Home Cooking Time Savers

Is time such a hot commodity at your house that finding time to cook a real meal is an ordeal? I have suggested before to cook once or twice a week to make home cooking easier. I do have some tips for making meals faster and easier. Precooking is always your best bet. Have some of these items prepared in your fridge and putting a meal together will be much quicker.

Cooked Rice; great for adding to eggs or a quick stir-fry.
Baked or Boiled Potatoes; diced with onions and peppers a great side.
Hard Boiled Eggs; great for snacking or chopping for egg salad.
Roasted Chicken; ready to go, cold for making lunches. Shredded or chopped, great for soups or wraps, burritos, enchiladas.
Ground Beef, loosely cooked; Add to pasta sauce. Add to cooked rice. Fill tortillas.
Grated Cheese; Always keep on hand for anything and everything.
Chopped Onions; Flavor for anything, cold or quickly sauteed.
Peeled Garlic Cloves; Ready the minute your pan is hot.
Sauteed Red Onions; Roughly chopped and slowly sauteed, these are great for adding flavor to almost anything.

There are times when I love to cook slow and then there are times I just need to eat. I don't have all of these in my fridge at once, but have found the few I do keep up  on, help me a great deal, particularly with stress. Cooked rice, hard-boiled eggs and baked potatoes are pretty standard. Chopped Onions, also, I love to have. And, remember, I do not own a microwave. When I reheat, I uses a cast iron grill with a baster cover, or a double-boiler. Both are nearly as quick as nuking and much more nutritious.

If you pack a lunch everyday for work or school, have foods ready to go in the morning - ready to fill your bag or cooler - it's a godsend. Prepare ahead and make life easy on yourself.