6 Ways to Save Time in the Kitchen

Busy schedules and days that never seem to end make time a precious commodity. The last thing you want to do is waste any of it unnecessarily, and it can be especially easy to lose track of time in the kitchen. Here are six ways to save time in the kitchen.

Planning

One of the best ways to save time in the kitchen is to plan ahead. Whether you plan for a few days, a week or even a month, it will cut down on time spent wondering what to cook, where to shop and waiting for the meal to be done. Planning can also help with budgeting in addition to managing your time in the kitchen.

Use Leftovers

If you plan to cook dinner every night, using leftovers from the previous night’s food can help cut down on cook time. For example, if you make a baked potato on Monday night, you can remove the skin and use it in a dish on Tuesday. This eliminates your need to cook the potato.

Double the Batch

Sometimes, it’s just easier to double the batch or recipe. This might not seem like a good way to save time in the kitchen, but if you make more initially, you’ll have to cook less later. You can always freeze additional portions and thaw them when you’re ready to eat.

Practice Precision

Chefs and culinary capers preach about the benefits of uniform knife cuts, and they’re onto something. By keeping your knife cuts the same and cutting foods into smaller pieces, they will cook faster and more evenly. No more putting veggies back into the oven because some are done and some are still raw.

Declutter the Kitchen

The kitchen is often the heart of the home, which means it collects artifacts from our days that can build and build. Save time in the kitchen by putting everything away once it has been acknowledged.

Clean As You Go

It’s tempting to put your dirty dishes in the sink and come back to them, but that also runs the risk of an overflowing sink and barren cabinets. As you cook, clean utensils as you are done with them. If you clean the bowl you used to make cake mix while the cake is in the oven, you’re not only multitasking, you also won’t have to come back to clean a sink full of dirty dishes.

If you keep these six ways to save time in the kitchen in mind, you’ll cut your time down drastically and possibly eliminate wasted time altogether!