Cooking Nice

To prep, make, and execute a fabulous meal at the exact moment you get your whole family to the table can be draining. Then there’s the cleaning up afterwards! Dinner can be a disorderly, tiresome occasion…. but it doesn’t have to be. As with anything, planning ahead and preparation can lead to greater success.

By using the suggestions laid out below you’ll be better organized. You’ll likely be surprised at just how effortlessly a meal can be had and cleaned away. A cleaner and more organized kitchen will be an added bonus.

1. Plan ahead. Any measure of planning will help the dinner making process, be it following a full-blown recipe, or simply taking some meat from the freezer the day before.

2. Organize your kitchen. Always having kept certain items in certain places doesn’t mean that you should continue to do so. Box up or give to others utensils or appliances you no longer use, and better organize the things you do. For example, if the items that most frequently are put in the dishwasher aren’t in the cabinets nearest to it – move things around.

3. Keep a plastic grocery bag on the counter where you cook. Do so, and you can drop all the garbage straight in there, rather than having it build up and get scattered around. Once you’re done, then you just need to make a single trip to the garbage can.

4. Put your ingredients back in the cupboard after you use them. Spend some time cleaning up while you cook, and you will be amazed at how improved the state of your kitchen is when you’re done.

5. Buy in bulk. Keep dry goods in stock that you tend to use regularly in order to avoid last minute trips to the grocery store.

6. Clean a dish here or there. There will always be some dishes to wash after everyone is done eating, but by cleaning some of the dishes used in the preparation while you’re simmering or in between stirs, there will be less.

7. Set the table as early as possible. If this is done an hour or so earlier it is one less thing competing for your attention at mealtime.

8. Delegate. Ensure that family members know beforehand what is expected of them i.e. clearing the plates, doing the dishes etc.

If you liked this, try : Learning To Cook