Tips in minutes

Take Shortcuts

There’s nothing wrong with taking a few shortcuts when planning and preparing a meal. These simple techniques will have you in and out of the kitchen in no time.

• Cut meat into small pieces. The smaller the pieces, the quicker they cook. For example, when you cut beef into cubes or thin strips for a stir-fry, the meat cooks in 5 minutes or less.
• Pound meat. The thinner the meat, the quicker it cooks. Pounding with a meat mallet or rolling pin also helps tenderize the meat.
• Cook a healthy portion. To control fat and calories, the recommended serving size of meat is 4 ounces of raw meat or 3 ounces of cooked meat per person. Steaks that are 4 ounces will cook quicker than larger pieces of meat.
• Use a crockpot. Put the ingredients in a slow cooker in the morning and supper will be ready when you get home.
• Line your broiler pan with aluminum foil for instant cleanup.
• Keep browned ground beef on hand in the freezer. Drain the browned meat and freeze in a zip-top plastic bag for up to 3 months for chili, tacos, spaghetti, casseroles, etc.
• Remove steaks from the refrigerator 30 minutes before cooking. Room temperature meat browns better and cooks faster and more evenly.
• When broiling steaks, position the broiler rack farthest from the heating unit so it will cook before burning the outside of the steak.