Anything you can get done before the "witching hour" as my neighbor and mom-of-three calls 4-6 pm roughly, is a big help.I work a lot from home, so I can chop potatoes while I'm waiting for my afternoon coffee to brew (cut the potatoes up small so they cook more quickly, buy organic with thin skin so you don't even have to peel them to make mashed potatoes...) or I can wash lettuce while I'm making lunch.
I put the chopped potatoes, or washed and chopped asparagus, broccoli etc into the pan with water and lid into the fridge, and then take the whole thing out and put it straight onto the stove when its time to cook. When my daughter was at home full-time, I also prepped food at the kitchen table while she sat and ate her snack. We chatted happily while I peeled and chopped carrots etc. Can you take the fish out of the freezer to thaw for dinner before work? Can you pop some ingredients into a crock pot? (Maybe make a roast with a 2 or 3 ingredient sauce and have some quick microwavable sides for when you get home?)
In other words, if you can break meal prep down into tasks and get some of them out of the way in advance, you can stay at the park that extra five minutes on the way home from daycare or summer camp...
What tricks do you use? Remember my frozen onion trick?
I do a bigger batch of tomato sauce (Yes, I make my own every time we have pasta), and freeze half of it in glass jars. Then I put them in a pan of water while the pasta is cooking, so everything is warm and ready at the same time.
ReplyDeleteCecile
great idea! I make my own too, and pizza sauce in the slow cooker. I often freeze in freezer bags which thaw really quickly, but I like your idea too! keep them coming!
ReplyDeleteKatja