5 Ways To Cut Your Cooking Time In Half

Do you love cooking but hate the time it takes to prepare a great meal? Weekday cooking can be time consuming when you would rather conserve your precious free time for something you love. With such tight schedules with work and school, it can be hard to find any time for yourself. Are you looking for a way to maximize your “me” time and have great food? No problem! Here are 5 ways to cut your cooking time in half.

This cooking hack is great for saving you 30 minutes for your next meal!

1. Prepping

This cooking hack is great for those who have to work early in the morning. If you’re like me and have to be up bright and early, it can feel like a scramble to make great food with what little precious down time you have. When you get home after a long day of work or school only to find an un-prepped meal, it can feel discouraging to treat yourself to a great meal. Prepping eliminates this problem with a few easy steps taken the night before. Prepping food the day before ensures that your ingredients are fresh and ready for your cooking needs. For weekday dinners, my go to prep is to choose something that I can leave in the fridge and it will partially cook itself. Marinades are great for pre-cooking your meal for you while you go about your day. For example, I prepare tacos for my weekday meals. Just throw a cilantro lime marinade together and prepare a flank steak. Be sure to leave it in the fridge for up to 4 hours. When you’re looking for a meal that practically cooks itself, try this cooking hack out. 

This cooking hack is great for fast and easy prep work.

2. Cook Ingredients Ahead Of Time

This hack will cut your cooking time in half and save you a headache at the end of the day. When your stomach is growling and you’re craving something special for your dinner, this hack is a life saver. Although this hack does have it’s limits. For instance, it is great for salad prep, such as hard boiling eggs or making mashed potatoes. This hack is certainly not a fix all for your cooking needs, but it can cut out a significant chunk of cooking time. For instance, quality hard boiled eggs can take an average of 30 minutes to create. Yes, most of that being the boiling of the water. By cooking these ingredients ahead of time, or buying them pre-made, you’re saving yourself half the prep time it would normally take to prepare your favorite meal. 

This cooking hack is perfect for livening up your leftovers and creating something new!

3. Incorporating Leftovers

If you’re like me, it can be hard to look at the leftovers after the second day of eating them. I personally tend to over cook the amount of mashed potatoes or greens that I make in one sitting for myself. Yet without anything fresh or lively to add to the day old food, you may feel like it’s hardly worth eating at all. This cooking hack is a win for maximizing your leftovers and creating something fresh and new. For instance, if you have some leftover veggies from last night’s dinner , add a fresh entree to shake it up. Reheat your veggies not in a microwave, but in a skillet with minced garlic, letting those fresh aromatics bring your leftovers back to life while enjoying a brand new entree.

This cooking hack is not only great for that last minute cooking crunch, its creative and fun!

4. Having Your Spice Blends Ready

While this cooking short cut may seem strange at first glance, don’t knock it just yet. By pre-planning your spice blends and having them fresh and ready to go, you’re saving yourself that last minute scramble. This also eliminates potential mistakes when you’re in a rush to get your dinner off the stove and into your mouth. It can be an easy mistake to over or under season when we are in a rush and starving after a long day at work or school. By carefully planning your spice blends and having them at arm’s length, you’re saving your meal. It can make a world of difference for that last minute cooking crunch. This hack saves you minutes and frankly, saves your food from being unsatisfactory. This cooking hack, not only saves you time but acts as a safety net for when you are at your hungriest. Don’t let your growling stomach take control of your cooking time. With this hack,your food will stay fresh, flavorful and just the way you like it. 

This cooking hack will save you a significant amount of time for your next meal.

5. Preheating Your Stove/ Oven While Prepping

While this cooking hack feels a little odd, having your pan or oven at the perfect temperature makes a world of difference in the amount of wait time you’re experiencing when you cook. For instance, set your stove to heat on a medium low while you toss in your garlic for fast veggie prep. While that is cooking, lightly swirl occasionally while you quickly prep the rest of your meal. That way, you’re not sitting there with a fully prepped plate and are waiting on your stove to heat up. Depending on your living space, some ovens and stoves can take a long time to heat up, especially with older models. But this time doesn’t have to be wasted! Multi- task using your preheat time as your prep time. And watch as you can save yourself up to 25 minutes on prep that would normally take you an hour.  For your next meal, don’t let your old stove top stop you from saving time in the kitchen. 

The world is full of distractions and events that require our time. What little time we do have for ourselves we don’t want to spend in the kitchen prepping. And while cooking can be fun, it can also be a lot of work. Cooking is a passion and also a marathon when you’re craving something that is fresh, flavorful and easy to create.  Yet with these cooking hacks and a little forethought, you can kiss that extra cooking time goodbye. When you’re looking to cut your cooking time in half, try out these hacks.