10 Ways to Speed Up Dinner-Prep Times

Use 5-minute windows of time to make big headway on making meals.

 Cook Ahead
 Roast the bird. Many dishes reheat well, but poultry is especially prone to drying out. To avoid that problem, roast a chicken or a turkey if you have time during the day, then carve it and store the slices in the refrigerator in a shallow bath of chicken broth. "The meat gets more moist in the broth," says Bushman. "When you reheat it, covered, in the oven (for about 15 minutes at 350° F or until the meat reaches 165° F), you are essentially braising it." 

Roast vegetables. Roasting vegetables is another good do-ahead task. It takes only a few minutes of prep (a little trimming, a drizzle of olive oil) and 30 to 45 minutes at 375° F―enough time for you to get in your morning shower and blow-dry. Dinner prep time is shorter, and roasted vegetables taste great at room temperature.
 
 Make vinaigrette (lots of it). Whip up one good batch of this staple (in its versatility, the "little black dress" of the kitchen) and it will be ready to use―and make you look gourmet-cook good―for up to 3 months. Use it to marinate meat, give a salad a homemade finish, dress up a side dish of vegetables, or add an instant blast of flavor to a cooked burger.
 
Start with this basic recipe: In a medium-size bowl, place 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar, 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard, and salt and pepper to taste; then whisk in 2/3 cup olive oil (don't add garlic or the vinaigrette won't keep). Store in the refrigerator in a shakable container so you can reincorporate the separated oil before serving. (The olive oil will solidify, so be sure to set the dressing out at room temperature about an hour before you want to serve it.) Then "add garlic, curry, basil, dill, lemon, or even puréed olives at the last minute to tailor it to the meal," says Beadell.
 
 Precook pasta. Pasta water takes forever to boil. Who hasn't watched a pot, foot tapping, while other dishes grew cold? One idea: Precook pasta early in the day and you can deduct that time from the dinner hour. Set the water to boil when you're busy doing something else, like packing lunches (remember what they say about a watched pot). Cook the pasta until it's al dente, drain, cover with plastic, and refrigerate. It will reheat (and unstick) quickly when added to the pan with the hot sauce. Another idea: Set the pot of water on the stove in the morning as a reminder to get it fired up on time.
 
 Delegate
 Enlist help. Many children like to help in the kitchen. Just assign them quick jobs so that they can move on when their attention wanes without leaving a crucial task unfinished. "Young kids love anything with water," says Callahan. "Give them a stool and a vegetable brush and set them up washing vegetables." Bonus: "Kids will try 90 percent of the things they help make," says Bushman. 

Her tip for inspiring participation is to buy kitchen tools made specifically for children, such as plastic knives, or color-coded tools, such as cutting boards and spatulas―red for Katie, blue for John. "They'll enjoy their new toys and be excited to use them," says Bushman. She also encourages children to come up with their own secret recipes, for a salad dressing, say, which the family gets to try at dinner.
 
Assign tasks at will, or write them on slips of paper, put them in a bag or a bowl, and let everyone choose his or her job for the night. Here's to being the lucky one who draws "You're off the hook!"