You all know that I love to save money on whole foods. But, what you may not know is that saving time in the kitchen is AS IMPORTANT TO ME AS SAVING MONEY!!!
Our family life is FULL!!!! With 4 kids at home and 2 full-time businesses to run, we do not have time to mess around with food. The busier our family life has gotten the more important EFFICIENCY in the kitchen has become to me. When I can use an efficient food system that saves me time in the kitchen but still puts fresh meals on the table in the middle of the week, I am one happy Mama. Because, as much as I wish it wasn’t true, I am at least 50% spazz. And, if my mid-week cooking isn’t fast and simple, I won’t do it and we will get take-out. Period.
So, Dinner for a Dollar is NOT just about saving money. It is also all about saving on the amount of time and energy you spend on food. Because, in the end, when I save on the time and energy I spend on food, I save money on eating out.
Today I want to share with you the #1 kitchen time saving hack…
Whenever you can, DOUBLE, TRIPLE, or QUADRUPLE any action possible in the kitchen.
Let me show you what I mean.
When I am chopping onions…if I need half for the recipe I am cooking, and I have a spare minute, I chop the other half and put it in a mason jar in the fridge. Then, the next time I have a recipe that calls for chopped onion, I already have it done.
OR…if the recipe calls for 1 onion and I have an extra 2 minutes, I chop a second onion and put it in a mason jar in the fridge.
OR…even better…if the recipe calls for 1 onion and I have an extra 5 minutes, I chop 4 onions. I use 1 in the recipe and store the other 3 in jars or baggies in the freezer.
I don’t just do this with onions…obviously!
Let me share some other examples of how to save time in the kitchen…
Vegetables:
When we have salads, we prep double the amount of lettuce and fresh veggies we need that night. We store the extra ingredients separately in mason jars. Mason jars will store freshly cut produce up to 5 days. When you take it out, even 5 days later, your produce will be as fresh as when you cut it. It’s amazing!!!
Rice:
When I cook rice, I double the amount and store half in the freezer for next week. Or, I quadruple it – using 1 now, putting 1 in the fridge for later and 2 in the freezer for another time altogether.
It doesn’t take very much extra time to make 4 times the amount of rice and store the extras than it takes to cook enough for just 1 meal. But, with that 1 action…I now have 3 sets of core ingredients for future meals. AND…my favorite part….instead of dirtying a pan 4 times, I have only dirtied it 1 time. So, I save time on dishes as well.
Beans:
I do the same with beans. I ALWAYS, without exception, make an entire pot of beans when I cook them and freeze the extras. The extras get stored in 1½ cup portions in 16 oz mason jars and go straight in the freezer – 1½ cups of beans is equivalent to 1 standard can. When I have a recipe that calls for beans, I just grab a jar from my freezer.
Potatoes:
We also double our baked potatoes or sweet potatoes. We use 1 batch of them for loaded baked potato night and another later in the week in soup or a hash.
Meat:
And, lastly, we at least double any meat we are cooking – and many times we cook enough for 8 portions. Multiplying the meat we cook at one time is the single biggest time saver I use in my life. By taking a little extra time up front, I can create the foundation of up to 8 meals in 1 setting. When we cook extra meat, we portion it out – keeping in the fridge what we can safely use in meals over the next 3-5 days and freezing the remaining.
This is real-time, Dinner for a Dollar food life. On Saturday, we cooked a big batch of Salsa Chicken and chopped a bunch of extra fresh fruits and veggies. On Sunday night, we took those ingredients and turned them into Taco Night. We had fresh, fancy tacos in 15 minutes. All we had to do at dinner time was heat the chicken, heat the tortillas, and make the guacamole. Fresh food from fridge to table in 15 minutes. We will continue to use that Salsa Chicken in other meals throughout the week.
By taking these simple steps when we have a little extra time on the weekends, we can create the base for our mid-week meals. Steps like these allow me to have whole food meals on the table in about 15 min Monday through Friday.
DonMason jars keep things more fresh than Rubbermaid or bagggies?
Hi Teri –
Thanks for your question. YES! Absolutely – I find that mason jars store fresh produce much better than Rubbermaid or baggies. I can store cut veggies for up to 5 days and have them look as fresh as when I put them in there! It’s hard to believe, but it’s true!
I’ve just started implementing this thanks to your suggestion. I’m so excited to save time and food waste. It’s amazing what mason jars will do for you. I even bought a little vacuum sealer to suck out the air from the jars to keep things fresh a little extra longer. Thanks for the great tip! I realize my mom has been doing this for years, but it took you pointing it out before I noticed!
I am so happy to hear this Ashley! Thanks for taking time to tell me this tip has helped you!
Mason jars. When it comes to salad greens, it doesn’t seem like a standard quart-size would hold enough for family dinner. Have you tried the same principle with 1/2 gallon or gallon jars?
You would be surprised how much lettuce you can get in a Quart Sized Mason Jar! 2 Quart sized is enough for my family of 6. (Well 5 because one of them doesn’t eat lettuce – ha!)
This may seem like a weirdly specific question, but do the type of mason jar lids make a difference? I’m not a fan of the two-piece lids, but do you think they’re better at keeping air out?
Hi Jenn! Thanks for the question. I’m sorry that I don’t know the answer to this! I hear you on the frustration of the 2 part lids. It’s the only kind I have so I can’t compare the two types. I do suspect that the seal in the two-part lid is helpful in preserving food longer, but I don’t really know! Good luck! Maybe try a trial between the 2 lid types and let us know!
I don’t like to use Mason jars as I find the lids can go rusty, so I use recycled jars (which are free)that have gone through the dishwasher. That way I have loads of free, different sized jars to use. My favourite are coconut oil jars, I have loads of them!
Denny- I’m sorry for the delayed response. I thought I had responded, but apparently never did. Yes! The mason jar lids do get rusty! It’s the one down side to them. I’m glad you have found what works well for you! The coconut oil jars are nice!