Cooking is a labor of love for many home cooks, but not everyone has all day to prepare meals from scratch. Fortunately, incorporating a few kitchen hacks can make cooking quicker, easier, and more enjoyable. The following are a few time-saving tips to help make cooking more efficient.
1. Pre-Prepare Ingredients – Planning ahead is key to keeping kitchen times to a minimum. Pre-preparing ingredients is an excellent way to save time. Rinse veggies you will use later in the week, precut meat, dice onions, and so on. This way, when it’s time to cook, you’re ready to go.
2. Invest in Quality Kitchen Tools – Quality kitchen tools can save you a lot of time. Consider investing in a food processor for chopping vegetables, a high-powered blender for making smoothies, or an air fryer for perfectly cooked meals. These tools are lifesavers when you’re short on time.
3. Cook in Batches – Cooking in batches is one of the most efficient kitchen hacks. Make double batches of rich sauces, freeze them, and use them at a later date to shorten meal prep time. It’s especially handy during the holidays when you want to get multiple dishes done at once.
4. Utilize the Slow Cooker – For those busy days when you don’t have time to stand over the stove, the slow cooker is your best friend. Dump all the ingredients into the slow cooker, set it, and go. The slow cooker will do the rest, and it’ll even clean itself!
5. Clean as You Go – Cleaning can be a hassle, and it usually happens when we least expect it. To make kitchen time more efficient, clean as you go. Rinse dishes and cooking utensils as they’re being used, and pick up any spilled food.
Utilizing these kitchen hacks can help home cooks save time and make cooking more enjoyable. The next time you’re in the kitchen, give one of these hacks a try!