Quick Cooking is a Mind Set

Quick cooking is a mind set, it's not about time. You'll always spend time on cooking, the goal is to make it more time effective and user friendly.

If you're not prepared, you'll never have a "quick" meal, so it's important to do the following:

Plan ahead - Make a menu plan:

I recommend that you menu plan for the month. It doesn't matter how often you shop, it's important to know what you're going to eat. When planning your menu, remember to allow for leftovers. If you cook more than one meals worth of a recipe, you can always freeze it and serve it again later in the month or use it for a night that you don't feel like cooking.

If you menu plan for the entire month, you won't have any overlaps and you'll cut down on your waste factor. Remember that you can always fill in with soup. This is a great way to use up the leftovers in your refrigerator. Cut up the veggies that are starting to look a little worse for wear, add the leftover baked or mashed potatoes, toss in a can of stewed tomatoes and add the "scrappy" looking roast chicken carcass, leftover lunch meat or meatloaf. Just add a little stock and you have homemade soup. Add some hot biscuits or cornbread and you're family will think you're amazing.

Check the pantry and go shopping:

If you keep a well stocked pantry, you'll never be out of the basic ingredients necessary to make a meal. For those days when you're behind schedule, or just forgot to take something out of the freezer, your pantry can save your day. I've given you lists of suggestions for a well stocked pantry on your first cd - you should probably check it out.

Once you've made your monthly menu plan, check your pantry items to see what you're short of. Write your shopping list and go shopping. DO NOT buy anything that's not on your list! If you stick to this, you'll be amazed at how much money you save. A quick tip - leave the kids and hubby at home - it really saves on the grocery bill.

Pre-prepping - a real time saver:

Whether you're shopping for a week, two weeks or a month, pre-prep your meats when you get home. If you don't want to cook all your meat right away, break it down into serving sizes or recipe sizes and then freeze. If you pre-cook your meats, which is what I recommend, place the amount called for in the recipe in freezer containers or bags, label with the recipe name and place them in the freezer. If you'll do this, then you'll truly have a 20-30 minute meal. You can spend 3-4 hours in the kitchen one day cooking all your meat, but it will save you 10-20 hours in the kitchen over the month. You choose.

The only item in your budget that's fluid is your grocery budget. Your monthly expenses are pretty much set; you may find yourself financially short some months due to unanticipated expenses. Where will the money come from? Your food budget. Get ahead of the game, learn how to shop wisely and cook your meals at home. They'll not only be better for you, but you'll be amazed at how much money you'll save.

Enjoy using your kitchens, they're not a surgery center, you don't need a degree to go there, you just need to take a deep breath, strap on your apron and read your recipe twice before starting and don't forget, I'm only a phone call away.