We live in a fast paced society and we don’t really have time to spend hours in the kitchen preparing meals or baking goodies. We all wish we had time to sift through cookbooks and experiment with different cooking techniques but there simply isn’t time.
Here comes some useful information from RelishRelish.com to help you scratch some time or speed up the process of cooking and baking. You may already know some of the tips we’re going to share with you, but even if you don’t use them, you can spout them off like an expert.
Shortcut #1: Buy chicken and hamburger in bulk and separate into ziplock bags and freeze. This way, you always have chicken on hand it it’s easier to thaw
Shortcut #2: If you need to quickly thaw butter, cut the butter into small pieces and spread out on a plate. The pieces will thaw more quickly than a whole stick.
Shortcut #3: Make big batches of oatmeal, rice and couscous and freeze.
Shortcut #4: Make your own smoothie packs. Buy a big tub of vanilla yogurt and divide it into ice cube trays. Freeze. Place frozen or fresh fruit into small bags, add a few yogurt cubes and freeze. To make the smoothie, add some milk to a blender, add a banana (if you have it) and the smoothie pack.
Shortcut #5: Use prepared minced garlic and ginger. It’s not as good as the real thing but pretty darned close and is sufficient for every-day cooking.
Shortcut #6: Don’t have any red wine or white wine on hand? If you’re like me, it’s hard for me to keep wine in the house, somehow it disappears! Then when I have a recipe that calls for wine, I have to open an expensive bottle. Ok (I know I’ll get eye rolls from seasoned chefs but I’m saying it anyway) if you have mediocre wine, pour it into ice cube trays, freeze it and then pull it out when you have recipes that call for it.
Shortcut #7: Keep (low salt, high quality) bouillon cubes or chicken, veggie or beef bases on hand. No need for cans or cartons of broth, it’s all here. Look for low salt though, some are too salty and affect the recipe.
Shortcut #8: Prepare your slow cooker recipes the night before and place insert in the refrigerator.
Shortcut #9: This is easier said than done, but as soon as you get home from the store, prepare your lettuce, carrots, celery, wash apples, etc. This saves tons of time.
Shortcut #10: Buy a silverware and napkin caddy and keep it by the table and make setting the table so much easier. If you have the room, keep stacking glasses and plates by the table too.
Bonus Shortcut: The boxed cake mix is a wonderful thing and a huge timesaver in the kitchen. Click on the link below for a great variety of CAKE MIX HITS.
