I’m on a mission to cook all my own dinners.  One thing I’ve learned is that this task is probably a lot easier than I have been making it.  After living with a chef who had all the time in the world to make fantastic meals and hammered rules into my head (even though he was doing all the cooking), I’m trying to figure out how to make simple meals that are #HellaHealthy.  I’ve found a few recipes and I’ll share them here now and again.   But I’ve discovered a couple of things:

1. Most recipes and recipe books make things harder than they need to be.  I decided to microwave potatoes for dinner last night and went on the internet.  First up: 5 minutes on each side.  Easy!  Score! Then my eye drifted down the page.  “Nine Steps to Microwaving a Baked Potato.”  Nine Steps?!?  This over-complication is everywhere.  I got to thinking — it makes sense because who would buy a cookbook where the recipes are easy?  No branding, no celebrity chef.  Question answered.

2. Most fast, quick or easy recipes include butter, cheese, canned cream soup (filled with fat & salt) or a combo of all three.  I don’t cook with those.

3. Canned tomatoes and beans (pinto, black, garbanzo) are perfectly acceptable ingredients, as are frozen vegetables.  And the bottled crushed garlic works great.   They all saves a bunch of time and are healthy.

4. Bottled spaghetti sauce is really tasty.  I can chop an onion, pepper and sauté them with a little garlic, then add a bottle of spaghetti sauce.  BAM!  Microwave some turkey meatballs from Trader Joes.  Cook up some veggie pasta.  BAM!  #HellaHealthy meal in 10-15 (depending on how long it takes your water to boil).

I’m discovering that dinner can be fast and healthy.  Even if I’m not used to chopping and slaving over the stove.  Score!