How to Save Time When Preparing a Meal

Sometimes it’s great to spend an afternoon preparing a meal in a leisurely fashion. Other times you don’t have that luxury and getting everything done fast is the top priority. There are all sorts of tips and short-cuts that you can use when you’re in a hurry to deliver.

If you’re in a rush, choose your dish carefully. The best cook in the world can’t hurry up a slow roast, and dishes that include a range of different techniques and processes are always going to be more time-consuming. But, even if your dish isn’t entirely straightforward, there are still things you can do to save time – starting by putting the ingredients out, so you’re not chasing around, riffling through closets.

Even if you’re a purist about preparing food from scratch, sometimes you can compromise a little without sacrificing quality. Pre-prepared fresh and frozen foods can save you a lot of time scraping, peeling and dicing. It won’t be a solution for every dish, but it really won’t matter for others. Buying grated cheese, pre-chopped garlic in oil and other ready-made foods can make a significant difference to the time you spend wielding a knife in the kitchen.

Make use of labor-saving devices, as appropriate. They will also help you to multitask more effectively to speed things up. While something is being beaten in the mixer you can get on with something else. Good quality gadgets can also make life easier. A good device for slicing and dicing really can do the job effectively, and in half the time.

Microwaves and conventional ovens are both excellent for people looking to save time. Even if you’re not keen on things cooked in the microwave, part-cooking things like vegetables in the microwave first can cut down on standard hob-top cooking time. Also take a look at your cooking habits. If you’re making mashed potato, don’t cook them as halves. Dice them smaller and you’ve not only saved yourself some time but some gas and electricity to boot.

If you associate your ordinary oven with dishes that take hours, think of it from another angle. Vegetables and other dishes just need topping and tailing, drizzling with oil and away you go. You’re free to work on other elements of the meal. You may think frying is fast – and sometimes it’s the quickest method. But if you’ve got other things to do too then you’ll be wasting time checking and turning things and making sure the oil isn’t too hot.

There are two kinds of cooks – those who wash up as they go along and those who end up with a mountain of dirty dishes. If you get into the habit of doing the former, you can double up and save time that way too. A lot of kitchen efficiency is about re-examining your normal way of doing things. It may not be the best way. After all, you’ve got better things to do – like eating your home-cooked meal and chilling out with an accompanying coffee.

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Recipes That Freeze Well - Make Your Weekly Meals Ahead of Time

Freezing food helps you save money but one of the main reasons to embrace it is so that you can save precious time. You can get home after a long day, whip something out of the freezer, stick it in the microwave or oven and soon relax over a hearty, healthy meal. It’s the convenient solution for modern living but you do need the right recipes for home-frozen dishes.

The best style of food for home freezing is the stew or casserole, but preferably without potatoes, rice and other starchy vegetables included, because they go mushy when defrosted. It won’t take long to cook some potatoes while you defrost your frozen food. Rice that is frozen separately from the main dish works very well.

Avoid dishes in creamy and cheesy sauces, because they tend to separate or curdle. A good old-fashioned meat casserole in flavorful gravy, whether it’s chicken, beef or lamb, is a top freezer standby. Tofu in a vegetarian dish also freezes well, although the texture becomes firmer – but some people prefer it this way. Curries and other spicy dishes can be frozen successfully, but freezing can significantly alter the balance of flavors.

Pies, quiches and other pastry dishes also freeze brilliantly. With quiches, the problem of freezing cheesy and creamy foods isn’t an issue, because the filling is set and won’t separate. All sorts of sweet pastries will also freeze well, so you can stock up on apple and cherry pies for desserts. Cakes and cake-based desserts (including cheesecakes) can also be frozen easily, but if you’re freezing cakes, do it without the icing.

One of the best dishes to freeze is tomato-based pasta sauce, which will be just as good when defrosted as when it was freshly cooked. A typical basic sauce consists of tomatoes, onion, garlic and herbs, especially basil. From here you can add your favorite ingredients. Include olives, anchovies and chillies for a bit of extra oomph. For a Bolognese sauce, use ground beef or soy mince. All you’ll need to do for a satisfying meal is cook the pasta.

 

Pizza is another great freezer favorite. If you want to make your own pizza dough, you can freeze it in portion-sized balls or disks and roll out later, or you can pre-bake the bases. It is also possible to freeze the bases with your margherita topping, and suitable other ingredients already on, but some topping elements freeze better than others. Adding things like peppers and pineapple fresh when you cook your pizza can be a better idea.

Cooking a big pot of casserole, pasta sauce or any other suitable favorite food may take a bit of time to start with, but you’ll reap the benefits when you have a perfect homemade meal in minutes down the line.

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Tips for Preparing and Freezing Meals in Advance

Earlier I've posted a post regarding how to freeze vegetables and fruits.  Now, in this post, let us learn how to preparing and freezing meals in advance.

With a full freezer of home-made meals that just need warming up, mealtimes are quick and easy. Making your own frozen meals saves you money and is the healthy, flavorful option. Freezing is easy when you’ve grasped the basics.

