6 O'CLOCK

Topeka Capital-Journal, The, Oct 13, 2004 by Kasha Stoll Capital-Journal

Advance planning can take the last-minute confusion out of dinner - -- and save a trip to the store

Percent of Americans who choose dinners based on speed/ease of preparation

Seafood creole

PHOTOGRAPHS BY MIKE SHEPHERD/THE CAPITAL-JOURNAL

Chicken Spaghetti is topped with cheese and black olives.

By Kasha Stoll

THE CAPITAL-JOURNAL

On any given day, about one in three cooks have to run to the store to pick up one or more items for dinner. And cooks ages 18-35 and those with children under age 13 are the group most likely to say that planning ahead for meals is difficult.

The results of the 2002 Gallup study on changing food preparation and eating habits were presented by the Institute of Food Technologists in the article, "What, When and Where Americans Eat: 2003."

Kareem Thomas, of Topeka, admitted she doesn't always know what she is going to serve for dinner but said those days happen only once every two to three weeks. And even then, she usually has a couple of homemade, single-serving size meals stashed in her freezer.

"It's a good backup," Thomas said.

Thomas is taking 12 hours at Washburn University, works 15 hours a week at Topeka High School as a tutor, helps take care of her 88- year-old grandfather and does volunteer work for various community organizations.

"I plan ahead, and it is based on my schedule," she said. "When I have evening classes, those are my leftover days."

Thomas uses several tricks to help eliminate the 6 p.m. weeknight scramble, including cleaning and slicing vegetables during the weekend, cooking in her crockpot overnight and making meals that can be frozen.

"Even if you spend an extra 15 to 20 minutes in the kitchen one day making a casserole or stew," Thomas said, "it saves you time the next day."

She also calls herself a "30-Minute Meals" junkie, referring to Rachel Rae's television show on the Food Network.

"I think it's important to have a stash of 30-minute recipes because it's time saving," Thomas said. "Also, I think there is a misconception that because a meal is fast, it lacks flavor. That's not always true.

"I want fast meals, not fast food."

Kasha Stoll can be reached at

(785) 295-1270 or kasha.stoll@cjonline.com.

Recipe of the week

(more recipes on Page 5B and at cjonline.com)

Chicken Spaghetti

1 or 2 cups cooked chicken, cut in chunks 1 6-ounce package thin spaghetti, cooked 1 can cream of mushroom soup, undiluted 1/2 cup diced onion 1 4-ounce can pimentos 1/4 cup sliced ripe olives 1/2 pound Velveeta cheese, cubed Salt and pepper, to taste Parmesan cheese, grated

Mix all ingredients except Parmesan cheese together. Place in a 1 1/2-quart casserole dish.

Cover and bake in a 350-degree oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

Stir once or twice toward end of cooking time to mix ingredients. (Amounts of ingredients can vary slightly, if desired.)

Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

SOURCE: Kareem Thomas, of Topeka

Other recipes

Seafood Creole

1 pound crawfish tail meat 1 pound andouille sausage 1 pound medium-sized fresh shrimp, peeled and deveined 1/4 cup vegetable oil 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 1 1/2 cups chopped onion 1 cup chopped celery 3/4 cup chopped green onions 1 large green pepper, chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 16-ounce can Italian-style tomatoes, undrained, chopped 1 8-ounce can tomato sauce 1 6-ounce can tomato paste 1 cup water 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 1 teaspoon pepper 1/2 teaspoon red pepper, ground 2 bay leaves 1 tablespoon lemon juice 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce Dash hot pepper sauce 1 tablespoon chopped parsley Hot boiled rice

Combine oil and flour in a Dutch oven. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until mixture is golden colored. This should take about 15 to 20 minutes. Add onion, celery, green onions, green pepper and garlic. Cook, stirring often, 15 minutes or more until vegetables are tender.

Stir in tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, water, salt, black and red pepper, bay leaves, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce and sausage. Bring to a boil; cover and reduce heat. Simmer for one hour, stirring occasionally. Add shrimp and crawfish, and simmer for about 10 minutes more, or until the shrimp turn pink. Remove the bay leaves. Stir in parsley and serve over rice.

The seafood creole freezes well and makes six to eight servings.

SOURCE: Kareem Thomas, of Topeka

Ground Beef

Stoganoff

2 pounds ground beef 2 medium onions, chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 small can sliced mushrooms, drained 2 1/2 teaspoons salt 1/4 teaspoon pepper 1 cup beef bouillon 3 tablespoons tomato paste 1 1/2 cup sour cream 4 tablespoons flour

Mix sour cream and flour. Set aside.

Brown ground beef in large skillet. Add onions, garlic and mushrooms. Saute until onion is golden brown. Put in crockpot and stir in all remaining ingredients. Cover and cook on low six to eight hours on low. Serve over hot noodles or rice.