Before You Begin To Cook - Quick And Easy Ways to Cook and Clean Up

Today's post is from Jill Cooper at Living on a Dime. I have shared before that I received her cookbook as a wedding gift from my aunt and it did wonders for my non-existent cooking skills and low self-confidence in the kitchen. She now has an unbelievable selection of helpful articles and e-books besides her printed books! Enjoy this post and check out her site.


Quick And Easy Ways to Cook and Clean Up, Part 1 – Before You Begin To Cook

Ever since the phrase "30 minute meals" came into being I have been confused. My children say I have always been confused, but that is an article in and of itself. : ) Anyway, 30 minutes is considered a quick and easy meal, but I always thought of a 30 minute meal as an average meal, which is why I’m confused.

Recently, I heard something that clears things up for me a little: The average family spends 2 hours preparing for and cleaning up after a meal. I just about had a heart attack. No wonder so many people are writing saying they don’t have time or are too worn out to cook dinner each evening. I would probably never go near the kitchen either if I spent that much time cooking and cleaning up.

Since eating at home can save you a lot of money, I came up with some tips that many fast cooks have used over the years. I hope these will help you get in and out of the kitchen quickly. Like all new things, you need to practice and make new habits, which may take time, but in the long run it will more than pay off.
Don’t worry if you can’t do it all. Just start slowly and go from there. Also don’t feel compelled to use these tips all the time. If you have the time, feel free to make more complicated menus. These tips are for everyday busy schedules.

Before Dinner

• Plan ahead. Most of you already know this but now it is time to put it into practice. If at first you can’t plan an entire week in advance, start by planning the next day’s meal the night or morning before. Meal planning doesn’t have to be complicated. Keep it simple. If you need more tips, check out our Grocery Shopping On A Budget e-Course.
  
• Choose 10 meals. Once you feel comfortable planning a day ahead, sit down and pick out 10 of your family’s favorite menus. Get your family to help here. A study I read showed that most families eat the same 10 meals over and over and are happy with that. If you eat out at least once or twice a week (fast food, going to friends’ homes for dinner, church potlucks, etc.) the 10 meals should cover 2 weeks of meals. Repeat once and you have a whole months of meals taken care of. If you’re concerned that your family will be bored eating the same thing, think of it like this: The same meal will only be served twice a month.
  It doesn’t get any easier. A whole month of menus is taken care of with just 10 menus. You may have thought you would have to sit and come up with 30 new menus at the end of each month, but you don’t. Don’t make planning menus so hard.
• Plan meals that only use a few ingredients and use common ingredients. The more ingredients there are in a recipe, the longer the recipe takes to prepare. Additionally, it takes longer to shop for 15 ingredients than to shop for five. If the ingredients are unusual, you usually have to spend even more time roaming the store looking for them.
• Do as much prep work ahead of time and not during the busiest part of the day – dinner time.
  
• Make sure you have all your ingredients.
• Clean vegetables.
• Place meat in the pan so it’s ready to pop in the oven.
• Make salads.
• For recipes like biscuits and cornbread, measure the dry ingredients into a bowl and put in the remaining ingredients when you are ready to bake. Better yet, try to bake things like cornbread and muffins early in the day, not when you are trying to make dinner.
• Make one dish meals in the morning so that they’re ready to pop in the oven right before dinner. Add a salad or bread and you are done.
• Just putting your meat in the oven early goes a long way towards starting dinner.
•  Use your oven or crockpot more and the microwave less. I wrote an article about how using your oven can often be faster and how it can help relieve stress at meal time. 
•  Start with a clean kitchen, clear counters, empty sink and dishwasher. You might want to check out my article Dirty Dishes Cause Debt to help with this.

 -Jill  
Read Part 2- Quick And Easy Ways to Cook and Clean Up – While Cooking here

photo by: jordansorensen

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Want more like this? This week only, Tawra is selling her Grocery Shopping on a Budget e-books* for HALF-PRICE!

Save money preparing meals your family will love! In Grocery Shopping On A Budget you'll find lots of money saving strategies including:

• tips for saving at the store
• where to get the best buys
• how to change your family's mindset
• how to plan menus
• efficiently organize your kitchen and pantry
• and more!

Learn more here! *(Disclaimer: many of the links above are affiliate links - I will earn a little if you buy these e-books)

Savin' O' the Green Sale at Living on a Dime

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

I have a special treat for you today. Tawra at Living On A Dime and Gary from The Dollar Stretcher have offered a special deal to bring you Living On A Dime's Grocery Shopping On A Budget e-course AND Dollar Stretcher's e-book extravaganza at a dramatically reduced price.

Until midnight on Tuesday March 23rd, 2010 you can get both of these great money saving collections for 70% OFF!

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Try The Savin' O' The Green 11 e-book Special for 70% off And Get Six Free Bonuses!

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This is a great way to save money on the resources you've been looking for to get started or get more comfortable with eating on a budget with what you have on hand!

If the 70% discount isn't enough to have you heading to the
website, these SIX free gifts will surely do the trick:

* Bonus 1: Eating Healthy On A Budget e-booklet
Don't follow the crowd! Eating Healthy On A Budget shares
thoughts on eating healthy without dumping the contents of
your purse on the counter at the grocery store.

