saving time and money in the kitchen

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saving time and money in the kitchen

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Started 1 year ago by bandicoot
Latest reply from chacha1
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bandicoot
Member

my overall goal in the kitchen is to produce delicious, nutritious food, without spending my whole life in there, and without an overload of equipment, and without spending a fortune.

so, i thought i'd start a thread for tips and tricks to achieve those things, because we all have to eat, and because the kitchen is pretty much the main room in my house as far as equipment and supplies goes.

so, i'll kick off and please feel free to chime in.

i live for fresh garlic and at every meal, i'll be peeling and chopping garlic for sure.
dried garlic and commercial garlic in a jar just aren't good enough.....and some brands of garlic in a jar are just repulsive.
but i dislike the peeling and chopping and the chasing the little papery bits of skin and the scrubbing the chopping board so the fruit doesn't taste of garlic.
my simple and obvious solution saves me an incredible amount of time and energy:
dedicate thirty or forty minutes to peeling a huge pile of garlic.
throw it into the food processor or blender with enough neutral-flavoured oil (we like rice bran oil) to make a paste.
blend, blend, blend.
spoon into jars.
refrigerate.

over to you.

Posted 1 year ago #
Zora
Member

Cook up huge pots of beans and freeze them in smaller containers. Makes last-minute cooking with beans do-able, and it's a lot cheaper than canned beans.

Cooking up huge pots, or pans, of ANYTHING and freezing it in small containers for homemade microwave meals. Thick soups and casseroles work best.

Baking two loaves of bread and freezing one. Continue until you have a bread stash in your freezer. See website The Fresh Loaf for recipes and video tutorials on making bread. If you have a stand mixer with a dough hook, it's very little work. Most of it is waiting.

Don't buy brown sugar. It's just white sugar and molasses. Measure out the same amount of white sugar and add a dab of molasses for flavor. Much cheaper.

I prefer the red lentils (masur dal) to the usual green lentils. They cook up quickly and taste great. Love them as "empress dal" (google for recipe).

Posted 1 year ago #
pkilmain
Member

@Zora - we think alike! I made a pot of soup today and most is in the freezer, and I usually bake 2 loaves of bread at a time.

@bandicoot - I blush to say that I own a killer unitasker in a very solid, never-gonna-fall-apart garlic press. We don't eat garlic as often as it sounds like you do, but at least once a week. This press really makes it easy as it minces and peels in one operation.

I think I mentioned in another thread that I have repurposed many of my stash of canvas tote bags to keep things sorted in my large chest freezer. Since I freeze several kinds of veg and fruit, as well as fish, it's much easier to find what I want when it's all in bags that are relatively easy to move around. Nothing falls to the bottom to be archeologically discovered several years past any usuable date. :) I also buy 1-2 gallons of milk when on sale, divide them into quarts and freeze. Cuts down on runs to the grocery, or having to drink reconstituted powdered milk - ewwwww! I can deal with it in cooking, but not on my cereal. I just have to remember to take out a quart in time for it to thaw by when I'm going to need it. I have had ice crystals in my cereal.

Posted 1 year ago #
Sophie
Member

Thinking about milk. We try to buy fresh where possible but also always have a supply of UHT milk in the cupboard as well. That way when we run out of fresh milk and can't/can't be bothed going to the store, then we have "fresh" milk on hand (not reconstituted - agree that's yuck! This week has been busy so we've ended up opening two containers and we still have one left! Tomorrow I'll go out to get supplies of fresh milk and UHT.

Posted 1 year ago #
HelofaMess
Member

We buy big cartons of milk but I'm thinking about moving over to having a milk delivery 3 times a week. Not sure yet as the cartons are only 500ml and I can't see my way around how much I need a week! My brain just won't compute 2l a week = 4*500ml a week! It never seems like enough!

I do freeze a lot but our new landlord supplied freezer is so much smaller than my old one and I just don't have space. Just before I give birth though I'm planning to stash lots and lots of food in the freezer so we can "home made ready meal" it through the first few months.

My tip is to stick a few cloves of garlic into a jar of olive oil. Gives a great flavour and much cheaper than the shop bought ones.

Posted 1 year ago #
jbeany
Member

I make big pots of soup or double batches of whatever I'm making and freeze them as well. I live alone, so cooking every night just doesn't happen. If I don't have things in the freezer, though, I just end up picking at junk. I also try to designate one night every 10 days or so, especially in the winter, to cook 4 or 5 things all at once. It's faster in the long run, because I can do things like chop 3 onions at the same time for everything I plan to cook that night. I'll cook turkey burger in a huge batch, then divide that into chili, a casserole and taco meat. I shred enough cheese to stir into the cheesy potato soup, top the taco, and sprinkle on the chili. I'll bake homemade granola while I'm chopping things for the soup, then come back to it later when its cool and mix some of it into chewy granola bars while keeping some aside for cereal and yogurt toppings.
I worked in my family's restaurant for years, though, so prepping multiple things in the kitchen to save time is genetic!

