Rachael Ray - Rachael Ray: Just In Time

Other Books by Rachael Ray

Rachael Ray Get Real Meals
Rachael Ray 365: No Repeats
Rachael Ray Express Lane Meals
Rachael Ray 2, 4, 6, 8

Copyright 2007 by Rachael Ray
Photographs copyright 2007 by Tina Rupp

All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by CLARKSON POTTER/PUBLISHERS, an imprint of the CROWN PUBLISHING GROUP, a division of RANDOM HOUSE, INC., NEW YORK.
www.crownpublishing.com
www.clarksonpotter.com

Clarkson N. Potter is a trademark and Potter and colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request

eISBN: 978-0-307-95501-2

v3.1_r1

Special thanks to all the readers and viewers of 30-Minute Meals who continue to inspire me and who keep my appetite to write and to cook strong, even after all these years. Stay hungry for more!

Love and thanks to my family and my sweet Isaboo for being such good eaters and great cooks, too. Their recipes have helped to fill many pages of the 30-Minute Meal cookbooks.

Many thanks to Em, for all her tasty ideas. And last, but certainly not least, many thanks to Pam Krauss and Michelle Boxer for organizing my brain.

Just in Time is dedicated
to those who believe
theres always time for
a good meal.

15-minute meals

Sandwiches, Pizzas, and Burgers

Stoups, Stews, and Chilis

Pasta and Grains

Scotch Salmon with Farfalle

Salads and Vegetable Entres

Fish and Seafood

Chicken, Turkey, and Eggs

Beef, Pork, and Lamb

30-minute meals

Sandwiches, Pizzas, and Burgers

Sloppy Joaquins

Stoups, Stews, and Chilis

Pastas and Grains

Oh, Baby! Pasta with Shrimp, Grape Tomatoes, and Baby Arugula

Salads and Vegetable Entres

Fish and Seafood

Chicken, Turkey, and Eggs

Beef, Pork, and Lamb

Italian Barbecue Sliced Steak Sammies

60-minute meals

Sandwiches, Pizzas, and Burgers

Stoups, Stews, and Chilis

Pasta and Grains

Salads and Vegetable Entres

Mushrooms Artichokes

Fish and Seafood

Chicken, Turkey, and Eggs

Beef, Pork, and Lamb

People stop me all the time, especially in the grocery store, and ask how I keep coming up with new 30-Minute Meals after writing so many. They want to know, do I ever get recipe block?

Nope. 30-Minute Meals have developed a personality and life of their own. Now, the menus speak to me. The conversations go something like this: Hey, Rach, you havent written a burger in a while; what about a fish burger? Maybe with swordfish? Tasty idea.

The concept of 30-Minute Meals has become so ingrained in my very being that I write them in my sleep. I keep notebooks on the bedstand whether Im at home or traveling, for the 3 A.M. call from the kitchen in my head. When I look at ingredients I see increments of time. When I walk through the grocery store, I dont see red peppers and green beans, I see 5 to 6 minutes in a saut pan and 2 minutes in boiling salted water.

There are a lot of great new 30-MM here, in all the top categories: new pasta recipes you can feel really good about eating, like the super healthy Whole- Wheat Pasta Arrabbiata with Fire-Roasted Tomatoes and Arugula. Theres a lot of new MYOTO (Make-Your-Own Take-Out) like Grilled Chicken Shawarma and figure-friendly Tex-Mex like Charred Chili Rellenos. There are burgers made from more than ground beef, including the aforementioned swordfish burger and a French tuna burger, and there are tons of new meals to entice the pickiest of eaters into eating better and broader choices when it comes to foodcheck out the Sloppy Dude recipe that combines 99% fat-free turkey breast with ground tomatillos for a heaping portion of lean protein that tastes like salsa and chips. There are fancy meals for romantic suppers and family fare for big eaters and, as always, I write with the goal of using all types of ingredientsbut in moderation. These meals are filled with colorlots of fresh fruits, veggies, and herbs mixed up with lean proteins and grains. Sure, there are a few guilty pleasures, like a couple of new comfort food faves like Mac and Cheese Lorraine. But as long as these are the exception rather than the rule, whats the harm? Look at it this way, comfort food drives us to go back to the gym, right?

In this book youll also find two new categories of recipes, recipes that break the 30-minute mold but are every bit as easy and delicious.

Sometimes there are just not enough hours in the day.

Even on a rainy weekend when I get up and have no plans beyond cleaning out the closets or the refrigerator, somehow it can get to be 8:00 at night, my husband and I are hungry, tired, and cranky, and theres no food in the house. Even I dont have the patience for a 30-Minute Meal. Thats why I came up with a whole bunch of 15-Minute Meals, quick and tasty recipes that are designed to be easy to shop for, easy to prepare, and satisfying to your senses and your stomach when you are as hungry as you are tired and you have simply run out of time. Your jaw will drop when you see the qualityand quantityof the food you can cook up in about 15 minutes. The 15-minute paella is the biggest show stopper, but there are plenty of other delicious options that have a can of soup or PB&J beat hands down, with not a lot more effort.

You can do it. You have time and you should cook, tonight. Its good for you, body and soul, and its quicker than pizza delivery.

On the other hand, in every week theres a day when you just slow down. For me, its Sunday (maybe because my middle name, Domenica, is Sunday in Italian). Sometimes I have to wait a month to get a Sunday off, but even when Im working my body always knows when its Sunday. I walk, talk, move and even breathe a little slower. I let the events of the day take their own course, rather than tackle the marathon tasks I try to cram into a normal day.

For these days, I have even slowed down the 30-Minute Meal. 60-Minute Meals have no more work or steps than 30-Minute Meals, they just take their own sweet time getting to the table. Theyre like a mellow friend you could watch movies with on the sofa in the raincomforting and cozy. Our family faves from this group include Elsas Cider Beef, Moms Baked Stuffed Sole, Curried Vegetable Stoup, Spanish-Style Stuffed Peppers, and Oven-Roasted Cioppino. So the next time you want to slow down a bit, try out a 60-Minute Meal and see how satisfying an hour can be!