Mama's Tip of the Day

Stocking your freezer

One habit that's made life easier at our house is keeping a little library of sauces and marinades in the freezer. It's great when you have time to grocery shop, but not time to prepare a lot of big batches of meals to freeze. This way, you grab all the meat you want, prep and freeze them just the way they are, and you can mix and match depending on your mood on any given night.

For example, right now, there are several batches of each of the following in my freezer:

Pomegranate Chipotle Mop Sauce
Tropical Marinade
Marinade to Tenderize Steak*
Marinade for Chicken and Pork
Apple Ginger Marinade
The Meatman's Marinade #2
Mexican Smoked Chili Marinade
Berbere Marinade**
Mesquite Nutmeg Beef Marinade
White Wine Brine+
Korean Marinade+
Chermoula+


You can double or triple the batches pretty easily, pour 1-2 cup portions into quart-sized freezer bags, and you're ready to go. Many sauces, rubs, and marinades have a high sugar or alcohol content, so their temperature stays a little higher and they don't freeze as solidly as other foods. This can be a little scary if you're not careful (never freeze raw meat in a sauce with high sugar or alcohol content, because the meat itself may not freeze completely, allowing bacteria to grow), but on the plus side, they defrost quickly so even weeknights are no problem.


* Marinade to Tenderize Steak: There are no proportions given in the recipe, so here's my version. 3 cloves garlic, crushed; 1 tsp cracked black pepper; 1 tbsp McCormick's Cajun Seasoning; 1 bottle Harp lager. Throw everything in a blender or food processor, blend until smooth. Wait for the head to settle before bagging and freezing.

** I made a few minor changes to the Berbere Marinade recipe. I used red onion; tripled the red pepper flakes; skipped the cardamom (didn't have it) and fenugreek (hate it). During blending, added extra olive oil to get it really smooth.

+ The White Wine Brine, Korean Marinade, and Chermoula all come from the Kingsford Complete Grilling Cookbook. I prepared the first two just as published, but added a small bundle of fresh mint to the chermoula. I'm not usually a huge cilantro fan, but this recipe was really nice on grilled kebabs.

Pomegranate Chipotle Mop Sauce

If you've been following the blog for a while, you'll recognize this as the same basic recipe as the sauce for Pomegranate Chipotle Slow-Cooker Pork, but it's been revamped a little to become a mop sauce for grilling.


1 16-oz bottle pomegranate juice (plain, no other flavors added)
1 small can mangoes, in their own juice (if you have fresh mangoes, even better. Slice them up, and add 1/2 can mango nectar)
2 chipotle peppers with a heaping spoonful of the adobo sauce
1 large onion, rough chopped
2 cloves garlic
1 pinch allspice
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 heaping tbsp dark molasses
3-4 tsp salt, or to taste

• Place the mangoes, onion, garlic, and peppers in a blender or food processor and blend until almost smooth
  
• Whisk the mango mixture together in a large saucepan with remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil.
• Continue boiling over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until reduced by half
• Mop onto meat or vegetables within the last 5-10 minutes of grilling
  

I used this tonight on ribs and it was absolutely heaven! Here's what I did:

• Rubbed a few racks of ribs with Michael Chiarello's Cocoa Spice Rub and popped them into the fridge while the grill was heating.
• Turned on the outer two burners of the grill only, and oiled the surface in the center of the grill (the burner underneath was turned off. This way, the ribs will cook with indirect heat.)
• Once the grill was hot (about 300°), I placed the ribs in the center of the grill, bone down.
  
• Flipped the ribs occasionally.
  
• Brushed the ribs every 1/2 hour or so with tonic water. This keeps the rub from drying out, and when the ribs are bone-up, you'll get a little puddle of the tonic water that helps keep the air moist as it evaporates.
• When the meat pulls easily from the bone (about 2 hours), mop each side with sauce, grill for a few minutes, then mop again. Repeat until you get a good coating of sauce on all sides.
• Just before removing from the grill, mop one last time with a pretty healthy serving of sauce, so your ribs are nice and slathered. The combo of the rub and the sauce couldn't be better. This was probably one of the best meals I've eaten in a long time!
  

Tropical Marinade

Great for poultry or pork.


120-oz can crushed pineapple, with the juice
11.2 oz can coconut juice with pulp (coconut milk will work well, too)
1/2 can each or peach and nectarine nectar (11.5 oz can)
1/4 tsp allspice
1 tbsp kosher salt
2-3 crushed garlic cloves
1/2 medium onion, diced

• Either use immediately or freeze. Marinade at least 2 hours or up to 24.
  

