Cooking does not have to take a long time. There are a lot of steps you can take to save you time. Here are just a few:
-Cook Extra: If you are making a casserole, make 2 and freeze the second for later. If you are making baked chicken breast, cook extra and use the leftovers for tacos or salad. This method is also good for lunches and snacks. Leftovers make great lunches. And portion our snacks for the whole week so you can grab and go in the morning.
-Prep work: While you wait for tonight’s dinner to cook, pre-cut veggies for tomorrow night. Or prepare a marinade for your meat. Or, do either of these things in the morning. That way, when you get home from work in the evening, you are that much closer to getting dinner on the table.
–Crock Pot/Slow Cooker Meals: I love crock pot meals. Most of the recipes I have tried take no time to put together before I go to work and then dinner is ready when I get home in the evening.
-Defrost early: Pull your meat out of the freezer early to defrost. This way you don’t have to wait for it to defrost in the evening when you are hungry and ready to eat.
-Have a plan: One of the biggest wastes of time for me, is just sitting around wondering what I am having for dinner and then running to the store to get that one ingredient I need for a meal. If I make a menu and shop accordingly, I save myself time later.
-Organize your kitchen: Know what you have in your kitchen and know where it is. Don’t waste time searching for ingredients.
-Have go-to meals: Some days don’t go as planned. In that case, have a back-up plan for a really quick meal. And go easy on yourself. If I have had a really long day, I don’t beat myself up for eating out or heating up a frozen meal. I just make sure it isn’t a habit.
What are your kitchen shortcuts and timesavers?
A Recipe For Living 
Aren’t you the smart one. Also organized. You make me proud.
Well, I had a good example growing up 🙂
Super tips! Thank you! I especially like the part about not beating myself up if I have to eat out or heat up a frozen meal. 🙂
Nobody is perfect. If the day doesn’t go as planned – I just accept it. IT makes life so much easier!
I definitely wasn’t raised the same with the menu example growing up, but I’m trying! Especially now that my husband will actually be home for dinner EVERY night. (I’m already loving Target and he hasn’t even started yet.)
As for time savers, I’ve read some other blogs that talk about OAMC (once a month cooking). That is a bit extreme for me, but making meals in advance is definitely something to think about. Any recipes that you make ahead you would like to share?
And another completely unrelated comment…I grow lavender in my herb garden and last year, I looked for lavender recipes. The one I found that won the battle was lavender jelly. It’s purple, smells wonderful, but now I don’t know what to do with it besides use it on cheese and crackers. And a little goes a long way!! Any ideas? I could probably send you some if you want to experiment. 😉
You could spread it on brie, wrap in puff pastry, and bake…
You could use it as a filling in petit fours or cake…
You could make some sort of crumble or cookie type bars…
Maybe you could spread it on chicken and bake (I’m thinking something similar to apricot chicken)…
Just brainstorming here… 🙂
Oh man….I know EXACTLY what you should do! Make yourself a nice deep fried monete cristo sandwich, sprinkle some powdered sugar over it, and use the lavender jelly as a delicious dipping sauce! OMNOMNOMNOM!!!
Yay for evenings with the hubby. Well, maybe we should wait and see – he he.
Let me think about the make ahead meals. Crock pot meals are as far ahead as I get!
As for lavender, my first thoughts are tea, lotion, and shampoo. I haven’t used lavender a lot but wouldn’t be opposed to some experimenting 🙂