Teach Your Kids the Right Way to Read a Recipe

Actually Read the Recipe

This sounds annoying to me, too. But...hear me out. You will save yourself time, maybe a mess, and extra dishes to wash if you read the entire recipe before you do a single thing.

Sometimes there are ingredients buried in the instructions (like water). Or the instructions will require you to divide one ingredient into different steps of the process (like 2 Tablespoons melted butter in the skillet and the other 2 Tablespoons in the cornbread batter).

And...if you just don't want to read a recipe...I have the perfect membership for you! In my membership Teach Your Kids to Cook there are short (less than four minute) videos showing you step-by-step how to make a meal. They are so easy my sons are actually demonstrating how to make the recipe in most of the videos. Click here to find out more about the membership.

Gather Tools

This is especially helpful if you are a beginner cook. As you gain kitchen experience, you will become more adept at improvising. You may have to choose a different recipe altogether if your kitchen is not yet stocked with something you need for a particular recipe. It's easier to pivot before you purchase ingredients. 

Inventory Ingredients

Gather all the ingredients you already have. Then make a grocery list for ingredients you need to purchase.

Is it ready yet?

Cooking times are only estimates because factors like humidity, elevation, room temperature, and the amount of heat your oven produces all affect the actual time it will take to cook in your kitchen.

While it is helpful to use the cooking time listed as a reference, you will want to look for the other clues in the recipe to tell you when it's time to dig in! You might read a recipe that tells you to bake 30 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly and golden brown. Or when a toothpick inserted into a cake comes out clean, the cake is done. Or the recipe might tell you to cook until the food reaches a specific temperature.

Note Time Required To Make the Recipe From Start to Finish

Determine how much time you'll need to make the recipe. Yes, there might be cooking time. But is there a resting period? Does the dough need to rise overnight? Is there a suggested time to marinate ingredients?

Work Backwards

This is a tip I learned from my mom! Decide what time you want to eat then work backwards to figure out when you need to start cooking. If the macaroni and cheese needs to cool 10 minutes, bake 30 minutes, and it takes 13 minutes to boil the pasta, you can plan to start gathering your ingredients about an hour before you plan to eat.