A little prep can save you time

As a working mother of 2, I often look for shortcuts in the kitchen. Here are a few that work for me:




1. Meal plan. Planning ahead helps save time in the kitchen as well as money at the check stand, espically if you meal plan based on whats on sale for the week.




2. Prepare veggies for a dish at the start of the week, or the night before. Once I know what I am cooking I can prepare certain veggies/or parts of meals ahead of time. For example chop veggies for stir fry on Sunday of the week you plan to serve and place in a plastic storage container, or cut and season meat the night before you are going to cook it/serve it. This way when you get home you simple grab the meat and veggies and cook them.



3. Clean as you go. This helps decrease my likelihood of getting overwhelmed and helps keep everything tidy.



4. Empty the dishwasher/ drying rack when you get up in the morning that way you will not have to do right before cleaning dinner dishes.





5. Prepare for the next day. I always layout my clothes and my childrens clothes ahdead of time as well as prepare the diaper bag and lunches the night before!