Whether you’re a brand new cook or an experienced one, there are plenty of sources of frustration in the kitchen. No matter what your cooking skills are like, little annoyances can make preparing a meal much more stressful. Here are some cooking tips that will help preparing your meals go a little more smoothly.

For those dishes that have longer cooking times, you will want to add your spices and herbs about an hour or so before eating. If these spices are cooked too long, then the resulting flavors may be too strong. In addition, it’s best to keep it simple by not using any more than three herbs or spices in any dish.

Think about buying large beef roasts or pork shoulders to make during one of your weekend nights. After you have this for dinner, store it in your fridge so that you will be able to create many different types of sandwiches, as the week progresses. Maximize your value and limit your expenses by conserving food.

If you are having a big party, one of the worst things that you can do is to put dressing on the salad. Since the salad will sit out for a long time, it will probably get soggy after a while. Instead, leave an assortment of dressings out for people to choose.

Have you ever struggled with grilling meat? You can purchase a meat thermometer to ensure that the inside of your grilled meat is cooked to satisfaction. For meat that is more than an inch and a half thick, you might want to close the lid of the grill to decrease the cooking time.

Before cooking pumpkins, cut them up and place them on a baking sheet flesh side up. Once the pumpkin is cut, place it on a dampened baking sheet with the skin facing up. Sprinkle a tiny bit of water on them and bake at 350 degrees for about an hour.

Measure cooking oil out. To lower the quantity of fat you use when cooking, see to it that you measure the oil you are using, as opposed to just pouring it into the pan from the bottle. If you know exactly how much oil you’re using, you know exactly how much fat has been added.

Marinate meat in a bag. A lot of recipes call for meat to be marinated in a dish for a few hours, turning occasionally. This can be frustrating, as the meat is never completely coated by the marinade. A better way is to throw the meat and marinade in a ziploc bag, remove as much air as possible, and shake well to coat the meat. Place it in the fridge and simply flip the bag occasionally.

There are plenty of things you can do to take the stress out of cooking. Now that you’ve read this article, you have plenty of advice you can apply the next time you head to the kitchen. Now that you have these tips, you may find you’re willing to try cooking something a little more challenging.