by Mary McLoughlin.
Part of the reason I loved my direct selling business was because it let me spend time doing things for my family. BUT that doesn’t mean I wanted to spend that time in the kitchen when other alternatives were available. My challenge was to let my family see my involvement while being efficient in my time use.
My knowledge journey also provided many opportunities to teach our children. Engaging my children in both my business and home life turned everyday into a learning moment. The kitchen was one of our favorite places to learn. I wanted them to learn to cook and to realize that it didn’t have to take all day. We ate at a family dinner table almost every night, even after I had worked all day.
I learned to save time by cooking in multiples. If the recipe could be doubled or tripled, I did. Why make one meat loaf when you can make three and freeze two? It’s a snap to take one out of the freezer and pop it in the oven on a busy day with a few potatoes. I learned to take out the frozen meatloaf in the morning, put it in the oven with the potatoes and set the time bake to begin cooking in the late afternoon. Because the meat was frozen, it was safe to leave it out all day. It would thaw just in time to begin cooking.
Did you know that you could buy plastic liners for your crock pot? I put together the recipe, tie up the top of the liner and put it in the frig the night before. It’s simple to just slip it back into the crock-pot in the morning, turn it on and voilà, dinner is ready the minute the family arrives from ball practice. I bought a big enough crock pot to always double the recipe, freezing the other half for another day.
You can prepare ingredients in multiples, too. Brown up several pounds of hamburger at once and freeze in one-pound bags. It makes a great short cut for last-minute tacos or a quick meat sauce for spaghetti. Chop the entire onion, green pepper or veggies and put the part you are not using in a container in the frig or freezer. The next cooking prep will be a snap! Salad or soup will empty all the containers!
Think double, or even triple to cut your kitchen time in half!
