The benefits of learning to cook are endless. Cooking at home is often healthier than eating out at a restaurant, and you can tweak recipes and add or subtract ingredients to your liking. Plus it can be very satisfying to prepare a healthy, home-cooked meal for yourself and your family. But even with all these benefits, some of the most common complaints about cooking at home is that it takes too long and it costs too much money.

This doesn’t have to be the case. With a few cooking tips and tricks, you can actually save yourself time, money, and additional hassle. All you need to know are a few culinary basics and kitchen techniques to get started in the kitchen.

Kitchen Techniques That Save You Time

• The Learning Channel says that the first step to becoming efficient in the kitchen is to get organized. If you know where everything is, cooking becomes not only more efficient, but more enjoyable! Begin by grouping similar things together and putting away gadgets or utensils that aren’t often used, including items like toasters or blenders that can be kept off the counter.
• Invest in good tools. While you may be tempted to scrimp on your kitchen tools, you may regret it in the long run. Inexpensive tools are harder to clean, don’t work as well, and aren’t as durable. Who has the time to keep running out to replace the hand-mixer?
• Stock up on the essentials. Staples like oil, salt, sugar, and spices have a place in almost every kitchen, but learn to anticipate your own habits. Love cottage fries? Keep a steady supply of potatoes on hand.

Kitchen Techniques That Save You Money

• Opt for less expensive cuts of meat. Eating Well Magazine suggests buying cheaper, tougher cuts of meat and cooking them for longer on lower heat. Soften up these tough cuts of meat with slower methods of cooking food like in a pressure cooker or crock pot. You can save a lot of money by simply thinking ahead.
• Stock up on an inexpensive grains like quinoa, pasta, or rice. You can use these foods as a base for anything from leftover meat to scrambled eggs to a few sauteed peppers for a filling, cheap meal.
• Cook extra and freeze. Especially if you’re only cooking for yourself, it can be wasteful and inconvenient to only use ingredients for one serving size. Plus having delicious frozen meals ready in the drop of a hat can save you time, too.

In this food economy, it is great to get ahead in the kitchen however you can. Anyone can learn to cook inexpensively and efficiently. Just remember these easy kitchen and cooking hints and you’ll be cooking in no time!

Sources:

• “10 Time-saving Tips in the Kitchen”, TLC
• “13 Cooking Tips to Save You Money”, Eating Well Magazine

Better meals begin with better planning. We can help.