Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Kitchen Talk

The pantry is bare & I'm not about to venture out in this freezing weather so I consulted google for dinner ideas. We just happened to have all the ingredients for the first recipe I found when I typed in "Crock Pot Recipe with Chicken." Chicken, ketchup, onions, and cola (fortunately, we keep a stash of Diet Coke here for when my mom visits). It may turn out disgusting but hey, dinner will be ready when HeRoos comes home & I don't have to leave the house.


Which brings me to the most important part of this post- Time Saving Kitchen Ideas! There are a couple things I've discovered that make cooking much more convenient. I'll share if you will!

If I would've made this discovery sooner, there would be less time spent scrubbing burners.

* Put a little bit of olive oil in the pot of water before boiling pasta. It prevents the water from boiling over & the pasta isn't as sticky.





* I try to keep this in our fridge at all times. We used to keep fresh garlic in the pantry but it smelled up the place and often went bad before we used it. Instead of peeling and crushing, this is fast and I think it tastes just as good.




Your turn!

6 comments:

Megan said...

What a great idea! I'm going to check back to see what everyone posts. I have two tips.

#1 Before you start cooking, empty your dishwasher and fill your sink with warm, soapy water. That way you can do the dishes while things are cooking/simmering. My mom is so good at doing this. I'm still working on making it a habit.

#2 When I buy meat I pre-cook and pre-season it all at once then freeze into smaller freezer ziplocks.

A - Chicken: My favorite is to cut boneless skinless breasts or thighs into bite-sized pieces and sautee in olive oil and garlic. Or if I bake chicken breasts, I'll just make some extra to chop. Some of my favorite dinners with this are white chicken chili and chicken fettuccine alfredo. Also, Costco and Sams sell canned chicken breast. It's as cheap or cheaper than buying raw chicken breast. I like it in chicken salad sandwiches and warm chicken sandwiches.

B - Ground beef. I like to chop an onion and green pepper and brown ground beef. Some of our favorite quick dinners with this are ghoulash, shepherd's pie, tamale pie, and spaghetti (just add ground beef to canned spaghetti sauce). Sometimes I'll separate out some of the ground beef and add taco seasoning. Then it works well in taco salads and taco soup.

C - Ham. I like to have chopped ham in the fridge to use in funeral potatoes with ham & peas, ham and pineapple pizza, and scrambled egg and ham sandwiches.

The One said...

I use paper plates for prep work when I'm just doing a couple of things. I hate having to wash a whole cutting board for one slice of cheese, or one carrot. Just cut the cheese on the paper plate and toss. Make sure you buy the cheap plates though since they have lower sides. And I love my heavy cast iron skillet. My electric burners never sit flat on my stove and the weight of the pan keeps it on the burner so the whole pan is evenly heated.

The Andersen Family said...

Okay my two favorites...
#1 Did you know they sell frozen chopped onions? I REALLY hate cutting onions, I always have a bag of these in my freezer! I take what I need, return the rest.

#2 Before I knew Rachel Ray was doin' it, Ericka Andersen was doin' it!lol. What you say? The Trash Bowl. Get a big bowl and as you prep dinner you put your throw aways in it: all of your trimmings, tops, seeds, rinds, etc that you normally walk to the garbage it goes in the bowl and then the contents go in the trash all at once!

Loved this idea...., thanks for posting!

Kristanne said...

#1 Instead of using Pam, use bakers secret, it keeps you cookie sheets and pans from getting that brown, yellow film that is almost impossible to get off, on them. Mainly because it has flour in it.

#2 In order to frost a cake easier without the frosting sticking and pulling up the top layer of the cake is to freeze the cake first.

#3 if you put your pasta in when you put the water on to boil, it will take less time to cook and isn't any stickier, you just have to stir it occasionally.

#4 Coke and Sprite both make great tenderizers for meat, mix them with onion soup mix and cream of mushroom soup for a great gravy as well while you cook the meat.

#5 put a glass full of water in the microwave and heat it for 2 minutes, let the glass sit and don't open the microwave when it rings. This steams off the hard, crusty food that husbands and children invariably leave in the microwave, and then you can just wipe it off easily with a damp cloth. Sometimes you have to repeat the step for a really dirty microwave - or when you son has heated four bowls of chili and not covered one of them!

Jenny said...

Thanks for the link of the snuggie infomercial that was so funny! Oh yeah just wait until your little guy starts watching his cartoons and wants every little thing that they pitch in those infomercials!! Love ya

Tristie hearts Dax said...

love the steamy cup in the micro tip! thanks for this post.

Here is my household tip (not kitchen, sorry I'm a rebel)

If you have a pair of stinky shoes, sprinkle baking soda in the bottom of them and let them sit overnight. Then dump the baking soda and vacuum them out with your hose attachment. Odor gone!