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How to be an organized cook

by Phyllis

Hi,


I've been married for a few years. We have a toddler and another on the way. Praise the Lord!

My mom was never really that into cooking but I thought when I got married I would figure it all out. Wrong. I never seem to have all the the right ingredients on hand for making anything. I always seem to be missing a spice, marinade, cream of soup, you name it.

Do you have a list of items that you should always have on hand to be more organized when it's time to cook so you don't have to constantly be running to the store for this or that?

Thanks!

Phyllis

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May 18, 2010
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starstarstarstarstar 		Organizing Cooking through Meal Planning
by: The Organizer

Hi Phyllis,

Great question! Basically, to be an organized cook, you have to get into meal planning. Never go to the grocery store without a shopping list. It will help you to make sure that you have what you need in addition to saving you some money!

The secret in having the ingredients on hand for me is to protect the goods from snackers in the household. I place the food for meals in a separate cabinet than the rest of the goodies and the family knows not to eat the things in that cabinet without informing me so that I can replace it before I need it.

Once you start planning menus, you will get familiar with the staples that you often use and you can stock up on them when they are on sale.

After I first got married, I got into gourmet cooking (that often comes when you start menu planning). One of my aunt's bought me a a pre-filled spice rack for a wedding gift and it was a life saver when I started cooking from recipes. I didn't know anything about spices, but when I needed them, most likely I had them on hand.

Meal Plans 101 will be helpful if you are concerned with planning healthy meals.

I hope this helps!

-The Organizer

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