Since most days I don't know exactly how I'll feel, or if I'll be up to cooking, I tend to make up 4-5 recipes at a time on one of my good days. To help accomplish that there are a few things I do to make it easier:
I buy ground meat (beef, turkey, chicken, pork) in larger quantities because it can usually be found cheaper. When I get home I divide it up on my kitchen scale into 1lb sections. I brown and crumble each 1lbs and put it in a labeled freezer bag. The bags go into the freezer to pull out for recipes. Saves a bunch of time.
Cutting up vegetables and fruits takes forever. Even if you have all the latest gadgets, it still takes time. When I buy groceries, I usually plan the next day to cut up all vegetables and put them in little containers in the fridge. I also cut up fruits for recipes or snacking. When I go to make a recipe, I just pull out and measure the amount I need. Easy peasy.
I actually prefer to mix food ingredients with my hands. I've always preferred this. I just enjoy getting my hands in the really mixing it up. However, my skin is already dry enough, and the last thing I need is to have to wash my hands multiple time while cooking. To solve that problem, yet still enjoy mixing by hand, I bought disposable rubber gloves. To me they are as important as any utensil in my kitchen, and I use them constantly.
