Kitchen Essentials for Fast Food Prep

One of the best lines in Anthony Bourdain's book Kitchen Confidential is "if you're too lazy to chop it, you don't deserve to eat it" about garlic. He was referring to both garlic presses and the bottled minced garlic, and his sentiment reflects a snobbery held by many chefs. His must-have list reflects his skill and is worth perusing, but for the rest of us, convenience usually wins out over technique and having easy prep tools at hand is a critical element to day-to-day cooking.

Even a bare-bones kitchen needs a few essentials to make evening meals cooking go smoother. In addition to the garlic press, here are a few must-have items for meal prep convenience.

Sharp paring knife. An entire set is nice to have, but a sharp paring knife will do just about any job from cutting fruits and vegetables to slicing and dicing meat. Invest in a good knife that holds its edge, and then keep it sharp. Not only will a sharp knife be more efficient but it is actually less dangerous than a dull knife if you cut yourself because the cut will be less deep and straight.

Food processor. Whether making a puree, dicing a large amount of vegetables, or creating an entire meal, a food processor is an instant time saver for kitchen prep and can shave off huge amounts of time making sauces and dicing. Additionally, the food processor won't cry when dicing onions. The food processor is one of the best kitchen prep tools out there because of its versatility.

Set of measuring cups and a large glass measuring cup. It is inevitable that when cooking you'll use both wet and dry ingredients and it saves time if you don't have to stop to wash the measuring cups. Additionally, the large glass measuring cup is ideal for pouring sauces after you measure out ingredients.

Heavy duty foil. Foil is great to cook in, whether on the grill, covering a broiler pan, for an oven pouch, or even lining a dish. Food cooks faster and clean up is easier. The heavy duty variety stands up to moving food around better than its every day cousin, which lessens the amount of necessary clean up.

Plastic containers with lids. Whether it is Glad-Ware or more substantial, having plenty of plastic containers available is great for extra and unneeded ingredients, for pre-prepared foods for the extra organized individual, and leftovers after the meal.

These items will expedite the cooking process, and make it easier, an especially important part of evening weekday meal preparation.