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OrganicMama
So in love with my little man!
Member since 6/08 5172 total posts
Name:
Mama
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Cooking tips and advice
I'm in major need of some tips or advice so I can speed things up in the kitchen. I feel like a slave to dinners!!! It seriously takes me forever to cook dinner, and I'm at the end of my rope. I don't really make the most simple meals because I'm cooking around DS's food allergies, plus we don't eat dairy and rarely eat meat. Please share your cooking tips, and any advice you have!!!
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Posted 3/24/12 7:28 PM  |
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Domino
Always My Miracle
Member since 9/05 9923 total posts
Name:
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Re: Cooking tips and advice
Many times I plan the night before what we are eating and I do my prep work then. So if I am going to make soup, I will peel and chop all my veggies the night before or if doing chicken cutlets I will bread them the night before. I try to stay away from time intensive meals during the week. I steam a lot of my veggies which cuts down on the cook and prep time. I use minute rice in the microwave.
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| Posted 3/24/12 10:21 PM |
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rojerono
Happiest.
Member since 8/06 13803 total posts
Name:
Jeannie
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Re: Cooking tips and advice
Mise en place.. it makes or breaks me when it comes to timing. Gather your ingredients BEFORE you start to cook. If you are whisking a gravy and need to run across the room for the salt - or get to the pantry for more stock - it can break your stride. I put the cutting board down, gather my spices (I often will combine them in a little Pryex dish so I can just pinch and use the spice mixture instead of doing the shake, shake, shake thing. I also have a garbage bowl handy to just dump stuff in. If I'm going from a recipe, I read it first and familiarize myself with it BEFORE I start cooking. If everything is ready and in it's place, you will have a much better chance of actually getting the food done in a timely fashion and keeping the kitchen moderately neat in the interim.
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| Posted 3/25/12 12:00 PM |
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jerseychick
LIF Adult
Member since 4/09 3923 total posts
Name:
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Re: Cooking tips and advice
My only advice is that I never cook something that will only last me one night. I always cook enough so that it will give me 2+ nights worth of meals. That way, even if it takes me a long time one day, I am "off the hook" the next. Plus, you can always change up the way you serve it so you don't get bored (for example, if you make chili you can eat it one night, and then another night serve it on top of baked potatoes, or in tacos).
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| Posted 3/25/12 8:13 PM |
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MrsG823
Just call me Mommy.
Member since 1/11 5570 total posts
Name:
S
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Re: Cooking tips and advice
The two kitchen staples that save me and DH from kitchen misery are our electric pressure cooker and our crock pot. The pressure cooker cuts down the cooking time of dishes by more than 50%. Soup in under 20 minutes!
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| Posted 3/25/12 8:20 PM |
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liadorbs
LIF Adult
Member since 11/10 1221 total posts
Name:
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Re: Cooking tips and advice
Posted by rojerono
Mise en place.. it makes or breaks me when it comes to timing. Gather your ingredients BEFORE you start to cook. If you are whisking a gravy and need to run across the room for the salt - or get to the pantry for more stock - it can break your stride. I put the cutting board down, gather my spices (I often will combine them in a little Pryex dish so I can just pinch and use the spice mixture instead of doing the shake, shake, shake thing. I also have a garbage bowl handy to just dump stuff in. If I'm going from a recipe, I read it first and familiarize myself with it BEFORE I start cooking. If everything is ready and in it's place, you will have a much better chance of actually getting the food done in a timely fashion and keeping the kitchen moderately neat in the interim.
I do all of this too. It saves SO much time and aggrevation.
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| Posted 3/25/12 10:28 PM |
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kabr13
LIF Toddler
Member since 2/09 470 total posts
Name:
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Re: Cooking tips and advice
Posted by MrsG823
The two kitchen staples that save me and DH from kitchen misery are our electric pressure cooker and our crock pot. The pressure cooker cuts down the cooking time of dishes by more than 50%. Soup in under 20 minutes!
ITA, I couldn't live without my pressure cooker! So easy and quick and makes great meals.
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| Posted 3/25/12 10:49 PM |
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dctead
It's 5 o'clock somewhere!
Member since 11/10 2139 total posts
Name:
Emily
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Re: Cooking tips and advice
I've been taking a page from Rachael Ray's new show on the cooking channel (airs on Food Network too) called Week in a Day... Site here
I do 90% of my prep and cooking on Sat or Sunday... this way during the week, there is minimal prep time and just re-heating etc..
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| Posted 3/26/12 11:21 AM |
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jams92
Member since 1/12 6105 total posts
Name:
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Re: Cooking tips and advice
I sit down with DH every sunday and we come up with our meals for the entire week! I do the food shopping once a week - every monday morning and that is it. we do not put any time consuming meals on our weekly menu bc we are both tired after work.
For us this helps bc we arent going around the kitchen looking to see what ingredients we have and what we can make with them.
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| Posted 3/26/12 2:02 PM |
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MrsT809
LIF Adult
Member since 9/09 12167 total posts
Name:
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Re: Cooking tips and advice
Posted by jams92
I sit down with DH every sunday and we come up with our meals for the entire week! I do the food shopping once a week - every monday morning and that is it. we do not put any time consuming meals on our weekly menu bc we are both tired after work.
For us this helps bc we arent going around the kitchen looking to see what ingredients we have and what we can make with them.
Totally agree with this. First I not anything I have going on that week - late work days, doctor appointments, etc. Those nights I try to plan for leftovers or something I just reheat from the freezer. The rest of the nights I come up with fairly simple meals since I'm still tired after work. Not having to think about what I'm making and having a plan when things are hectic really does help.
I also try to make extra so I can freeze leftovers for busy weeks. On weekends, I sometimes throw a second dinner into the crockpot and save it for the next night or freeze it for the future.
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| Posted 3/26/12 5:13 PM |
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LINewbie
Tigger the the Rescue!
Member since 8/08 5647 total posts
Name:
LB
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Re: Cooking tips and advice
Posted by jerseychick
My only advice is that I never cook something that will only last me one night. I always cook enough so that it will give me 2+ nights worth of meals. That way, even if it takes me a long time one day, I am "off the hook" the next. Plus, you can always change up the way you serve it so you don't get bored (for example, if you make chili you can eat it one night, and then another night serve it on top of baked potatoes, or in tacos).
THIS and if it makes more than 4 servings (or more than 2, depending on what else I am making that week) I freeze the extras so we have a good meal on lazy or hectic days.
I also menu plan.
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| Posted 3/27/12 2:19 PM |
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OrganicMama
So in love with my little man!
Member since 6/08 5172 total posts
Name:
Mama
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Re: Cooking tips and advice
Thanks everyone!!! I already menu plan, but I'm not always the best with sticking to it. I'm pregnant and exhausted right now, so cooking is a major chore for me  I think domino & rojonero's advice will be incredibly helpful, I need to get my ingredients together and out on the counter before I start. Thanks again!
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| Posted 3/27/12 10:08 PM |
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