Mama's Tip of the Day

Don't bother cooking with alcohol you wouldn't drink. Period.

A lot of people will buy the bottles of "cooking wine" scattered at convenient locations throughout the grocery, thinking that if they're just cooking with it, they don't need to bother getting something better. They think it's a waste of good alcohol, just to put it into a pot with a bunch of other ingredients. Well, okay. That's fine if you're just adding a little splash here and there, but if you're adding any more than about a quarter cup (4 tbsp), do yourself a favor and buy something decent.

Sure, the alcohol may burn out depending on what you're making, but the flavor will still be there. If it doesn't taste good in a glass, it certainly won't do your risotto or chicken marsala any good, either. And there's a plus side to using good booze in your recipes -- you'll already have the perfect accompaniment to your meal. The Citrus-Gin Marinated Chicken, below, goes beautifully with a nice gin and tonic. Personally, I'm a Tanqueray kind of girl, so in goes the Tanqueray when I'm grabbing ingredients.

Whatever you choose, just make it something that will make your food taste good. After all, isn't that the point?

Citrus-Gin Marinated Chicken

Okay, so I'm on a bit of a citrus kick lately, but bear with me, people. It's summer! The lighter, brighter flavors of citrus are so refreshing after a long, hot day, and citrus has a way of highlighting the fresh fruits and vegetables you can pick up in the summer months.

This marinade will work well with any chicken pieces -- if you prefer dark meat, go for thighs and drumsticks, they'll soak up the flavor just was well, and will stay juicier on the grill. Shrimp will work well too, but cut down on the marinading time.


1 package of chicken pieces (just trimmed of visible fat of you're grilling whole, or trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes if you're in the mood for kabobs)
Juice and zest of one large orange
Juice and zest of two medium limes
6 tbsp gin
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 tsp sea salt
2 1/2 tsp sugar
3/4 tsp oregano
Pinch of thyme
1 thinly-sliced jalapeño
2 large onions (thinly sliced if cooking the chicken whole; cut into bite-sized chunks for kabobs)

• Rinse the chicken and place all pieces in a large plastic storage bag or non-reactive (stainless steel or glass) bowl, along with all ingredients EXCEPT for the onions.
  
• Marinade the chicken mixture in the refrigerator at least 2 (but up to 8) hours.
  
• If kabobbing with wooden skewers, soak the skewers during the last half hour of marinading, then spear alternating chicken pieces and onion chunks, taking care not to crowd the pieces
  
• Heat grill (or grillpan) to medium
  
• Grill the chicken, reserving the marinade, about 7 minutes on each side (4-5 for kabobs), or until the center is no longer pink and juices run clear
• Save a little space on the grill for a small pot or saucepan. Pour the remaining marinade in, turn the heat on that part of the grill to high, and bring it to a boil. You should allow the marinade to boil for several minutes before even THINKING about using it as a post-cooking sauce! In fact, you should even brush the marinade back onto the meat after the first couple of minutes of cooking, because that won't allow enough time to bring it up to high enough temperature to kill any bacteria. Scary thought. Be careful, this really isn't something you want to mess around with.
• If you've cooked the chicken pieces whole, then you still have sliced onions left at this point. Into the saucepan they go, to soften and soak up some of that delicious marinade. Let them cook at least as long as the chicken. You can even leave them on a little longer, to caramelize and be even more flavorful. Serve the onions over the chicken.
  

If you're freezing:

• Place the chicken and the marinade in separate bags, then pack both of those into one larger bag. Don't pour the marinade directly over the chicken before freezing.
  
• The day of cooking, allow the chicken to defrost most of the way before adding the marinade.

Lemon Greek Chicken (or shrimp, or fish)

For each 6-pack of chicken breasts*, you'll need:
3 tbsp Greek seasoning mix**
Juice & zest of one lemon
enough olive oil to moisten the mixture and help it come together (just a drizzle)
salt & pepper to taste

• Rinse breasts and pat dry, discarding all visible fat
  
• Mix the remaining ingredients together to form a paste
  
• Schmear the paste on all sides of each piece of chicken
• Place breasts in a single layer in a gallon-sized freezer bag and freeze
  

To Finish:

• Defrost chicken completely
• Lightly oil the surface of grill (or grill-pan on the stove top) and heat over medium flame
• Grill 5-7 minutes on each side, until juices run clear and center of the fattest part of the breast is no longer pink

Super, super easy dish, and honestly it works well on a weeknight even if you haven't prepped it ahead of time, because the paste only takes a minute or two to mix up, and grilling is so quick. Serve this with some tasty grilled asparagus or zucchini.


