First off, I have to admit that I am a lazy cook. I will never be any good at — or have much enthusiasm for — elaborate gourmet recipes with a dozen or more ingredients. Where I think I pass muster is at simple recipes, ideally three or four additions.
Some years ago a childhood friend of mine, Miriam Owen, became publisher at Cincinnati’s Mosaic Press, an outfit that produced dollhouse-sized books. She asked me to share some of my streamlined recipes in a tiny book. Why would I do that? I asked. Well, the pay wasn’t great. I’d get a check for $25 and 20 copies of the book. In return, I’d have to agree to autograph several dozen copies and return them to MosaicPress.
Pressed hard to agree, I finally said “yes,” more intrigued than interested in the rewards. I set to work to pick out which recipes to share.
The final result was a 1-inch by ½-inch mini-book titled Hasty Put-ins: Recipes for the gourmet in a hurry. The small size had been a challenge since there were — at most — just 16 lines to a page. I selected a bunch of recipes that stayed within that limit or appeared on two pages, space for 32 lines.
In writing the book, I included a sampling of popular dishes: among them an avocado dip, liver pate, spinach salad, Bouillabaisse Seattle, Zucchini Jeanie, Farmer Potatoes, Stuffed Tomatoes, and Sherry Cake. My favorite is Lazy Man’s Stew, a hearty dish that I still serve about once a month:
Lazy Man’s Stew
One pound of frozen beef stew meat
1 can cream of mushroom soup (Amy’s, if you can find it)
1 package of powered onion soup mixed with a cupful of water
½ cup of red wine (Washington varietal favored)
Mix and place all ingredients in a slow cooker. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Two hours before serving, add couple of handfuls of bite-sized potatoes and carrots.
Best served with mixed greens and garlic bread.
It’s true that I will never be invited to compete in a cooking show and I will never, ever earn the smallest sliver of the acclaim accorded Seattle’s famed chefs, experts like the Palace Kitchen’s Tom Douglas and Jeffry’s Renee Erickson. But I can still take comfort in bringing simple crowd pleasers to the table and in the knowledge of having once authored a cookbook.
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This is absolutely wonderful. Although I love cooking, and spend way too much of my time doing it when I should be writing, I also love lazy-cooking recipes. My one criteria for any recipe is, does it taste good? I have decided to find out, even though my pantry is definitely short on processed foods–except for canned sardines and tomato paste–and I don’t own a slow cooker. I’m thinking I should try making it in my pressure cooker. Any subsequent explosions or other tragic kitchen mishaps will be on you. Stay tuned.
Kathleen, I’m sure that things would work out using an alternative cooking method — but if you use a pot on the stove top, you may want to thaw the pound of pound of stew meat first. Other than that, do enjoy.
That sounds delicious, Jean. I’ve never added a can of “cream of” anything to a stew and am now 100% intrigued. Thank you!
Thanks, Ms. Godden. And please unveil your hasty Bouillabaisse Seattle. That’ss a dish for which a lazy version is truly needed.
This recipe looks good Jean. Thanks for sharing. I’ll have to give it a try. It looks much quicker – not counting the cook time in a slow cooker, which is not really time in the sense of food preparation – than my usual go-to beef stew recipe. I’ll have to give it a try. More and more these days, I value quick prep but reasonably healthy meals.
My go to beef stew recipe comes from Melissa Clark in the NYT but requires much more prep. It’s become a Thanksgiving and Christmas tradition. And I serve it over fat noodles like recommended in her piece (you may need a NYT account to see this):
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/30/dining/beef-stew-recipe.html
…
I spent my professional career from the mid-1980s to the mid-2010’s working for a large aircraft manufacturer in and around Seattle. Most of that time, I worked a 4/10 schedule and often didn’t get home for dinner until 6:30 or 7:00 PM after a long, dark and rainy commute home in winter (beef stew season). Dinner prep time was important then.
One day in the mid-90’s, a colleague dropped off a company health newsletter on the office windowsill to share when he was done with it. I glanced through it. I probably forgot any of the health advice before I left the office that day, but on the back page was a recipe for Superfast Chili. It said it was quick (15 minutes), was tasty, and the author or health reviewer said it was relatively healthy. I was skeptical and didn’t hold out much hope. But I photocopied it and tried it out.
Much to my surprise it was fast: 15 minutes from rinsing and opening the cans to having a cooked meal was tight, but it didn’t take more than 20 minutes. And it was delicious. It makes a great base as a chili starter or as-is. Several people I’ve offered it to have said so as well. It’s become a standard winter meal. It would never fit in your small book, but it is quite simple. Here goes:
SUPERFAST CHILI
INGREDIENTS:
Kidney beans, rinsed: (2) 15 oz. cans
Pinquito beans, rinsed: (1) 15 oz. can
Black beans, rinsed: (1) 15 oz. can
Diced tomatoes: (2) 15 oz. cans [Muir Glen Fire-roasted or similar]
Tomato paste: (1) heaping Tbsp. [Amore tomato paste in a tube, see note 1]
Salsa or picante sauce [ see note 2]
chili powder: 1 tsp.
ground cumin: ¼ tsp.
cayenne pepper: ⅛ tsp.
water: ½ cup
salt | pepper | smoked pimenton: to taste
NOTE 1: Squeeze tubes allow for less waste than small cans of tomato paste. Standard or sun-ripened strength is fine.
NOTE 2: Herdez Salsa Casera; Herdez Salsa Ranchero; or Marca El Pato Salsa de Chile Fresco work fine, as many others.
PREPARATION:
1. Toss everything together in a medium-to-large pan, heat slowly and stir until near boiling.
2. Garnish with avocado, cilantro, crushed tortilla chips or saltines (as desired).
3. Serve with tossed salad and warm bread.
Thanks again for the stew tip!
That sounds delicious, Jean, thank you. I fondly remember my mom using cream of mushroom soup (the old Campbell’s kind) in her tuna casserole with frozen peas and crushed potato chips on top. I will definitely give your beef version a try.
The Hasty Put-ins’ recipe for the requested Bouillabaisse Seattle. It’s one of the 32-line long recipes, but it’s still pretty simple. Here it is:
2 cans of diced petite tomatoes
Diced large onion
1 cup chopped celery
grated lemon rind, garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste
1-2 lbs fish chunks, shrimp, clams or other seafood
Put all except seafood in a kettle and simmer 1 hour
20 minutes before serving, add seafood & check seasoning
This will get me started, Jean. Thank you!
A reader pleads for the Spinach Salad recipe. Here goes:
2 TB vinegar
2 hard-cooked eggs (diced)’
1/4 C salad oil
salt and pepper
1 shredded onion
1/4 C mayo
1/2 lb of spinach
Stir vinegar and eggs until yolks are blended; add remaining ingredients and toss.