Posted 1 year ago #
Rosa
Member

Sophie, right around Y2K we could get shelf-stable milk, but then sometime in 2001 or 2002 when Parmalot had problems, it stopped being available around here. That is a good tip, though!

I am not so good with the planning ahead enough to defrost things, so I can a lot of stuff (like homemade soups) with my pressure canner, in pints. And we have a pressure cooker and two Lorna Sass pressure cooker books that are awesome.

It still takes about an hour to make dinner, what with all the chopping and the 5 year old "helping", but it's an hour to make somethign totally from scratch including dry beans, rice, fresh veg, etc., and washing up as I go.

Posted 1 year ago #
jbeany
Member

I keep canned evaporated milk all the time. I don't like it for drinking, but it works great for baking and cooking, so if I only have a little bit of regular milk left, I can save that for cereal and bake with the canned stuff.

Posted 1 year ago #
mugwump
Member

I love one pot meals. I make a stir fry or a hash with whatever is on hand, which is usually enough for two meals for the two of us. Also I freeze soups and stews, and DH and I alternate days cooking, so we don't eat the same thing two days in a row. Luckily neither of us minds leftovers.

Posted 1 year ago #
Rozzie
Member

Don't feel like you have to have hot food all the time.
Don't feel like you have to accept other people's ideas about what is breakfast food, lunch food, and supper food.
Feel free to eat some healthy cereal for supper, if you prefer, or a lettuce, cheese, tomato sandwich for breakfast!
Eat raw foods when possible -- fruit salads, cut up veggies, etc.
Expand your sandwich varieties!
Get a Vitamix (ok, so not cheap in the beginning, but it sure is nice...)and use it to make smoothies, instant soups, etc. (Love mine!)
Eat one dish meals -- casseroles are great and can be healthy. Pots of soup are nice, too.
Eat two dish meals with a rice or pasta base, and one item to go with as sauce or topping, or a side dish.

Rice and steamed veggies are a tasty meal. Nothing else needs to be served for the average meal.
Fried rice is quick and easy, too, if you have leftover rice in the fridge! Serve with a side of veggies and you have a full meal. (Fried rice has egg in it, so has protein...)
Oatmeal and fruit is good for supper, too.
A baked potato always tastes good...

Posted 1 year ago #
lottielot
Member

rozzie, I have the same attitude as you :) I have to cook for my kids and then for my dh and me, we all like different stuff so cooking 'proper' meals twice a night 7 nights a week is a complete nightmare. So sometimes the kids get baked bean toasties or pancakes or eggy bread for dinner, that and some carrot sticks or peas is a complete meal. Sometimes my ds1 will just have an enormous bowl of cereal for dinner. Sometimes if my dh is out I'll eat some muesli with yoghurt and nuts and a dollop of jam. Filling and nutritious, what more could you ask for? My tactic is to always make sure we have the basics for meals in the house, usually delivered by the milkman or vegbox man, and then have a few frozen things for standby. I try and cook things to save a bit of effort, like cooking rice for the kids and then using the rest for our meal, whether it's a simple stir-fry or kedgeree or something. However, whenever I plan things in advance it usually goes wrong: either my dh decides he doesn't want what I cooked or he'll announce he's out, or he'll work late or whatever. I find this annoying so tend to not plan meals too much. My main way of organising meals is to keep a list of favourite meals and consult it when we get into a rut. And my 2 easiest meals of the week which caters for everyone are: 1)roast chicken, potatoes and veg (that way people can take what they want and ignore the broccoli if not desired) and 2) a big picnic-style meal from the deli counter on the days when I've been to the supermarket. This idea is actually stolen from Nigella, who actually has lots of good tips in her 'How to Eat' book. You buy a whole stack of yummy things like salami, cheese, pork pies for my boys, olives, pickled onions, all that sort of stuff, and some crusty bread. Then make a simple salad too and everyone helps themself. What doesn't get finished will last a few days and is good for lunches etc or snacks.
Oh, final tip stolen from Nigella: freeze chicken carcasses after they're finished and boil up for stock when you have a few. I also find it easier to pop leek trimmings, celery leftovers, spongy carrots etc in the freezer as well and then just chuck the whole lot into the stock pot. Then I freeze the stock, very handy for everything and dirt cheap. Except sometimes I forget to label the stock and we once had a very weird risotto my dh made with 'stock' which turned out to be apple juice!! Can't believe he didn't notice till it was made...

Posted 1 year ago #
chacha1
Member

lottielot - I'll BET that was a weird risotto! LOL

My timesavers in the kitchen ... don't peel most vegetables or fruits. Don't cook an extra starch if I've already got a protein and a vegetable. Cook a meat dish that can be done in 15 minutes or less (on the broiler or grill pan) or that can go in the slow cooker while I'm at work.

My moneysaver ... don't buy more food than my weekly meal plan can account for. Nothing annoys me more than throwing away spoiled food. Since I started with a meal plan, I have wasted much, much less.

