Saving Time

[sarahmom22]

I thought it might be fun to share some ideas about what, if anyhing, we all do to save time in the kitchen?
For example, I buy 4 or 5 green peppers at a time, chop them up and put them in the freezer in freezer bags so they're ready to just throw in the pot when I'm cooking chili, spaghetti, or anything with green peppers in it.

Also, when I buy meat I'll usually buy it in bulk packs and separate it into enough to make a meal for my family and put it in freezer bags. I do this when I get home from the grocery store.

So, what do you do to save time?

 

[Zhizara]

I do the same with celery. After many years of throwing out half the celery that goes bad before I could use it, I finally got myself organized. I take off and wash the outer stalks, cut off the ends and store whole in the freezer to add to soups of stock just for flavor, discarding after use.

The tender inner section, I mince finely and keep in a baggie in the fridge to use up in sandwich salads, chicken, egg, tuna.

The medium stalks, I chop into 1/4-1/2" pieces and freeze to add to soups or stews, to leave in. I can just grab a handful and continue to keep the rest in the freezer.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

I cook several full meals on my day off and make up my lunches and Shrek's dinners for the week. That way I don't have to try to cook on days I work.

 

[jabbur]

I buy hamburger in bulk and brown it up then put it in freezer bags. Then when I want to add it to something like spaghetti sauce, chili, or any recipe that calls for browned hamburger, I just thaw the package in the microwave and dump it in.

 

[Selkie]

I buy hamburger in bulk and brown it up then put it in freezer bags. Then when I want to add it to something like spaghetti sauce, chili, or any recipe that calls for browned hamburger, I just thaw the package in the microwave and dump it in.

Ditto!

 

[joesfolk]

I guess I'm a little strange but I prefer not to do things to save time in the kitchen. I love being in the kitchen. I do however break meat down into meal sized packages for the freezer which in the long run saves time and keeps us from having to eat the same meat for several days in a row. I do freeze some stuff in single portions too so that I can just grab one portion when I come home from work at 11PM. I guess that is a bit of a time saver.

 

[CWS4322]

I buy lemons and limes when they are on special and (a) zest them, and (b) juice them. I put the zest in a ziplock bag, toss it in the freezer. I put the juice in ice cube trays and then in ziplock bags. When I need a tablespoon of fresh lime or lemon juice, all I have to do is pull a cube out of the ziplock bag and I'm good to go. I chop garlic and freeze that, as well as onions (and a whole lot of other things <g>). In the summer, I prefer to make meals or bases for soups and freeze those, stir fry veggies, rather than the individual veggies.

 

[taxlady]

If I have a lot of fat, I make a large amount of roux. I used to follow Joy of Cooking's recommendation and freeze it in wafers and store it in a jar in the freezer. Then I read Julia Child's recommendation in The Way to Cook: Just keep it in a jar in the freezer. It keeps for weeks. Very handy when the gravy isn't quite thick enough or you're in a hurry.

 

[Sash]

These are great ideas, working so much now that I have been eating takeaway for 2 weeks through lack of time!

About the only thing I do is I sort out cooked chicken and other sandwich meats into sandwich bags with the right amount so I can just thaw that. It all seems to be about freezing things!

 

[taxlady]

If I have a lot of fat, I make a large amount of roux. I used to follow Joy of Cooking's recommendation and freeze it in wafers and store it in a jar in the freezer. Then I read Julia Child's recommendation in The Way to Cook: Just keep it in a jar in the freezer. It keeps for weeks. Very handy when the gravy isn't quite thick enough or you're in a hurry.

I should have written, "Just keep it in a jar in the refrigerator..." not the freezer.

 

[NoraC]

I sort out cooked chicken and other sandwich meats into sandwich bags with the right amount so I can just thaw that. It all seems to be about freezing things!

Low temp mise en place is really what we all seem to focus on in "saving time"; it's not taking shortcuts on quality, but streamlining operations.

 

[sarahmom22]

These are really great ideas! Love the roux idea

Oh garlic I buy minced in a jar, which is fine for a lot of things. I do buy fresh garlic when I need to tho.

 

[NoraC]

Oh garlic I buy minced in a jar, which is fine for a lot of things. I do buy fresh garlic when I need to tho.

I love minced in a jar and powdered both. I use a LOT of fresh, but powdered mingles through a wet dish so very well and pre-minced does a great job for a long simmered things. I can even accept garlic salt for popcorn, if I am in the right mood and parm is around, LOL.

 

[mrs.mom]

These are really great ideas! Love the roux idea

Oh garlic I buy minced in a jar, which is fine for a lot of things. I do buy fresh garlic when I need to tho.

I always buy fresh garlic. I peel about 5-6 heads and mince them in the food processor. Then I place the minced garlic in a jar with 1 teaspoon of salt so that it doesn't stick. I close the jar firmly and then place the jar in a zipper bag and store it in the freezer. I use the zipper bag because garlic gives an odour that sticks to anything in the freezer, so I try to reduce this odour. By this way I save time during cooking, I almost use garlic in everything.

 

[chopper]

The freezer is my friend too. I like to spend the time in the kitchen when the fruit is ripe so that I have frozen fruit in the winter when the days are shorter, the fruit isn't in season, and I need a fruit fix. It is great to have blueberries, cherries, etc. all year long that I have frozen. Nothing better than eating frozen blueberries right out of the freezer bag. Sometimes I put them in a bowl with milk and sugar too, but the best way is just plain right out of the freezer-I've done that since I was a kid. Of course, back then I would pick them at a farm in Paw Paw, Michigan. You could eat all you wanted while you were picking...I can taste them now...

 

[Claire]

One of mine is one many foodies would turn their noses up for. But I lived in an RV when on the road for years, and now have a home with no A/C in the kitchen. But it is a big time-saver year round. There are a lot of foods you can nuke to temperature before cooking. You may not want the sort of "steamed" flavor from the microwave, but you can nuke a potato 'til almost done, then toss in a very hot oven (much more heat than you'd use to bake one for an hour) to crisp it and get a good overall texture/flavor. Ditto throwing them on the grill, or chopping, slicing before frying (actually, I find they are actually tastier done this way, because you can cook them at a higher heat for shorter period of time). A lot of foods can be microwaved until almost done, then finished off in the traditional manner at a higher temp in the oven, on the stovetop, or outside on the grill. If nothing else, for those of us who don't like to put food on the counter 'till it is room temperature, you nuke it, then cook it. It is almost impossible to tell how to do it, since microwave ovens vary so very, very much in power (it seems like every time I get it down pat, I need a new one, and have to learn again). But if you have a hard day, or six million holiday things to be in the oven, use that darned thing. Heat the casseroles so all they have to have in the oven is the crunchy tops. Reheat stuff people brought that there's no room for in the oven. Even if you're just bringing refrigerated items to heat, you can cut a half hour off your baking or frying time, easily.