Level I - Cooking for the Freezer
Cooking for the freezer is the biggest time-saving technique for Busy Cooks, so it is the base of the pyramid. Experienced cooks know that dinner in the freezer is like money in the bank. Some cookbooks even refer to this technique as "investment cooking".

Here's what I do to make investment cooking easy and painless. Once a week, usually during the weekend, I find the time to make a triple amount of a recipe that freezes well. It doesn't take that much longer to make a double or triple amount of a dish, than a single amount. Two of the three are frozen for the future, and the third I refrigerate for weekday enjoyment. This weekend cooking doesn't take much time. It may be as little as 15 minutes (for something like Pork Barbecue made in the crockpot) or as much as 1 hour and 15 minutes (for Lasagna), for 3 main dish meals. I add two main dish meals to my freezer each week, so I can pull two different, previously made main dish meals from my freezer each week. For this one bout of cooking, I get three different ready weekday meals! That's a great return on the investment! Each weekend I focus on a different major ingredient, rotating through poultry, beef, meatless, seafood, etc. This gives me a nice selection of ready made meals in my freezer at all times.

It will initially take you 4 - 6 weeks of this weekly cooking to stock your freezer with a good variety of meals. Then, as long as you continue to make one tripled recipe a week for freezing, you will always have a supply of ready-made main dishes on hand. I always have 30 - 40 in my freezer at any one time. And all it takes is about an hour a week!

Busy Cooks' Pyramid

Level II - Planned Leftovers
Level One of the Busy Cooks Pyramid (Cooking For The Freezer) takes care of three weekday meals with just a small weekly investment of time. Level Two, Planned Leftovers, will provide one weekend dinner plus one or more weekday meals.

Cook a big meal one day and use the leftovers as the basis for one or two additional meals later in the week. Ham on Sunday and ham casserole on Tuesday. A roast turkey on one day results in Turkey Tetrazzini and Turkey Salad on other days.

Level III - Quick & Easy Dishes
Level One of the Busy Cooks Pyramid (Cooking For The Freezer) takes care of three weekday meals with just a small weekly investment of time. Level Two, (Planned Leftovers), provides one weekend dinner plus one or more weekday meals. Levels III, IV, and V will help you fill in any remaining meals.

The mainstay of every busy cook's repertoire is a collection of recipes for quick dishes that practically make themselves. The trick behind these recipes is that they do more than just provide fast food. They take advantage of easily prepared, quick-cooking ingredients and minimum equipment so you are in and out of the kitchen fast. Keep a list of the easiest dishes that are family favorites. Always having the ingredients on hand for these dishes is an effective way to prevent eating out when you are running late or have an especially busy afternoon.

Level IV - Fast Ingredients
There are certain ingredients that are the busy cook's best friends and should always be on hand in your cupboard, freezer or refrigerator for quick meals. These staples have several advantages in common. They are basic, but very versatile, so they can be dressed up or down. They are popular with young and old alike. As a bonus, they generally tend to be inexpensive. Most important, they are quick and easy to prepare. Make sure that your pantry is stocked with these items at all times. For me, they include chicken broth, rice, pasta, canned or frozen meat and vegetables, cheese, and cream of chicken or mushroom soup. With items like these on hand I can put together a pot of soup or a casserole that will go from preparation to table in 20-30 minutes.

Level V - Tools & Techniques
Kitchen appliances and cooking techniques have come a long way since our mothers' days. All these hi-tech gadgets and cooking methods can save you lots time in the kitchen. Here are some tools and techniques that the busy cook shouldn't be without! Without planning the use of these tools and techniques into your day, they will sit useless on the counter. An article I read pointed out that while we do not have servants like the Proverbs 31 woman, these tools are the modern day equivalent to the "servants" mentioned in Proverbs 31. By giving your "servants" their instructions for the day, you allow them to serve you while you attend to other matters. This was an enlightening revelation to me and has motivated me to make more consistent use of these electronic "servants".

Microwave - my favorite tool for defrosting all those prepared ingredients and meals from the freezer

Crockpot - used weekly and almost always on ballet day when we are gone from 3:30pm until 7:30pm

Bread Machine - I prefer to make large batches of bread by hand, but this can come in handy for those who prefer one loaf at a time and is great for getting pizza dough ready just in time for lunch.

Recipe Software - there are many available for purchase or free to download online (just google "recipe software"). Review for Recipe Software.

Shopping list software - I love this because once I have prices at my local stores programmed into it I can drag and drop my list from a selection of items and it will not only print it by category (saving me time running back to an aisle where I forgot something) but it gives me a total price for the trip right on the list.

Grill - good tool for quick meals but also for preparing ingredients for the freezer like grilled chicken or vegetables.

Pressure Cooker - although this isn't one of my personal favorites it is useful and some cooks couldn't live without the convenience of a pressure cooker.

Making consistent use of the five levels of the Busy Cooks' Pyramid will free up valuable time and ease the pressure on your at mealtime. Knowing that there are extra meals in the freezer, that your "servants" are at work for you, or that you have fast ingredients on hand cuts down on trips through the drive-thru or take-out. Having few last minute preparations to put a nice quick and well-balanced meal on the table also allows your children or spouse to easily help out when you cannot be home at meal preparation time. Enjoy the freedom that the Busy Cooks' Pyramid can bring to your life!

Lynn Nelson is the former guide for About.com's Busy Cooks where she developed the Secrets of a Busy Cook and the Busy Cooks' Pyramid.