Recently (as in, since our wedding two months ago) I’ve taken up cooking. I’ve been a housewife all summer, waiting to go back to school and start my work/study thing. Our apartment is spotless (most of the time… except the laundry, I don’t do laundry), our cats are pampered, and I’m learning to prepare food for consumption.
I always said I’d marry a man who could cook, and I did. Turns out, my dreams with being a stay at home mom for a few years go hand-in-hand with getting dinner on the table.
Thanks to some very wonderful, generous wedding gifts… our kitchen is suddenly outfitted with decent equipment. So, I’m using it. I’ve been reading my “Tools & Techniques” book, I’ve been peeling potatoes and chopping onions like you wouldn’t believe. I’ve even used our stand mixer (I thought it would only be good for holiday baking)! I’ve learned that each recipe takes a different amount of time to prep and cook, so I can’t just start at 5:30pm and expect dinner to be ready for Josh at 6:15.
I’ve also learned that I really should prep my veggies on the weekend, or at least on Monday afternoon. It really would save me a lot of time. But, there’s something soothing and happy about slicing and chopping for half an hour every day while listening to music in my little tiny kitchen. Maybe I just don’t want to give that up.
I’ve discovered that I love that feeling of success when I’ve created a meal (even if I followed a recipe) that is satisfying and delicious, that Josh and I both agree “this is a make-again-soon dinner!”
Here are a couple of tried-and-true recipes we like, both out of the recipe book “365 Easy Vegetarian Recipes” (with my own twists):
—Mashed Potato Burritos
(serves a whopping 12 people, so cut in half or even in third!)
5 large white (Russet) potatoes, peeled and quartered (sometimes I like to leave the skins on)
1/4 cup fat-free milk
1 cup chopped green onions
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
12 (10 inch) vegetable-flavor tortillas (we like the spinach flavor)
1 cup ranch dressing
Place potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook until tender, about 20-30 minutes.
Drain potatoes and transfer to a large bowl. Add milk a little at a time and mash potatoes until smooth. Stir in cheese and green onions, mixing well. (This is SUPER easy if you have a stand mixer-just put the potatoes in, turn it on, and add the other ingredients a little at a time while it mashes)
Soften the tortillas in the microwave for a few seconds. Spoon equal amounts of mashed potatoes in each tortilla. Fold the sides in and roll up your burritos!
Serve with ranch dressing for dipping.
—Easy Cheesy Baked Rotini!
(serves about 6)
8 ounces rotini pasta (or any other pasta, really)
16 ounces part-skim ricotta cheese
2 1/2 cups (or more, if you like sauce) your favorite tomato pasta sauce
1 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes or chili paste (more or less to taste)
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1 medium tomato, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
Preheat oven to 350.
Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and transfer to a lightly greased (or sprayed) 9×13-inch baking dish.
In a bowl, mix pasta sauce, ricotta cheese and pepper flakes. Stir in mushroom and tomato. Stir sauce mix into the pasta.
Sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top, and bake 35-45 minutes, until heated through and cheese is melted and browning.
Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and serve.
Jeanette, etc. 