Hack a meal in 10 minutes or less. No ramen allowed

A couple of ideas... soak a cedar plank for 3 minutes. Heat on grill on one side for 2 minutes, flip over and pour a good amount of rum on the now warmed side, salmon fillet on top of that, more rum on the salmon, season to taste. Cook for another 5-6 minutes. Grill some asparagus alongside the salmon directly on the grill, seasoned with oil and balsamic vinegar.

Thin porks chops cook quickly, and can be flavored with a mixture of apple cider vinegar, sugar and peppercorns for a sweet/peppery sauce. Cook the sauce along with the 'chops.

Chop up some raw chicken breasts and saute light butter. Cook batch of egg noodles at the same time, and heat some french-cut green beans in the micro. Make a sauce of sourcream, onion soup mix and herbs. Once the chicken and noodles are done, combine all the ingredients as an impromptu casserole. If you're not limited to 10 minutes, add some bread crumbs on top and bake in the oven for a bit to heat everything all the way through and let the flavors combine.

Ingredients: 1) 1/2 jar of sweet and sour cooking sauce that has vegetables in it (Uncle Ben's!) 2) Packet of microwaveable whole-grain rice (the healthy stuff!)

Directions: 1. Microwave the rice for 90 seconds. 2. Put the sauce and vegetables into a bowl and microwave for 90 seconds. 3. Blend the rice into the hot sauce / vegetables.

This is what I eat for dinner every day my girlfriend isn't working the evening shift. Takes 3 minutes. This can also be varied by using frozen vegetables which you defrost first with the microwave on Low for 5 - 10 minutes. You can then blend in tomato ketchup, pickle, onions, and all sorts of stuff to just get a rice + lotsa goodies type meal.

Put some noodles in water over the stove. Grab a can of sauce and put it in another pot on medium.

It really depends on the size, but it could be ready in about 10-15 minutes for a small amount.

If you're entertaining on short notice or limited prep. time it works too. Give yourself about 20 minutes and then you're set for serving yourself and guests!

(Note: Spaghetti done right will take significantly longer. This does not include preparing meat or adding any spices)

(So named because I had to whip this up for Evan Williams when he spoke at YC and we discovered at the last minute he was a vegan. It was better than the official vegetarian dish I'd spent all afternoon cooking. http://www.paulmckellar.com/things/1684-?context=album_42)