January 15, 2015
Maybe I should be embarrassed, but I have to admit that I never really shopped at a grocery store until after I got married. I mean, I stopped for chips for a party, or accompanied my dad walking beside him flipping through a magazine while he piled on the groceries for evening meals. But I didn't really have a good idea of the different stores, what they offered, how they were organized or what they sold. For example, GTLF has taught me that there are different kinds of cuts of meats that have different functions according to what you want to achieve in your meal. I never thought about it before.
When I first started cooking I found myself wasting food because I didn't use it up somehow and it really irritated me. I also noticed I couldn't shop hungry because I would come home with junk food and tons and snacks and it really began showing up on my waist line not to mention I was blowing up the grocery budget. To solve this problem I began making careful grocery lists and made the fewest possible trips to the market I could get away with. With time I noticed what GTLF would tend to repeat and what to keep in the pantry.
In the last year, I have noticed that GTLF uses certain things over and over. The spices GTLF uses most are salt, pepper, oregano, sage, curry, rosemary and cumin. They use a lot chicken broth, different cans of beans such as pintos, kidney, garbanzo, and white navy beans. It's good to have a variety of different pastas and rice available, and in the freezer keep peas, corn and green beans. I also notice that you can keep various meats in the freezer... if it's beef or pork keep it in 12 oz. packages, and if it's chicken keep it in 1 pound packages. If I have these things on hand all the time, I can make most of what's featured in these books buying only fresh vegetables. Here is a recipe that uses no fresh vegetables, but is still tasty and still homemade.
Pan Fried Chicken with Parmesan Gravy
GTLF: Stir Fries and Sautes p. 39
Serves 4, working time 30 minutes, total time 40 minutes
8 oz spaghetti
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1/2 tsp. dried sage
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast haves about 1 pound total
2 tablespoons flour
3/4 C reduced sodium chicken broth, defatted
2/ C low fat milk 1%
10 oz package froze Italian flat green beans, thawed
1/4 C grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp. grated lemon zest
1. In a large pot of boiling water, cook the spaghetti until tender. Drain well.
2. Meanwhile, in a large nonstick skillet, heat the oil until just warm over low heat. Add the garlic, sage, and red pepper flakes and cook until the garlic is golden and the oil is fragrant, about 5 minutes. Discard the garlic and increase the heat to medium. Sprinkle the salt and black pepper over the chicken, add the chicken to the skillet, and cook until golden brown and cooked through, about 5 minutes per side. With a slotted spoon, transfer the chicken to a plate.
3. Add the flour to the skillet and cook, stirring, until lightly browned, and 1 minutes. Add the broth and milk and cook, stirring, until slightly thickened, about 4 minutes. Stir in the green beans, Parmesan, and lemon zest and cook until the beans are crisp tender, about 2 minutes. Divide the spahetti among 4 plates, top with the chicken and gravy, and serve.
Nutritional Information: 8 g fat, 455 calories, 2.2 g saturated fat, 55 g carbohydrate, 40 g protein, 71 mg cholesterol, 586 mg sodium.
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