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N FOOD: If you have these 5 ingredients on hand, you’ve got a meal SN .2 .3 .332: I .g G W K O O C -5; .V:_.£.:Er, Wfiether it Be total exhaustion or sheer laziness, you simply give up. I Richmond Hill Culinary Arts Centre instructor Fred 0h admits he has had the occasional mental block when trying to figure out din- ner â€" it's a fact of life. “Gone are the days of home- makers who would spend hours making a homemade meal," he said. “Now there is work, commut- ing and children in the equation." Too many times homemade meals are sacrificed for fast and take-out food for the sake of con- venience. There is nothing wrong with fast food on occasion, but indulging more than a few times a week could be asking for trouble, he said. The ideal situation would be to plan meals the week ahead, giv- ing you time to make sure all of the ingredients needed to prepare them are on the grocery list. But when that’s not realistic, Mr. Oh suggests keeping five basics â€" pasta, canned meat such as corned beef or tuna, cheese, frozen veg- ‘Gone are the days of homemakers who would spend hours making a homemade meal.’ “It definitely makes me feel more informed about the community in which I reside. ” Immanmdmmmammam. mMmhdeflnitelymkt-smefeelmremnnedabmnfiw commmfitymwhichlreside.” mmmm MWKIMW m > (rumble and warm canned com beef in skillet or microwave. etables such as peas and broccoli and a can of sauce. be it tomato or something else â€" on hand at all times thatwillallowyou to make a variety ofdinners in a pinch . “It may not be the most fancy meal you will ever prepare," he smiled. “But at least when you put all of these five items together, you have all five food groups.” In a bind, [Hese-five simple ingredients can be mixed together to create a hot and homey meal in Simply type in the ingredients you have around the kitchen and these websites will give you a recipe. } supercook.com b recipematcherxom > krafttecipesxom D recipekey.com MORE KITCHEN HELP TRY IT TONIGHT o Boil pasta according to drain and place in a medium casserole dish. b Addfrozen vegetabiesofdioicemne can of chicken chunks and one jar of alfredo sauce, mix well. > (overand bake intheovenat350Cfor 20 minutes. v Uncover, stir, grate cheese on top and broil for 5 minutes. about 20 minutes, leaving you time to get the children fed and 06 to hockey practice or _ Canned meat doesn’t need extensive cooking time, is already seasoned and won't dry out when heated. Corn beef can be used to whip up a simple Bolognese sauce that. when frozen vegetables and shred- ded cheese axe added over pasta, becomes a comforting and com- plete meal. r “It will fill your stomach and you won't be depriving yourself of anything" he “Don't” be afraid to play with the ingredients to create a meal that suits your own_tastes_. _ For example, switch the corn beef with tinned chicken, the tomato sauce with alfredo and frozen peas for broccoli to create acreamypastabakethatcanbe done in the oven. If you keep these five food items on hand at all times, you will always have something hearty for dinner. QUICK ALFREDO BAKE Sous chef Cassie Canham whips up pasta Bolognesc from five simple ingredients at the Culinary Arts Centre of Richmond Hill. STAFF PHOTO/STEVE SOMERVILLE