…Or that could also be “How to make dinner more easily,” because, though they say different things, they’re both accurate, and I am a grammar Nazi.

If you take some pork chops—preferably nothing expensive that’s good for grilling; this is a handy way to use those on-sale chops that aren’t that great grilled or fried—if you take them and cover them with some kind of gravy/sauce (I make up a pack of McCormick’s Pork Gravy and combine it my own homemade white sauce, plus whatever seasonings move me at that moment—though you could certainly use a can of undiluted Cream of Something soup and I would understand), cover it tightly and stick it in the oven at, say, 250° to 300°F, and let it cook for a few hours, you can call it Smothered Pork Chops. And if you take your Black & Decker Handy Steamer (well, okay, mine’s about 20 year old and looks like this) and put some brown rice in it and leave it to cook for about an hour, you have some rice to go under the yummy sauce. And if you then take a package (or can) of frozen (or canned) peas & carrots (peas just seem to go with pork, to me), you have dinner. But—and this is the important part—you’ve hardly had to make dinner. You put the entreé on at 2:30. You put the rice on at 4:45. You do have to go in at some point approaching the dinner hour and take the chops out so the rolls can go in, and start the peas & carrots simmering. But that really doesn’t take much time at all. That barely takes you away from your reading. Or knitting. Or watching the game on TV. Whatever you’re doing that’s way more fun than making dinner!

And, if, like me, you’re in the habit of having a glass of wine or a beer while you’re preparing dinner, this plan moves that first glass up to 2:30. Which does make for a very cheerful Saturday night, indeed.