Cooking can be a wonderful and rewarding experience. However, not everyone feels this way about being in the kitchen. For some, it can feel like a chore, especially when cooking for others and when a dish doesn’t turn out like it should’ve.
We’ve outlined the best tips and tricks to enhance your cooking experience and help you to enjoy being in the kitchen. You’ll look forward to it each day and hopefully find some new tasty meals to try!
Plan ahead
Get excited for the week and plan the meals you want to cook each Sunday. Find new recipes and include your go-to favourites, then create a shopping list of all the ingredients you need to buy. You won’t need to worry about dinner plans all week, as each night’s meal is planned and ready to cook.
Here are three recipes you could try this week:
- Spaghetti with Chilli, Broccoli and Pancetta
- Easy Crustless Quiche
- Mushroom Ragout with Creamy Polenta
Store your ingredients correctly
Keep your ingredients fresh throughout the week by storing them in the best way possible. Keep herbs in jars of water, potatoes in a paper bag stored in a cool dark place and freeze any meat that isn’t needed until later in the week. By doing this, you’ll find you’re throwing away less food at the end of the week.
Use the right tools
Nothing can hinder your cooking experience more than having a frustrating moment when cutting up veggies with a blunt knife, or ingredients not fitting in your pan or tray. Invest in some good quality kitchen gear that will last and provide a better cooking experience. Once you have your utensils all set, cooking will be a breeze.
Clean as you go
This is a must! Before you start cooking, get the sink ready with some hot soapy water. While you cook, you’ll find moments to clean up while things simmer or bake. If you have a dishwasher there is no excuse leaving things lying around, so pop knives, cups and any dishes straight in there for a quick post dinner clean up. Each item you use, put it away immediately – this will help keep the bench clear and also keep food fresh.
Pop on your favourite playlist
There’s no denying that cooking is more fun when there’s a beat to chop to! Maybe you like dancing to the latest pop hits, or you opt for a glass of wine while you sway to some jazz. Music and cooking go hand in hand.
Have fun
Try using cooking as your way to unwind from the day, get into some comfy clothes, and let the day’s worries disappear as your focus on cooking your meal. The more fun you have, the more your stresses will be outrun by feel-good hormones.
We hope these tips help you learn to love being in the kitchen!