Once, Twice, Three Times a Minestrone.

Want to cut down the amount of time you spend in the supermarket and the kitchen? Who doesn't? Good news is that there is one simple way to do just that. Plan ahead. Instead of purchasing for unique new recipes every day of the week, stick with a variation on one theme. You can stretch your meals, budget and time by cooking a main recipe once and using it 2 or 3 times throughout the week in different forms.

 

 

 

Take this recipe for Red Pepper Braised Ribs for instance. You can double your recipe in a large pan and it won't take any longer to cook. The first night you make it you can enjoy it as a main course. Then pull leftovers off of the bone and store in the fridge for a few days later in the week.

What can you do with these "planned overs"? Just about anything. From soups to sandwiches, there's an enormous amount of delicious dining opportunity here. You could slather the leftover short rib meat with BBQ sauce and make Spicy Rancher's Sandwiches the next day. Later in the week, you're a step ahead on this recipe for Pesto Olive Minestrone, because the meat is already cooked. There you go: one meat, three meals, using up every last bit of flavor.

Another option is to grill extra pork tenderloin next time you make Grilled Adobo Pork with Mango Olive Salsa. Using leftovers, this recipe for Charred Poblano Pork Quesadillas will be a snap.

If that's too much meat for your taste, consider planned over accompaniments. A tasty Tapenade, pureed olive paste, made with California Ripe Olives is so tasty and versatile; it gives a flavor hit to almost every dish. Make it over the weekend, the spread it, drizzle it or spoon it over all of your old standbys.

Check out our 100s of free recipes for more ways to Olive It Up on a budget.