Dinner Dance by Deborah Southard Does life on the run leave you starved for time?  Here are a few tips print article      send to a friend

The Internet Explosion

With the ever-increasing growth of the Internet there is a wealth of information available at your fingertips and everything from recipes to online chefs can be accessed by a click of the mouse.  While you're racing down the information superhighway, there are a few exits you may want to take.  Planning your dinners has never been so easy with sites such as meals.com.  Simply tell them what your family likes and an e-chef will recommend from thousands of recipes. Star Chefs Quick Meals at starchefs.com is dedicated to quick and easy recipes from top chefs all over the world.  Kraft Interactive Kitchen at kraftfoods.com will deliver your daily recipes to your email address and minutemeals.com will even provide a shopping list.  Soon, you'll even be able to order your groceries online - watch for this service coming to your area.

Kitchenware

The world of the kitchen has come a long way since mom baked cookies for after school snacks.  Since the advent of the microwave, new and more efficient gadgets hit the market every year, but not surprisingly, the most efficient tools are the ones that have stood the test of time. 

Make sure you have sharp knives.  There's nothing worse than struggling with a dull knife when chopping vegetables and meats.  You'll find that sharper knives will cut down on your preparation time and your stress level.  And who wants to be sweating over a hot stove anyway?

Invest in more than one cutting board.  Avoid the hassle of cleaning your cutting board after chopping each ingredient.  You can also avoid contaminating your vegetables with raw meat in this way.  Buying dishwasher safe cutting boards will make clean up easier and eliminate the bacteria that builds up in wooden ones.

Stock your utensil drawer with a pair of kitchen scissors.  For everything from cutting meat to snipping the prickly ends off artichoke leaves, this is one gadget that will never let you down.  And remember to make sure they are dishwasher safe.

Other time saving utensils include:  colanders (buy several), non-stick cooking spray, and microwave-safe measuring containers

Chef's Corner

So what do the experts say? "Do your shopping on Sunday," recommends Sonny Yilmaz, chef and manager of Daily's Restaurant in La Jolla, California.  If you plan your meals out on the weekend you won't be scrambling after work to come up with ideas and you'll be less likely to take the easy way out and pick up a pizza on the way home.  Make Friday night "spaghetti night" - by making this a recurring theme you'll have one less meal to plan.  And although it's not healthy to eat out every night, going out to dinner once a week can save you from more work.

Another solution may be to hire a personal chef.  For a fee, a personal chef will bring their own utensils, do your shopping, come into your home and cook delicious and nutritious meals for you.  They can even cook for the whole week, sticking the rest of the week's dinners in the freezer for you to defrost at your own convenience.  The American Personal Chef Association has a website where you can locate a chef in your area.

Here's a great recipe that creates two dishes in one:

Ingredients:

Tomatoes

Fresh basil

Black olives

Olive oil

Salt

Pepper (optional).

Directions:

Put water for pasta on the stove to boil.  Slice up tomatoes (salad size pieces) and shred basil into 50-cent size pieces.  Keep olives whole, or cut in half.  Divide into 2 bowls.  Cover one half of ingredients with plastic wrap and put in fridge.

In the 2nd bowl, add the salt, pepper, and olive oil, and toss.  When water comes to a boil, add one handful of rock salt (or 2 handfuls of regular salt).  When it has returned to a boil, add pasta.  When pasta is 'al dente,' drain and add pasta to pre-tossed ingredients; mix thoroughly.  Enjoy your pasta salad!

The next evening, pull out ingredients you covered.  Chop pieces of Buffalo Mozzarella into cubes and add to mixture then add salt, pepper and olive oil.  Enjoy your Mediterranean Salad