Roast Garlic In Advance

This is the time of year when organization and planning are important, if not for anything else but to put together healthy meals that are quick and easy.

One Quick and Easy tip is to have fresh garlic on hand and at the ready. If you like your garlic raw, you can chop some cloves early in the week and put them in a small dish covered in olive oil. This will help to shorten your prep time.

We like the flavors of roasted garlic in our dishes. I've been roasting a large head of garlic and saving it in a jar with olive oil so I can have it available when I'm ready to cook.

The garlic will stay in the fridge for a couple of weeks. Sometimes the oil will solidify but it is easy to scoop out a spoonful to add to your pan.

This is an easy prep and while the garlic is roasting you can multi-task - maybe start the laundry or fold it; empty the dishwasher - you know the stuff that's always there but sometimes you just can't get to it.

To Roast Garlic you will need:

• 1 large head of garlic
• a piece of aluminum foil
• drizzle of olive oil
• salt and pepper
• Add salt and pepper

1. Cover the head of garlic with a piece of aluminum foil
2. Place on a tray in a 425 degree oven for 30 to 45 minutes - cook time depends on the size of the garlic head.
3. Check the garlic after 25 minutes to be sure it's not burning. The cloves should be soft and caramelized when done.

Cool the garlic for 10 minutes and remove the cloves by squeezing them out of the paper skins. Or you can use a butter knife to scoop them out, place them in a dry jar and then cover them with olive oil. Seal jar and refrigerate.

Keep refrigerated until ready to use.