Efficiency Overrules Time

It's like rock, paper, scissors. Time might beat out many an obstacle for weeknight dinners, but efficiency can overcome the tightest constraints. How does a cook become efficient if not through practice? Practice certainly helps, but here are a few tips that are more mental that physical. 1) Rethink your concept of dinner: When you pull out the recipe books, you don't have to search for the perfect meal, complete with cocktails, innovative sides, and dessert. Keep it simple and broaden your repertoire as you go. 2) Prep: I cannot emphasize this enough. That means thinking through your shopping list in advance, marinating meat overnight, slicing veggies all at once even though you won't need them all for another day. Prepare whatever you can in advance, and leave only the final touches for when you come home. 3) Use leftovers: No longer think of these as the scraps from one night's meal. Turn pork tenderloin into wraps, broccoli into calzones, and roll spinach into chicken breasts. This saves money as well as time.