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I have a cousin who is learning to do more home cooking. I’ve shared many tips with him, and I thought you, too, might benefit from some of my tips to simplify dinnertime.
I come from a long line of cooks, including a grandfather who was the chef at the San Francisco 49er training camps. Cooking comes more naturally to me, but I’m still every bit a home cook. I have no professional training. What I know comes from years of watching the great cooks in my family, asking their advice, and practicing the art of cooking.
In this post, I’ll share my best tips to simplify dinnertime, especially if you’re new to cooking (or you dread meal prepping!).
Use recipes with few or basic ingredients and with fewer steps
My mom is an amazing cook. But she always avers that she never makes anything that’s hard. I’ve learned from her to look for recipes with only a few basic ingredients and a few steps.
(Since I know someone will ask “What’s a few?” I’d say no more than 10 ingredients and 5 steps.)
There’s also nothing wrong with seasoning mixes that cut out all the measuring! The McCormick taco mix and stew mix are essential to our taco and stew nights. Simply follow the instructions on the packet and add the seasoning mix. These packets make cooking easy, and they bring out a ton of flavor.
If you’ve never done much cooking, or if you don’t enjoy cooking, cooking meals that are easy and basic are a good way to start. They’re also a good way to keep things simple on busy nights …more on that later.
Prep what you can ahead of time (& use the freezer)
I dread preparing chicken right before making a meal. Cleaning and sanitizing take up too much time when I’m trying to get dinner on the table. Instead, I buy the 3 pack of fresh chicken from Costco and prep it all at once.
Here’s how I do it:
- I open each package, one at a time, and clean and trim the chicken in batches.
- I separate the meat into gallon freezer bags, with enough chicken in each bag to make one meal. Each bag is labeled with the weight, date, and chicken type, and then placed in the freezer.
- When I’m ready to cook it, I simply pull a bag out of the freezer the night before or in the morning to let it thaw.
Another way I prep is by chopping my veggies and freezing them. My family doesn’t eat much raw celery but I use it as a base in soups. I wash it, dice it, and then place it in a labeled bag in the freezer. I do the same thing with carrots since it takes a lot of time to peel and dice carrots.
In the past, I’ve purchased bell peppers on sale to slice and freeze for later. I’ve also blanched broccoli to freeze (but now I prefer fresh broccoli to frozen).
I don’t recommend chopping and freezing onion. Freezing would take out the flavor of fresh onion. But store-bought jarred garlic is a great way to cut down on mincing time.
Substitute basic ingredients for ones you don’t normally use
A cookbook we received as a wedding gift has many fabulous recipes …but most recipes list one random ingredient I’d never use again!
Instead of wasting my resources, I go online and look up substitutes for that ingredient, such as oregano in place of marjoram. (I do this when I’m in a pinch for other recipes as well …such as forgetting to buy buttermilk!)
If cooking a more complicated dish, keep the other dishes simple
Some main dishes I make take a lot more attention and precision. On those nights, I keep the other dishes simple.
For example, I throw rice in a rice cooker or use a “cheat” such as prepared potatoes or boxed scalloped potatoes. I’ll add a frozen veggie that can cook in the microwave or roast a fresh veggie in the oven. This allows me to give the main dish all my attention.
Learn to make simple side dishes
With that said, learn to make simple, go-to side dishes.
For a starch, learn to make baked potatoes or mashed potatoes. Or learn to make a simple pasta seasoned with olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, parsley, and parmesan cheese.
I grew up in a part-Asian household, so white rice has always been a staple side dish. That said, investing in a rice cooker makes this a really easy side to make (and white rice goes with many dishes).
For vegetables, canned vegetables or frozen vegetables can be easily cooked in the microwave in a covered microwavable dish. Many fresh vegetables taste fantastic roasted or sauteed with olive oil, salt, and pepper.
There’s also nothing wrong with making a salad with carrots, avocado, and a few chunks of cheese. Or a store-bought salad mix is fine.
Alternate your meal planning with easy meals on busy nights
I make a lot of simple meals of meat, rice, and a veggie. These simple meals are easy to get on the table in 30 minutes.
Many nights I like to take my time with cooking. On other nights, I’m in a rush or I’m just plain tired. I have a handful of meals that I can cook in 30 minutes or that I can throw on a baking sheet and leave in the oven.
If I made every night a big production, I’d be tired and disenchanted with cooking. Intermingling quick and easy meals with more involved meals throughout the week keeps cooking (and eating) more interesting.
Here are 6 meal planning strategies to use make this happen >>>
Simplify dinnertime
These tips have saved me a lot of time in the kitchen. I can’t say I do all of this perfectly every night. But cooking is less of a burden when you can simplify dinnertime by following these tips:
- Use recipes with few or basic ingredients and with fewer steps
- Prep what you can ahead of time (& use the freezer)
- Substitute basic ingredients for ones you don’t normally use
- If cooking a more complicated dish, keep the other dishes simple
- Learn to make simple side dishes
- Alternate your meal planning with easy meals on busy nights
Do you need simple dinner ideas? I’ll send you a Meal Master List spreadsheet with 33 main dishes when you enter your email below.
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