How to feed your family in 10 Minutes

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Pre-prepare!

Get into the habit of setting aside a few hours to bulk cook. This could include things like soups, stews and even salads to keep for two days max. Divide evenly and store in the freezer. Then, it’s a simple matter of defrosting!

Reuse

There are so many dishes that lend themselves wonderfully to popping into puff pastry to make a pie – especially if you’ve had stew the night before. This is a great way of stretching one meal over two days. For example, make a hearty beef stew on Monday night, but make a double batch.

Put some portions in the freezer, but then save the rest for the following night. Simply put in a baking dish, add a few more veggies (these can be frozen) and pop in the oven. In a few minutes, you’ll have a delicious meal the whole family will love.

Get the family to pitch in

What better way to teach your children about cooking and the importance of cooking than getting them in the kitchen?! Older children can be tasked with cutting veggies, younger children can perhaps be your helper by putting things back in the fridge, mixing and grating. To provide some incentive, get them to choose what they want for dinner that night, or do a deal that whoever helps cooks, doesn’t have to clean up.

Make sure your pantry and fridge are stocked.

Have a list of the basic pantry and fridge items you can use that can create a meal in minutes. This might include things like pasta, tins of tomatoes, eggs, milk, flour, tuna, cheese, fruit, veg, butter and pastry. Then, make these a permanent item on your shopping list – whether you go to the supermarket or order online, it will mean that you never have an empty panty with literally nothing to eat!

Have your ‘go to’ recipes.

Put a list together of five to ten recipes that are easy and quick to make – and co-ordinate these with your ‘must have’ food items that will always be in your fridge or pantry. Save them on an online pinboard such as Pinterest. That way, when you’re fresh out of ideas, inspiration and time, you can refer back and quickly whip something up!

 Source:newidea