Cooking Tips for the Dinner Rush

Dinner panic time happens in my house around 5.30pm. It’s that time of day when you’re most tired, your toddler is at their most grotty and everyone is HUNGRY! It’s also the time you’ve just arrived home with a car full of shopping that needs putting away (and it starts raining before you have a chance to get the washing in, of course!). Its days like that when you really need some great time saving tricks and meals up your sleeve, in the freezer or from the shopping in the car.

Freezing leftovers from previous meals makes dinner easy to prepare when you’re short on time. I like to try and make a little extra at least one night a week so I’ve got dinner covered when I need a quick microwave option. It doesn’t matter if everyone has something different, and sometimes everyone gets their favourite meal.

There are a few things I do to help get dinner on the table quicker:

• Things like packet marinades or dried herbs can add lots of flavour quickly and easily and make the meal tastier without having to make it from scratch
• Pre-planning meals 2-3 days in advance really helps. Knowing what you’re going to be cooking makes the process faster
• If you know you’re going to be out all afternoon get all your cooking equipment out in advance. Put out the chopping boards, pots and pans and set the table – these things make a huge difference when you’ve got a crying baby
• If you need to use the oven for your meal or do any baking, turn on the oven as soon as you walk in the door. By the time you’ve sorted out the kids, let the dog in and put away the groceries the oven is hot and ready to go.