Cook once, eat twice

With everything going on in the month of December, it’s easy to lose sight of what’s truly important — time with family and friends, celebrating the holidays and enjoying our most cherished traditions. This month’s column is a reminder that eating healthily doesn’t have to be time-consuming as long as you plan ahead. The “cook once, eat twice” approach — which we use twice here — is a time and penny saver. And we end the week with a warm, delicious breakfast recipe that will make it a little easier to face the day on Saturday. You may notice that we’ve gathered some of our favorite recipes from previous columns, which makes life easier on this writer, too! Enjoy.

SUNDAY
Turkey Bratwurst
Braised Red Cabbage*
Mashed Potatoes*
Braised Red Cabbage
2 tbsp butter
1 medium onion, sliced
1 pound red cabbage, sliced
¼ cup water
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
1 cup shredded carrots
2 tbsp cider vinegar
1 tsp caraway seeds
Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until tender. Add cabbage and cook for 3 minutes, stirring often. Add water, salt and pepper. Cover and let simmer for 10 minutes or until cabbage is crisp tender. Stir in carrots, vinegar and caraway seeds. Cook another five minutes and serve.
*Save 4 cups of mashed potatoes for Monday and two cups of braised cabbage for Tuesday!

MONDAY
Spicy kale & tomatoes
Mashed potatoes
Cornbread
Spicy kale & tomatoes
2 bunches kale (about 1 pound)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large purple onion, sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
2 tsp red wine vinegar (or to taste)
½ cup beer (non-alcoholic is fine)
½ cup water
¼ tsp crushed red pepper flakes (or to taste)
Salt to taste
Hot sauce
Thoroughly rinse the kale. Remove the stem ends and coarsely chop the leaves. Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven, and sauté the onion for about ten minutes. Add the kale and garlic, stirring often until the kale wilts. Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Cook, covered, for approximately 30 minutes or until kale is tender. Serve over mashed potatoes. Season with hot sauce, if desired.

TUESDAY
Turkey Reubens
Veggie Chips
Turkey Reubens
Sliced light rye bread
Coarse grain mustard
Thinly sliced deli turkey
Sliced Swiss cheese
Braised Red Cabbage (leftover from Sunday)
Spread mustard on one slice of bread and top with two to three slices of turkey, one slice of cheese, and 1/3 to ½ cup of  braised cabbage. Top with the other bread slice, lightly butter the outsides of each slice of bread, and grill until golden brown.

WEDNESDAY
Chili*
Apple crisp and vanilla frozen yogurt
Chili
2 pounds ground chicken or turkey breast
1 large onion, chopped
1 green pepper, seeded and chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp salt
4 tbsp chili powder, to taste
2 (28-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
2 (14-ounce) cans dark kidney beans, undrained
2 (6-ounce) cans tomato paste
1 cup water
Cook the ground turkey, onion, green pepper and garlic over medium heat in a large Dutch oven until the turkey is no longer pink. Drain and return to heat. Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Simmer, uncovered, for up to an hour. (Make the apple crisp while the chili cooks.)
*Save at least 4 cups of chili for Friday!

THURSDAY
Take Out Night!
Call ahead to your favorite Chinese or Thai restaurant and pick up dinner on the way home. Stay away from fried foods as much as possible, and opt for dishes with plenty of vegetables. Many restaurants also allow you to choose tofu rather than the traditional chicken, beef or shrimp in some dishes. And, be sure to ask for brown rice instead of white.

FRIDAY
Taco Salad
Chili (leftover from Wednesday)
Blue corn chips
Lettuce, washed and coarsely chopped
Cheddar cheese, grated
Sour cream
Black olives, sliced
Fresh avocado
Reheat the chili in a large pot over medium heat. Top corn chips with lettuce, warm chili, and other desired toppings.

SATURDAY
Baked oatmeal with apples and raisins
1 cup old-fashioned oats
2 cups milk
2 Tbsp maple syrup
1 Tbsp butter, melted
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp cinnamon
Pinch each of cloves and nutmeg
1 cup chopped apples
½ cup golden or dark raisins
Optional: 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Lightly grease the inside of a slow cooker. Mix together all the ingredients and pour into the slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for five to six hours. Serve with milk poured over the top. (To wake up to a hot breakfast, mix together all the ingredients just before going to bed. Then plug your slow cooker into a programmable lamp timer, set to turn on at midnight. Breakfast will be ready at 6 a.m.!)