Saving cooking time tips

Trow · 5 March 2005 at 5:59PM

Saving the time you have to cook something for can save money as well - my tip for this at the moment (because I have some in the oven as we speak) it - instead of making baked potatos make bircher potatos - they are fab, easy and reduce cooking time by half!

All you do - is you cut the potato in half so that the biggest area is the cut 'face' if you know what I mean. Oil a backing tray and put them face down. Oven bake till the bottoms are brown and crispy and you have a cross between a baked and a roast potato - they are gorgeous *and* they saving cooking time.

vanoonoo · 5 March 2005 at 6:09PM

well I didnt know they were called that!! I do those sometimes or even tater wedges (cut them into quarters or eighths along the length of the spud)

one of my sneeky time saving and energy saving things is to rip the paper off the tin of beans if youare gonna have them with said spuds, open one end and take the lid off then put the tin into the oven with the spuds on one of the shelves. the beans heat up whilst the taters cook and there is no washing up

you have to be careful about handling the tin obviously as its super hot but a folded over teatowel works ok for me even though I have mutantly small hands and find it a bit difficult to grab the can

Trow · 5 March 2005 at 6:10PM

ooh, never thought of putting beans in the oven - wish you'd told me that before the potatos were ready!

Queenie · 5 March 2005 at 6:30PM

Thanks for that Trow.

vanoonoo - not just beans ... I used to do that with tinned veggies too (and I never removed the labels).

Also, while those "bircher potatoes" are cooking; put in a casserole/rice pudding/fruit cake/meatloaf/etc. Casseroles *always* taste better when they have been cooled (fat removed) and reheated another day. Rice pudding is just as good cold with a blob of jam or some evap milk.
Even if you don't wish to eat the extra items within the next couple of days, freeze them for future use!

It's all in the planning

vanoonoo · 5 March 2005 at 6:44PM

doh - sorry trow!!

queenie - trial and error with me and the label removing - once the glue melted all over the base of the oven and once the paper scorched. dont really use tinned veg as I basically rely on frozen and fresh to fit in with slimming world - although I have usually got a tin of carrots and a tin of spuds lurking - but I think I used them in the store cupboard challenge and havent replaced them. cant stand tinned peas and am totally off tinned spinach.

I am getting better and better organised with the planning malarkey - as we speak I have some bolognese sauce simmering made with mince I slo cooked the other day - I shall make chilli with the rest of it either tomorrow or monday.

as they say at slimming world (and probably loads of other places too) we dont plan to fail, we fail to plan.

another thing I do to save cooking time - again spud related, is chop my peeled taters fairly small if i am gonna mash them - about 1.5cm squares then they boil up ready to mash in just a few mins - about five I think which can really speed up finishing off a meal if i am in a hurry. (I think that totally contradicts my fail to plan plan to fail but hey ho

)

Queenie · 5 March 2005 at 7:00PM

vanoonoo wrote:

... queenie - trial and error with me and the label removing - once the glue melted all over the base of the oven and once the paper scorched

:eek: Blimey! I'd hate to have to clean *that* up! Lucky it didn't catch fire.

Oooh, tinned sweetcorn is luuuuuuurrrvly

(My dh is a heathen and *only* eats tinned peas and carrots - or so he *thinks* ... good job he never asks what's in our homemade soups, casseroles, meatloaves etc., etc.,

)

Good point on the spuds too - I do that, LOL - plus, always make double for mash; the extra is great for shepards pies, fish cakes and the like - yummy!

MATH · 5 March 2005 at 7:47PM

If your cooking a casserole in the slo-cooker (is there any other way?;) ) and plan to serve it later with mashed spuds put the spuds peeled and chopped small in a pyrex bowl, cover with boiling water and a tight fitting lid. Submerge this dish into the casserole (you can only do this with the very large slo-cookers). The slo-cooker cooks the casserole and the casserole cooks the spuds. Remove the inner dish, drain, mash and serve. Saves time - Saves money:)

Queenie · 5 March 2005 at 7:51PM

Woohoo!! Thanks, MATH - corker of an idea.

tiff · 5 March 2005 at 10:17PM

Thats a great idea.

Ticklemouse · 5 March 2005 at 11:26PM

You could have told me earlier MATH! I tried out the huge new slo-cooker today and did braised steak so it was all lost looking in the bottom. (Would normally have used smaller cooker but wanted to check it didn't stick like moggin's) Then came home this afternoon and boiled my spuds!

When you say tight fitting lid - what sort of bowl do you use? Are those pyrex casserole dishes with their own lids OK, cos they're not exactly 'tight'

Trow · 6 March 2005 at 9:07AM

some really useful stuff here - I also cut the tatties up small if I am gonna mash them, but hadn't thought of the casserole dish with tatties in the slow cooker - not sure if mine is big enough though

As for planning - that is something I seriously need to improve on - I am going to be very busy until May so I am hoping I can spend a bit more time getting organised then when things calm down.

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