When I cook for the week I have to make sure that the food does not seem "old" or reheated to my family, they would never eat it. I always end up eating the leftovers, if I cannot find a way to serve them in a new form, in a way that they seem to be just cooked today. This made me think of many ways to cook for the whole week, especially when I am working. The only rule is that the food must seem freshly cooked. The best way to achieve this result is to prepare the meals, cook them, but stop just before the last step.
The easiest example is pasta: you can prepare the sauce and even cook the pasta in advance, refrigerate them, then assemble and finish cooking the dish when you need it. This is why I always keep some tomato and meat sauce in my fridge or freezer to be able to whip up a quick pasta dish when I need it. I mix the pasta with the sauce, add some ricotta cheese and grated mozzarella and/or Parmigiano, mix and put the dish in the oven until the cheeses melt and form a nice golden crust. Another safe bet is chicken Milanese: Sunday, you marinate the chicken cutlets, bread them and keep them refrigerated in layers separated by wax paper. I usually keep a meal worth of breaded chicken in the freezer, get them out in the morning before I go to work and fry them as soon as I get home. While they are frying, I make a salad or a pasta dish, or both. In minutes I have a home cooked meal that everybody saw me cooking from scratch!
Of course I noticed that this kind of chicken is one of the family favorites, it's one of the rare dishes that they can eat at any time, fresh or day old, even longer. So I always make extra.
CURRIED CHICKEN
When you serve a lot of chicken, you have to be creative, you have to be always prepared to serve the chicken in so many different ways that your family will love and avoid the feeling that you are serving the same things over and over again. I also noticed that, because I cook with very little salt and fat, from time to time it's mice to have something out of the ordinary, maybe something spicy to shake things up a bit. When I do that, my mom finishes her plate, which is really rare. Today is one of those days: I needed something extra. I thought of going Indian. The spices and curry will be a good departure from the same old chicken dishes. I use little curry, and no hot pepper at all. You may use more and make it as hot as you like. You'll need:
5 Drumsticks and 4 to 5 thighs (I used skinless pieces and the thighs boneless)
2 tbsp onion/garlic frozen mixture
1 tsp Garam Masala (Indian spices)
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
2 tsp curry powder (more to taste)
A dash of cumin
1/3 can (13.5 oz) coconut milk
1 cup chicken stock
1 tbsp Canola oil
1 tsp cornstarch dissolved in 1 tbsp water
Salt and pepper to taste
Chopped parsley for garnish
Marinate the chicken pieces in the onion/garlic mixture with salt and pepper. In a non stick skillet large enough to hold the chicken pieces in almost one layer, start cooking the chicken in the tbsp oil. When the chicken is well browned, add all the spices and stir until fragrant, on medium heat. Add the stock, bring to boiling, cover and let simmer to reduce. If you are cooking this dish for later, you should stop now, let it cool and refrigerate for when you need it. Add the coconut milk to the pan, stir to combine. The liquid should be a bit thick. If not, add the corn starch dissolved in water and stir until the sauce is thickened. Transfer to the serving platter, sprinkle with chopped parsley. Serve with white rice. I had some fried cauliflower, so I added it to my plate.
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