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Task 4: Next time you are in the kitchen, try to use some of these kitchen tips.

This week I thought it would be nice to share some of the things I do in the kitchen to make things easier.

Tip 1: If you know you don’t have much time in the kitchen choose to do most of your cooking in the oven. This means less active (watching) time and more multitasking.  This could be foods like baked chicken, baked potatoes, roasted broccoli, or pizza.  Stove top cooking means that you will need to keep an eye on the food as it can burn a lot easier. But don’t forget to put a timer on because you don’t want to forget your dinner in the oven.

Tip 2:  Clean during down time.  I know you might get the urge to clean right after you chopped all the vegetables or after you are done with your mixing bowls but wait until you have a little down time.  You can clean while you are waiting for that meat to brown. Or for the potatoes to finish cooking in the oven. Learn the art of multitasking!

Tip 3: Buy meat in bulk to save on cost.  Divide and freeze to keep handy for a weekday meal.  Remember you have to defrost the meat about 1-2 days in advance. This also saves you time at the grocery store because all you need to buy is the veggies.

Tip 4:  Wash and chop up herbs, and store them in a plastic container with a piece of paper towel at the bottom. The paper towel will absorb the extra water and keep the herbs fresher longer.

Tip 5: To save time, peel a bunch of garlic and store them in a container in the fridge.   You can line the container with a paper towel to help the garlic last longer.  This always saves me time because I am lazy and I hate peeling garlic.  It also helps to have a garlic press!

Tip 6: Keep your kitchen sterilized by keeping a spray bottle of white vinegar handy.  If you eat meat, you know there can be blood spills and messes.  I always sterilize my counters by spraying them with white vinegar, let it sit and then wipe it clean.

Tip 7: Keep your dish towels smelling nice.  I try to wash my dish towels and kitchen towels often but sometimes you just don’t have time and they start smelling like wet old cloth. To help stop the smell, get your cloth damp and toss it into the microwave for 2 minutes.  This kills the bacteria in your cloth and makes it smell clean.

Tip 8: I also have two cutting boards, one for meat and one for veggies and fruit.  I just like being careful not to cross contaminate my food.

Tip 9: Empty Sriracha bottles (or any bottles with small squeeze nozzles) make good oil bottles.  They drizzle a nice amount of oil in the pan and on salads and when they get old and sticky, you can recycle them.

Tip 10: Remember to preheat the oven and/or your pans,  or start the water boiling while you are prepping. This will cut down on your cooking time and allow everything to be nice and hot so you are ready to cook.

Let me know you liked this and want more kitchen tips!

If you liked this, check out our other posts: https://eatitnoworeatitlater.com/recipes-list/