(NAPSI)—While celebrity chefs with seemingly unlimited time and resources can turn out a four-star dish with ease, most people have to deal with the real world, where the U.S. Department of Labor saw a 4.8 percent increase in the USDA’s Consumer Price Index for food last year. Fortunately, you can follow three simple tips to become the master of your kitchen.

Plan to Plan Ahead

Make a larger-quantity meal in the beginning of the week and plan on eating it at least two more times later on for lunch or dinner. Sites such as Epicurious.com let you print a shopping list directly from favorite recipes, while GroceryGuide.com makes it easy to find the best deals on groceries in your area. By freeing up the time it takes to think up, shop for and prepare meals, you’ll have more time to dedicate to tackling a new recipe later in the week.

Get Social

Hosting doesn’t have to be stressful. Potlucks can be a great way around the effort associated with cooking. Pick an old standby recipe you know you do well and ask every guest to bring a dish or drink. You can even use the potluck to share recipes. If a dish inspires you, make a mental note. To really spice things up, pick a theme such as Spain or Morocco, set up some music and decorations, and enjoy the sounds and flavors of exotic places at little cost.

Clean Less

For many, the most annoying and time-consuming part of preparing meals is cleaning up afterward. Lasagna bubble-overs, oil splatters and pie drippings are some of the worst offenders, especially in your oven’s interior, where they turn into blackened lava fields of excuses not to clean. Meanwhile, the self-clean mode can take hours and really heat up the kitchen. To solve this problem, there’s a new time-saving, self-cleaning technology known as “AquaLift.” Grime is lifted from the inside of these new ovens with water and low heat, and after a quick wipe down, they’re clean in under an hour. This kind of range from Maytag can save you hours in cleaning, and you won’t have to stay out of the kitchen because you can’t stand the heat. Instead, you can spend the time getting things done.

Learn More

For further kitchen tips, visit www.maytag.com or call (800) 344-1274.

 

On the Net:North American Precis Syndicate(NAPSI)