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Make your potatoes ‘baked’ in the microwave

When you want to serve a baked potato as a side dish or as a main course, you do without cooking it in the oven, which can take up to 1 hour + preheat time. Instead, simply pierce the potatoes with a fork as usual, place them on a microwave-safe plate, and set the cooking time based on the number of potatoes you have: 7-8 minutes for one, 10-12 for two, 14-18 minutes for four. To check if they are done, gently squeeze the sides. If they give easily, they’re done. If not, return to microwave for 1-minute increments until done.

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Prepare the whole dinner on a tray

Skillet dinners may not be completely free, but they do relieve you of any cooking responsibilities. All you have to do is chop up a bunch of veggies with your protein of choice, then season and bake. It’s healthier than pan-frying, and roasting adds a greater depth of flavor to the food. Not to mention that the combinations are endless.

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Cook dinner in one pot

Los one pot dishes they are very practical because they save a lot of cleaning, and some of them cook all the ingredients together at the same time. Others simply require adding ingredients as you go. Make it vegetarian if you want to minimize cooking time and avoid worrying about whether the meat is cooked through.

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Limit the ingredients

When you’re short on time, stick to simple recipes with just a handful of ingredients. Pasta carbonara is the perfect example, requiring only six ingredients. Of course, the fewer ingredients you use, the faster the preparation time will be. Here is our recipe for authentic pasta carbonara. Or, if you’re looking for more recipe inspiration, here you go. delicious ideas with 5 ingredients or less.

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like breakfast at dinner

Since breakfast is usually a much simpler and quicker affair than dinner, why not switch things up and have breakfast for dinner? You can have a bowl of cereal, which takes less than a minute to prepare. Or prepare some fried, scrambled or frittata eggs. Tortillas are also a delicious option and infinitely customizable to your liking.

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Pick up a rotisserie chicken on the way home

Cooked rotisserie chickens are a great way to get food on the table quickly. All you have to do is cut it or use the meat in the recipe of your choice. You can quickly make chicken salad sandwiches or chicken tacos, toss it into a soup, or serve it immediately with your favorite side dish. And what’s better, you can use the leftovers for the next day’s meals. here we leave you 25 easy side dish ideas.

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Take advantage of a can of tuna

Canned fish, such as tuna, salmon, mackerel, and sardines, are an excellent source of protein for dinner and will cut down on prep time dramatically. Stuff canned tuna into avocados with other fresh vegetables for a healthy meal without cooking. Or mix flaked salmon with ingredients to make salmon cakes that cook in no time. Mackerel and sardines can be used for quick toast and would go great with fresh lemon juice, olive oil and marinated vegetables.

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Make dinner…in a mug!

When cooking for one person, try the old cup food trick. There are plenty of single-serving recipes you can microwave this way, and even if you’re not a college kid anymore, it’s still better than having to dirty a few pots and pans. You can also do the dessert in a cupif you fancy a sweet after dinner.

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Use an electric kettle to make the water boil faster

Waiting for water to boil is annoying, especially when you just need to cook pasta for a quick and easy dinner. Our recommendation? Invest in a high-quality electric kettle. Electric kettles are designed to boil water in a matter of minutes (2-3, compared to 10-15 on stovetops). Afterwards, you just have to pour the boiling water into a pot, turn up the heat and it’s ready! This is especially handy when you don’t have to boil large amounts of water.

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Defrost meat in the microwave

Forgot to defrost the meat in the fridge for dinner? Don’t worry. Use your microwave’s defrost setting to safely and quickly defrost meat right from the freezer. Some models allow you to enter the total weight to calculate a more accurate defrost time. If not, start in small 3-4 minute increments, keeping an eye on the meat to make sure it doesn’t start to cook on the outside. Again, this method is best for cooking small portions of meat, and be sure to cook immediately after thawing.

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Use frozen vegetables

Frozen vegetables are a great way to make cooking easier. You can buy them prepackaged in the frozen food section, or cut up fresh vegetables and freeze them yourself. When you need vegetables for a quick dinner, they’re a great way to cut down on prep time (no chopping required). They also cook faster than fresh vegetables because they are not as firm. And an advantage: it is not necessary to defrost them if they are used for hot recipes, such as roasts or soups.

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Use the slow cooker

If you don’t already have a slow cooker, you’re missing out. It literally does all the cooking for you, and there are tons of cooking recipes that require virtually no preparation before you “throw in” the ingredients and turn the slow cooker to high or low heat. You can do it in the morning and come home to a hot and ready dinner later. Or let a large recipe cook overnight, then portion the food into airtight containers the next morning, and you’ve got meals ready for the week!

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Take advantage of frozen proteins

Frozen lean proteins like precooked or raw shrimp, precooked burgers, or veggie burgers are great options to get dinner on the table right away. Although pre-cooked frozen meals aren’t as good as fresh, they’re perfect for those busy weeknights when you might otherwise be tempted to order takeout. If you are going to buy frozen prawns, opt for the wild ones and not the farm-raised ones. They are safer and taste much better.

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‘Spiralize’ your vegetables

The spiralizer is a great tool for quick dinners. You have to turn the handle to get the vegetables into their noodle shape, but once that’s done, you can use them to make a cold salad or briefly sauté them for your favorite imitation pasta recipe. In any case, spiral dishes are quick, healthy and easy to prepare.

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Pound the meat to tenderize it

If you want the whole chicken breasts to cook faster and more evenly, first pound them with a meat mallet to an even thickness. Be sure to place the chicken breasts between two plastic sheets to prevent the liquid from the raw chicken from spreading all over the kitchen. If you don’t have a meat mallet, you can use another heavy object, like a jar. This method is best for frying or sautéing chicken.

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