This is for the novices who primarily use frozen veggies. Try steaming! It's much tastier, and it doesn't have to mean that "raw" style of veggies that were so popular for awhile.
Get yourself a small, collapsible metal steamer basket. They're usually about 4 or 5 inches in diameter closed, and open to about twice that when fully opened flat.
Put the basket in a small saucepan, and open it as far as it will go (that'll vary based on the size of the pan). Put a small amount of water in the bottom - not enough to come up into the steamer basket, but enough that the pan won't go dry (i.e., put in water just up to the bottom of the basket). Cut your broccoli or carrots into whatever size pieces you like (for broccoli, I like florets with little or no stem/stalk; for carrots, I use baby carrots, whole or cut in half, depending on the size). Place them in the basket, put a lid on the pan, and then cook over high heat, for about 6 or 7 minutes for broccoli; 10 minutes for carrots or a combo of the two (once the water starts to boil, which will only take a minute or two). If you have a REALLY full steamer basket, you might need a couple more minutes.
Turn off the heat, and either spoon out the veggies into your serving dish or onto your plate, or gently pull the steamer basket (if it has a plastic handle) out of the pan and just dump the veggies into the dish. Season broccoli with a little kosher salt and pepper, and/or even a little lemon juice.
About This Blog
The idea for this blog came from my attempt to improve the variety in my family's evening meal after my second pregnancy, during which I made little or no effort to cook. Since I have two small children, I focused on my easiest recipes to minimize time in the kitchen, and aimed to go at least one whole calendar month without repeating a dinner menu. I did re-use a few side dishes, but I didn't repeat entrees, and I rarely spent more than 30-40 minutes making dinner. Ultimately, I found I could go way beyond one month!
I thought other folks might benefit from my little experiment, so I decided to go ahead and publish "a month of menus," including calendar, menus, recipes*, and notes. I've made some adjustments to my actual calendar to take out nights we ate out, spread out the chicken dishes, etc. (Once I get the first month complete, I may try to post a second month's worth.) I've posted each recipe as a separate posting for ease in searching, and the calendar appears at the bottom of the page. (My apologies that a few recipes are out of order. A blog is a difficult format for this, but it's a heckuva lot easier than a website!)
I hope someone out there will find this information useful! Bon appetit!
*Many of my recipes are from cookbooks or were published in a magazine or on a website. I have done my best to be respectful of copyrights, so in some cases I don't reprint a recipe here, but I point you to the book or link you to the website. I have attributed all other recipes as best I could, but I don't always have the original source noted in my own files. My apologies to anyone who isn't properly credited for a recipe!
I thought other folks might benefit from my little experiment, so I decided to go ahead and publish "a month of menus," including calendar, menus, recipes*, and notes. I've made some adjustments to my actual calendar to take out nights we ate out, spread out the chicken dishes, etc. (Once I get the first month complete, I may try to post a second month's worth.) I've posted each recipe as a separate posting for ease in searching, and the calendar appears at the bottom of the page. (My apologies that a few recipes are out of order. A blog is a difficult format for this, but it's a heckuva lot easier than a website!)
I hope someone out there will find this information useful! Bon appetit!
*Many of my recipes are from cookbooks or were published in a magazine or on a website. I have done my best to be respectful of copyrights, so in some cases I don't reprint a recipe here, but I point you to the book or link you to the website. I have attributed all other recipes as best I could, but I don't always have the original source noted in my own files. My apologies to anyone who isn't properly credited for a recipe!
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