Successful Careless Cooking

Some days I just don’t feel like cooking. Can’t be bothered. Could care less. Today was one of those days. It’s raining, there are still unopened boxes in the garage and everywhere, there is nothing truly exciting in my freezer and refrigerator. Still, the spouse and child must be fed. Time for careless cooking. Careless cooking is only successful when you have the right audience, include certain essential ingredients and make the correct quantity judgement.

Baby boomers are the best targets for careless cooking (Boomers from the “deep country” are perfect). Born between 1946 and 1964, these are the original one-dish casserole kids. Moms were mostly stay at home but housewife-ing with multiple children was and is an unpaid full time job that naturally runs into overtime; housecleaning, laundry, driving the kids to events, budgeting, cooking, etc. Food companies often advertised their products as time saving and economical which appealed to the housewife trying to find a little personal space for lunch, bridge, the hair salon or whatever. Cans were good things and in the beginning the contents were not so bad. Casseroles were good things because you could dump a bunch of cans in one pot, sprinkle with cheese, add a little parsley, innovative presentation and you had a family meal. Note: It is more than possible to successfully careless cook for the generations after the boomers; just add about 2 tablespoons of sugar and maybe some ketchup to whatever casserole you make. Avoid vegetables that can not be pureed into the sauce.

As to ingredients, careless cooking is centered around a well stocked pantry of canned goods; vegetables, tomatoes, beans, sauces and broths. Use your imagination and do have on hand a ridiculous amount of dried herbs and spices. It is essential that no matter what you are making, be sure to saute some onions, garlic and bell pepper to include in your one-dish triumph. Above all, careless cooking must taste good and these vegetables and aromatic pretty much guarantee that.

If you are cooking for carnivores, be sure to add a decent quantity of meat. Meat casseroles with fillers(rice, pasta, potatoes) that overwhelm to the extent that the carnivore has to search for the meat are not successful, just frustrating. For vegetarians, just make sure that there’s plenty of sauce and serve everything with thick slices of bread and maybe butter if they’re doing butter.

Chili Mac

1 1/2 lb ground veal

1 lb ground pork

2 tbsp olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 large red bell pepper, diced

2 cans diced tomatoes

1 small can tomato paste

1 1/2 tbsp Mexican chili powder

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp piment d’espelette

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 can pinto beans, drained

1/2 bean can of water

3 cups cooked elbow macaroni

1 mounded cup grated cheese

Brown the ground meats in a dry skillet, then remove and set aside. Pour out the accumulated fat, wipe the skillet with a paper towel, then add the olive oil, onion, garlic and bell pepper, sauteing until the onion is soft.

Add the diced tomatoes, tomato paste, chili powder, cumin, piment, salt, pepper, beans, water and reserved meat to the skillet, stir well, bring to a boil, then simmer for 15 minutes. Stir in the macaroni and cheese, then allow to simmer, stirring for about 3-5 minutes.