by Cat McD

Created on: July 03, 2007   Last Updated: December 01, 2011

Everyone I know is "on-the-go" these days which leads to a lot of fast food drive thru action to make sure that everyone gets something for dinner. Cooking is the last thing on busy people's minds. But it doesn't have to be that way. The family dinner table is not a thing of the past and you'll find that you CAN cook good, tasty meals, without forfeiting a great deal of family time. All it takes is a little pre-planning and a desire to get yourself out of the fast food craziness that has become your life.

Plan Ahead:
Come up with a plan. I'm not much on meal planning but I do have several easy recipes in my arsenal that I make on a regular basis. When you have some recipes committed to memory, it all goes together much more quickly.

Stock it up:
Have a well stocked pantry, refrigerator and freezer. Every cook has a set of "staples", ingredients used on a regular basis which they keep on hand at all times. These are individual to the cook making the meals so my list might not be your list. Think about what you make regularly and the ingredients that go into those meals. Make sure you always have them on hand. I can't live without boxed chicken and beef stock, but not everyone may use those.

Clean it and Cut it:
This is the biggest time saver. Clean, cut and store properly the food that you've purchased at the store. A few minutes of prep work after the grocery shop will save you loads of time during the week. Don't get stuck in the kitchen on a Tuesday night cutting carrots and onions while the family is screaming that they are starving to death! Have all that stuff done ahead of time. The grocery stores are now getting very helpful with the preparation of fresh food and offer many things pre-sliced, cut or cubed that will save you the time. You'll pay a little more for the privilege of not having to slice it yourself, but it's a great time saver. Don't underestimate the power of a bag of pre-shredded lettuce!

Freezing Meat:
If you've purchased meat, store it in portions in the freezer. I cook for a family of 3 so when I freeze meats I make sure that each bag has enough meat in it to feed 3 people. Hamburger was always the bane of my existence. The store sells it to you in one huge lump. But don't freeze it that way unless you intend to wait an exorbitant amount of time for it to thaw and plan to use the entire lump all at once. Once meat is frozen and thawed, it can't be re-frozen unless it's cooked. To prevent this problem, I've found that taking the hamburger,

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