* Bonus 2: Is Eating Out Eating You Up? e-book
Eating Out is one of the biggest reasons for personal debt in
America. Is Eating Out Eating You Up? looks at the cost of
eating out and provides great alternatives that cost
significantly less!

* Bonus 3: Grocery Savings e-book
Save over $10,000 in a year - Stop throwing your money down
the garbage disposal! Grocery Savings includes lots of useful
tips to help you reduce your grocery bill. Many people see
dramatic savings after using the tips from this e-book.

* Bonus 4: Kids' Recipes e-book
The Kids Recipes e-book provides you with useful recipes for
food and craft items to keep your kids busy through the
summer.

* Bonus 5: Crock Pot Recipes
The Crock Pot Recipes ebook contains 470 recipes that you can
toss into the crock pot for an easy meal that's ready just
when you need it!

* Bonus 6: 224 Meals In A Hurry e-book
224 Meals In A Hurry gives lots of delicious recipes to get
you in and out of the kitchen in a hurry so that you're not
tempted to eat out... AGAIN!

WHEW! That's a lot of goodies... and you get it all FREE when you
try the entire Savin' O' The Green e-book Special for 70% off.
That works out to just 74 cents per e-book!

Go here right now and claim your copy TODAY!*

*I am a Living on a Dime affiliate and receive a commission from any sales made through these links.

Valentine's Day on a Dime

Yay for freebies!

The folks at Living on a Dime are at it again! They are offering their Valentine's On A Dime e-book free this month!

Click on the image above and download it! It expires Feb. 15.

And if that weren't nice enough, they are also offering a ONE DAY SALE on that great cookbook - Dining on a Dime that I gave away last year! It ends tonight at midnight, so don't miss out!!

Edible Christmas gifts freebie

Tawra Kellam, author of the Living on a Dime book series I've posted about before has sent me a link to a wonderful freebie for all of you!!


"Gifts In A Jar shows you how to make all sorts of cool, yummy gifts that will save you money while endearing you to your friends for life! ;-) Gifts In A Jar features ideas to make delightful Gift Baskets like those in the expensive stores -- everything from the Honeymoon Basket to the Get Well Basket."

Tawra is offering the e-book free to all of you for Christmas!!! That's a $5.95 value! CLICK HERE to snatch it up and make sure you check out all og her other great poducts, too!

And the prizes go to...

The following people have been contacted (check your email and/or blogs

Heidi
Katie Stacey
Deborah
The Green Yak
rlgrady

Congratulations!!!

and from those 5, one person was randomly selected for the grand prize - $20 to use at Cooking.com! That person is... HEIDI!!!!!!!

Who said,

"Fun, the book and recipe both look great. I would give the gift card to my husband, he has quite a wish list of items he would like to pick up for the kitchen and I LOVE when he cooks!

Suggestion for topic, and this is a tricky one! We have several friends that must eat gluten free and we are constantly searching for recipes or "safe" foods we can keep on hand for when they are over. Most of these families just recently learned of the gluten issue with their children so they are also searching for ideas as they make this huge change in their diets. Any ideas?"

Congratulations all and thank you to everyone who entered and stopped by! I have loved reading each of your comments and look forward to using some of your ideas as inspiration for future entries!

(And to answer your question, heidi, check out the great blogging from Hold the Gluten and the Gluten Free Girl!)

Recycle Those Pumpkins!

I am so pleased with the response so far to my very first giveaway! Don't miss it - you still have almost two whole days to enter! I am loving all of the comments I'm receiving and thank you so much everyone for the great content suggestions! I understand now why people love doing giveaways - I want you *all* to win! :)

To keep you excited for the Dining on a Dime cookbook and all things frugal, here's another article by Tawra Kellam to enjoy! Stay tuned for more pumpkin recipes soon! 'Tis the season!

Recycle Those Pumpkins !

Peter Piper Picked a Profoundly Plump Pumpkin -- Now what does he do with it?

How to Roast a Pumpkin

You can only do this with a freshly carved pumpkin! Do not use on a pumpkin that has been carved and sitting out for several days.

To bake a fresh 6 to 7 pound pumpkin, halve the pumpkin crosswise and scoop out the seeds and strings. Place halves, hollow side down, in a large baking pan covered with aluminum foil and add a little water. Bake, uncovered, at 375 degrees for 1 ½ to 2 hours or until fork-tender. Remove. When cool, scrape pulp from shells and puree, a little at time, in food processor or blender. Mix with a little salt.

To freeze pumpkin puree. Put 1-2 cups in freezer bags along with spices and use in pies. To use pumpkin puree for recipes: Line a strainer with a double layer of cheesecloth or a flour sack dish towel and let the pumpkin sit to drain out the extra moisture BEFORE cooking with it. Pumpkin is very moist, so in order for your recipe to come out correctly, you MUST strain it.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Boil seeds in water for 5 minutes. Drain well. Sprinkle with salt or seasoned salt. Place a thin layer on a cookie sheet. Bake at 250 degrees. Stir after 30 minutes. Bake ½-1 hour more or until crunchy.

