1. Both. We don't save a ton of money as we tend to buy mostly from local organic farmers (except for buying 5 lb boxes of blueberries for 20 bucks, etc.) 2.

1. Both. We don't save a ton of money as we tend to buy mostly from local organic farmers (except for buying 5 lb boxes of blueberries for 20 bucks, etc.) 2. Yes and No. We cook for the majority of the week on sundays. So we'll cook 3 or more large-ish meals (with enough leftovers). That means most nights are simply up for reheating or some sort of finishing. One or two weeknights i'll do something else as well (fire up the grill, put something in the sous vide in the morning, etc.) 3. Yes. Seriously. We'll try to cook anything and everything. We tend to try to cook based on season (so now that it's fall there's going to be lots of root veg...probably lots of braises, stews, soups, etc.). I like to grill a lot as it's simple and makes most things taste great (really lets the ingredients shine). 4. Nope. Wife is pretty paleo. Kiddo (2 yrs ish) eats everything except potatoes. Weirdo. 5. As most have mentioned brush up on knife skills and keep 'em sharp. Beyond that I think it depends on what you're trying to optimize. If you're trying to cut down on prep time, etc. then learn to make things in bigger batches and / or things that take very little time (a quick pizza will take 15 mins with a decent dough...boom..some bocconcini...some olive oil or pesto...in the oven...pull it out and toss on some prosciutto and arugula and a couple pinches of salt. Melt in your mouth ridiculous). Beyond that I tend to to get into trying to make something perfect (for me) over time. My latest kick was chicken pot pie. I can honestly say mine is the best I've ever had (and I make it a point to try it at any fancy places). Granted I probably cooked around 2 or 3 dozen of 'em trying little differences. Anyways..those are 2 different optimizations...optimizing for prep time / yield and optimizing for taste. There are also in betweens...like sous vide techniques..which can knock out both of those. Cooking is like startups..don't be afraid of failure. Worst it'll cost you is a couple bad tastes and a couple bucks (salmonella and cross-contamination aside).