Whether you're running home from work, driving the carpool circuit or picking up one child at play rehearsal and the other across town at the end of their cross country run, the start of school means that there's less time to cook dinner than there was just a few short weeks ago. However, there are a few things you can do so that you can walk in the door and have dinner ready in no time.

Cook your grains ahead and freeze them. We all know that brown rice is a healthy way to go, but it takes nearly 40 minutes to cook, which tucks it neatly out of quick-dinner range. However, you can make a large pot of rice (quinoa, barley and millet also freeze nicely), pack it into freezer-safe containers and just microwave it for a few minutes just before you're ready to eat.

Use your slow cooker. Pull that old crock pot out of the closet, basement or wherever else you have it stashed and fire it up. You do a few minutes of prep and it will spend the rest of the day working for you. While soups, stews and chili are the classic slow cooker meals, you can also use them to roast whole chickens, braise cuts of meat or get a good simmer on your spaghetti sauce. Check out Flylady's slow cooker page for a whole bunch of recipes and tips.

Smaller pieces cook faster. If you are the type to do your dinner prep over the weekend or the night before, take a few more minutes and cut those pieces just a little smaller. I had a friend who would often cut chicken breast into small pieces when she brought it home from the store, pour marinade over it and freeze it. In the mornings before she left for work, she'd just remove the packet she wanted to cook that night, pop it into the fridge (in a bowl to catch any melt) and it would be ready to go when she got home.

Veggies don't have to be complex. Remember your basics. Steamed broccoli or cauliflower are easy. Just break apart the florets and toss them in a pot with a couple of inches of water at the bottom. Cook for 5-7 minutes until they are fork tender. If you want to get fancy, a quick sauce of mayo and lemon juice drizzled on top is easy to whip up.

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