Kitchen Tip Central
Make Time to Feed Your Family

I love cooking! I created Kitchen Tip Central because I have learned that not everybody shares my enthusiasm.

Using these quick fix tips you can turn mealtime from a real tough cut into a piece of cake (excuse the pun).

The first tip is that food preparation all starts at the Supermarket where shopping for groceries can be less stressful than you think.

Kitchen tip number two is food storage. How many times have you come home from work only to discover that all of your dinner options are frozen solid? Time to order pizza...again!

• Plan ahead. If you created your weekly menu as suggested on my Supermarket page, you already know what meals you will be making on which days of the week. Make sure that you pull the necessary items from the freezer as the week progresses, allowing enough time for them to defrost so they will be ready to go when you need them.

Here are some other ideas for prep work that you can do whenever you have a pocket of time so that dinner time is not so rushed. You can still put a healthy, homecooked meal on the table even on your busiest night.

• Make friends with your crockpot. Spend 10 minutes in the morning and dinner is waiting for you when you get home.
• Chop ahead. Almost any recipe requires some chopping. Do it ahead of time - when you have the time. Store the chopped ingredients in zippered storage bags or plastic containers in the refrigerator until needed.
• Double up. If you can use the frozen corn you are serving as a side dish on Monday in the casserole you are planning for Tuesday, cook a double batch on Monday and refrigerate half.
• Take advantage of prepared foods at the market. Grocery stores are getting pretty gourmet these days. You can buy an already cooked whole chicken, marinated meats and heat & serve side dishes. Always have some super quick meals like these on hand for those night when things get crazy.

Looking for some new recipes? Check out the Tips to Organize Life Recipe Collection. to spice up your life?

Also, learn how to cook from your pantry, using the 80/20 rule to add fresh ingredients to pantry staples and have dinner on the table in no time.

Kitchen tip number three is keep your family healthy. Just because a meal is prepared quickly does not mean that it cannot also be packed with good nutrition.

Kitchen tip number four is always cook safely! Maintaining safety in the kitchen is vital to the well being of your entire family.

Now get cooking!

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