As much as we'd like to think we have this endless amount of time to prep our nightly meal, in reality these meals are often thrown together after getting home and before soccer practice or an evening class or event. Over the years we've discovered a few tricks and tips of our own that will save you time and help get dinner done in a flash!
Like many things in life a little prep work or know how can go a long way. Check out these easy techniques that will have you finishing dinner in record time!
1. 3 Defrosting Tips for Super Fast Results: Forget to pull the protein out of the freezer before you left for work? Here are three ways to help out when you need thawed ingredients, like now.
2. Freeze Roasted Garlic: This suggestion is a great one and we especially like the trick of freezing it in chopped tablespoons, ready for any dish!
3. Freeze Caramelized Onions: Caramelizing onions can bring so much to a dish, but to do it properly, it can be a little time consuming. Make a giant batch, freeze them off and you'll be set for months!
4. Individually Portioned Sloppy Joes: There aren't many who don't love a good Sloppy Joe, and this technique allows them to be thawed in seconds or even taken for lunches.
5. How to Quickly Trim a Big Pile of Beans: Beans can be snapped individually and by hand but that can take forever. Forget canned beans and stick with fresh with this quick prep method.
6. How to Peel Garlic Quickly and Easily: Garlic can be a pain, but the side of your knife and a quick pop is all you need.
7. Buy Baguettes to Freeze: Baguettes are easy to make and cheap to buy, but we don't always have time to make or bake. Stash a few in the freezer for an almost instant dinner accompaniment.
8. How to Thaw Meat Quickly: Forget the microwave, all you need is your kitchen sink. No really!
9. Freeze Homemade Stock in Ice Cube Trays: Almost any leftover can become soup in a flash if you have stock on hand. Make it once a season and you're set for the months to come.
10. Seven More Ways to Cook Faster: Aside from ingredient short cuts, there are several things you can do to physically cook faster without making more work for yourself. This list is a great reminder to make sure there aren't corners you can be cutting.
Related: Beat the Box: Is a Box Mix Really Faster?
(Image: Emma Christensen, Sarah Rae Trover, Faith Durand)
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Are those... whole partially carmelized onions up there in the picture?
That's what I want to know @Leah Hope -- where's that recipe?!
2 of these tips are for the same thing- defrosting meat with water. And its still way slower than a microwave.
Can't we condense 70% of these buy saying prep certain cooking ingredients and freeze in individual portions? Theres tips for bread, stock, garlic, onions and sloppy joes all saying the same thing- freeze.
Same here. I'm intrigued.
Defrosting meat with hot water may take a few minutes longer than using a microwave, but it sure beats the little ends of my chicken cooking while the inside is still thawing. Maybe it's just my microwave, but "low defrost" still cooks meat.
The photo up there is actually roasted garlic. (It was that giant-clove garlic from Trader Joe's.)
Here's a tip : Get your hands on ATK's Best 30 minute recipes. Just read through the recipe a couple of times over the w-e and before you get started and make sure to have everything handy and voilà! a meal in 30 minutes. I've been using it at least once or twice a week in the last couple of months and so far, so good.
Baguette--real baguette, the airy stuff with the wonderful crispy crust--doesn't freeze well at all. Freezing (and especially reheating afterwards) completely changes the texture and flavour of the bread. My mother does this all the time and unfortunately it's quite unpleasant.
Most other bread freezes beautifully, though.
I, too, am intrigued by the whole caramelized onions.