Thursday, March 6, 2008

Let's save some time....

There are so many things that you can do to save time in the kitchen. Whether it be cooking time or assembling time we can save you some!




~Wash and chop before putting away. This is one of the hardest habits to get into, but it is one of the most time saving ones. When you get home from the grocery store wash and cut up all your veggies. Place them in a ziplock bag with a paper towel, to soak up any moisture. You can also dice up any meat that needs to be cut up for recipes. Place them in freezer bags, labeled clearly, and they will be ready when you are.



~Cut small. When cutting veggies to cook, cut them small. They will cook a lot faster. Making potatoes (mashed or roasted) cut them in little cubes and they will cook in less than half the time!



~Steam veggies on top of boiling noodles. Seriously :o) After you throw your noodles in the pot of boiling water just toss a colander on top of the pot, throw in some veggies, and top with a lid. Presto, you have steamed veggies and cooked noodles!



~Cover with foil! This will save you time when you are doing dishes. I cover almost everything with foil. OK, I know it's not environmentally friendly, but it is mom with kids and a hubby who homeschools and does therapy and laundry and cleans and cooks and so on and so forth friendly :o) and that's what matters here people. I line my 8x8 or 13x9 pans with foil and I cover my baking sheets with foil (except when I am making cookies, don't ask me why). Wen it;s time for dishes I just pull off the foil, wipe off the pan with a damp rag and put it away. Dishes are done!



Got a good tip? Post it in the comments and I will compile a list for everyone next week!



Happy Cooking!

~howiesgal

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I've steamed veggies over a pot of pasta, or whatever, for years. Saves time and energy (only one burner on the stove working instead of two).

I don't do the foil lined pans, but I spray them all with Pam before filling and nothing burns onto the pan. Love it!

You have so many good ideas!!!

Marjo said...

When I cook hamburger for a meal I always cook a lot and freeze the excess in zip lock bags in individual portions for another meal yet to be named. Makes it much easier to get a meal on the run if the meat is already cooked.

Cena said...

Ditto on cooking the hamburger and freezing it. It thaws alot faster from cooked than raw. I also do this with chicken breast cubes, saute and freeze in bags for chicken caesar salad, chicken pizza, or chicken chili, or chicken spaghetti...When they go on sale (this week, boneless breasts 1.29lb at Sams) I but a bunch and do chicken stuff for the freezer.

Cena said...

Actually, I buy a bunch...

Brenda@CoffeeTeaBooks said...

These are great ideas!

One that has worked well for me is to fill my breadmaker (just the part the dough goes in, of course) with very hot tap water before getting out all the ingredients.

This gives the bread dough a nice, warm environment to work (especially on cold winter days).

I have been filling my mug with hot tap water in the morning, while waiting for the coffee to finish. It keeps my coffee hot longer.

Can you tell it has been very cold here? :)

Melzie said...

more more more!

I need daily or HOURLY posts I am eating this up ;) xoxo melzie

McMahon Manifesto said...

Wow, great idea about steaming vegetables over a pot of something else at the same time. Never thought of that! Such wonderful tips!