Blog.EmealsForYou

Beyond Meal Planning – Organizing Your Cooking

July 3, 2008

Okay, so now you’ve planned your meals, shopped for the ingredients and now you are ready to prepare these meals for your family.  This is where it can get a little crazy if you don’t take that planning just a little further.  No problem if you act simply and logically….many of us have the simply down pat it is the logically we need some help with.

Let’ s dive in… one of the secrets to actually enjoying meal preparation is to, wait for it, organize your cooking methods.  Many are now saying, I just don’t have the energy to put forward the effort needed to do anything but throw the stuff into a pan, turn on the stove and dump the “finished” product onto a plate.  WRONG!  Look, you don’t put your pants on first and then your underwear, so why are you cooking as if being unorganized qualifies you for a merit badge.  I recently made fun of Rachael Ray’s ability to carrying all her ingredients to the cooking area in one trip (see What Do We Get Out of Those TV Cooking Shows – A Rant) but it is that kind of organization that will help you get used to being a better cook and enjoying it more.

You have to learn to make the most of your time.  Decide what you need for the meal at hand, pots, pans, ingredients, serving plates all of it.  So if you were making a pasta dish; start the water on the stove before you do anything else.  If you are going to need the oven, turn it on, pre-heat it to save time later.  Set out all the ingredients you will need.  Every wonder why recipes list the ingredients in the order they are put into the meal?  This is so you will have them out and ready when the recipe calls for them.  Set the table while the meal is cooking, please, at a point that doesn’t require you to stir or add something.  Even better, get the kids or your significant other to set the table for you.  Unless you have a pedometer on and are trying to improve your health by walking;stop all the trips, short as they may be, to the pantry, closet, frig, table wherever, put that energy into the meal.

By simply organizing your meal preparation you will be amazed at the time you save… more importantly you may even enjoy the meal more…just a little!

Entry Filed under: Tips.Techniques and Ideas. Tags: cooking shows, organize your cooking, organizied cooking.