Freezing meals is a lot easier than freezing individual vegetables. There are some foods that simply don’t freeze all that well but if they’re part of a cooked dish you can get away with it. It’s best to avoid some foods for freezing though. Potatoes don’t freeze successfully, and pasta is best cooked fresh. Rice freezes well on its own, but can go soggy if frozen as part of a dish.

Don’t even try to freeze eggs in the shell or food from a can. It can be dangerous. Most of the other freezing no-no's are safe to freeze, but just lose too much quality to make it worthwhile. Don’t’ bother trying to freeze salad vegetables – they turn to mush. Fried or greasy foods also go horribly soggy.

Creamy sauces, and any sauce containing starch or oil, such as mayonnaise, may separate and curdle. Freezing can alter flavorings, either diluting them or strengthening them. You will also find that green vegetables may lose some of their color.

Stews and casseroles, soups, pasta sauces and pies (or pie fillings) are just some of the meals that are perfect for freezing in advance. For stews and casseroles, all you need to do is put it in containers and freeze. As a rule of thumb, the faster things freeze the better, since this helps maintain texture and flavour. Check your refrigerator manual to see if you have a ‘fast freeze’ shelf.

For the best results, you need to try to freeze foods in conditions that are as airtight as possible. Frozen foods, especially meats, are vulnerable to freezer burn, where it dries out and looks grey and leathery. Proper packing helps to prevent this problem.

Stackable plastic containers are one option for freezing foods, but it is recommended that you fill them as full as possible. You can also cover the exposed top surface with plastic cling wrap. Plastic freezer bags are designed for the purpose, and make it easier to squeeze out any remaining air. Ziploc and similar freezer bags are useful for creating an airtight seal.

Tupperware

Remember that when re-heating you are effectively cooking the food further. When cooking food to freeze, for some dishes it’s always best to err on the side of slightly undercooked to compensate for this. Once you’ve experimented with freezing meals you’ll soon get a handle on what works and what doesn’t.

The great advantage of freezing is that you can heat up your favorite home-cooked meals in the microwave in a matter of minutes. Choose the right recipes and there will be no loss of quality at all. With a freezer full of delicious portions you’ll always have something to hand when you need a restful evening or a meal that’s quick to prepare.

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When You Only Have 30 Minutes

For a great cook or for someone that really loves cooking, within the time frame of 30 minutes, they can really completed few dishes.  But as for me, I don't think I can completed even with one dish.

Now, here is some ideas what you can cook within 30 minutes. Not only can you cook a memorable meal more or less from scratch in half an hour – you can even do a couple of courses. Three meal ideas when you only have 30 minutes.

Soup is easy to make and a hearty bowl of chunky soup, with delicious bread on the side can be a full meal on its own. One of the easiest and most foolproof is leek and potato soup. If you use a big saucepan you can even do it in one pot, with minimum washing-up afterwards.

Chop some leeks and a medium onion. Dice some potatoes into small cubes. Fling the lot into a pan with some butter, salt and black pepper and cook on a low heat for about 10 minutes till the potatoes are soft. Add stock – a good quality vegetable or chicken stock cube is fine – and milk. Simmer gently for another 15 minutes.

All you need to do now is blend it to a purée. Add a splash of cream and garnish with parsley or chives. Eat with delicious crusty bread or crostini. If you make a larger quantity you can eat this soup cold too – as the timeless classic of French cuisine known as vichyssoise. Hot or cold, it’s tasty, filling and fast to prepare.

Ready-made pastry makes quick meals a cinch. For a speedy taste of the Mediterranean, try spanakopita in puff pastry. Preheat the oven to about 200ºC/400ºF. Boil some frozen chopped spinach and drain well. Add dill, parsley, seasoning and half and half feta cheese and ricotta to taste. Throw in some pine nuts. Line a greased metal dish with the puff pastry, spoon in the filling and cover with another layer of pastry.  Glaze the top with beaten egg if you like.

Shove the pie in the oven for twenty minutes and you have a little taste of heaven – in no time at all. While it’s baking, whip up some quick home-made tzatziki to go with it. Just mix sliced cucumber and yoghurt, with a dash of olive oil, lemon juice and some crushed garlic.

A universally popular fast favorite is pasta and fragrant basil pesto. With a good pre-made pesto from a good deli, all you have to do is boil your pasta and mix with the pesto. It’s so easy it hardly counts as cooking, but it’s a classic meal in fifteen minutes. While you wait for the pasta you’ll have time to put together a dessert too.

Chocolate mousse is a rich treat that is easy to make and doesn’t actually require cooking – so that’s time saved straight away. Melt dark chocolate in a pan. Separate the egg yolks and whites. Whip the whites till stiff. Stir the egg yolks into the warm chocolate. Fold in the egg whites and spoon into a dish or individual glasses. Give it five minutes or so in the freezer to cool fast and then leave it in the refrigerator a while longer. Decorate with cream and chocolate…

A flavorsome and imaginative meal can be made in no time if you have the right recipe and are organized enough to have the ingredients to hand. Test yourself – it really is possible and the results will thrill.

Worth trying. :)