Easy Holiday Dinner Prep For Non-Cooks

Restored from the Empower Network archive (2011–2017), lightly edited to meet our current advertising standards. Views are the original author’s.

It is important to be always learning new cooking skills, even if you’re just cooking for family. Knowing the best techniques and methods can help you change bland meals into great dishes that will be remembered. Use these tips so that you can create excellent flavors in the kitchen.

Many vegetables and herbs have a smell that has a tendency to remain on cutting boards, despite how many times you wash them. Use a permanent pen to make a mark so you know which side you are using.

Tofu and beans are great sources of protein that can easily be added to your diet. Both can be purchased at just about any grocery store. Tofu can be seasoned and pan-fried, and then served in lieu of a meat dish. Beans can be used in vegetarian chili, added to baked goods, or just boiled with herbs and vegetables.

Are you preparing a dish with fresh basil? Store the basil within a glass. Submerge the stems in water. Keep it on the kitchen counter and it should stay fresh. By changing the water every so often, your basil will develop roots. Trim your basil plants back a bit to encourage new growth, and keep enjoying your basil for a long time.

You can add a bit of flare to your corn left on the cob and dinner rolls by simply making up some flavored butter. Bring the butter to room temperature, or put it in the microwave for a few seconds to make it soft. Stir in seasonings like herbs and spices or a sauce to add some zing. Try this trick with barbeque sauce or honey, as well.

When serving salads to guests, it is a good idea to leave the dressing on the side of the salad rather than on it. There are many people who prefer little to no dressing on a salad. If you allow everyone to apply their dressings on their own it will allow them to have the amount they like. Offer many different types of salad dressing as well.

It is essential that you are prepared before you start to cook a meal to serve to your loved ones. Make sure you have all the ingredients ready. Put everything you need to cook the dish out the night before. Make sure you have all the cooking equipment and ingredients required. This will allay some of your fears and anxiety when it is time to cook the meal.

If you are going to use fresh herbs, such as dill or parsley in your meal, put them together to form bunches and use scissors to cut them. This method of cutting herbs provides a drier, more flavorful product than chopping.

Find fresher ways to prepare meals with oysters. Oysters can be prepared in multiple ways even though they are typically eaten on the half shell with a smidge of lemon juice. Place opened, in-shell oysters onto a broiler pan, then coat them with a dollop of cream. Add some Parmesan cheese along with some fresh pepper, then broil until it bubbles. Oysters are also delicious when sauteed. The oysters can be dredged in a seasoned flour, then fried in butter for two minutes until they become golden brown. Oysters can be baked while still in their shells. Put them into a casserole dish and then add some butter and breadcrumbs over the top. Put in the oven and bake for five minutes at 425 degrees. Serve your oysters once the butter starts bubbling.

If you would like to start cooking more food on your own, take a trip to a local library or bookstore where you can find many cookbooks with recipes you can enjoy making at home. Experiment with a few, and be patient; remember, you’re learning new skills.

If you think you’re going to have leftovers of a dish that includes oil, use an oven instead of a microwave. This will mean less grease when reheating the dish. The microwave process causes oil to overheat while the other ingredients barely warm, creating splatters and other time-consuming messes. However, oven baking provides a consistent heat to the dish, not allowing different ingredients to separate.

To make your cooking less stressful, get all of your ingredients ready before you start. This method will prevent you from not having something ready when you need it. Not only does prepping your ingredients save time, it also saves significant stress throughout the cooking process.

If you truly desire to become a better cook, then you have to be willing to accept the trick and techniques that are shared with you. These cooking tips can help you learn to cook better for either yourself, a crowd, family, or friends.