Cooking can be fun, light, and something you love. But there are times when you’re tired, you don’t have too much time and cooking becomes quite the bother. That’s where these time-savers in the kitchen come in. For a quicker, lighter experience.
Laziness. It happens to the best of us. Or being exhausted after we survived an impossible day at work. And the last thing we feel like doing is cooking a grand, big, complex meal. And in this day and age, sometimes it’s best to save up your earnings and not go for the decadent act of splurging on ordering take out. That’s where the next time-savers in the kitchen come in.
These are shortcuts we can take in those moments in order to get through cooking quickly and getting faster to the bottom line of the evening: nourishing ourselves and then having some time to do something fun and relaxing.
8 excellent time-savers in the kitchen
1. Read the recipe before anything
Seems rather obvious, doesn’t it? Then why do we not do it so frequently? A lot of people I know tend to just do everything step by step without reading or rereading the full recipe. And that tends to eat up a lot of time. What if step 7 mentions some dish you need that you have put away and you have no clue where?
What if you could be performing two recipe steps at once and you don’t know and then have to waste time prepping something while your cooked ingredients are getting cold? Bottom line? Read the whole recipe, prepare everything you need – bowls, utensils, prep the ingredients, have everything on hand.
2. Designate a trash bowl
I have no idea how much time I wasted in the kitchen just taking scraps from the table to the trash bag. Veggie peelings, egg shells, all kinds of cartilages cut out of meat and so on. But be smart about this and place an empty bowl near your workspace. And place all the trash there, where your hand can reach it and your feet don’t have to move.
3. Prep your measuring cups and spoons
Sometimes you have to use sticky ingredients like honey or molasses. And cleaning up your [amazon_textlink asin=’B01E2HU4A2′ text=’measuring spoons or cups’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’xdeli-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’407d551b-26bd-11e8-adfd-81e57b797050′] between ingredients you measure can be a nightmare deal. Not to mention that pouring the honey into your bowl can also lead to food waste. And sticky hands. So here’s a trick for you: spray some cooking spray on your measuring spoons and everything will come off way easier.
4. Soften butter almost instantly
The microwave isn’t always one of the best time-savers in the kitchen. Sometimes it just doesn’t work. So don’t pop the butter in the microwave! There are many ways to do this, but here’s one for right now. Put the butter you want to melt in a Ziploc bag, seal it, and submerge it in a bowl with warm water. The process should only take about 5 seconds now.
5. Wilt greens for pasta instantly
Don’t waste too much time wilting your vegetables. Place them in the colander and then drain the pasta you cooked over them. Boiling water, too. Your spinach, arugula, and whatever else you’re using will be wilted instantly and quite ready for use.
6. How to boil water quickly
If you don’t have the time or the patience to wait for the water to boil in the pot, then consider this particular hot tip. Use [amazon_textlink asin=’B000B6NXFM’ text=’a lid on the pot’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’xdeli-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’17ae4030-26bd-11e8-a8ee-316b38412dd4′] over high heat. It should only take about two minutes for the bubbles to start forming and then getting more fast and furious!
7. Grate garlic
Mincing your garlic for your dish can be a painful and never-ending task. So what if there’s an easier way this time? Use a cheese grater with the finest, smallest blades. And grate that garlic like there’s no tomorrow. This trick is ideal for a lot of garlic cloves.
Since we’re here, why not also grate vegetables for cream soups? It’s quite a bother to chop everything. And since every piece will end up in the blender anyway, why not make everything happen quicker and grate your veggies before making the soup?
8. Don’t peel your veggies
Just wash them thoroughly and then you can roast them on a [amazon_textlink asin=’B0764KR98C’ text=’baking sheet’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’xdeli-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’df167c4e-26bc-11e8-89db-ed68a072bab5′] or cook them however you want. The skin will still give great texture to whatever you’re cooking. And it also has a high concentration of fiber and antioxidants. So it’s a win-win on this one.
