What are some of your kitchen short cuts?

[Shellyann36]

I have always been a fan of kitchen short cuts because I have never really had much time to spend in the kitchen. When my older three boys were at home I was divorced and a single mom. That left me working, taking care of them and doing all of the cooking. I learned real fast that I had to get meals together quickly after a long hard day. I created short cuts and used my crock pot alot back then.

Now I am remarried with 3 small boys ages 4 and twins that are 2. I stay very busy and cooking is something that seems to just zap me every day if I am not prepared. Here are some tips that I have compiled over the years.

1.) Smart grocery shopping. I hit the sales and stock up on basic ingredients.
2.) Create menus. Menus are created from the staples and meats that I get at the sales.
3.) Crock pot meals or freezer meals.
4.) Cooking up batches of chicken or hamburger, making meatballs etc for quick meals.

I think the most important thing that I do is the menus. Without a menu I find myself at 3 pm wondering what meat I should pull out for supper that evening. Not a good place to be. With a menu I know the night before what I will need and I pull it out of the deep freezer to let it thaw some in the fridge and I get out the rest of the ingredients needed as well to be ready for the next day.

What are some of your tips?

 

[MyDigitalpoint]

Really good tip, particularly having to deal with kids, household tasks and still cooking and go shopping.

While I'm not longer planning my menus like I used to do in the past, your words make me think that it's true. There are days when I have no idea what to cook, or finding that I don't have an ingredient for a last minute recipe coming to mind.

I would add to the tips list go shopping every 2 or 3 weeks rather than on a daily basis and devote the whole day to shop from different stores. This makes sure that you will get the cheaper prices and stocking up meat and perishables is not a problem within the fridge.

I also try to devote one day to cook different dishes that go straight to the freezer, this way I have always something to eat in case sudden visitors come up without warning.

 

[MyPaperBleedsInk]

Make enough for leftovers. If I bought a pack of boneless chicken breast fillets and I'm making a meal, for example stir fry, I fry up all of the chicken even if it's more than enough for two people. I refrigerate the chicken and veggie leftovers and use for omelets the next few mornings. This not only stretches out your food/meals, but it also saves on time since for breakfast all you would have to do is warm up the leftovers and crack open an egg or two.

Start dishes the night before. Just finished using the oven for some part of meal you're making that night? Quick pop in something you'll be making/using the next meal or so. Same applies for things like frying pans or pots that you just finished using and are relatively clean anyway. It'll save you time in future meal preparation and you'll save on dirty dishes next time.

 

[Shellyann36]

I would add to the tips list go shopping every 2 or 3 weeks rather than on a daily basis and devote the whole day to shop from different stores. This makes sure that you will get the cheaper prices and stocking up meat and perishables is not a problem within the fridge.

I also try to devote one day to cook different dishes that go straight to the freezer, this way I have always something to eat in case sudden visitors come up without warning.

Yes that is a good tip to make a day of shopping. I normally go to Walmart and Save-A-Lot once a month for my staples. I then hit the local grocery store sales for most meats and veggies on a weekly basis. One local grocery store has way better meat at good prices and I like to buy my meat mainly from them. The other local grocery store has decent produce.

I am a freezer meal kinda gal as well. It makes life so much easier most of the time. Thank you for your tips.

 

[Shellyann36]

Make enough for leftovers. If I bought a pack of boneless chicken breast fillets and I'm making a meal, for example stir fry, I fry up all of the chicken even if it's more than enough for two people. I refrigerate the chicken and veggie leftovers and use for omelets the next few mornings. This not only stretches out your food/meals, but it also saves on time since for breakfast all you would have to do is warm up the leftovers and crack open an egg or two.

Start dishes the night before. Just finished using the oven for some part of meal you're making that night? Quick pop in something you'll be making/using the next meal or so. Same applies for things like frying pans or pots that you just finished using and are relatively clean anyway. It'll save you time in future meal preparation and you'll save on dirty dishes next time.

I like these ideas. I have made more than one meal out of chicken a few times when I knew that I was going to have chicken 2 nights during the week. It does save time and dishes!

 

[zestery]

Slow cooker + freezer. That's the main one.

Also the frozen stock cubes has been a boon.