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Staying Ahead Of The Curve In The Kitchen

Photo by LYNN KESSEL

If you like comfort food, then you should try this spinach lasagna. The recipe is from Maegan Bledsoe of Valrico, who sent it in response to a request from Dorthy Laegel of Seffner.

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By LYNN KESSEL

Tribune correspondent

Published: August 20, 2008

School's started. It's that no-time-to-do-anything time of year again.

Grades, lunch money and after-school activities; carpooling, PTA and parent-teacher conferences - whatever time parents had to themselves is about to take a hike. It's going to get a lot busier around the homestead.

Even though my kids are all out of the nest, I recently came across an interesting article from parents.com about how to "get stuff done faster."

Time-management expert Ronni Eisenberg proposed a few good ideas that you might want to try - even if you don't have kids.

"Instead of spending 20 minutes here and there," Eisenberg said to "stay in the kitchen for longer periods." Prepare meals, serve them and do the dishes right away, rather than leave the kitchen after a meal and come back later to clean.

When I cook, my kitchen often looks like a cyclone ran through it. I always feel overwhelmed at the thought of cleaning the mess after we eat. I finally decided to take a few minutes while I'm making a meal to wash dishes as I use them. If I don't, a mountain of dirty pots and plates cover every inch of the counter.

If you have children, Eisenberg suggested letting them prepare their own school lunches, while you're fixing dinner. That might work for you, but it would be a recipe for disaster in my kitchen. Just call me the lone chef.

I guess Eisenberg's bottom line is there would be one less mess to clean later in the evening or the following morning.

Her article also recommended consolidating food prep. For example, chop enough vegetables for salad one night and stir-fry the next or double recipes and freeze a meal for later in the week.

Those tips made me think about a couple of time-saving ideas of my own I've implemented into my daily routine as the family cook.

For some reason, when I come home exhausted from work, washing lettuce and vegetables can seem torturous. And I just don't like buying prepackaged, prewashed, precut lettuce.

Now though, salads are my "slam-dunk" dinner because I keep a large plastic container filled with lettuce leaves I've washed as soon as they've come through the door from the market. We're eating more salads because the lettuce is plate-ready for dinner or handy for packing for lunch.

I love cold brewed coffee. I grind up a one-pound bag of coffee beans to make a two-week supply of cold-brewed iced coffee. In the morning, I add water to a small amount of the concentrate and heat it in the microwave.

Sometimes when I cook bacon, I go ahead and cook the entire package in advance, heating a few strips in the morning to save time.

Another make-ahead favorite is French toast and waffles. I almost always have leftover batter or dipping sauce when I make them on the weekends. Don't throw it away. Cook extra batches for a ready-to-eat breakfast for the following day. It takes two minutes to reheat in the toaster or frying pan.

In July, I received a note from reader Dorthy Laegel of Seffner. Dorothy was looking for a recipe for spinach lasagna, so I requested that someone send one in. Maegan Bledsoe of Valrico forwarded me her favorite spinach lasagna recipe, which she makes every few weeks or when she wants to "get ahead." She said it freezes well to enjoy later. Just be sure to let it thaw completely before putting it in the oven.

SPINACH LASAGNA

20 lasagna noodles

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup chopped fresh mushrooms

1 cup chopped onion

1 tablespoon minced garlic

2 cups fresh spinach

3 cups ricotta cheese; half-skim, half-whole milk is OK

2/3 cup grated Romano cheese

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon fresh or dried oregano

1 teaspoon fresh or dried basil leaves

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 egg

3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

3 cups tomato pasta sauce

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add lasagna noodles and cook according to package directions or until al dente; drain.

In a skillet over medium-high heat, cook mushrooms, onions, garlic and spinach in olive oil until onions are tender. Because spinach cooks quickly, you may want to let the mushrooms, onion and garlic get going for a few minutes before adding spinach. Drain excess liquid and cool.

Combine ricotta cheese, Romano cheese, salt, oregano, basil, pepper and egg in a bowl. Add cooled mushroom and spinach mixture. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute.

Layer lasagna noodles in bottom of a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Spread a third of the cheese/spinach mixture over noodles. Sprinkle 1 cup mozzarella cheese and 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese on top. Spread 1 cup spaghetti sauce over cheese. Repeat layering 2 times.

Cover dish with aluminum foil and bake in a preheated oven for 40-50 minutes. Cool 10 minutes before serving. Serves 12.

Lynn Kessel can be reached at lkessel@mac.com

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