I like to save time wherever I can. Raising four kids and cooking to bless others, I tend to spend a lot of time in the kitchen. Here are some time saving tips that work for me:
1. Trail Mix/Veggie Trays – In order to keep from grabbing something unhealthy to eat, I keep trail mix on the counter and a tray of veggies washed and prepped handy.
2. Salads - chop and place lettuces in a zipped baggie – it will need to be used within 3 days though. (I think those plastic knives help keep lettuce from browning). I pre-chop most veggies
for our salads too and put them in separate containers so the kids can mix up their own salads.
3. Popcorn – (link embedded) in the microwave is a favorite of ours. Using coconut oil makes it even healthier.
4. Spaghetti – I pre-brown & season ground beef that was purchased on sale and portion it into freezer bags for this meal. Left over sauce and noodles get mixed together and reheated in a pan coated w/some butter
for “fried spaghetti” lunch the next day.
5. Roasts – I cook up an extra roast when making pot roast and shred it. Freeze for a bbq sandwich meal later. Throw it frozen into my crockpot and add some bbq sauce and ketchup then let it cook on low for 4hours.
6. Pizza Dough: I make it, portion it into balls and freeze it before the rise. Let the dough rise in the fridge for about 8 to often 24. It makes for a nice taste when the yeast has time to flavor the dough.
7. Onions/Garlic: I cook with a lot of garlic and onions. In order to save prep time I will purchase larger quantities of both and freeze in portions. (Note: both may lose some nutritional value due to peeling and processing)
Purchase a bag of Sweet Vidalia Onions and let them sit overnight in the fridge. The cool air helps minimize the onion’s ability to make me cry when chopped. It’s not 100% full proof but it helps. To process, I trim both ends and peel the outer layer. Rough chop and process them in the food processor. From there I portion them into 1/2 cup servings filling my silicone cupcake pan and freeze. Once frozen I pop them out and into a quart size zipped baggies then placing as many quart size bags into a gallon bag as I can. The double bag helps minimize the onion odor. Anytime I need onions for a casserole or soup, I just place them in my pan to thaw or start cooking from there and add some oil once it’s defrosted.
For garlic, I purchase the large container of peeled garlic at Sam’s Club. Process them again in the food processor and form into a thin meatloaf shape on a cookie sheet lined w/a silicone mat. After frozen (about 1 to 2hours) slide the loaf onto a cutting board (it will not be frozen solid) and cut into 1/2 inch cubes and place in zipped baggie as you did the onions. They come apart easily when you need a cube or two and will defrost in your pan just like the onions.
8. Chicken can go into many casseroles. I always cook up extra chicken breasts or buy the rotisseries on sale and freeze the shredded or cubed meat in portions. Chopping up chicken and placing red onions and celery is the base for chicken salad sandwiches. I freeze this mix and when thawed I throw in cut up apples, pecans, a dash of salt/pepper/rosemary, and mix in some mayo.
9. Fruit – as fruit comes into season I purchase extra to freeze for smoothies or desserts. Freeze berries or chunks on a cookie sheet first on freezer paper so it removes easily and place in freezer bags. Bananas always turn brown too fast for us so we place these in freezer bags as well for banana bread. When you thaw the bananas save the juice and reduce it with a tsp butter, tbs. brown sugar and tbs of balsamic vinegar for a syrupy topping. Poke holes into just out of the oven banana bread and pour the sauce over the top. If you cook the bread with chopped nuts on top you’ll never see the holes.
10. With any meal that I make, if it’s freezable then I make 2. One to eat that night and one to freeze and eat later or to bless someone. 
Posted on July 14, 2011
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