Everyone has to eat, but recently it seems like it’s harder and harder to find the time to head into the kitchen and cook a delicious, healthy meal from scratch. If you’re finding yourself pressed for time, you can use the tips in this article to whip up some inexpensive meals that still taste great.

Easy measuring cup clean up. Many baking recipes call for sticky ingredients such as butter, honey, syrup or peanut butter. Instead of having to wash out a gooey mess every time you need to reuse the measuring cup, spray the inside of the cup with non-stick cooking spray. The ingredients will slide right out and you can reuse the measuring cup right away!

One of the things that you will need to make sure of is that you do not store your spices above the stove, as this can reduce their quality upon use. Store all of your spices in a cool temperature to maximize the level of flavor that you taste upon consumption.

To increase the texture and quality of the pasta that you cook at night, make sure that you finish cooking with the pasta in the pan with sauce. This will help to absorb the sauce so that it blends in properly and tastes great when you sit down to the table and eat.

If you are following a recipe, make sure that you do not follow this religiously, as you should always add a personal spice to your meal. Instead of following a pizza recipe to the tee, add some red pepper to inject a punch into your dish to make it unique and individualized.

After you have cooked a meal for someone, never rush them into eating as you should always take your time and engage in conversation to give your body a chance to digest. Part of the meal is the smells and aromas it gives off while the other part is your actual consumption.

Do you enjoy using fresh basil in your dishes? Take some fresh basil and put some of it in a glass. Pour water in the glass until the stems of the fresh basil are completely covered. It will remain fresh for a good amount of time just sitting on the kitchen counter! If you pay close attention and frequently change the water in the glass, you are likely to see basil roots starting to grow. While the basil is alive and thriving, make sure you trim the leaves in order to progress the growth of the plant. You will have plenty of fresh basil on hand.

When you are going to fry a food, use long tongs to add food to the oil. For about five seconds, hold the food just underneath the surface of the oil and release it. By placing a food into oil this way, the exterior of the food will be sealed and it will not likely stick to the pan.

Cooking may seem like a chore, but there’s no reason you have to spend hours in the kitchen slaving over a hot stove to produce a delicious home-cooked meal. The tips you’ve read in this article will help you put a great-tasting meal on the table, in what seems like no time at all.