When you cook in a multi-gen home, sometimes the kitchen gets crowded. What do you do if there are too many cooks in the kitchen? How do you figure out how to make cooking together work?
We have 5 adults in our house. Not all 5 cook, but there are times when there are 4 of us trying to cook dinner around the same time. We don’t have the biggest kitchen. And as we’ve learned living here, it’s not the best setup for a large family.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great kitchen. As long as there’s only 1 or 2 people trying to work in there at one time!
Making the kitchen work
So, how do you handle when there are too many cooks in the kitchen?
Over the last few years, we’ve learned some ways to make cooking in a multi-gen home work:
- Decide if everyone will be eating the same meal. Now, this will change and not be the same all the time. But, if you have a general idea if everyone will be eating the same meal, then cooking dinner becomes easier.
- Create workstations in your kitchen. This is one of the easiest ways to make working in the kitchen more comfortable. By having separated workstations, everyone won’t step on each other while cooking.
- Meal plan. Planning out the meals for the week (or longer) takes the stress out of cooking dinner. You already know what you’re having, so there’s less running around in the kitchen.
- Meal prep. Meal prep can take some time and work, but it truly makes getting dinner ready easier. Especially during the workweek! Meal prep work done on another day saves time during the weeknight. This also helps cut down on so many people in the kitchen.
- Make a schedule. Create a schedule of who will cook when. This is especially important in a small kitchen. Having a schedule organizes the meals. So you finish cooking at a reasonable time.
These are just some ideas to make cooking in the kitchen easier.
What we do
In our house, sometimes we all have the same meal, which makes making it easier. And other times, we make 2-3 different dinners. If we’re having one of those nights, then my parents prep in the morning or early afternoon. This means most of the cooking is finished by the evening. Then, when I’m home, I cook without having to fight for space in the kitchen.
I also like to meal plan and meal prep. But I’ll be honest, some weeks I’m better than others! We find it works best if I meal plan alongside my mom. Some meals we can all have the same thing. Other times, we can have the same sides while the entree is different. But planning together makes it easier.
Having a lot of cooks in the kitchen is hard. But using these tips will make cooking together enjoyable again. How do you do dinners in your house?
I hope all the cooks participate in the grocery shopping too, if they are able! Also, do you folks have and extra freezer or fridge to store bargains from the grocery and leftovers and frozen made-aheads? XOX
I don’t know – sometimes I like being the only one going to the grocery store! 🙂 Usually it’s either my parents or Eric and I going, because we often buy food for separate meals. But, we talk to each other about who is buying what, and we usually have a general list of items we need, so that whomever is going to the store next, can pick up the needed items.
Oh we have not just the main fridge, but another fridge, and an upright freezer too. And talk of getting another freezer, lol.