Torelli - The Fast-Food Kitchen

Sheri Torelli

HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS

EUGENE, OREGON

Cover by Left Coast Design, Portland, Oregon

Cover photo Tim Pannell/Corbis

THE FAST-FOOD KITCHEN

Copyright 2011 by Sheri Torelli

Published by Harvest House Publishers

Eugene, Oregon 97402

www.harvesthousepublishers.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Torelli, Sheri, 1956

The fast-food kitchen / Sheri Torelli.

p. cm.

ISBN 978-0-7369-3039-0 (pbk.)

1. CookeryPlanning. 2. FamiliesNutrition. 3. Grocery shopping. I. Title.

TX652.T67 2011

641.5dc22

2010015983

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, digital, photocopy, recording, or any otherexcept for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Printed in China

11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 / RDS-SK / 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

To my husband, Tim, my cooking guinea pig. You often tell me that a peanut butter sandwich prepared by me is better than any five-star restaurant meal. Your love and encouragement help me believe I can do anything. You have my heart! This book could never have happened without you. I love you, and I enjoy cooking for you most of all!

The many people who play a part in shaping a book enter the scene long before the manuscript is completed and the book is on the shelf. The idea for this book was born out of a desire to help busy women discover the joy that can be found in the kitchen. The original idea and title for the book came from my husband, Tim, who watched and listened as we taught seminars. Women expressed how overwhelmed they felt at mealtime because of a lack of resources, preparation, and experience. As someone who is very production-oriented, Tim knew there was a simpler, more efficient way to prepare home-cooked meals. As we began to brainstorm, talk to women in all walks of life, and ask lots of questions, The Fast-Food Kitchen was born. My wonderful publisher, Harvest House, believed the idea was timely, and I will be forever grateful for this wonderful opportunity.

So many others have encouraged me along this path, and I would love to let them know what their encouragement, help, and love have meant to me:

Hope Lyda, my amazing editor. She caught my vision and brought it to life. Thank you, Hope.

Shirley Almeida and Tracy Klehnmy Paisan-Amie girlfriends. Your love, encouragement and, most of all, your crazy fun and laughter have brightened many a day just when I needed it most.

Raquel Carlsonmy close friend, and the best neighbor on earth! We tried many of the recipes in this book to determine their worthiness in terms of simple and delicious. She is a great cook for her husband, Curtis (also a great cook!), and her three sonsAndrew, Ryan, and Michael (my little loves!).

Tracey Barretta sweet and precious friend. She prays for me and lifts my spirits with her weekly calls of love and encouragement. I only wish we lived closer to one another!

Faithful friends of More Hours in My Dayto the women across the country who willingly and lovingly sent e-mails with their favorite recipes, you are the best! You will never know how special you are to me.

MOPS momsyour enthusiasm, your recipes, and most of allyour friendship and love!

My momwho taught me the value of a clean kitchen and how to do it. I love you!

My nananow in heaven, Nana was the best cook I have ever known. She could make something out of next to nothing, and she made it look so easy. She taught me that leftovers were just the beginning of a feast!

Wilmaa special treasured friend of my heart, an amazing cook, and a fabulous hostess!

Bob and Emilie Barneslove and encouragement come so naturally for you. Your friendship means everything to me. Thank you for helping me become a maker of my home!

And saving the best for lastmy children, Nicholas and Terra. You make me believe I am the best cook on earth, and I love to cook for you. Terra Bug, you will always be my favorite tea party companion! I love you both with all my heart!

Contents

Emilie Barnes

I am delighted to have the opportunity to write the foreword for this book. As the founder of More Hours in My Day, I have had the privilege of meeting many women over the years who have testified how this ministry has changed their lives, but none more so than my sweet friend, Sheri Torelli. Sheri and I met in 1981 at one of my very early seminars. She was a reluctant attendee. She simply came to try to squeeze out the few extra hours in her day that she desperately needed. As a young wife and new mother, she was drowning in clutter and a disorganized home. Sheri became my star student! With her teachable spirit and desire to attain a level of simple organization and welcome in her home, she devoured everything I was teaching.

In the early years, Sheri edited many of our books, and as she typed our manuscripts, she was absorbing what she was reading. Many times she would try something in the book and find that it was not only very simple and easy to implement, but when it was applied, it was making a huge difference in her home and with her family. As she worked hard at becoming a maker of her home, it was not too long before others began to notice the changes.

In 1999, she began teaching seminars and traveling around Southern California and across the country, sharing what she had learned to women who were struggling as she had struggled. The principles were the same, but the stories were uniqueshared from a heart that longed to see women encouraged and changed to become true makers of their own homes, whether they were stay-at-home, working out-of-home, or single women and mothers.

Today, one of the areas Sheri sees women struggling with is in the preparation of meals at home for their families. Eating out in restaurants and fast-food establishments instead of gathering around the dining room table has become commonplace, and its almost an everyday occurrence. She recognized the need to encourage women to see the value and worth of time and energy spent in the kitchen and at the dinner table. With encouragement and help from her husband, Tim, she began formulating an idea that would provide the necessary tools and ideas to make getting back into the kitchen something to look forward to instead of dreading. And The Fast-Food Kitchen idea was born.

Though this book has an amazing collection of simple and delicious recipes, it is not just another cookbook. More than that, it is a book that will motivate you to personalize and utilize your kitchen, embrace methods of cooking meals that make life easier and better, and encourage your family to gather at the table more often.

Sheri shares her life-changing ideas with a realistic perspective. She fully understands the time constraints busy women and mothers face today. As you read through the pages, her ideas, recipes, tips, and storieslaced with humor and lovewill encourage and delight you as you work to create a home environment that says, Welcome home, my family. You are deeply loved!