You know how you hear something, and you know you should do it but you just forget…every single time? And then one time you remember to do that thing (it’s a MIRACLE!), and it makes life immensely easier? Here’s the top 5 tricks that will make your cooking and clean-up easier than ever…and you probably already know about them!
1) Start with a clean sink
Then you can either wash dishes/tools you use as you go or have the sink open to wash your hands or veggies, dispose of extra liquids, etc.
2) Read the recipe and answer these questions
a) Do you have all the ingredients? (this saves you the disappointment of getting halfway through a dish and finding out you’re missing something critical)
b) How long does it take? (here’s where I’m halfway through when my husband says it’s time to go to bed…ugh)
c) What’s the order of the steps? (“Oh wait, I was supposed to sauté that BEFORE I put it in?”)
d) Can you prepare the rest of the meal WHILE making this dish? I love this seared sugar snap peas recipe. But it cooks so fast, I literally CANNOT do anything else while I’m cooking it! (BTW I don’t add the sugar, lemon zest or mint when I make it, and it’s still fantastic!
3) Mise-en-place – French for “everything in its place”
This means get everything out (utensils and ingredients), and do all the chopping, pre-mixing, and marinating BEFORE you actually start to assemble or cook your dish. I learned this from Melissa Hartwig in her book The Whole 30: The 30-Day Guide to Total Health and Food Freedom (pp. 187-188 and then again later in Gretchen Rubin’s Outer Order, Inner Calm p. 77 in relation to clutter). Now I don’t overcook part of the dish while I’m busy chopping the next vegetable to add.
4) Put ingredients away as you go
Self-explanatory, but you’ll be amazed how much better you feel when this essential step of clean-up is already done before you sit down to dinner.
5) Put away leftovers and wash all dishes or pots/pans as soon as the meal is over
Now tomorrow’s lunch is already made! And it’s SO much easier to wash up now rather than letting the food have time to dry to a crusty, sticky mess.
Try these tricks tonight…they WILL make your cooking and clean-up easier than ever before!
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