Posted 1 year ago #
irishbell
Member

chacha1-I agree. It took me a long time to come to this conclusion. Having a fairly large family,7, I always thought I needed tons of food/snacks around, but we rarely got to eating it ALL every week. Very wasteful.
I spent so much money at our local grocery store that the manager personally hand delivered huge Poinsettias to us on Christmas eve several years in a row! I easily spent $1000 a month on groceries when the kids were a little older and their appetites became more ravenous and varied. But I always seemed to have some waste every couple weeks. It was also a time waster in that I was at the store more than a few times a week.

Posted 1 year ago #
badkitti
Member

I batch bake lasangnas in the biggest dish that fits in my oven - I freeze most and usually have home made 'ready meals' Same as chilli.

I have also made tons of pitta breads for freezing in the past, they defrost in the toaster ready for use.

Posted 1 year ago #
susanintexas
Member

We do our main shopping on Sunday, after I quickly check our calendars to determine if one or both of us will be elsewhere or late for dinner. When we bring the groceries home, I make at least two large composed side salads (such as corn salad, cole slaw, carrot salad, etc.) that we will eat off of all week. Usually a big fruit salad, too, that will last a few days. I also partially fix a meal or two (perhaps make meatballs for spaghetti later in the week, or make a crust for a quiche.) I often fix a side dish or two (boil potatoes for roasted potatoes later in the week, or make macaroni cheese that I can then just pop into the oven.) And I make at least one one-dish meal -- perhaps chili or lasagna or a casserole. In a few hours I have at least one component for every day's meal ready. Then I clean the kitchen (well, at least mop the floor.) My energy level is pretty low at the time when I normally would start dinner and having it half-way done makes life easier and less likely that we will succumb to take away. We usually have some sort of grilled seafood on Sunday or Wednesday (when I generally have to make a supplemental fruit & veg run) so that it is fresh.

Posted 1 year ago #
lazycow
Member

It's spring in Australia, and with the warmer weather, the kids and I start drinking smoothies for breakfast. It is such a pain to drag the heavy blender, assemble the ingredients, wash the blender (can you tell I'm the laziest person on earth?) every morning. So now I've started making enough smoothie for 2-3 days and keep it in a glass jar in the fridge to save me the hassle.

We also have pizza every Friday, and there is usually enough dough left over to freeze for 1 pizza. That way, there is always a pizza base or 3 in the freezer for emergencies.

@Rozzie, that's extremely sensible advice, and I try to adhere to most of it, most of the time. Unfortunately my husband thinks breafast for dinner is 'cheating', so I can only do it when he's away :-)

@lottielot, are you my English twin? Roast chook and 'bits and pieces' (which is what I call the deli plate) are my favourite dinners too. Absolutely adore "How to Eat" and often take it to bed with me to read instead of a novel. Am impatiently waiting for the new one "Kitchen" from the library, as it is meant to be in a similar vein.

Posted 1 year ago #
Rozzie
Member

My grandmother (who raised me) has always repeated a saying that she learned as a child from her mother. I don't know if it's been around the family longer than that, but it has definitely been with us since the 1930s.

"We eat to live, not live to eat."

That doesn't mean we don't enjoy a nice meal, but it does mean that we recognize that the primary purpose of food is for us to sustain life and health. So, we do try to keep this in mind. We keep lots of good, healthy food around, but don't feel that every meal has to be a production in and of itself.

This simplifies my life a lot...

Posted 1 year ago #
Rozzie
Member

lazycow...
Can you store your blender right on the counter? If it's an appliance that you use (or would use) every single day, then it seems to me that it deserves counter space. The exception might be if you have only the tiniest of kitchenettes like really small apartments might have.

Is there something else you can remove from your counters so that your blender could stay out? Other items that are lighter and easier to move, perhaps?

Posted 1 year ago #
pkilmain
Member

@lazycow - how is it cheating? :) I ate soup for breakfast all the time when I was in high school. My husband's default dinner if I'm out is cereal and milk. It's all good.....

Posted 1 year ago #
lottielot
Member

lazycow: I make smoothies with a hand blender, much easier than a big blender and you can stick it in the dishie :) But I do also have a juicer which lives out on the kitchen bench and I use it probably every 2 days (again, almost all of it goes in the dishie). I freecycled my big blender as I could never really get it properly clean, yuck!
I wish my kids would eat pizza, it's ridiculous having kids so fussy they won't even touch something that basic :(
How to Eat is a great book, isn't it? I love that recipe with roast chicken, tagliatelle and pine nuts (no sultanas though). I must have another look at it and see if there's anything else I fancy in there, I didn't use to eat red meat but now I've come round to pork and possibly lamb at a pinch. I like the way that Nigella (who I hate on telly, all that pouting and hair-flicking) has the same attitude to food as most of us mere mortals. So some days she just can't be arsed and some days she's feeling fat, but she's good at passing on planning and storage tips (her freezing leftover wine is genius too, sometimes you don't want to open a bottle just to make a casserole) and she loves good food. She and Nigel Slater are the only cooks I regularly consult, he has some good simple recipes too, particularly his 30 minute cookbook.

Posted 1 year ago #

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