Fully Cooked Meats Make For Quick Entree

Sometimes you don’t mind cooking part of the dinner. If there’s leftover rice or potatoes in the refrigerator, and some frozen vegetables in the freezer, you’ve almost got a whole meal just waiting to be heated up. Almost.

All you need is an easy entree, one that requires very little preparation. Consider a fully cooked meat product.

Fully cooked meats are available in the meat case, right next to such items as pre-cooked ham products and ready-to-heat corn dogs. You can find breaded turkey patties, chicken cutlets, pork chops and a variety of other meats.

Selections of fully cooked meats vary at different grocery stores, so be sure to check out what options are available at other supermarkets.

Children, such as my threesome, will pick out the chicken nuggets as their favorite, because they’re comparable to the fast-food version.

Advance Food Company, in Enid, Okla., makes a variety of fully cooked meats that are available in the Spokane area.

“If I was to pick the number one product of our company, it would be breaded turkey patties,” says Lana Craddock, spokesperson for Advance. “The breaded turkey patty is very, very popular with schools and institutions.”

Advance also makes a “charline” of charcoal broiled meats. Grilled meats save on some of those fat calories because they aren’t breaded or fried.

If you still can’t decide what to serve with those leftover potatoes and vegetables, then settle for corn dogs. Who’s ready to eat?

Chicken Mozzarella Sandwiches

Adapted from “Prego Easy Italian Recipes” (Campbell Soup Company)

11/2 cups bottled spaghetti sauce

4 refrigerated fully cooked breaded chicken cutlets

4 slices mozzarella cheese (each about 1 ounce)

4 round hard rolls, split

In 10-inch skillet over mediumhigh heat, heat spaghetti sauce to boiling. Arrange chicken in sauce. Reduce heat to low. Cover; cook 5 minutes or until chicken is heated through, stirring occasionally.

Top chicken with cheese. Cover; heat until cheese is melted. Serve on rolls.

Yield: 4 servings.

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