*The flavors in this paste would work equally well on shrimp or a light fish as they would on chicken. If you're choosing the seafood route, freeze the paste separately and schmear it once once you've defrosted the shrimp or fish fillets. You could do it ahead if you really wanted to, but I wouldn't recommend it. The nice delicate flavor of the seafood would be a little overpowered by soaking in the Greek mixture so long, and the acid in the lemon might begin to "cook" the meat, as they do in a ceviche. Better to wait until right before grilling to ensure the freshest results.


**If you happen to be lucky enough to live in the Philadelphia area, you can pick a really delicious Greek seasoning mix at Spice Corner in the Italian Market, or you can try your hand at this version from RecipeZaar.com.

American Favorites

Subtitled "All American Cooking for a New Generation", this is the perfect book for a slightly more-experienced chef who hasn't yet made the transition into full once-a-month cooking. These are just recipes, as you would find in any other general cookbook, but Betty has been kind enough to let you know in the sidebar of each page which are freezer-friendly and which can be prepped ahead. And not all of them can, so choose wisely if your goal is to stock the freezer! No matter which you try, though, you're pretty much guaranteed a tasty meal. The author has totally revamped the classics, from Silver Dollar Crab Cakes (page 12) served with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce (delicious!) to Baked Butternut Squash and Apples with Maple Syrup (page 213 -- this will melt in your mouth), to Hot Leek and Basil Bread (page 296, and really, do I need to say more?) and managed to update them without losing any of the simplicity that made us loves these dishes to begin with. The recipes are simple enough not to become overly fussy, but still manage to get to the table looking beautiful and tasting just as good. Highly recommend this one.



(blogger's note: sadly, my little fork-rating jpegs are on another computer, so I can't add them to this review just yet. But I give this one an 8 out of 10. Yum!)

Mama's Tip of the Day (part 2)

When NOT to use flour as a thickener:

The basic rule of thumb is simple; use flour (or Wondra) to thicken dishes with meat, and switch to cornstarch for fruits and vegetables. There's a slight taste and consistency difference between the two, so in the end it's really up to you. One of the nice things about cornstarch is how readily it dissolves in water, so it's pretty easy to avoid lumps. Just mix equal parts cornstarch and water, stir until completely dissolved, THEN add it to your sauce. See? No lumps!

(Oh - and if you're kind of a newcomer to the sauces-and-gravies world, go lightly. Generally, about a half-tablespoon or less is enough to do the trick, and the longer you cook it, the thicker the sauce will become. Last thing you want is a gorgeous sauce that's become all gluey because you've gone overboard with the thickener at the last minute.)

Mama's Tip of the Day

What the heck is Wondra??!

Well, basically, it's flour. It's fine-milled, quick dissolving flour that's GREAT when you're making sauces and gravies. Two if the biggest problems people run into when making homemade sauces are lumps and chalkiness. Wondra helps eliminate these two.

Lumps come from adding too much flour too quickly and not giving it enough time to absorb the moisture in your sauce before mixing it in. Since the Wondra dissolves quickly and comes in it's own fancy-schmancy little shaker (therefore going into your sauce in smaller particles), it doesn't lump up the way regular all-purpose flour can.

Chalkiness come from not cooking the sauce long enough after flour is added (or cornstarch, if you're going that route instead). Because of Wondra's small particle size, it doesn't need to cook as long (hardly at all, really) before the chalky consistency and taste disappear.

Lemon Dill Chicken

In addition to the ingredients for this recipe,

to freeze it you'll need:

two gallon-sized freezer bags

two quart-sized freezer bags

On-hand the day of cooking:

light olive oil or vegetable oil

Wondra flour

a little lemon juice

----------------



1 1/2 lbs chicken tenders pieces (tenders, drumsticks, or thin-cut breasts will all work well)
one small onion, finely chopped
zest & juice of one medium lemon
1 1/2 tsp dried dill
3/4 tsp salt, plus more to taste
3/4 tsp pepper, plus more to taste
1 cup reduced-fat, low-sodium chicken broth
all-purpose flour (about 1 cup)

• Place chicken, onion, lemon zest and juice, dill, salt & pepper in one of the gallon-sized bags. Seal, pressing as much air out as possible.
• In the quart-sized bag #1, place the chicken stock. Seal, pressing out air.
• Repeat with flour.
• Place all three bags in the second gallon-sized bag and freeze the whole thing.

