minutes and cost the reporter $18.48.
To help you maintain the taste and ingredients control of home cooking, here are a few easy-to-prepare, quick-cooking dishes to get you in and out of the kitchen within about 30 minutes. To help speed things up, salad bars are an excellent source both for healthful side-dish salads and for pre-cut, pre-washed vegetables, especially if you only want a small quantity of them.
recipes for:
STRAWBERRY GRAHAM-CRACKER TRIFLE
GREEK PIZZA
REUBEN PIE
TWO-WAY FISH FILLETS
WALNUT PITA/PIZZA SANDWICH
ZUCCHINI BEEF & PASTA SUPPER
LENGTH: Short : 46 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: Walnut pita/pizza sandwich is versatile and delicious.by CNBcolor.