Lazy Cooking

I suspect I’m like most family cooks; there are times when I’m just not up for preparing dinner. I don’t want restaurant takeout or a premade meal from the grocery store – but something homemade and really easy. Sound familiar?

I think I’ve found camaraderie with the Lazy Cooking movement. Apparently, it’s a thing. Just check out “lazy cooking” on Twitter. You’ll see all kinds of approaches to easy, clever dinners that take a lot of the effort out of putting food on the table, using devices like the slow cooker and the Instant Pot, as well as sheet-pan and one-pot dinners. And how about dump dinners? Might not sound too appetizing, but easy and quick they are. Cooks make use of supermarket specialties like rotisserie chicken and treasures from the freezer case, especially vegetable mixes. Ingredients are dumped into a slow cooker or Instant Pot and mixed up, then cook away to produce a meal.

Dump dinners from casserole country

The more things change, the more they stay the same. Looking back on my family meals back in the Midwest farm territory in the 1950s, it was obvious that the same kind of dynamics were taking place. Many dinners that I consumed in that time and place used canned soups, canned vegetables, and even canned meat. A recipe from that era, microwave Reuben casserole, calls for canned sauerkraut, canned corn beef, Thousand Island dressing, mayonnaise, and shredded Swiss cheese, all layered in a casserole and microwaved for 15 minutes. A chicken rice casserole features cooked chicken, canned green beans, cooked brown rice, and cream of celery soup, mixed up and baked in a casserole for 30 minutes.

But while they might have had their advantages (and tasted good), those canned-food-based meals were loaded with a lot of salt and other preservatives. These days, we have much higher-quality frozen ingredients available. In the deli cases in most supermarkets, you can find whole roasted chickens and ready-to-cook marinated meats. Last week I made a delicious soup using premade ground-turkey meatballs from the supermarket. It tasted like homemade because it was homemade.

The lazy cooking trend includes a host of one-pot dinners. An example is this dump dinner, chicken teriyaki that requires nothing more than putting the ingredients in a crock pot and letting them cook away on low for 4 to 6 hours, then serving over cooked rice. And don’t forget sheet pan meals, another favorite of mine and the lazy cooking crowd. Check out this marinated London broil steak with roasted potatoes and broccoli with a garlic aioli.

A contemporary approach

One problem I have with the lazy approach is that a good share of the meals feature casseroles with a lot of pasta and/or cheese. While they might be easy, I don’t need the extra calories, so I favor recipes with more vegetables and grains.

Here are some ideas on how to take advantage of the current trend that emphasize good nutrition and freshness. I suggest finding a few good “lazy cooking” recipes or making up your own, and planning your shopping accordingly.

• Take advantage of rotisserie chicken, premade meatballs, and ready-to cook marinated meats.
• Plan your weekly menu with double-duty ingredients. For example, we roasted a chicken on Sunday, then I made a chicken pot pie with the leftover meat later in the week.
• Shop your pantry and freezer to make use of the odds and ends that you already have. I have some ham chunks – now frozen — from a meal a month or two ago that I can make into a ham and bean soup.
• Make creative use of condiments. We have some garlic and dill mustard that makes a great coating for salmon before broiling.
• Think about how to be creative with beans and greens. I have several varieties of dried beans, and I can cook an ample portion to be used in double-duty fashion during the week.
• Shop your supermarket frozen vegetable case. While I find that availability varies considerably, you can usually find some economical frozen combinations that fit well into a dump dinner or a sheet pan approach.
• Don’t forget “breakfast for dinner.” Eggs – quiche, frittata (like the one pictured above), or huevos rancheros – can make an excellent meal. And try asparagus salad with fried eggs, which is really great and something to keep in mind for asparagus season.
• With focaccia or a baguette, how about a simple pantry pizza with tomato sauce, cheese, and whatever leftover meat and vegetables you find in the refrigerator. Bake in a 400-degree oven, and it’s a meal.

A well-thought-out approach to lazy cooking can also result in cost savings and less food waste. Do you have any good lazy-cooking ideas to share?

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