How To Efficiently Cook
Quick Easy Recipes

At work, you've gotten into the "groove" of the most effective way to work, so that you have the most productive output, putting in the most effort where it really counts.

Quick Easy Recipes - What's Your Objective?
Ok, so, with cooking quick easy recipes, just keep in mind the end product you are after. Why are you bothering anyway?

Remember Steven Covey, who wrote the best seller, "7 Habits of Highly Effective People" - he said

These are my own objectives for quick and easy meals for my family:
1. Nutritious healthy meals

2. Attractive, inviting, tasty food

3. A fast process

4. The least washing up

On the page "Easy Recipes To Make - How To Cook Efficiently" I show you how I managed to work between 60 -100 hours a week at my career and still cared for my family.

On this page, I show you my principles in the process of quick and easy cooking.

The Process In Quick Easy Recipes
I have cooked all the recipes in this website and they're done in the least possible time by following my basic efficient process.

1. No creaming when making cakes

When making cakes, cookies, slices, biscuits, bread - I DO NOT go through the traditional process of creaming butter and sugar in a mixing bowl.

I've learned that melting butter in a large saucepan and using the saucepan as a mixing bowl works just as well.

The end product is exactly the same.

As a result, I don't waste effort in the process of making cakes and cookies.

2. Electric Fry Pan

When cooking main meals, I try to always cook on a large electric fry pan.

This means you're able to cook several pieces of meat in the one pan. As a result, you're cooking 2 - 3 meals at the one time.

This saves so much time.

Cooking 3 meals at the one time, means you've spent half an hour on 3 meals instead of one and a half hours over 3 meals. I am certain in your busy life, finding the extra hour in a week, means just that little more time to finish that report or to spend reading with your children.

3. Learn to find the cool spots on your electric fry pan

In many recipes, you brown the meat, then take it off the stove/heat, to cook the next lot of ingredients.

To save on washing up and to reduce the number of steps, I just move the browned meat to a cool part of the fry pan. You can't do this with a wok, as the curved sides mean it'll slide back down. You can't do this on a fry pan on the stove as it's not large enough.

The electric fry pan is sufficiently large with cool spots outside the element area.

4. Learn to convert measurements to "CUP" measures

Most recipes are written to be precise, so they'll have a specific quantity of ingredient in grams and liters.

I've found measuring liters is not a problem as most measuring cups are certain to have liter markings, but the problem always arises as to the weight of dry ingredients.

As you know, 100 grams of flour is a different volume to 100 grams of sugar or 100 grams of coconut.

I've never found the time to fuss over the weighing machine, to weigh precisely the required amount of dry ingredients.

But what I have learnt over the years is to record dry ingredient weights to their volume in a "CUP" measure.

For example:

• 100 gms of flour is equivalent to 1 cup of flour
• 200 gms of sugar is equivalent to 1 cup of sugar

Measuring dry ingredients by pouring it out into a measuring cup is EASY!

And that is exactly what you want - A quick process for quick easy recipes.

5. Remember it is all about presentation

This is a statement of fact at work - It is all about how you present yourself and your work that makes the difference.

Use the same principle at home and in your kitchen.

For your dinner parties, if you do not have the time to worry and fuss over cooking gourmet recipes, present your tasty quick easy recipes in the most attractive manner by:

• garnishing the dish with herbs
• setting a beautiful table
• have flowers in the room
• have attractive low decorations on the table (so that your guest can see across the table)
• use your best crockery, cutlery and glass ware
• use a glass decanter to serve water
• use lovely crisp table linen

Your guests will remember the delicious meal, the terrific company and your entertaining skills. You'll be fresh for your function as you won't have spent all day standing at the stove.

A hostess with the "mostess", meaning an entertaining hostess, is the key to success for your party.

6. Minimal Cooking On Work/Week Nights

You are busy enough during the day, and the last thing you'll want to do is worry about cooking each night.

I've found this to be the easiest way to manage with meals during the work week and still have fresh food:

1. cook a staple and make it last 2 nights at least. For example when you cook rice or pasta, cook enough for 2 - 3 meals. This can be reheated the next day.

2. A fresh salad takes just minutes to put together. Always have fresh quality salad vegetables to serve with your meals.

3. Fresh fruit for dessert or sweets. Cutting up fresh fruit to enjoy after a meal is so easy, and it adds vitamins and minerals to your family's diet.

4. Take the frozen meal out to defrost in the morning before leaving for work. It will be defrosted by the time you're home for dinner.

Summary

I had to learn these skills to maximize time in my business and still have the time with my family.

Our children are now at University - so I've had a very long time to hone these skills.

You too can be as efficient in the kitchen as in the office.

Quick easy recipes are just the first step. The next step in saving time is to make the process as efficient as possible.

Wishing you happy cooking!