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How to Simplify Your Cooking

Cooking can sometimes be an overwhelming task; especially if it requires the use of numerous gadgets or ingredients to prepare a meal, or if you are running short on time. There are several ways to simplify your cooking; including selecting recipes that are less complicated, keeping your cupboards, pantry, and refrigerator organized, and reducing the amount of cooking gadgets you have in your kitchen. Continue reading this article to learn about the many ways in which you can simplify your cooking.


  1. 1
    Organize your food supply. Your cooking can be simplified if you only keep food and ingredients that you plan on eating and using.
    • Donate non-perishable items and canned goods you do not plan on eating to a food pantry, food bank, or donation center.
    • Throw away foods that have expired or that have already been opened, but you do not plan on eating.
  2. 2
    Organize your recipes. If your cookbooks and recipes are all stored in one location, it can help simplify your cooking process, especially during holidays.
    • Place all recipes that have been clipped from magazines and other sources into plastic coated pages, then place these pages into a ringed binder. This will prevent your recipes from becoming wet or ruined as you refer to the recipes during cooking.
    • Place all your cookbooks on a shelf in your kitchen or on the same shelf in a nearby bookcase.
  3. 3
    Eliminate duplicate utensils and kitchen appliances. This will help reduce any unnecessary clutter and duplicate gadgets that can be taking up room in your kitchen.
    • Sort through your collection of cooking spoons, ladles, strainers, casserole pans, and all other utensils and cookware to rid of duplicate items you do not use.
    • Keep appliances that perform multiple functions and rid yourself of similar appliances that perform single functions. For example, if you have a toaster and a toaster oven, dispose of or donate your toaster, since you can perform the same tasks with your toaster oven.
  4. 4
    Buy an extra cutting board. This will prevent you from cross-contaminating certain foods and save you time from having to wash and disinfect the same cutting board before cutting a different food type.
    • Use one cutting board for raw meats such as beef, poultry and seafood, and use the other cutting board for ready-to-eat foods such as vegetables, fruits, and cheese.
  5. 5
    Read recipes from beginning to end before cooking. This practice will allow you to verify beforehand that you understand how to cook the recipe, that you have the proper amount of preparation and cooking time, and that you have the ingredients and utensils needed.
    • Measure and pour each ingredient into small cups or bowls, then lay them out on the counter before cooking to verify that you have the proper amounts.
  6. 6
    Substitute ingredients where needed depending on your food supply. Although recipes may list certain ingredients, in most cases you can substitute similar ingredients to simplify your cooking experience. For example, if a stew calls for peas and green beans but you only have carrots and potatoes, use these ingredients instead.
  7. 7
    Clean the kitchen as you cook. This practice will simplify your cleaning process after you finish cooking. For example, while waiting for food to simmer, put ingredients away or wash measuring spoons.

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    • If your pots and pans do not have see-through lids, purchase a clear, universal pan lid with ridges and grooves that fit every size pan. This will help eliminate the clutter of multiple pan lids from your stove top and cabinets, and will also allow you to see the cooking status of your food without having to remove the lid.

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    Categories: Basic Cooking Skills

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