This post has been one of the most requested from people who love to eat but hate to cook. I am constantly being told both in person and online, “I wish I could cook like you” and “I wish I loved cooking like you”. And while I don’t believe everyone has to love cooking as much as I do, I do believe that everyone has it in them to easily and stress-free make a meal for family or friends. And often, I find that people despise cooking because they are just missing a few key steps.
Basically, when I sat down to write, I asked myself, “what is everything I do in the kitchen that makes it easier to get a meal on the table?” And I started a list and simplified it to the most basic of principles. Ones that can apply to anyone and everyone who steps into their kitchen. So this one is for those of you – those who struggle in the kitchen and cooking. Hopefully, you can take a couple of these tips to improve your time and skills in the kitchen.
Mise En Place
Mise en place is a French culinary phrase which literally means “putting in place” or “everything in its place.” And that is exactly what it sounds like. Get out everything you may be needing BEFORE you add any heat. That means chop any ingredients that need to be chopped, measure out any liquids or spices, pull out any special equipment you may need. Have it all within arm’s reach and easy to access while you are cooking. Now, this seems like a simple step, but it is one that takes out A LOT of stress in cooking and it is a step that most people don’t do.
Think like you are on a cooking show and how they have everything already pre-measured and ready to throw together during that half hour segment and mimic that. I promise this one simple step will make ALL the difference.
Plan Ahead
Along with Mise En Place, it pays to plan ahead when it comes to cooking (if you can). First, give yourself enough time to cook the recipe you are wanting to cook. Trying to hurry along a dish is only going to add more stress to cooking. It should be without saying that trying to cook a fancy, elaborate dish on a weeknight when you are just trying to get dinner on the table probably isn’t the best idea.
Second, plan ahead for your ingredients or more specifically, what are you going to cook? Then make a list and go to the store. Get all the ingredients you need to make the recipes you want to make – that way you already have everything on hand for what you are wanting to cook AND you don’t have to run to the store 4x a week deciding what you want to cook. I know this sounds like a lot of work on the planning side, but it will make deciding what to cook, searching for the ingredients, and then actually cooking it way less stressful.
Third, if you want, prep ahead of time! I know plenty of people who chop ingredients ahead of time that way when they are ready to cook, it cuts out one less step. If you have a particularly busy week, spend a Sunday chopping or pre-measuring out ingredients for the week. I also have seen when people utilize this principle for snacks and other things throughout the week, you are more likely to eat something if you prep it and keep it in the prepped form. This can apply to things like berries and other produce so you can literally just grab and go.
Invest in the Right Gear
Having the right gear in your kitchen will save you a lot of time and headache. I really enjoy looking up reviews from The Wirecutter to get a baseline for any new investment for my kitchen. I have ordered a new frying pan, ice cream scoop, french press, and peeler all based on their reviews after testing every one out there.
If I would recommend ONE ITEM for your kitchen to make cooking easier and more enjoyable, it would be a good chef’s knife. One of my biggest pet peeves in a kitchen is DULL KNIVES. Knives don’t have to be super fancy but keep them sharp. It will save you a lot of heartaches while chopping. I love these knives from Victorinox. We’ve been using the same set for five years. If you don’t want to invest in a set, start with a simple chef’s knife. You can pretty much do all your chopping with just that one knife.
As far as keeping knives sharp, there are a variety of ways you can do this. It isn’t that difficult. At our house, we use a tool sharpener – I try to sharpen my knives 2-3 times a year depending on the usage – sometimes it is less. And then I maintain by bringing the edge back with a honing steel (it comes in the knife set I linked above). But there are a lot of products out there that work great for keeping your knives sharp. Anything from a hand sharpener to a whetstone and even an electric sharpener.
I also really like a nice cutting board. I finally invested in these from Epicurean and I love the variety of sizes. Although I know people who use plastic cutting mats or all wood cutting boards too. It all depends on what works for you and what feels good with a knife in your hand. You don’t want to be fighting your cutting board while trying to chop.
There are several other things I could list in regards to when it comes to essential gear for your kitchen, but I suppose that could be a post entirely on its own and it also depends a lot on what you are regularly cooking – as we all are different. What one person finds useful may sit in another person’s drawer.
And while we are talking about gear, there are gobs and gobs of kitchen utensils out there. Literally a tool for EVERYTHING. You don’t need everything and certainly having an excess glut of tools jamming up your drawer induces added stress. For most people, less is more, especially in a commercial kitchen when you have little time to get food out the door and onto tables. Pay attention to what you’re continually grabbing for, invest in quality there and get rid of the rest.
Know Your Brainless Crowd-Pleasers
We’ve all been there. You walk in the door after a long, crazy day and you literally have no idea what you are going to cook. You didn’t plan ahead, you didn’t go by the store… What do you make for dinner? Here’s where knowing your brainless crowd-pleasers come in handy. This is an idea I got from Kendra at The Lazy Genius.
So what are brainless crowd-pleasers? These are meals that you can make that the people in your house enjoy, or generally enjoy. They can be anything you want them to be as long as you don’t have to turn your brain ON to make them. Frozen pizza counts just as much as a roasted chicken. If you know your list of brainless crowd-pleasers, you know what is in your arsenal AND you can make sure to always have those ingredients on hand.
A few of mine are spaghetti, chuck roast, tacos or taco salad, chicken burrito bowls, french onion pork chops, and sausage and lazy cheese buttons. Sit down and write your list and then make sure when you hit the grocery store, you keep the ingredients for those meals on hand. It will make those stressful, exhausted moments you don’t know what to cook that much easier.
Hopefully, these four steps have helped you think about the time you spend in the kitchen and how you can cut the stress and get a meal on the table without seeming frantic every evening. As I said before, I do believe that everyone has it in them to easily and stress-free put together a meal for family and friends and it is my hope that everyone gets to that point, eventually. Eating a necessity and I am all about helping you make it easier!
Great article Jenny! I saved your recommendations in my Amazon list!! If I could recommend on tool – is the “Mix & Chop” (PamperedChef) but I’ve seen them other places too… OMG talk about breaking down ground beef or sausage etc easier!
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YES! The Mix & Chop is great!!!
I love these ideas! I think these especially come in handy when cooking for company! And thanks for the good kitchen utensil references. I love seeing what tools other people have found that they love!