I wish I had enjoyed having uninterrupted time in the kitchen before I had Ava.  I guess that’s one of those things that you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone.  Deep down, I really do enjoy cooking, but it’s hard to remember that when I’m always rushed when I’m in the kitchen.

That’s why I’m always interested in finding ways to save time on both food prep and cleanup.  Here are some of my favorites:

1. Buy meat in large quantities, cook it all at once, divide it into meal-size portions and refreeze it.  I do this with ground beef and both my mom and I buy whole turkeys to do this with.  This is honestly my biggest time-saver of all.
2. To quickly clean pots or pans, boil a little vinegar and water in them.
3. When you’re making a meal that would freeze well (pretty much all casseroles), double it and freeze it in a greased casserole dish.  The next day, fill the sink with an inch or two of hot water, put the casserole dish in it for about a minute and the entire casserole will pop out easily.  Then your dish won’t be out of commission in the freezer and you can keep the casserole either in a zip-loc bag or wrapped in aluminum foil.
4. Keep a roll of masking tape and a permanent marker in your kitchen.  When you’re putting away leftovers, write the name of the food and the date on the tape and place it on the lid.
5. Make a menu before doing the grocery shopping.  This saves tons of time with not having to make frequent trips to the store during the week.  It also saves time because you don’t have to go through your cabinets and refrigerator at 5:00 wondering what on earth you’re going to make for dinner!
6. If you don’t use an entire green pepper for a dish, chop the rest of it up and freeze it for future use.

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