Recipes for oven-roasted vegetables or french fries will often direct cooks to flip the food halfway through the cooking process to ensure it’s evenly cooked.

It can be tricky to remember the flip, though, especially if you set your timer for the full time the food needs to cook, rather than the halfway point.

Thankfully, there’s a convenient trick that can help you skip the halfway flip altogether, thus avoiding unevenly cooked veggies.

The trick is to stick your baking sheet in the oven while it’s preheating. Once the oven is up to temperature, remove the baking sheet, add your vegetables and oil, and roast.

This technique may even speed up cooking times, since the food will start roasting as soon as it hits the baking sheet.

However, when baking, you should not preheat the cookie sheet, since exact times and temperatures are crucial, and things like cookie dough could stick to hot sheets.

Additionally, you should obey baking recipes when they direct you to rotate the pan or switch it between oven racks. This will ensure desserts are baked evenly.