To Finish:

• Defrost chicken completely
• Toss the chicken pieces in flour to lightly coat, reserving the marinade that's left in the bag.
• Heat a large, heavy pan over medium-low heat, with just enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan.
• When the oil is hot, cook each of the chicken pieces, turning occasionally to cook each side thoroughly. (It's fine to do a few pieces at a time, but make sure not to over-crowd the pan. If you have too many pieces going at once, you'll lower the temperature of the oil and end up stewing the chicken rather than pan-frying, which we don't want to do here.)
• When each piece has browned lightly and the chicken feels slightly firm, remove it to a platter and start the next batch, until all of the pieces have been cooked.
• Add a little more oil as needed, making sure to bring it up to temperature again after each addition.
• Once all of the chicken is done, pour the stock into the pan and stir it with a whisk to make sure all the yummy brown bits are incorporated. Pour in the remaining marinade and bring to a boil.
• Lower the heat and simmer about 5 minutes.
• Gradually whisk in a little Wondra until the sauce has thickened slightly (you'll probably end up using about a tablespoon, but it's totally up to you how thick you want your sauce to be.
• Squeeze in a little fresh lemon juice
• Add salt & pepper to taste
• Return the chicken to the pan, making sure both sides are coated with sauce, and cook a few more minutes until heated through.

Mama's Tip of the Day

What's a girl to do with all that extra chipotle in adobo??

Most recipes that call for chipotle in adobo only ask for 2-3 peppers, plus a little sauce, but of course you can't buy them that way. You have to buy a whole can. So what the heck do you do with the rest of it?

Well, the obvious answer is "find more recipes that need chipotle in adobo". Duh. But if you're not in the mood for spicy food every day for week, there's a much simpler answer. These freeze beautifully! Pop 2-3 peppers and a little sauce into individual snack-sized storage bags, then toss the whole bunch of bags into one larger freezer bag to keep out frost. Next time you need it, just defrost one baggie, and you'll have the perfect individual portion.

Pomegranate Chipotle Slow-Cooker Pork

The basic marinade for this pork would work well with any red meat - ribs, pot roast, game meats, whatever. It has a mildly smokey flavor from the chipotle peppers, and the fruit adds just the right amount of sweetness without making it too syrupy. Broccoli (or any other green veg, cooked al dente) and a baked sweet potato are the perfect sides.

Serves 4

1 lb pork loin*, all visible fat discarded
1 bottle Pom pomegranate juice(plain, no other fruit added)
1 small can of sliced mangoes, in their own juice
2 chipotle peppers, diced, plus a heaping spoonful of the adobo sauce
1 large chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, smashed
1 pinch allspice

Throw all in a crock pot on low, 4-6 hours.

If you're freezing: Put all ingredients together in a large freezer bag and freeze. (Don't worry if it takes a little longer to freeze than you expect - the high sugar content of the juice slows down the freezing process, but it will get there.) Defrost completely before popping into the crock pot.


*The pork shrinks significantly during the cooking process. If your "serves 4" is four people with pretty healthy appetites, I'd add a second 1-lb loin as long as your pot will accommodate the extra volume, but there's no need to increase the rest of the recipe; there's plenty of sauce to go around!

Mama's Tip of the Day

If a recipe calls for ingredients that tend to be fatty or high in calories, like the sour cream used in the Chicken 'n Stuffing, below, evaluate your own nutritional needs before just blindly following the recipe. Most recipes are perfectly fine if you substitute lower-cal, lower-fat-content versions of those ingredients, especially when the rest of the recipe if rich in flavor so that little bit of fat isn't even missed. For example, I always use low-fat, reduced sodium chicken stock if I haven't made my own. (Pacific and Swanson's both make great broth.) I rarely use cream cheese or sour cream that isn't fat free or reduced fat. In this kind of recipe, you won't even notice the difference, but you'll still get the creamy texture and hint of sharpness that you're looking for.

Chicken 'n Stuffing

Classic comfort food. That's really all there is to say!



