In the past few posts of recipes I have used the phrase “multi-task cooking”. In our crazy busy life this is one of the ways I keep my sanity. I thought I would briefly explain how I do it and show how a quick few minutes of planning can really help you stay organized and efficient!! I look through the freezer and plan which meats I will be cooking for dinner for 4 days. I move them to the front of the freezer or place them in the fridge to thaw.
The picture above is from last night. I marinated chicken in dressing for a 1/2 hour. During that time, I par boiled Italian sausage to grill for tonight’s dinner, cooked the pasta for the chicken meal and made a quick fruit salad. After 20 minutes the sausage was done and ready to cool to store until today for dinner. I then put a pot of water in it’s place to boil the corn on the cob and lit the grill to preheat for the chicken. Ten minutes later I cooked the chicken and seasoned the pasta with butter, garlic powder, salt and pepper while the corn was boiling away. The chicken and corn were finished at the same time and dinner was served.
Later I set up the above before heading to bed. The kids lunch boxes and the hot meals they will have instead of a sandwich and the crockpot with all the seasonings ready next to it for the Italian Sausage to be put in before heading out to work the next morning. While making their lunch choices I will be seasoning the sausage and getting it slow cooking.
I have hot dogs thawing and while cooking the onions and peppers for the Italian Sausage tonight I will boil potatoes to make potato salad to go with our hot dogs for Wednesday evening.
It’s like a game pre-planning and multi-task cooking. But it’s a game I like to play because it helps me make wise food choices for our dinners, offer a homemade meal to my family, and helps me utilize my time effectively so I have more free time for my kids, gardening, riding, walking or whatever else I choose.
chase n chance ranch 