Learn the Secrets of Quick Cooking Rachael Ray will have nothing on you!

 

 

There's really no such thing as being a quick cook. After all, water takes the same amount of time to boil, regardless of who's heating it. And hamburgers can't magically cook quicker if you sprinkle them with magic dust.

 

The real trick, though, is learning to maximize the time you spend in the kitchen. That helps you get in and out faster, so you'll feel like the cooking is….quicker.

 

Here are a few tips and tricks that you can use to make your time in the kitchen more effective. It's all about learning to cut corners in ways that don't affect the quality of your food!

 

Use Convenience Products.

Convenience products are foods that help save steps. Frozen mixed vegetables are a convenience product, as is prepared pesto and pasta sauce. Packaged chicken broth, canned beans and bagged salad greens remove several steps in some recipes! By keeping a store of these items in your pantry, fridge, and freezer, and collecting recipes that use them, you'll reduce the time you spend in the kitchen.

 

Read Through the Recipe First.

It's essential to read completely through the recipe you have chosen before you begin preparing it. Try to visualize yourself going through each step to make sure you understand the process and that you have all of the ingredients, utensils and equipment you need.

 

Use Fewer Ingredients.

Recipes that use fewer ingredients are automatically going to be faster to make. You can vary these recipes by adding extra ingredients if you'd like, depending on what you have on hand, what your family likes and what looks good in the market. If a recipe has fewer than 8 ingredients, chances are that it'll be a fast one to fix.

 

Cook Once, Eat Twice.

Planning to use leftovers will help you cook faster. For instance, when you cook chicken for dinner, cook a few extra pieces and refrigerate them. It requires no extra time to do this, but you can use the extras in recipes that need precooked chicken.

 

Build a Collection of Dependable Recipes.

Learn five or ten recipes really well, so you can make them easily without thinking. Then add a new recipe to this collection every month or so. Before you know it, you'll have a collection of meals you can turn to when the evening rush hits. And be sure to keep the essential ingredients for those recipes on hand.