Saving time in the kitchen.

I read a lot about saving time in the kitchen.

Like most of us, I can "Get something on the table" pretty quickly if I need to. As of late, I am making an effort to do that with much more natural food. Frankly, I find "Out of the box or can" increasingly worrysome. I have read quite a bit lately that things that the FDA considers "Safe" are in fact not safe.

How do you really feel about saving time in the kitchen? I enjoy making even a quickie meal. I have found that they simply taste better. As a result, I tend to make bigger meals and refrigerate or freeze the leftovers. That is becoming my way to save time in the kitchen.

I cook to eat, I enjoy the time spent and more and more I am reading the labels and shaking my head.

That's just me. What do you think?

i, by far, prefer cooking. & i mean not, by pressing microwave buttons. i mean by taking time to cook. not typing onto a microwave screen, then pushing, 'start.' not since 5th/6th grade.
i'll buy & use pre-made food. not because i prefer to. mainly, an illness attributes to that. cooking is an effort as of now. so, i suppose either i stick to my morals, or starve. so, much as i despise non-scratch-made-food....... we hafta get nourishment, somehow.

I have mixed feelings, actually.

I need to save time but also money and of course I want to feed my family nourishing, wholesome foods. Having said that, I get up at 5:30 most mornings to exercise and work a full day, so it's a collective challenge.

We have always had a microwave. I always say that if, Gdfabid, it makes us sick later in life, we will have saved that time during our early years and made those years worthwhile, at least. Sounds weird, but that's my motto.

Whether you're cooking from scratch or using boxes/cans, I think the biggest time saver in the kitchen is to stay organized. If it comes out of one drawer, it goes back in that same drawer. I can't stand to have to dig through three or four different drawers for a certain spatula or spoonula. I know a lot of people keep their cooking utensils in some kind of container on the counter, which makes it really handy, but I don't like a bunch of stuff on the countertops.

I have an organization system for my two crispers in the refrigerator also. I don't like to dig through one of the "rotters" only to find that whatever I'm looking for is in the other.

I saw a movie where three, young, single women were living together. One was looking for something in the refrigerator, and the other told her to look in the rotter. Now I call my crisper drawers the rotters.

I wish I could get away from using canned products. It ain't easy .

getting away from canned / prepped foods is not difficult with the ifs:

- your budget permits a majority of fresh veggies - they cost more
- you can shop frequently / more than once a week

my idea of good cookin' is: no left-overs

there are only a few things I willingly freeze - meats ain't in that mix except for pork tenderloins.

I avoid making large quantities that either produce left-overs or have to be frozen.

so I buy fresh meats, fresh veggies, fruit.
I used to buy much more fresh fish, but then our market fish dept went south.
dried beans but also canned baked beans, red kidneys in the can for chili
old fashion oat meal, old fashion grits

I don't think I spend an inordinate amount of time cooking.
there are some dishes I psuedo-dread the prep - stir fry, peeling potatoes, cobb salad,

I bake bread enough that it's almost in "auto" - same with for example pizza dough. yeah, just like stew or chili - start to finish is hours, but I don't stand there and watch the dough rise (g)

making a roux to white sauce to cheese sauce for mac&cheese is time painful because one cannot walk away - that's a solid 20-30 minutes of stir&watch.

I do notice when I'm doing a "new dish" it takes a lot more time / trouble / fretting to be sure I'm following the recipe / instructions. once I've done it a few times, it goes a lot faster / easier.

guys, i got a a belly-laugh via myself. i'll 'fess to using a microwave when making a microwave toddler meal fer my neice. she is impatient as me.

As of late, I am trying to "Go Local"

We have a huge farmer's market and a fish market that features all fresh fish of about 20 - 30 varieties in the next town. There is also a nearby poultry farm that raises and slaughters their own chickens, ducks, geese and turkeys all are fed only natural feed. Looking for a meat market, bet I can find one. More travel, yes, some savings and definitely better tasting food. Only two to cook for, so it helps with the cost.

I do my best to stay away from the microwavable meals. As a cook and aspiring chef at this point it all just tastes like plastic. If you want to save time and you're busy trying to feed your family, making bulk and freezing the rest is a great way to go, especially when it comes to pasta. Freeze your sauce and then boil noodles, heat up the sauce one the stove and you're ready to go in less than 30 minutes. And if you're not in the mood for it a certain day but have an extra 10-15 minutes boil your noodles and put them in the fridge. When you're ready to make dinner simply heat up your sauce with the noodles.

The only microwave meals we eat are reheated in it leftovers.
My problem is that I love mise en place, the more the merrier.
It's my relaxation time, so cooking here is often much slower than
it needs to be.
When I'm in a hurry, I have a few quick go to meals we enjoy.
Haven't found a microwave meal worth the price yet. Haven't looked
much, either.

I use the microwave every day to reheat half cups of coffee. It earns it's keep.