Rachael Rays 30 Minute Meals

by Maricar on June 16th, 2005

I love Rachael Rays program on the Food Network, called 30 Minute Meals. In just 30 minutes (the length of the program), Ms. Ray creates a full nutritious meal from scratch. Although I watch for recipe ideas too, I mostly look at her techniques and try to catch the tips she talks about. I think thats where the secret for quick cooking lies. So far, Ive been able to glean the following time-saving tips:

1. Ms. Ray always has a bowl on her counter to put garbage in. She always mentions this as a time-saver since she doesnt have to go to the garbage can every time she has something to throw away.

2. She almost always uses only one knife to peel and cut. She doesnt switch between knives just for paring, peeling, cutting, etc.

3. Her 30 minutes dont include thawing time. This, for me, translates into advanced planning. If I know what Im going to cook ahead of time, I can thaw frozen items in the refrigerator so that theyll be ready when I need them.

4. She has several pots going at the same time. She doesnt wait for the soup to be done before she starts preparing the main course.

5. I try to observe how she prepares items quickly. For example, instead of peeling ginger inch by inch, she slices off the peel with her knife and cutting board. Saves tons of time!

6. She cuts items up just before she puts them straight into the pot, so that she doesnt use plates and bowls to hold them.

7.Shes not too particular about how small or large pieces are. Rather, she just cuts them up into similar-sized pieces.

Ever since Ive consciously tried to follow the 30-minute meal concept, Ive reduced my cooking times, and lessened the plates and bowls that I have to wash afterwards. Ms. Ray proves that good meals dont have to take hours to prepare.

b5media.com

Keeping the Castle - Housekeeping & Homemaking Tips