Click here to read some tips from my readers
When you have limited time to cook, you need all the help you can get. These quick meal tips can help make your quick meals even quicker!
Put 3 or 4 onions in a food processor at a time. Chop them all up, then store them in a covered container in the fridge. They can last a very long time. When you need chopped onion, it is all ready.
1 small onion = 1/4 cup (60 mL); 1 medium onion = 1/2 cup (125 mL)
– Michele B
Here’s one of my favorite quick meal tips: buy multiple sets of measuring spoons and measuring cups. When I am racing through a recipe, I don’t want to stop to rinse or wash a measuring cup. Having several sets lets me grab what I need and keep cooking. (It doesn’t take any longer to wash two cups than to wash one!)
If you often find yourself cooking with a toddler on one hip, invest in a set of flat-bottomed measuring spoons. You’ll be able to measure and add your ingredient using only one hand!
-Ellen D
Discard the little lid with holes in it on your spice jars – at least for those spices that you usually need to measure. I find that the only spice I regularly want to sprinkle is paprika – for all the other spice jars in my drawer, the holey thing just got in the way and slowed me down. The spoons pictured above fit into spice jars.
-Scott S
Put a few sheets of newspaper under your cutting board. Push the ends and peels onto the newspaper. When you’re done, simply wrap up the newspaper and throw it away or dump the scraps into the compost pile. You’re left with a nice clean countertop and sink!
– Eva L
When making mashed potatoes, don’t peel them! Choose thin-skinned potatoes, scrub them well, and just leave the skins on when you boil and mash as usual. You won’t lose the fiber and the nutrients that are in the skin and you’ll save lots of time. The mashed potatoes will taste just as wonderful as ever, and you’ll get used to the brown flecks!
If you insist on peeling your potatoes, get out a large colander. Put it on your work surface and peel the potatoes over it. You’ll be able to carry the colander of peelings to the compost pail or the garbage can without having to first scoop them out of the drainhole on the sink!
-Jodie K
I had the idea that using real garlic was hard and time consuming. I was wrong! The secret is having a good garlic press – and rinsing it immediately after using it. (If I’m rushing through a recipe and don’t want to stop to rinse my garlic press, I put it in a glass of water until I have a moment to clean it out.)
-Lori M
Time consuming side dishes, like mashed potatoes, can be made in large batches and frozen, then reheated for busy nights. Make double or triple batches of your favorite freezer friendly meal for dinner and freeze the extra batches for quick meals later.
-Michael P
When you are cooking pasta, cook some extra (al dente) and keep it in a covered container in the fridge. It’s handy to have on hand to toss into soups, or to eat for a quick meal.
-Allura N.
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Tags: Quick meal tips
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