Whether you're cooking solo or for family and/or friends, it can sometimes be an ordeal. This is especially true if your day is already packed full of appointments, errands, meetings, work, and other various tasks that run you down, putting cooking on the, ahem, backburner and out of your list of top priorities. In just a half an hour from the time you cut the first veggie to the time you plate the first dish, you can be eating a hot meal that you can fool your family and friends, and perhaps even yourself, into thinking you spent hours preparing.