1 lb chicken breasts, cooked completely and chopped into bite-sized pieces
1 large canister stuffing mix (whatever flavor you prefer. I usually go with chicken.)
1/4-1/2 lb green beans, ends trimmed & chopped into bite-sized pieces
1 cup sour cream
1 cup chicken stock
1 small can or jar of sliced mushrooms, drained
2 tbsp butter

• Prepare the stuffing according to the package directions
• In the meantime, blanche the green beans, drain, and set aside
• Melt the butter, and mix all wet ingredients together
• Once the stuffing is done, toss it in a large mixing bowl with the chicken, green beans, and mushrooms. Pour the wet ingredients over top and stir until everything is thoroughly combined.
• Place stuffing mix into a casserole pan. Cover with a layer of plastic wrap, then cover tightly with foil.
  

TO COMPLETE:

Remove foil and reserve. Remove plastic wrap and discard; recover pan with foil. Bake at 350◦F about 30 minutes, until bubbly and warmed through.

Mom's Corn Chowder

This is my mom's recipe, and has been a life-long favorite of mine. I've never found any need to alter the recipe, it's just so good the way it is!

1 lb bacon, sliced width-wise into 1/4" pieces
1 medium onion, diced
3-4 stalks celery, diced
4-5 large potatoes, peeled & chopped into 1" chunks
chicken stock (about 4 cups - enough to cover the potatoes in Step 5)
2 cans whole-kernel corn
1 can cream-style corn
3 tbsp milk
black pepper to taste

• In a large pot, saute the bacon over medium heat until it's completely cooked. Make it a little extra crispy to help keep its texture and not be mushy later.
• Drain the bacon on paper towels, and set aside
• Pour off all but 2 tbsp of the remaining bacon fat
• Add the onion and celery to the pot, and saute until translucent
• Add the potatoes and enough broth to cover them. Cover with a lid and simmer until potatoes are fork-tender, roughly 20-30 minutes.
• Add the corn, milk, and pepper, and simmer 5 more minutes
• Remove from heat and add the bacon

If freezing: Place the pot in the fridge or freezer to cool it quickly, then pour the contents into freezer bags (one-gallon bag for family-sized meal, 4 quart-sized bags for individual portions).

To prepare: Defrost completely. Pour soup into a pot, bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 5-10 minutes, until heated through.

Serve with cracked Oyster Crackers, preferably OTCs if you can find them!

Fix, Freeze, Feast

8 1/2 forks out of 10

Fix, Freeze, Feast is a fantastic resource for a chef who plans to make the most of warehouse grocery stores like Sam's Club and BJ's. The first chapter is dedicated to the basics of bulk cooking: from planning your meals and shopping lists, which ingredients will work best, to the semantics of storage and setting up your workspace. The authors even do some of your work for you by including cooking instructions in a separate section of the book. Copy these onto label paper, and you're all set.

One of the most interesting aspects of this cookbook is the inclusion of "generational meals". Several of the recipes include a second-generation, which helps turn one entree into two or three separate meals. Check out Dave's Swamp Blues Barbecued Chicken (page 30), which morphs into Dave's Skillet Hash or Dave's Barbecued Chicken Pizza (pages 32-33).

The variety of flavors and cultural influences found in these recipes is hard to match elsewhere, and I applaud the authors' sense of adventure. That said, don't be intimidated if you're a first-timer! Although there are occasionally more unusual ingredients than you might find elsewhere, the prep is incredibly easy and designed to take as little time as possile.

The only reason I'm not awarding a higher fork rating is that I haven't had the chance to try more of the recipes. If those that I have tried are any indication, this book will be in regular rotation for a very long time. Try the Very Vanilla Snickerdoodles (page 210), or the Cashew Chicken Stir-Fry (page 52).

Super Suppers Cookbook

6 forks out of 10


This book is an offshoot of the on-site cooking franchise popping up across the country (check them out at http://www.supersuppers.com/). I love the idea of the franchise because all of the prep work is done for you, but overall the cookbook misses the mark just a little.

There are a few really great recipes (Sam's Firestation Chicken, page 80, and Bread Pudding, page 134, will both be permanent fixtures in my cooking repertoire), but for the most part I found the recipes a little too... simple? Basic? Not sure of the exact right term here, but to sum it up, they need a little more "something". If you're a beginning cook or not too comfortable with your skills in the kitchen, this is the perfect book for you. The recipes are straightforward, easy to follow, and the side dish and dessert recommendations are spot-on. For the more advanced cook, you may find the recipes need a little tweaking to suit your personal tastes.

Side note: Each recipe makes one entree. Obviously you can increase the recipe as needed, but if you're really looking to stock the freezer, it might be a pain to multiply every recipe.

