Good Eats: Microwave products coddle those who don't cook
By Marcia Poole | Posted: Wednesday, April 09, 2008
Crazy Veal Bolognese Lasagna takes a short-cut with prepared sauce and pasta.
In 10 years or so, many Siouxland residential kitchens probably won't have a conventional oven. They'll rely entirely on a microwave to heat up already prepared foods, says Marketplace Hy-Vee catering manager Al Metz.
His prediction is only a guess. But it's an educated guess, based on daily observations of how Siouxlanders prepare and serve meals.
"Most of it is about free time and how people choose to spend it. Cooking just doesn't fit into that for a lot of people," he says.
Fully prepared holiday dinners have exploded in popularity, making the Thanksgiving meal a take-out affair in many homes. Parties often mean calling in a caterer. Weeknight meals tend to be more about assembling items from the deli or getting take-out from local restaurants than about actual cooking.
No-cook meals are really nothing new. Food companies and conventional ovens led the way, starting with TV dinners rolled out by Swanson in late 1953. This followed the Omaha Company's launch of frozen pot pies. The compartmentalized meals sold for 98 cents apiece.
Packaged in aluminum trays, TV dinners caught on instantly. Some attributed the success to the record number of women working outside the home during the 1950s. They needed a quick solution to putting dinner on the table.
Some say television whetted an appetite for effortless meals consumed while watching the nightly news. But surely the major factor was simply this: popping frozen food in the oven was a lot easier than cooking a meal from scratch -- not as tasty maybe, but definitely easier.
Convenience was made possible in part by technology that put decent-sized freezers into grocery stores and homes, mainly after World War II and the end of steel rationing. Clarence Birdseye produced frozen dinners in 1939, but few grocery stores could accommodate the products in any volume. Residential refrigerators and ice boxes were equipped with freezer compartments big enough only for ice cube trays.
By the time the Swanson brothers came along, American consumers were embracing frozen prepared foods and they had ample space to store the stuff. Today, we're seeing convenience food packaging that doesn't need freezing. It makes prepared products shelf-stable; food goes from the cupboard directly into the microwave and then onto the dinner plate. One of the latest is pasta sauce that also aims at eliminating canned-food aftertaste.
Bertolli has a line of these sauces labeled "premium." They're pricier than canned sauces and products in a jar but they taste better and cook in their own pouch. For a quick entree, the pouch goes into the microwave for 90 seconds and then is served over pasta. Prepared pasta from the refrigerated case makes the meal even quicker. Ragu is out with a line of newly packaged sauce described as "all natural."
The new sauces are fine on their own or as ingredients in short-cut main dishes, such as Crazy Veal Bolognese Lasagna. The National Cattlemen's Beef Association created the recipe as an alternative to cooking and layering lasagna noodles the traditional way.
The dish starts with ground veal. After it's cooked, the meat simmers along with onions, carrots, red wine and the prepared pasta sauce. Refrigerated cheese ravioli eliminates the need to boil pasta. The mixture is spread in an oblong baking dish and topped with prepared Alfredo sauce, shredded mozzarella and grated Parmesan. Served with a tossed green salad, the quick dish makes a satisfying meal.
Today's second Good Eats recipe, Lazy Day Lasagna from the National Cattlemen, shows how flexible the pasta dish can be. Short-cut versions are really nothing new. In fact, Americans have been shaving off prep time for decades as a way to meld their love for Italian cuisine with their need for ease.
A little digging uncovers the origin of spaghetti and meatballs. Italian immigrants favored traditional multi-course dinners, but found American ways called for putting everything on the table at once. As a result, the pasta course and the meat course were combined, giving rise to the meatball dish. At least that's the story told in the Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America.
Crazy Veal Bolognese Lasagna
Total preparation and cooking time: 1.5 hours
One and one-half pounds ground veal
1 tablespoon olive oil
One-half cup diced carrots (one-quarter inch)
One half cup diced onions (one-quarter inch)
1 cup dry red wine
1 jar (26 ounces) marinara or tomato-basil pasta sauce
One and three-quarters cup veal stock or 1 can (13.75 to 14.5 ounces) chicken broth
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves, crushed
1 package (20 ounces) refrigerated fresh cheese ravioli
1 container (16 ounces) refrigerated Alfredo sauce
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
One-half cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley
Heat oven to 425 degrees F. Brown ground veal in Dutch oven over medium heat eight minutes or until veal is not pink, breaking up into small crumbles. Drain and remove veal from Dutch oven.
