Our Cooking Blog

As the busy fall season kicks off, we know how important quick, wholesome meals are for your family. Recognizing how busy our Belletarians are, we’ve developed Time Savers meal solutions that are perfect for creating easy, delicious dinners that fit into your hectic schedule. We’ve gathered these time saving tips so you have even more time for what really matters.

1. 1. 1. 1. Before diving into cooking, take a moment to read through your entire recipe from start to finish.  Familiarize yourself with each step. Check the ingredients and tools you’ll need, and note any special techniques or cooking times.
         2. Batch cooking. Prepare your chicken and other ingredients ahead of time.  Choose a day to marinate, portion, and cook your meals for the week. Store them in airtight containers, label them, and keep then in the fridge or freezer.
         3. Cook once, eat twice. Shredded chicken, made in a crock pot can be the base for tacos, salads, burritos or sandwiches.
         4. “Mise en Place”, or “everything in its place,” involves taking a few minutes before cooking to chop, measure, and organize all of your ingredients.  Set them out so everything is ready when you need it. This keeps your workflow quick and smooth, reduces mistakes, and makes cleanup easier.
         5.  Use pre-cut and trimmed cuts of poultry and vegetables.  Time normally spent on trimming and cutting can be spent getting ready for the next day or relaxing!
         6. Freeze it. Make a double batch of your favorite recipe and freeze half of it for later.
         7. Keep a list of “go-to” meals that are easy to prepare and your family loves. Include quick and simple meals, as well as a few that can be batch-cooked for later. We have an entire category of Quick & Easy meals to choose from! Keep the list handy, so when you’re short on time or inspiration, just refer to it for a quick decision. Make sure your pantry has basics needed for your go-to meals- broth, butter, onions, bay leaf, kosher salt, etc…
         8. Marinate in Packaging. Our traypacks can double as a vessel to marinate your chicken. This saves on clean-up and extra dishes
         9. Use an Air Fryer, Slow Cooker or InstaPot. This can share precious minutes off of preparation time. Use a liner in your air fryer for easy clean up!
         10. Invest in Tools and Gadgets to make your life easier, like a bench scraper, meat thermometer or digital scale
         11. Clean as you Go. Keeping a clean workspace ensures less spills and more organization, which will naturally speed up recipe preparation.
         12. Don’t hurry.  Hurrying actually costs you time in the kitchen. Read through your recipe. Take time setting out your tools– bowls, spoons, meat thermometer so that they are at hand when you start cooking