Cookbooks offer two approaches to easy meal prep

A couple of new specialty cookbooks might be able to help better plan back-to-school dinners.

Each takes a different approach to meal prep: quick-and-easy, one-pot recipes and make-ahead mains geared for on-the-go families.

“Just One Pot” by Lindsey Bareham ($14.99, Cassell Illustrated) offers more than 100 recipes that require minimal prep. “Better Homes and Gardens Make-Ahead Meals” ($19.99, Better Homes and Gardens) provides more than 150 soups, stews, casseroles, sandwiches and slow-cooker dinners. Both also include a few dessert options that fit their separate bills.

A key ingredient for recipes in the 192-page “Just One Pot” softcover cookbook is stock, whether it comes from the grocery store or is scratch-made at home. Recipes are organized in seven chapters that center around certain ingredients or types of ingredients: vegetarian, seafood, chicken and duck, lamb, desserts and more.

Oversize front and back flaps double as bookmarks, and recipes are listed on the title page of each chapter as well as in the index in the back of the book. Bareham writes an introduction for each, offering musings on the meal type or main ingredient. Look for Asparagus Risotto, After-Work Coq au Vin, Angostura Pork Pot, Chilean Beef Stew with Corn, Orange and Vanilla Poached Apricots, and Eton Mess.

“Make-Ahead Meals” offers several strategies – such as prepping and storing meals from one to six months in the freezer to making the base for multiple dishes, then building meals just before serving. The softcover, 300-page cookbook is divided into six chapters, including a short introduction on time-saving measures. There’s also One Recipe, Many Ways as well as From the Freezer, Slow Cooker Recipes, Jump-Start Recipes and Sweets to Share.

Recipes are listed on title pages of each chapter. They’re also labeled with key words, such as “low-cal,” “feeds a crowd” and “quick.” And almost every one is accompanied by a vibrant photo of the dish, many of which are cooked in large trays or casserole dishes or baking pans. Look for base recipes such as breakfast meat, ground beef, tomato and shredded pork as well as mains such as Beef Enchiladas, Rolled Lasagna Florentine, Brown Sugar-Glazed Home-Style Meat Loaf, Cheesy Tuna Noodle Casserole, Beef and Black Bean Chili, Cranberry-Stuffed Pork Loin, Cream of Roasted Fennel Soup, and Spinach-Three-Cheese- Stuffed Pasta Shells.

Here’s one recipe from each book.

Angostura Pork Pot

From “Just One Pot” by Lindsey Bareham

1 large onion

3 garlic cloves

14 ounces pork

3 1/2 ounces sliced pepperoni

20 small new potatoes

14 ounces canned chickpeas

Generous 1 1/4 cups trimmed green beans

14 ounces canned chopped tomatoes

2 tablespoons Angostura bitters

Tabasco (optional)

2 tablespoons coarsely chopped cilantro

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Peel and halve the onion. Finely slice one half and finely chop the other half. Peel the garlic and slice into wafer-thin circles. Brown the onion in the oil in a large skillet or similarly wide-based heavy pan placed over medium heat. Allow about 15 minutes for this, adjusting the heat so the onion doesn’t burn. Stir in the garlic and cook for an additional 5 minutes.

While the onion and garlic are cooking, cut the pork into kabob-size chunks and cut the pepperoni in half. Meanwhile, cook the potatoes in salted boiling water. Tip the chickpeas into a strainer under cold running water and shake dry. Cut the beans in half. By now, the onion will be flopped and lightly browned. Push the onion to the side and brown the meat. Add the pepperoni. Cook for a couple of minutes, stirring so all the pepperoni comes into contact with the heat, then add tomatoes and Angostura. Season with salt and pepper and stir thoroughly. Simmer for about 10 minutes, or until pork is cooked through and the tomatoes have thickened and become saucelike.

Cook the beans in salted boiling water for 2 minutes. Drain. Add the drained potatoes and chickpeas to the stew and simmer until very hot. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. The pepperoni will give the tomato sauce a hit of chili, but if you want to make the dish hotter, add a few drops of Tabasco. Stir the cilantro into the stew. Serve with the beans. (In the photograph that accompanies this recipe in the cookbook, the beans sit atop the stew.)

Note: While all of the ingredients eventually end up in one pot, this recipe actually uses two or three pots in all.

Spinach-Three- Cheese-Stuffed Pasta Shells

From “Better Homes & Gardens Make-Ahead Meals”

12 dried jumbo pasta shells

1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed

2 eggs

1 (8-ounce) package shredded mozzarella cheese (2 cups)

1 cup ricotta cheese

1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

1 (26- to 32-ounce) jar pasta sauce

Cook pasta according to package directions; drain. Rinse with cold water; drain again. Meanwhile, drain thawed spinach well, pressing out excess liquid.

For filling, in a medium bowl, beat eggs. Stir in spinach, 1 ¼ cups of the mozzarella cheese, the ricotta cheese and Parmesan cheese. Spoon 2 rounded tablespoons of the filling into each jumbo shell. Spread about ½ cup of the pasta sauce on the bottom of a 2-quart baking dish. Place shells in dish. Pour pasta sauce over shells. Sprinkle with remaining ½ cup mozzarella cheese.

Cover with plastic wrap, then wrap with foil. Freeze up to 1 month.

To serve, thaw casserole at room temperature for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove plastic wrap; cover with foil. Bake for 1 ½ hours. Remove foil. Bake 15 minutes more or until heated through (165 degrees).

Tip: To avoid leaving a baking dish in the freezer for weeks, line it with plastic wrap. Fill the prepared dish with casserole ingredients, wrap the dish and freeze overnight (or several hours). When frozen, lift out the food and place in a freezer bag; freeze up to 1 month. To thaw, remove plastic wrap and return food to the original baking dish. Thaw and bake as directed.