Cooking Tips for Quick Meals
The world seems to come back to life! Yes, we still have a long way to go to be fully back to “normal.” (What’s even normal anymore?) Though our classes are full, our Summer Open House was a success on all accounts, and the hustle and bustle we love throughout Denver is BACK.
With the return to normalcy… also comes the return to busy-ness. Back to work, back to school, back to 27,000 kids sports games - you know the drill.
Being pros in the kitchen does come with its advantages these days. We know how to make meals in a jiffy, whether they’re dinner for one, or lunch for a full roster of baseball players!
Here’s what you need to know to make delicious meals quickly in your home, too:
Briefly plan ahead
You don’t have to write out a whole schedule, but, if you have the opportunity, read through the recipe a day or two ahead of time and imagine the steps you will need to take. Maybe even discuss the recipe with a cohort if you have the luxury. Try to think about the basic skills you already possess and relate them to the steps in the recipe. For instance, if the recipe tells you to heat a skillet or frying pan, then add oil and the product, you are doing basic sauté steps and you can simply do what you already know to get the recipe moving forward in a timely fashion.
Organize!!
We always get all of the items in the recipe out where we can see them. Then wecut and sort. Most 30 minute meals require as much or more preparation time than cooking time. A typical stir fry takes 20 minutes to get the ingredients cut and sorted, then only 3 to 5 minutes to cook.
Asian is easy to make
The flavors that make up the rich, sweet, sour, and spicy tastes of Asian cuisine are mostly shelf stable. Most can live for long periods of time on the pantry shelf, and those refrigerated items also will keep for months. Flavors such as hoisin sauce, oyster sauce, mirin, soy, fish sauce, black vinegar, rice vinegar, Chinese chili sauce, etc. require no refrigeration and can be mixed together in a wide variety of ways and easily adapt themselves to other flavors like chilies, curry, citrus juices, miso, assorted vegetables, mushrooms…the list is almost endless and they all work with a wide variety of poultry, seafood and meats. Also, these flavors can be mixed ahead and added at the end of the cooking process to simply flavor the entrée, or be used as a marinade. Keep thin, Asian style noodles in the pantry as well as rice. We like Basmati rice because it cooks in twenty minutes and has a better flavor and nutritional profile than our more common long grain white rice.
Start your Starch
The cooking times for potatoes, pasta, and grains are usually the longest within most recipes. Plus, these items hold at heat nicely without overcooking and also reheat easily. So, always try to start these first! If relevant, your first two steps can literally be:
Turn on the oven if you are roasting anything
If cooking pasta, get a pot of water on the stove and bring it to a boil while you are organizing other ingredients
Grow fresh herbs
Whether in the window box or in your garden, fresh herbs are relatively easy to grow, (even for brown thumbs!) and can instantly add a big burst of wonderful flavor to most dishes.
Cut down on shopping time
Shop the center of the store once or twice a month and the perimeter of the store at least once a week, though two to three times a week to make sure that you have the freshest product available.
Recruit help
Cooking time can be family time! Bring the kids in to help, connect with your spouse over a nice glass of wine, toss on your favorite tunes, and make cooking fun. There’s no reason why you should feel isolated in your kitchen. Rather, your kitchen should feel like the heart of your home.
Take a class at The Seasoned Chef
All of our classes are designed to help you cook delicious meals quickly and efficiently. Particularly, our signature class Basic Skills Every Cook Should Know is designed to teach even the most beginner of students how to slice, grill, roast, and all of the other quality skills you will need to help make your time in the kitchen more productive, relaxed, and enjoyable. Knowing and practicing the basics will help you make meals in minutes!