People are constantly using the saying "I don't have time to make good food." No matter how busy you are, there's always time to make good food. These simple shortcuts will help you save time so you can keep up with your busy lifestyle AND eat some fabulous home-cooked meals.
Chop herbs with ease
When chopping herbs, they tend to fly all over the place. Keep them all on the cutting board by sprinkling the board with coarse sea salt before chopping.
Make sticky clean up a breeze
Cooking with molasses, honey or another sticky substance can create quite the mess. To make clean up easier, spray the measuring cup with a non-stick spray and the sticky liquid will come right off.
Freshen up your pre-mixed salad
Pre-mixed salads are perfect for quick dinners. However, they can go bad quickly. To make them last a little longer, flip the container or bag over every two days to prevent moisture from building up at the bottom. The moisture is what makes the salad rot.
Reuse the unwanted cheese rinds
Instead of tossing the rind in the trash, put them in a zip-lock bag and save for when you make soup. The added cheese rind will add a ton of flavor.
Revive dried out vegetables
Carrots and celery tend to lose firmness and moisture over time. But, this doesn't mean they need to be thrown out. Instead, toss them in ice cold water for 30 minutes to revive them.
Juicing has never been easier
Zap a lemon or lime for 20 seconds in the microwave to break down the cellular walls. Doing this will make it easier to squeeze the fruit for juicing.
Always keep a garbage bowl handy
While cutting takes time, running your unwanted pieces from the kitchen to trash can over and over takes even more time. Keep a garbage bowl next to your cutting board to minimize time spent cleaning up.
Save your rusted pots and pans
You can get rid of rust on your pots and pans by scrubbing it with a potato. Slice the potato in half, dip it in coarse salt and rub it on the rust.
Keep brown sugar from hardening
The worst thing to happen when you go to make cookies is finding hardened brown sugar. To prevent this from happening, throw the end of a loaf of bread in the bag of brown sugar. The bread's moisture will keep the sugar soft and fresh.
Leftovers are a must
No matter what it is, soup, cookie dough or a casserole, always make extras. The leftovers will be perfect for lunch the next day or you can pop it in the freezer for a quick meal.
Chop multiple vegetables and ingredients at once
If you chop multiple ingredients at once and save them, you'll always be one step ahead on dinner. Getting started is the hardest part and with this tip all you have to do is pull the chopped veggies out of the freezer and get to cooking.
Make use of down time
Waiting on your coffee to brew in the morning? Instead of spending that time on Facebook, mash up a banana and get water boiling for a big bowl of oatmeal.
When recipes only call for a little bit of wine
Instead of wasting a bottle of wine or drinking all of it in one sitting, pour the wine in ice cube trays and freeze. Whenever a recipe calls for a little bit of wine, just throw a wine cube in!
Learn to grate butter
Instead of melting butter or waiting for it to reach room temperature, you can easily grate butter into dry ingredients when making pie crusts or other baked goods. The crust will be ready in a flash.
Make your own flavor cubes
Add chopped herbs and spices to an ice cube tray and top with olive oil. Once frozen, you have instant flavor to add to soups, pastas or anything else.
Create your own smoothie packets
Place all your smoothie ingredients in individual bags so all you have to do in the morning is blend with ice and water.
Make a big batch of rice
Rice or quinoa pairs well with most meats. Make a big batch at once and freeze the rest for later in the week.
Buy chicken in bulk
This not only saves time, but it also saves money. Put all the chicken in bags, add a little marinade and freeze. When you need it, take it out and cook.
Create a weekly menu
By doing so you'll cut down time spent on thinking about what you want to eat and you can quickly get to preparing. If you know you'll need mashed potatoes for two meals that week, make a big batch and put the rest in the fridge for later that week.
