I guess I’m concerned about saving time in the kitchen right now because spring has sprung and yard and garden work is calling. Face it. After a long and exhausting day in the yard, it’s mighty nice to know how to get a meal on quickly and easily.

That said, take a look at these very clever ways to save some time with your kitchen prepping. The food prep brilliance continues!

It wouldn’t surprise me if you smart Cook’n readers already do this. But in the off-chance there are few of you that haven’t thought of this, here you go. Section your packages of ground meat before freezing. This saves time and stretches the meat as well. You can either wrap each sectioned part separately, or just freeze the entire block; the pre-sectioning allows you to break off just what you need for your various recipes.

And here’s a smart bacon-cooking technique. America’s Test Kitchen says “Forget about the cast iron skill. Line a baking sheet with heavy-duty aluminum foil (or two layers of foil) that has been crimped at 1-inch intervals to create a disposable bacon rack. Elevating the bacon keeps it out of the grease and allows hot air to circulate around the bacon, so it cooks and crisps evenly.”

Most of the time whole mushrooms are less expensive than pre-sliced. So go ahead and buy them whole, then use your egg slicer to slice them up, as the photo shows. No muss, no fuss, and easy as pie. (And by the way, this is a slick way to slice strawberries, too!)

If the bottom of your cookies gets a wee bit scorched, brush the grater over the burnt side to buff away the evidence. The photo shows the before and after of this technique. I often do this to any cookies that end up more done than I’d like. I use the crumbs to top ice cream, puddings, cobblers and fruit crisps.

And speaking of grating, apply the idea to butter. When your recipe calls for “dotting with butter” such as a fruit crisp or a breadcrumb-covered casserole (it adds richness and helps browning), grate chilled butter on the large holes of a flat grater to create uniform pieces that are easier to distribute. This is such a simple idea for dotting butter better!

And here’s one of my very favorite time-saving kitchen techniques: Here’s how to measure sticky ingredients without getting stuck. Whether it’s honey or peanut butter, first spray your measuring cups with nonstick cooking spray, then measure your ingredient. Whatever it is, it’ll slip right out.

And another bit of brilliance from America’s Test Kitchen: If your ice cream lasts long enough to get freezer burned (I can’t relate to this, but I’m sure some folks can), try trimming the ice cream container down as you eat your way through it. The lid will still fit the miniaturized container and this reduces the amount of air the ice cream is exposed to (the culprit behind freezer burn).

Finally, here’s a simple way to save some hidden kitchen and food-prep minutes: Stop hunting for grain-cooking instructions; use this quick reference guide instead. I keep it taped inside my cupboard door right above my food-prep station. You can get this at www.blog.goodeggs.com.