Cooking simple and delicious meals at home may seem out of reach for many. But with our simple tips for making cooking at home easier (and fun!), you can do away with the takeaway and ditch processed meals in place of healthier food you and your family will love, every day of the week.
Tip #1: Plan meals in advance
At the beginning of each week, take a few minutes to think about what your week looks like and what you want to eat. Choose a variety of proteins to give yourself as many options as possible and include at least one vegetable or grain as a side dish.
For frozen meat and seafood, begin defrosting your protein on Sunday evening or Monday morning in the refrigerator. To defrost same-day, leave your protein in its original packaging and place it in a bowl of cold water for 30 to 45 minutes, or until completely thawed.
Tip #2: Keep your pantry stocked
Keeping staples on hand, such as different spices, oils, canned goods, dry goods, and grains, affords you variety and experimentation when cooking. Items such as beans, tomatoes, rice, or pasta will make cooking at home exciting, delicious, and easy!
Tip #3: Use a crockpot or slow cooker
Come home to a delicious aroma that is dinner! Not only is prep incredibly easy, but so is clean-up. Before heading out in the morning, place all prepared and washed ingredients into your slow cooker and set it to cook. No matter how busy your day is, dinner will be ready when you are. Try our classic beef stroganoff recipe over buttered egg noodles, roasted potatoes, rice, or with buttered bread.
Tip #4: Prep common ingredients
Mincing garlic, chopping onions, or washing and drying salad takes time. While meal planning at the start of each week, spend some time prepping common ingredients that you can use during the week as well. Whipping up dinners at home is a cinch with a little extra prep.
Tip #5: Use resources
With just a click or a swipe, quick recipes, practical tips, grocery lists, and meal planners are at your fingertips. SteakChop’s app, Choppy, is your personal sous chef and full of valuable knowledge — scan any SteakChop item for over 1,000 recipe combinations and cooking techniques.
Otherwise, there are many, many websites, apps, and cookbooks that will surely offer dinner inspiration and new ideas to your weekly dinner round-up.
Taking smalls steps to plan ahead and prep will make a world of a difference when you’re tight on time, or experience “what shoud we eat” dinner dilemma. Cooking at home is not only cheaper and healthier, but also a lot more fun. So, what are you waiting for? Let’s get cooking!