Make your freezer meal quick to clean up.
Freezer cooking is a great way for busy moms to quickly get a meal during the week on the table. It is also easier to clean up after a freeze meal. Most of the pots, pans, cutting boards, food processor, and spoons required for food preparation were cleaned up on the day you made the meal. However, a few simple tips can help make your week day meal clean up even simpler. No, I’m not going to suggest that you eat on paper plates. Some people do choose this option, In fact, with recycling requirements; one person complained that although he threw away his dishes, he still had to wash out his cans.
If you choose to freeze your meal in a container that is both freezer and microwave safe, you can eliminate an extra container to reheat the dinner. Many plastic containers are now freezer, dishwasher, and microwave safe. Investing in a family of containers such as Rubbermaid that stack neatly together can save freezer space as well as clean up time. A square or rectangular shape best utilizes precious room in the freezer. Being able to put the container in the dishwasher is a major time benefit and also ensures the container is properly sanitized.
If you need to cook or reheat something in the oven, using foil is critical to quick clean up. Put a thawed meat loaf in a pan lined with foil before baking it. You can throw away the foil and the pan should just require a quick rinse. Another product that saves clean up is Ziploc’s Zip’n Steam bags. If you froze the main dish and still need to cook side dishes, these bags allow you to nutritiously cook vegetables in the microwave. You can plate the food in the kitchen and throw away the bag. The bags also provide a good way to flavor the vegetables while cooking.
A week day meal should be quick to the table and also quick to clean up. Every step taken during preparation to minimize clean up time pays off when the meal is done. Evenings can be consumed with homework, practices, meetings and errands. The last thing you want to add is unnecessary time spent cleaning up from dinner. Even worse is facing dirty dishes the next morning that you didn’t have time to do the night before. Having a meal where everything can be quickly placed in the dishwasher is a wonderful goal.
Recent Comments