*Squash seeds may also be used.

Pumpkin Smoothies

1/2 cup pumpkin 2 tsp. brown sugar
3/4 cup milk or vanilla yogurt 4 ice cubes
1/4 tsp. cinnamon whipped cream (optional)
1/8 tsp. nutmeg sprinkles (optional)

Place all ingredients in a blender. Blend until smooth. Pour into 2-3 glasses. Serve with a small amount of whipped cream on top. You may also add orange sprinkles if you like. Serves 2-3.

Visit www.LivingOnADime.com in the press room for a text version of this article and recipes.

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Tawra Kellam is the publisher of the website www.LivingOnADime.com and the author of Halloween On A Dime and the cookbook Dining On A Dime: Eat Better Spend Less.

Very First Giveaway!

******Update: this giveaway is now closed, thanks!!******

I have wanted to participate in Bloggy Giveaway's carnival for a year and am finally prepared! Are *you* ready? :)

You've read about Living on a Dime here before and I said I'd refer to that site, and specifically the Dining on a Dime cookbook a lot in the future. I received an autographed copy of the cookbook, co-authored by Tawra Kellam and Jill Cooper as a wedding present from my aunt and it remains on of our most-used gifts from that day! It really is an invaluable resource as it is full of all kinds of wisdom about cooking with what you have, saving on grocery bills, and even how to clean with items from your pantry! And of course... recipes! :) Here's a taste:

Pumpkin Cookies

1/2 cup shortening   1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup sugar    1 tsp. soda
1 cup pumpkin    1 tsp. brown sugar
1 cup raisins    1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup nuts    2 cups flour



Cream shortening, sugar and pumpkin in a bowl.
Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.
Drop by small spoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet.
Brush tops with milk.  Bake at 375 degrees for 8 minutes. Top with frosting.

They are good - believe me!!!

And now, Tawra Kellam has generously agreed to giveaway 5 copies of the ebook version of Dining on a Dime to my readers!!!! One of those 5 readers will also win a $20 gift certificate to Cooking.com to stock up on some of the pantry goods they will need for the meals you'll be making from the book! Cooking.com also has a great selection of everything else you need for the kitchen if you are good on food.

To enter, please leave a comment telling me what you would do with the $20 over at Cooking.com by Midnight EST on 10/30/o8.

For extra entries: subscribe to my RSS feed (on the right under my profile blurb) and tell me so in a separate comment. AND you can receive a THIRD entry by leaving another comment with a pantry-related content suggestion or question that you would like to see me blog about. That's three chances to win and there are 5 prizes to be had! Pretty good odds! :)

NOTE: Because both prizes are electronic (the gc will be delivered via email) *anyone* is welcome to enter - regardless of where you live! yay!

I will contact the winners and post them here on Halloween (Oct. 31st) so make sure you either leave me some way to contact you (blog address, email, etc.) or check back here!

And stay tuned throughout the week for some more great seasonal tips from Living on a Dime - including what to do with all those great big pumpkins you are seeing for sale besides carving them!!

More giveaways at the Bloggy Giveaways Quarterly Carnival!

How It All Adds Up

I will refer often to things I've learned from either the Dining on a Dime Cook Book or the authors' website Living on a Dime, so I thought I'd introduce you to them with a short article written by Tawra Kellem:


Simple Ways to Save $7,000

Many of us often feel overwhelmed by debt and don’t know how to start climbing out of it. For others it's a misconception that the more money you earn the easier it is to save. Tawra and Michael Kellam paid off $20,000 of credit card debt and medical bills in 5 years on an average income of $22,000 a year.

Here is how you can save over $7,000 in just one year cutting a few things from your grocery bill. They are painless, simple and add up over time. If you don't think that cutting out one bag of potato chips or one soda will make a difference, look at the numbers at the end of a year. If you’re trying to save so you can stay home with your kids, put a down payment on a house, pay off some credit card debt or just have some emergency money, here are 10 ways to do it without depriving yourself. The total annual savings (in parentheses) will amaze you! You can start with these tips from Living on a Dime.

By eliminating:
~One $2.00 bag of potato chips (You don’t have to cut out all chips, just 1 bag) from your grocery bill each week you can save $104.00 per year.
~Cut a weekly box of $4.00 cereal and it puts $208 in your pocket each year.
~If you eat out one less time each week at $30 a meal, you can save $1,560 annually
~Ordering one less delivered pizza at $20, can save you $1040 per year.
~Daily gourmet coffee at $2.50 per cup ($910)
~A daily liter of soda ($365)
~Snack cakes ($455)
~One less bottled water per day ($455)
~One cup less juice per person in a family of four ($546)
~3 lbs. less red meat a week ($390)
~Bringing your lunch instead of buying save $4.00 a day or $1040 a year.
By themselves, these efforts may seem small--but they add up to over $7,000 in savings in just one year.

Tawra Kellam is the publisher of the website Living on a Dime and the author of the cookbook Dining On A Dime: 1000 Money Saving Recipes and Tips.