Um, what IS mise en place, you might ask? and why can it help?

Let's start with a good ol' definition, thanks to Wikipedia:

"Mise en Place is a French culinary phrase which means "putting in place" or "everything in its place". It refers to the setup required before cooking, and is often used in professional kitchens to refer to organizing and arranging the ingredients (e.g., cuts of meat, relishes, sauces, par-cooked items, spices, freshly chopped vegetables, and other components) that a cook will require for the menu items that are expected to be prepared during a shift."

Now don't lie, I know all of you have started a dish and realized, oh man... I don't have any butter [or something of critical value]. And my kids will attest that you can't make chocolate chip cookies without chocolate chips!

So, yes, it's about PRE-paring. Take the time to go thru and measure it all out. Each ingredient is sitting patiently waiting for their time in the spotlight. [And this also prevents you from forgetting an ingredient, which, um, I've NEVER had problems with of course...]

NOW this also goes for your equipment too. Rummage thru that junky drawer and find all your cooking tools before you start, not while the garlic is burning and causing the fire alarm to go off [again, it's NEVER happened to me...I heard a friend once did this.]

NOW can you imagine how the stress level of cooking has gone from a 10 to at least a 5? Or maybe a 6 for my husband... he always like to rush around. I don't mind because he's such a great cook. 

So I challenge you to get into the kitchen and get your Mise en Place groove on, turn on Spotify and rock out your next meal with your family and friends.