If you do stuff, stuff gets done.......

If you do stuff, stuff gets done.......

Saturday, February 19, 2011

saving a little time in the kitchen



when I look over my blog,  it seems like I spend a lot of time cooking.  I do cook most everyday, sometimes I cook several times a day so I do look for ways to save some time.  If you know me or  read this blog much,  you know I also look for ways to use basic ingredients and to spend wisely. 

We like nuts in our baked goods.  Whole walnuts are a good value, as far as nuts go,  I know nuts are high-priced anymore. 

This is a  12 ounce bag of mostly walnut halves and a few pieces.  The halves are way too big for adding to baked goods. 

so instead of getting out a chopper and cutting board everytime I bake a recipe that we like nuts in,  I chop the whole bag of nuts when I open them. 


then all the extra chopped nuts go into a jar.
I store a lot of things in clear glass jars. 
The label is just a piece of masking tape,  with what is in the jar and the date it was put in the jar. 
If I am going to be baking a lot,  I just keep the jar of nuts in the pantry.  But nuts will go rancid if unused, so if it will be more than a month or before they get used,  I put the jar in the freezer. 

About the label,  I have seen some really cute printable labels online and if I had more free time, I would probably use them,  But for now, masking tape works great.  Just use some scissors to cut the ends straight, that looks much better than tearing the tape.  I use masking tape to label things in the freezer too. 






Lyn asked about the dishes the cut up fruit are in, I showed in them in previous post.  They are from Pampered Chef and work fine as you can see what is in them.  The only thing I don't like about them is the lids are not microwave safe and ruin if used in the microwave.  Mine are the one cup size but I think they come bigger, like 2 cups and maybe 4 cups. 

http://www.pamperedchef.com/our_products/catalog/product.jsp?productId=9792&categoryCode=KW
 my other favorite container for snacks and lunchboxes is little jelly jars - mine are currently filled with jalapeno relish and pickle jalapeno relish though.  I think the jelly jars with screw on tops take up less room in a lunch box and it is very unlikely they would leak. 

10 comments:

  1. Ahh.. another woman that likes to cook! :-) I was questioning myself yesterday (after spending hours in the kitchen) if it was 'normal'. But, as a result I was able to get quite a few meals cooked and didn't have to cook last night, tonight or tomorrow plus I have several loafs of bread baked. I just don't see anyway around sticking to a low grocery budget without doing a lot of cooking and baking. I enjoyed your post.

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  2. Georgene-LivingOnLessMoney, I think you are right that the only way to have a reasonable food budget is to cook and like you, I like to do some cooking ahead. Mostly, I enjoy cooking and don't even mind the clean up either.

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  3. I think that nuts never lasts that long at my house. If I buy any to use in cooking, I have to hide them from Dennis! Since the boys can no longer eating nuts (due to their braces) I don't have any in the house. :)

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  4. I love having nuts in my freezer too. I love your masking tape labels. Simple, but practical. I use a lot of glass jars too.

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  5. Hi Rhonda, I like your idea of chopping up a whole bag of nuts and then freezing them. That's what I should do. Currently I have a slowly dwindling bag of pecans in my freezer and I slowly use them up. But the fact that they are whole is always a problem. What a nice simple solution you have presented. Thanks!
    Hugs, Cindy

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  6. Me again, after reading a couple of comments here, I just wanted to say that I love to cook, too, I cook a full supper meal every day. Eating out is a luxury on a small budget. Breakfast is usually cereal and or toast and fruit and lunch is a homemade vege soup most days.
    That's why I appreciate anything shortcuts that you may have. I really don't mind the clean up, but because we don't have a dishwasher, by hands are always chapped and ugly. Oh well, small price to pay for the other good things in life! Hugs, Cindy

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  7. Hey Rhonda,
    Love the little bowls with lids. Like you, I try to have nuts chopped and ready.

    Much of my day is spent in the kitchen. I think one of the things I love the most about cooking is I know it's blessing my family and another is as you mentioned it's really the only way to keep costs down.

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  8. Hi Rhonda,
    I love the tips. You know I love to cook. I made French Bread yesterday for the freezer and today cinnamon muffins.
    I sent you a letter this weekend.
    Hugs,
    Elizabeth

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  9. Good ideas - thanks for sharing!

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  10. Very nice. I love your little organized jars. There is a real sense of satisfaction to put things up that way, isn't there? I love that feeling of a well stocked pantry.

    I store my nuts in the freezer, too! But in a ziplock freezer bag. It's better to buy in bulk like that.

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