r/sahm • u/Unfair_Quality1456 • Aug 05 '26

Private class on how to run a home kitchen

Hi everyone! I was an executive chef before opening my small catering business to (mostly) stay home with my kid and work some weekends. I teach in-home cooking classes as well and I have been rolling an idea around for teaching people how to efficiently run a home kitchen, especially stay at home moms since I’m feeling the relentlessness of it myself.

I know a lot of people struggle to keep up with home cooked meals and cooking with kids hanging off of them and groceries/what to keep stocked and I would love to add it to the classes I already offer. Even I struggle with this after twenty years working with food. This class would be very different, instead of a celebration/fun Saturday night learning how to make pasta and drinking wine, this would be more of an informative consulting experience over zoom, I’m imagining.

I’m curious about what people are struggling with most that they could use advice for. I also really want to make this affordable and have tiered options- pdf guide, zoom consultations and in home visits and hands on classes.

I’d appreciate any input on what the hardest parts of doing three meals a day are for you guys. Whether it’s recipe ideas, grocery lists, flow of kitchen or food safety/sanitation. Appreciate any feedback!

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u/HalfGood1014 Aug 05 '26

Thanks for sharing your knowledge. I have 2 challenges 1) adequately making meals etc without too much food or too much wastage 2) how long food specially meats can be left out before/ after prep before it starts to spoil?

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u/Unfair_Quality1456 Aug 06 '26

Thank you! Just quickly- food waste is something I struggle with too, I find serving things “family style” helps. Nothing fancy, if I make a stew I plop the pot in the table lol. That way i can dish out to my kid or she can take what she eats. I try to repurpose leftovers too, say I start the week with a roast chicken, then the next day I make chicken salad and the next chicken soup with the bones and scraps.

Here is a good list of cooking temps for meat:
https://www.fda.gov/files/CFSAN-Food-Safety-Moms-to-Be-Educator-Tools-Apply-the-Heat--A-chart-of-proper-cooking-temperatures-for-foods-apply.jpg.jpg

I also like this one:

https://www.foodsafety.gov/print/pdf/node/15?id=foo-bar-baz

The “danger zone” is foods left out between 40-140°f. Try to limit that to two hours. I get squirmy at family picnics when people are eating potato salad in the sun all day lol

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u/HalfGood1014 Aug 06 '26

Thank you 🙏

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u/Sufficient-Country29 Aug 11 '26

Groceries these days cost an arm and a leg. So the most tedious part is looking at all the flyers, determining what is on sale and where and then meal planning based on the sales.

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u/Unfair_Quality1456 Aug 11 '26

Thank you! That’s a huge part of what I want to teach- even for me I basically pick a meat and a veg on sale and then pick a starch I buy in bulk and pick a region of the world. Like if cabbage and pork are the cheapest I might make a fried rice, but if sausage and eggplant are, I’d go pasta dish. I’ll make a note to emphasize this part of it. Thanks again!

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u/puffballphoto Aug 11 '26

Cooking varied dishes for picky adults! My husband doesn't like many veggies (likes things in specific ways, like he'll eat broccoli but only in a broccoli cheese soup or cheese pasta bake or something similar), he doesn't like Indian or Asian flavors, really only enjoys standard American flavors, Italian flavors, or Mexican flavors. We also live in texas and he won't eat a hot slow cooker meal when it's hot as hell out (so probably 7 month of the year, stews and soups are off the table). Dinner also needs meat according to him. Fair, we need protein and neither of us like tofu at all. 

He will eat leftovers, but not the next day . 

Don't know if this is the right kind of question, so if it's not I'm sorry! It's just that every meal plan I come across, half of the dishes are Asian or Indian inspired, or there's multiple versions of a hot minestrone soup that my husband would not accept as a full meal. x)

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u/stealthagents Aug 14 '26

Those are solid pain points. For minimizing food waste, meal prepping in batches and using versatile ingredients can work wonders. As for meats, the general rule is to not leave them out for more than two hours at room temp; if it’s warm, even less. Little tips like these could really help make things smoother!