This may seem a bit basic, after all, a recipe is supposed to tell you how to cook it. But there can be a lot of challenges in just following a recipe and the following can help those with some of these challenges.
Big Steps to Cooking a Meal
First, let’s step back and think about the main big steps to cooking.
Planning – First, we decide what we want to cook. We might be in the mood for something specific, we might just use our normal safe meals, or whatever we might be craving this week. And this doesn’t have to be by week, but that’s how most people do their grocery shopping, so we’ll assume weekly grocery store visits as our default.
Shopping – Second, we buy the ingredients we don’t already have (and equipment, when applicable).
Read the Recipe – This sounds simple, but reading through the recipe thoroughly can help catch issues early on. Imagine doing each step. Is there a piece of equipment needed that isn’t mentioned? Does the recipe not say when to use a specific ingredient? Identifying these issues early can allow you to address them before you’re in the middle of cooking the meal.
Wash the Dishes – The last thing you want is to need something and it’s sitting dirty in the sink or dishwasher (and you’re in the middle of cooking and need it NOW!). Cleaning before cooking also makes sure the sink or dishwasher are clean, empty, and have room for more dishes.
Set it Out – Third, when we’re ready to start cooking, we set out each ingredient and piece of equipment you’ll need. This helps make sure you actually have everything needed and have it ready (or discover you had pasta but then the teenager cooked it all and didn’t tell you, so now you don’t…). I set them out in the order I’ll use them. For example, if I’m making soup, from left to right on my counter I might have the onions and peppers first, then my carton of broth, then the bag of frozen veggies, then the spices. For the spices, I’ll put the measuring spoon for each on top of that spice. If three use the same size measuring spoon then I’ll line them up front to back and the front one will have that measuring spoon. I also keep two sets of measuring spoons in my kitchen to help minimize this issue. This all makes it very easy to work through the recipe on the fly.
Prep – The last step before we actually begin cooking is prep. This is when we’re cutting our produce, marinading the meat (which may begin as early as the day before!), etc.
Cook – This is when we’re actually following the steps of the recipe.
Cleanup – Ugh, that part. When I can, I clean as quickly as I can. If the soup is simmering, then everything dirty so far is getting cleaned. This keeps the cleaning to bite size pieces which works a lot better for me.
Cook in Stages – Many recipes will require you to cook multiple things, often at the same time. In these cases, review the recipe to see which parts will be okay waiting and which will need to be timed more precisely. For example, if you’re cooking your own marinara sauce for pasta, the pasta shouldn’t sit in the water. It needs to at least be drained when done cooking, but even sitting out isn’t ideal for long. The marinara is a much better option to let sit for longer than the recipe requires because that’s the nature of marinara, it’s actually best cooked all day long. So some extra time simmering on the pot won’t cause issues for the marinara like it would for the pasta.
Plan for Leftovers – Many recipes will make a lot more than you will eat. This should at least give you some easy lunches or dinners for later in the week. But sometimes you won’t want the exact same meal five times in one week or you won’t have the right amount of each part to have the exact same dish. In these cases, it’s important to plan ahead what you’ll do to use up the extra food and minimize waste. One option is to freeze some for later. For example, soups can make a lot of servings in one recipe, so freezing individual portions for later can be ideal (whether to have in a couple of months or just as a back up for when you won’t be up for cooking but still want something homemade). Let’s say you make some steak and cook it all at the same time. The extra won’t be as good reheated, so incorporating it into something else such as a salad or burrito may be a great way to enjoy it without having to cook it fresh each time.