7 Ways to Simplify Dinnertime

If you know me, you know that I love food. I love exquisite meals with fresh ingredients! But I am also a realist, and I’ve realized that not every meal can be a work of art… especially if you have kids. There is a time and a place for your absolute best cooking, but there is also a time and a place for what I call a “minimum viable product”—something that takes the least amount of work possible to get what you need (and not necessarily everything that you want). That’s how we do weeknights in our house: with all the shortcuts! So here I’ve rounded up a few of my favorite dinnertime hacks to simplify recipes and save you time.

1. Skip things

This might seem somewhat obvious, but sometimes I actually forget that it’s an option: If you don’t like an ingredient, don’t use it. Now, it depends on the recipe and how the ingredient is being used in it, but in most cases, you can get away with a little bit of elimination here and there. For example: Cooper doesn’t like tomatoes, and I don’t like cheese, so if the recipe calls for one of those things, I might just skip them altogether. It saves time and money!

2. Scratch the “from scratch”

If you’re looking to speed things up, finding the right condiment or sauce can be a total life-saver. Read through the recipe ahead of time… Do you really need to buy every individual ingredient on the list? How are they being used? Is there a pre-made sauce that you could use instead? I especially like to do this with salsas and pasta sauces (I have a special place in my heart for LaRosa’s Pasta Sauce!).

3. Buy pre-cut produce

Fresh produce is always best, but sometimes cutting it on the day of the meal is more trouble than it’s worth. I like to compare the benefit of the freshness with the cost of cutting. In my opinion, buying the following produce pre-cut saves the most time with the least impact to taste:

• cauliflower rice
• squash (cubed butternut squash, spiralized zucchini, etc.)
• sweet potatoes
• mushrooms
• minced garlic & ginger
• onions (depending on the recipe)
• melon
• pineapple

On the other hand, the following are examples of produce I would rather buy whole and cut myself:

• strawberries
• apples
• peppers
• tomatoes

Buying pre-cut does cost a little more, though, so if you want to save money, you can also buy whole and pre-cut all of the appropriate produce yourself ahead of time (i.e. on the weekends).

4. Don’t fear the freezer

If I’ve learned anything from Trader Joe’s, it’s that frozen food can still be delicious. So obviously I would recommend taking advantage of frozen meals! But in addition to the entrees, don’t forget that you can substitute just a certain part of a recipe with frozen food—such as rice, mashed potatoes, or a vegetable—and still make the rest of it from scratch. I love to supplement new recipes with old stand-by sides from frozen so that I can cook a comprehensive meal while focusing most of my energy on just the part that’s new to me.

5. Use dried herbs instead of fresh

Again, we’re considering cost vs. benefit here. Fresh herbs are obviously great, but dried herbs work, too!

6. Estimate your measurements

Cooking is an art, not a science. If a recipe calls for 1/3 cup onions and 1 tablespoon of a spice, you don’t actually need to measure them out perfectly. You can estimate. A handful of onions and a spoonful of that spice will work just fine!

(Now, keep in mind that baking, on the other hand, is a science. If you’re making any sort of baked good, you should use exact measurements.)

7. Keep your knives sharp

I always thought sharpening our knives was an extraneous, unnecessary chore. That is, until I actually did it. Sharp knives are SO much easier to work with, and they really speed up your meal prep time! And not only that, but they are actually much safer to use than dull knives. Sharpening your knives is a time investment: if you take 15 minutes to do it every 3-6 months, you will save a few minutes every time you cut something. This adds up, and trust me, it’s worth it.

You can get your knives sharpened at some local grocery stores, meat stores, or chef stores, or you can sharpen them yourself at home. We got this knife sharpener as a gift, and we love it!

If you have any dinnertime hacks, I would love to hear them! Feel free to drop a comment below.