This week: Shortcuts to dinner, featured recipes, EYBD Previews and more

April 14, 2023 by
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March and April are extremely busy months for cookbook publishing only second to Cookbooktober – September through November. Add the hectic days to a chronic health issue and there are days that I just do not want to cook. I, myself, would be thrilled with a baked potato and a good show on television but my husband and 18 year old son would have difficulty in finding the thrill in that type of dinner. (I am possessive of my kitchen so it remains my domain. It is one of the things I can control.)

Sheet-pan fried rice with vegan ‘XO’ sauce recipe

Often it is hard for me to stand for an extended period so when I do cook something special it takes some planning and committment (and a stool by the kitchen island). What I have been turning to the last few months are helpers i.e., time savers that help me get an acceptable meal on the table. Two or three times a week, I use these helpers, once or twice we order in (sandwiches or Chinese – often times with Chinese we have enough for another day so that is a bonus) and the other days, I make meals like I use to make – homemade lasagna, etc. When it is warmer, my husband Jim grills and I’ll make side dishes.

What has been working for me – are items from Trader Joe’s or Costco. I will take Costco’s Korean chicken (which is so good) pop that in the oven with some broccoli and then make some rice to serve with it (or udon noodles). Costco also has great teriyaki pineapple meatballs that I’ll throw together with some teriyaki sauce and coconut rice. I’ve love Trader Joe’s orange chicken which is very good. We always have TJ’s spring rolls and scallion pancakes, soup dumplings and potstickers in the freezer which can bring new life to Chinese leftovers.

Slow cooker General Tso’s chicken

I’ve been experimenting with sheetpan meals and a few slow cooker recipes and those are lifesavers. These are a few of my favorites:

Viral smash burger tacos

The Smash Burger tacos were a huge hit (“these are the bomb” to quote my son). This method gave me ideas for using breakfast sausage, eggs and cheese for breakfast tacos or even making a latke type hashbrown as a base for a breakfast tostadas.

While I would prefer to make something from scratch every day – it just isn’t an option right now. I am content with reading my cookbooks, bookmarking recipes and tackling more time-consuming meals when I can spread out the work a bit. When I do cook from scratch, I make extra to freeze for another meal (double up Marcella Hazan’s tomato sauce with onion and butter and my homemade meatballs). I look forward to returning to full time cooking but for now we do what we must. What works for you when time (or energy) is short?

The last week on Eat Your Books

Since our last roundup, Darcie has written these articles:

Darcie’s weekly food news antipasto is shared every Sunday and the tag #foodnews brings up these information-packed posts from the most current to the first one. Darcie can be followed on Instagram at darcie_bakes.

Since our last roundup, I have posted the following:

My Instagram is thecookbookjunkies.

Jenny and the EYB Team

Recently Indexed Titles

Our team of member and pro indexers are working hard indexing titles, both new and old. Below are just a few highlighted titles that were recently indexed. Remember the most current indexed titles – will always show up at the top of the EYB Library and your Bookshelf. Recent indexed magazines can be found here. For information on member indexing, please see this roundup with more details.

Member Photo of the Week

Kale & mushroom pot pie from Simply Julia: 110 Easy Recipes for Healthy Comfort Food (page 24) by Julia Turshen submitted by member Babycarrot

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Featured Online Recipe

Copycat Costco chocolate peanut butter pie from The Kitchn

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Featured EYBD Preview Recipe

Spinach and potato gratin from Simply Scandinavian: Cook and Eat the Easy Way, with Delicious Scandi Recipes by Trine Hahnemann – Pub date June 8th, 2023

We currently have 6,401 EYBDigital Recipes indexed. All can be added to your Bookshelf.

EYBDigital Previews

Recently, we uploaded our 1,580th EYBDigital Preview where a selection of full sample pages are available including the titles below.

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2 Comments

  • susankay  on  April 14, 2023

    On days when I don’t feel like cooking, I usually make baked potatoes or sweet potatoes, along with roasted chicken or fish. I put foil on the sheet pan, so there’s nothing to wash by hand (a huge plus when I’m not in the cooking mood). A great freezer meal I’ve discovered is Julia Turshen’s green chili-braised chicken with pinto beans. I double the recipe, and freeze half. I usually make quesadillas with this as a filling. Julia has many wonderful recipes that I don’t dread the thought of making.

  • reader1trees  on  April 15, 2023

    I’ve also been unwell recently and have not had the energy to cook much so have been falling back on store cupboard recipes. This dal is quick and needs minimal effort https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/dal_in_a_dash_51198. I like it with a good squeeze of lemon juice and a sprinkling of salt and some toast soldiers for dipping.

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