Heat oil in same Dutch oven over medium heat until hot. Add carrot and onion; cook and stir three to four minutes or until softened. Add wine; increase heat to medium-high. Cook three minutes or until wine is slightly reduced. Add ground veal, marinara sauce, stock, one tablespoon parsley and thyme; mix well. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to maintain a gentle boil; cook 10 to 20 minutes or until mixture is reduced to six cups. Remove from heat.
Add ravioli to Dutch oven; toss to coat. Spray 13-by-9-by-2-inch baking dish or pan with nonstick cooking spray. Transfer ravioli mixture to baking dish. Spread Alfredo sauce evenly on top. Sprinkle with mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses and one tablespoon parsley.
Cover dish and bake at 425 degrees F. oven for 20 minutes. Uncover dish; continue baking 10 minutes or until bubbly. Let stand 15 minutes before serving. Makes eight servings; 689 calories each. Source: The Beef Checkoff
Lazy Beef Lasagna
One and one-half pounds ground beef (90-96 percent lean)
1 tablespoon minced garlic
One-half teaspoon salt
One-quarter to one-half teaspoon ground nutmeg
One-quarter teaspoon pepper
1 jar (26 ounces) prepared pasta or marinara sauce
One and one-half cups water
1 package (20 to 25 ounces) refrigerated or frozen cheese ravioli
1 cup shredded Italian cheese blend
Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Brown ground beef with garlic in large nonstick skillet over medium heat eight to 10 minutes or until beef is not pink, breaking up into small crumbles. Pour off drippings.
Stir in salt, nutmeg and pepper; mix well. Stir in pasta sauce and water; bring to a boil. Cook one to two minutes, stirring occasionally.
Layer ravioli, beef sauce and cheese, one-half at a time, in a 13-by-9-inch glass baking dish; cover with aluminum foil. Bake in 400 degree F. oven 15 minutes (20 minutes if using frozen ravioli). Uncover; continue baking 15 to 20 minutes or until sauce is bubbly and pasta is tender.
Let stand five minutes before serving. Makes six to eight servings; 419 calories based on six serving. Source: Beef Checkoff
His prediction is only a guess. But it's an educated guess, based on daily observations of how Siouxlanders prepare and serve meals.
"Most of it is about free time and how people choose to spend it. Cooking just doesn't fit into that for a lot of people," he says.
Fully prepared holiday dinners have exploded in popularity, making the Thanksgiving meal a take-out affair in many homes. Parties often mean calling in a caterer. Weeknight meals tend to be more about assembling items from the deli or getting take-out from local restaurants than about actual cooking.
No-cook meals are really nothing new. Food companies and conventional ovens led the way, starting with TV dinners rolled out by Swanson in late 1953. This followed the Omaha Company's launch of frozen pot pies. The compartmentalized meals sold for 98 cents apiece.
Packaged in aluminum trays, TV dinners caught on instantly. Some attributed the success to the record number of women working outside the home during the 1950s. They needed a quick solution to putting dinner on the table.
Some say television whetted an appetite for effortless meals consumed while watching the nightly news. But surely the major factor was simply this: popping frozen food in the oven was a lot easier than cooking a meal from scratch -- not as tasty maybe, but definitely easier.
Convenience was made possible in part by technology that put decent-sized freezers into grocery stores and homes, mainly after World War II and the end of steel rationing. Clarence Birdseye produced frozen dinners in 1939, but few grocery stores could accommodate the products in any volume. Residential refrigerators and ice boxes were equipped with freezer compartments big enough only for ice cube trays.
By the time the Swanson brothers came along, American consumers were embracing frozen prepared foods and they had ample space to store the stuff. Today, we're seeing convenience food packaging that doesn't need freezing. It makes prepared products shelf-stable; food goes from the cupboard directly into the microwave and then onto the dinner plate. One of the latest is pasta sauce that also aims at eliminating canned-food aftertaste.
Bertolli has a line of these sauces labeled "premium." They're pricier than canned sauces and products in a jar but they taste better and cook in their own pouch. For a quick entree, the pouch goes into the microwave for 90 seconds and then is served over pasta. Prepared pasta from the refrigerated case makes the meal even quicker. Ragu is out with a line of newly packaged sauce described as "all natural."
