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I’ve heard from a few friends that they struggle to plan dinner so that everything is ready at the same time. Today, I’m going to offer some tips to help with that.
The other night, we had blackened fish, green bean casserole and dirty rice for dinner. Each dish has different prep and cooking times. So, I will use this meal as an example.
The following is the prep and cook times for each dish:
fish– prep 10″, cook 5″
dirty rice– prep 10″, cook 25″, and another 5″ to sit and fluff
green bean casserole– prep about 7 or so minutes, cook 30″
The casserole and dirty rice take about the same amount of time and take the longest amount of time. So, that ‘s where we should start. Preheat the oven so it will be ready when your dish is ready to bake.
First, I put on the water to boil for the dirty rice. Dirty rice also calls for lightly browned ground meat. So, I started browning the meat right after I put the water on to boil.
Next, I let the meat sit for a minute while I opened and drained the cans of green beans and mixed together all of the ingredients for the green bean casserole. I would occasionally check the meat and stir it around.
Once the meat was done, and the water had come to a boil, I emptied the contents of the Zatarain’s dirty rice and the ground meat into the pot of boiling water.
Once that was cooking, I put the green bean casserole into a baking dish, and put it in the oven. Both of those dishes were going to take 30″.
From prep to cook time the fish will only take 15 minutes. So, I waited until the other dishes only had 15 minutes left before I started on the fish.
I like to take advantage of down time. So, this would be a good time to fix a salad if you are including that on your menu. Or, you can load the dishwasher with the dishes you’ve dirtied so far. Cleaning as you go makes cleaning after dinner a little easier.
When it’s time, prepare and cook the last dish. It’s okay if casseroles finish cooking a few minutes before the rest. It gives them a chance to sit and settle a little bit before serving. Just be sure to leave them covered so that it’s still warm when you fix your plate.
To sum it up:
1)Start the dishes that will take the longest first.
2) Then wait to cook the quickest dish until the equal amount of time is left on the longer cooking dishes. ie. fish takes 15 minutes to prep and cook, wait til there’s only 15 minutes left on the dishes that are already cooking.
Hopefully, this example will help you time your next meal. If you have any questions or if you have your own tips to share, feel free to contact me.
Until next time,
Sharon
Joining these parties:
Take it on Tuesday @ Romance on a Dime
Tutorial Tuesdays @ The Kurtz Korner
Tutorials and Tips Link Party @ Home Stories A to Z
mrs. hines class 
I was fortunate that I learned from my mother on how to “juggle” the various cooking times of the dishes…I learned to multi task from her also..Even learning those skills early on, I still have some trouble when I have dinner parties for 8 plus…I have to really plan to have all the dishes come out at the same time..from before dinner drinks to appetizers, to dessert..So if you have a tutorial coming down the pike for that one..my nose will be pressed to the computer! Great post Sharon!!
Thank you, Shirley. I have a source in mind that is very helpful when planning larger parties. I’ll see what I can do about putting together a tutorial.
When I am planning my meal plans, I try to pick items that take around the same amount of time. This is a great post. Have a super day.
Thanks for commenting, April. I’m so glad you like the post.
These are some great tips! I’m not the best at juggling several dishes, but as I try it gets easier. I always love trying new recipes, but I’ve learned to plan for extra time if it’s a new recipe, or to pair new recipes with more familiar recipes.
Oh, and thanks for linking up to the Take it on Tuesday blog hop!!
Betsy, It definitely gets easier over time. I love trying new recipes too…and I try to follow the same ideas to pair it with something familiar or plan for extra time…no sense in over doing it. That would take the fun out of it. Thanks for hosting the party and for the visit.
Thanks for the tips. It looks like you’ve got this cooking thing down pat! I’m getting there, but sometimes the dishes get away from me, if you know what I mean. If I’m doing too much at once, something will boil over or burn. I’m still working on the multi-tasking thing, I guess.
Glad to pass along any tips I have. But don’t let me fool you, Susan. 😉 I still have the occasional boiling over mess or burnt catastrophe.
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