How to Cut Cooking Time in Half and Make it Easier (burgers, grilling)

[Atlanta_BD]

So a current thread inspired me to start this one to share how I cook great, healthy meals in 30 minutes or less.

When one is feeling lazy or tired, a quick meal is only as quick as the appliances and gadgets you use. When feeling lazy but you don't want fast food and want a good meal quick, the following gadgets/appliances are life-savers:

1. The large Foreman grill
2. A rice cooker
3. A mandolin slicer
4. An electric pressure cooker

The Foreman Grill:

Dinner is done in 15 minutes or less with the Foreman grill as, I can quickly grill both my meat (typically fish, chicken and turkey burgers) and veggies on it. I even quickly make a lunch in the morning before work on the Foreman grill. Also with both the Foreman grill and pressure cooker, you don't have to thaw out the meat, as they both cook from frozen. Only make sure with chicken breasts they aren't too thick. Whether thawed or frozen, season your meat or fish, slap it on the foreman grill and it's done in 8 minutes or less. The Foreman grill also makes perfect grilled cheese sandwiches, paninis and quesedillas. If grilling a sandwich on the Foreman grill, lift the front feet up by placing the drip tray upside down underneath them so the cheese doesn't run off. The large one is best because not only can you cook more food at once on it, ironically it's easier to clean than the smaller one. Never use metal utensils or scrubbers on the Foreman grill.

The Rice Cooker:

Of course we know the beauty and benefit of the rice cooker, as it cooks up rice perfectly and you can steam with it. Why a lot of people is still don't own one of these puppies is beyond me.

The Mandolin Slicer:

A mandolin slices and dices veggies perfectly and very quickly. It takes only a few minutes to slice or julienne veggies for salads and you can slice them right into the bowl using a mandolin. They make perfectly sliced tomatoes and onions for burgers. I own a Sharper Image brand slicer. It is in my opinion my best kitchen purchase ever.

The Electric Pressure Cooker:

This is WAY faster than a crock pot. I was going to replace my crock pot, but once I discovered the electric pressure cook and how fast it is, I no longer feel a need to own a crock pot ever again. With that being said, I typically just throw into it frozen chicken, along with fresh or frozen veggies, cut-up potatoes, sliced peppers and onions and whatever seasonings or spices I want to use with a little olive oil. In 30 minutes or less you have a full and healthy one-pot dish, the meat is very tender and the natural juices create a nice sauce/gravy from the seasonings. If you don't want to use potatoes just throw in the meat, veggies and seasonings into the pressure cooker then serve over rice, of course made in the rice cooker. The pressure cooker is also great for one-put curry dishes.

The use of these tools completely eliminate the need to cook items in separate pots and pans, which take up all the time cooking. They also save on energy, as you are not having to use the stove at all. And the slicer eliminates having to pull out knives and cutting boards.

Not only do you save on time and energy with these gadget, you also save time because there is way less clean up. The mandolin you can quickly rise off under the tap, and the pressure and rice cooker liners easily come out to be washed off. The Foreman grill takes the longest to clean.

Food prep, pots and pans, and clean up is what makes cooking a chore that takes too long. You can eliminate all of this with these suggested gadgets and it would make like in the kitchen soooooo much easier, especially if you are cooking for a family. Since using these gadget I very rarely cook with the stove unless I'm baking something.

If you like preparing Asian dishes, definitely invest in pressure and rice cookers. Asian dishes (especially Indian) take lots of time to cook and prepare. When I started learning Indian dishes on my own, they would take FOREVER to prepare using traditional cooking methods. It was tiring. When my Indian friends started teaching me how to cook Indian food, I notice they all owned rice and pressure cookers. They really do make cooking easier.

What gadgets or appliances do you use to make life in the kitchen easier?