The new sauces are fine on their own or as ingredients in short-cut main dishes, such as Crazy Veal Bolognese Lasagna. The National Cattlemen's Beef Association created the recipe as an alternative to cooking and layering lasagna noodles the traditional way.
The dish starts with ground veal. After it's cooked, the meat simmers along with onions, carrots, red wine and the prepared pasta sauce. Refrigerated cheese ravioli eliminates the need to boil pasta. The mixture is spread in an oblong baking dish and topped with prepared Alfredo sauce, shredded mozzarella and grated Parmesan. Served with a tossed green salad, the quick dish makes a satisfying meal.
Today's second Good Eats recipe, Lazy Day Lasagna from the National Cattlemen, shows how flexible the pasta dish can be. Short-cut versions are really nothing new. In fact, Americans have been shaving off prep time for decades as a way to meld their love for Italian cuisine with their need for ease.
A little digging uncovers the origin of spaghetti and meatballs. Italian immigrants favored traditional multi-course dinners, but found American ways called for putting everything on the table at once. As a result, the pasta course and the meat course were combined, giving rise to the meatball dish. At least that's the story told in the Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America.
Crazy Veal Bolognese Lasagna
Total preparation and cooking time: 1.5 hours
One and one-half pounds ground veal
1 tablespoon olive oil
One-half cup diced carrots (one-quarter inch)
One half cup diced onions (one-quarter inch)
1 cup dry red wine
1 jar (26 ounces) marinara or tomato-basil pasta sauce
One and three-quarters cup veal stock or 1 can (13.75 to 14.5 ounces) chicken broth
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves, crushed
1 package (20 ounces) refrigerated fresh cheese ravioli
1 container (16 ounces) refrigerated Alfredo sauce
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
One-half cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley
Heat oven to 425 degrees F. Brown ground veal in Dutch oven over medium heat eight minutes or until veal is not pink, breaking up into small crumbles. Drain and remove veal from Dutch oven.
Heat oil in same Dutch oven over medium heat until hot. Add carrot and onion; cook and stir three to four minutes or until softened. Add wine; increase heat to medium-high. Cook three minutes or until wine is slightly reduced. Add ground veal, marinara sauce, stock, one tablespoon parsley and thyme; mix well. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to maintain a gentle boil; cook 10 to 20 minutes or until mixture is reduced to six cups. Remove from heat.
Add ravioli to Dutch oven; toss to coat. Spray 13-by-9-by-2-inch baking dish or pan with nonstick cooking spray. Transfer ravioli mixture to baking dish. Spread Alfredo sauce evenly on top. Sprinkle with mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses and one tablespoon parsley.
Cover dish and bake at 425 degrees F. oven for 20 minutes. Uncover dish; continue baking 10 minutes or until bubbly. Let stand 15 minutes before serving. Makes eight servings; 689 calories each. Source: The Beef Checkoff
Lazy Beef Lasagna
One and one-half pounds ground beef (90-96 percent lean)
1 tablespoon minced garlic
One-half teaspoon salt
One-quarter to one-half teaspoon ground nutmeg
One-quarter teaspoon pepper
1 jar (26 ounces) prepared pasta or marinara sauce
One and one-half cups water
1 package (20 to 25 ounces) refrigerated or frozen cheese ravioli
1 cup shredded Italian cheese blend
Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Brown ground beef with garlic in large nonstick skillet over medium heat eight to 10 minutes or until beef is not pink, breaking up into small crumbles. Pour off drippings.
Stir in salt, nutmeg and pepper; mix well. Stir in pasta sauce and water; bring to a boil. Cook one to two minutes, stirring occasionally.
Layer ravioli, beef sauce and cheese, one-half at a time, in a 13-by-9-inch glass baking dish; cover with aluminum foil. Bake in 400 degree F. oven 15 minutes (20 minutes if using frozen ravioli). Uncover; continue baking 15 to 20 minutes or until sauce is bubbly and pasta is tender.
Let stand five minutes before serving. Makes six to eight servings; 419 calories based on six serving. Source: Beef Checkoff
Story Comments
Read More and Post Comments 0 comment(s)
Please note: The following are comments from readers. In no way do they represent the views of The Sioux City Journal or Lee Enterprises. We will not edit or alter your comments, but we do reserve the right to not post or to remove comments that violate our code of conduct. No comment may contain potentially libelous statements; obscene, explicit or racist language; personal attacks, insults or threats. Terms of Service