Stuffed Peppers

2 cups uncooked brown rice
8 large green bell peppers, roughly equal in size
olive oil
1 large onion, diced
1 package ground turkey (about 1 lb)
1 large jar salsa (use something with lots of veggies, like a black-bean-and-corn version. Whatever level of heat you prefer)
shredded cheddar cheese

• Slice the tops off of the peppers (about 1/4 down from the bottom of the stem), straight across so that it makes a cup. Remove and discard the seeds. Set the peppers, cut side down, in a pot with about 1/2 an inch of boiling water and cover completely. Steam the peppers this way until you can just pierce them easily with a sharp knife. (They should be bright green, before the color starts to fade.)
• Cook the rice according to the package directions and set aside.
• Take the pepper tops you cut off, remove the stems, and dice the remaining pepper tops.
• Heat a tablespoon or two of oil in a large pot, and saute the onions and diced pepper tops until the onions are translucent.
• Add the turkey to the pot, and continue to saute until the turkey is no longer pink and is cooked all the way through. Break up any large chunks of meat while cooking. Remove from heat.
• Add the cooked rice and entire jar of salsa to the turkey-onion mixture and stir until fully combined.
• Flip the steamed peppers cut-side-up and sprinkle a little cheddar into the bottom of each. Fill pepper halfway with the turkey mixture, then a little sprinkle of cheese. Fill the rest of the way with turkey mixture, and top with a final sprinkle of cheese.
• Tuck the stuffed peppers into freezer bags and freeze.

TO COMPLETE:

• Defrost completely
• Place the pepper on a baking sheet or oven-safe dish and bake at 250°F until warm and bubbly, about 30 minutes

About the Recipes

Here's the deal. I don't measure; everything is approximate. Chances are, I don't even make a recipe using the exact same ingredients every time I make it, but they'll be pretty close. If it sounds good to you, try it out but do it YOUR way. If you don't like onions, leave them out. Add some shallots instead. Whatever. Add a little extra wine to your sauce. Or don't. That's the point. Cooking should be fun, not a chore, and there's never any need to follow a recipe exactly as you've found it (unless you're baking, and then there's some actual science involved!)

None of the recipes you find here will come from cookbooks. That would be copyright infringement and frankly, I'm not down with intellectual property theft or jailtime. Somehow I think that would lessen my quality time with the fam. That said, I know lots of people who cook really well, so if they choose to allow me to use their recipes here, they'll be given credit. If you don't see someone else's name attached, you can assume it's my own recipe.

What's a Prupetta?

I was a prupetta. My daughter is a prupetta. Chances are, you know one, too. "Prupetta" is Italian slang for "little meatball" (or at least it is in my grandmother's little village in Calabria!). When I was a round, fat little baby, that's what she called me, and now that Hannah's here, she adopted the nickname (along with many, many others, most of which are, oddly, also foody related).



So why, if I'm no longer a prupetta, is my blog called Prupetta's Kitchen? Because my grandmother and my mother inspired my love of all things food-related, and that's where the nickname originated. Hannah, the reigning Prupetta, is my current inspiration to make meals that take less time day-to-day so I can spend more time with my fledgling little family.



Here's a little inspiration for you -- little miss Hannah, toothless wonder that she is:

About Prupetta's Kitchen

Prupetta's Kitchen started began when I was pregnant with my daughter, Hannah. I knew as a new mom, I wouldn't have much time or energy for cooking. So, instead, I began cooking whole meals and stocking the freezer with them. The more I thought about it, the more I realized how many other people would benefit from doing this same thing. Not just busy moms, but people who can't cook (or just don't like to!), or work long hours, or would be out of commission due to surgery, or... There are a million reasons people don't cook for themselves. Everyone is just so BUSY going about our daily lives, we tend to fall back on takeout and fast food.

We all deserve better. We all deserve to have a hot, home-cooked meal once in a while, and that's where Prupetta's comes in. Some genius out there came up with the concept of "once a month cooking". (Wish I could take credit for it but, alas, this was around long before I discovered it.) You take the meal out of the freezer, and once it's defrosted, follow the last few steps to get dinner on the table with minimal effort. My humble little blog will help you sort through all the websites, cookbooks, random recipes, and ideas that make stocking your freezer easier, faster, and a whole lot tastier.

So go ahead, stay a little late at work. Spend an extra hour playing with the kids. Try on that one last pair of shoes. Dinner will be ready when you are.