As a working parent, I know how hard it is to get dinner on the table. And although I'm lucky enough to work in a home office where I can run upstairs to put something in the oven at 4 p.m., I'm definitely not organized enough to do that every day. There are plenty of times I find myself in the kitchen at 5:45 in a panic.

So here are three things I've been doing lately to try to get dinner on the table fast.

1. Think Ahead, So You Don't Have to Think Later

Obviously it's great to prepare and freeze meals on the weekend, but even taking just 15 minutes at the end of the day to plan ahead can make things go faster tomorrow when it's time to cook. If you can do even one of these things the night before, it'll be a big help.

Write it down: Write down the menu and other cooking details on one of those nifty chalkboards or whiteboards or even a piece of paper taped to a cupboard. For me, having a list to look at means having to think less when it's hard to focus because, say, my 3- and 5-year-olds are asking me questions at the same time.

Set it up: Set up the things that take a long time, so the moment you walk in the door you can get them started. Put the pot of water for pasta or rice on the stove so all you have to do is turn the burner on. Go ahead and measure out the rice in a bowl so that's handy too. Put the charcoal in the grill so you can get it fired up fast. Put the preheat temperature on your list so you can turn the oven on right away.

Pull it out: Take meat out of the freezer and put it in the fridge on a plate (so it doesn't make a mess when it leaks). That way it's defrosted and ready to use. Note: Despite the fact that the books and articles talk about doing this "overnight," I find that stuff needs two days to fully defrost — yet another reason to plan ahead.

Get it together: Assemble all of the ingredients so you have them handy when it's time to cook and you don't spend time searching for something. If you've got the energy, do some peeling and chopping and storing in air-tight containers. Wash the lettuce and wrap the leaves in a towel so they don't get slimy. Although it's better not to tear the lettuce until you're ready to use it, it will hold up perfectly fine overnight.

Start cooking: Depending on what you're making and how much time you have the night before, you could start some of the cooking. A simple example is hard boiled eggs. use a spoon to slowly set each egg in gently boiling water. My favorite cookbook says it's best to use a needle to first poke a hole in the broad end (so I keep a safety pin in my utensils drawer or on the windowsill). Cook the eggs for 12 minutes then fish them out with a spoon and place the eggs in a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking.

2. Cook Once, Eat Twice

Always, always, always (OK, almost always) make twice as much food as you need so you'll have leftovers to pop in the freezer or have for lunch the next day. Sure, it can take a little more time to peel, chop two onions instead of one. And, yes, opening four cans/jars of tomatoes takes twice as long as opening two. But really, cooking larger batches takes only a little bit more time than a smaller batch, and it takes way less time than making two separate batches.

3. Keep it Simple, Sexy

I think that's better than, "Keep it simple, stupid," don't you? Here's what I make when I'm pressed for time:

Scrambled eggs, Morningstar Farms veggie sausage, toast and fruit — my 15-minute meal.

Quesadillas: Put a flour tortilla in a grill pan or skillet or on the grill. On 1/2 of the tortilla, sprinkle pre-shredded cheese, canned pinto or black beans (preferably rinsed), and chopped tomatoes or other veggies if you've got the time (or not if you don't). Sprinkle on a little more cheese so it'll hold together and then folk over the empty half of the tortilla. This approach makes the quesadilla much easier to flip. Use a spatula to lift the curved/open end and flip the quesadilla like you're turning the page of a book. Use a lid to melt the cheese faster. Serve with salsa.

Fish cooks very fast. Put one-inch filets of a thick white fish such as grouper or cod basted with olive oil and sprinkled with salt and pepper four inches away from the broiler for 8 to 10 minutes (more for thicker filets). If you can, baste the fish every couple of minutes with a little more oil and rotate or otherwise shift its position so it browns more evenly. Serve with lemon wedges if you have them handy. That's it!

Couscous cooks in five minutes, way faster than rice and pasta. I sometimes stir in chopped tomatoes and feta if it's handy.

I slice up a tomato and sprinkle it with a little balsamic vinegar and salt, maybe some crumbled feta if I have it on hand. This is much faster than making a green salad. Of course, I only do this in the summer when really good tomatoes are available at the farmer's market.

These are just a few ideas. Hope you find them helpful!

Nancy writes once a month for TriangleMom2Mom on food.

Every Wednesday, moms write about what they're eating and what their kids are eating on TriangleMom2Mom.

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