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Although I have time at home to cook the old fashioned way, I prefer to prep things in advance so that when I have those busy days or the stores are closed here, I always have something on hand to eat.I know that much of what I will write, you can already find in the grocery stores in the states, whereas I cannot here, although am starting to find them. BUT the point is, if we can make it at home we can save that bit of money, and assure us of the quality of what we eat. No, am not ready for assuming the Grizzly Adams role in the wild just yet----wouldnt want to break a nail! hahahahahahah! Sorry just a bit of humor, and in these weeeeee bit dark times that we live in----humor IS good!

• I have 3 sizes of food grinders, the smallest is just a bit larger than a Krups coffee grinder which is excellent for the smaller stuff. 
• Get a bulb of garlic, clean all the cloves, pop in a grinder, mince well, put in a clean babyfood size jar, cover with olive oil and keep in the fridge. Since there are no preservatives this lasts about 2 weeks if not more just smell it after about that time and you will be able to smell if it starts going bad. Also the good part of this is that if you cover with more than enough oil, you end up getting a garlic flavored oil to drizzle over your bruschetta or whenever you cook. BTW you can do the same with onion and I also do this with fresh parsley. Although am going to try to find those really small ice cube trays and freeze them. Will let you know how it works or if any of you do the freezer method let me know.
• We all know Pesto, easiest thing to make, and Basil is the easiest thing to grow,and if you trim the basil stalks about a 1/4 to a 1/2 way down, you will end up with a basil bush. Trust me I tried it and have a planter the diameter of a large aluminum trash can that was filled with basil leaves. Now with all that basil, pity to waste it, so you make pesto, put it in small containers and freeze. When you are running late, just cook some pasta, defrost some pesto, mix and dinner is served.
•  Now here is a different twist on pesto. Instead of using basil, I prefer Arugula. Here is the link from wikipedia and it explains well where you can find it and its varied uses--hey even mentions my Puglia region--YEAH! 
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eruca_sativa   OK so, I get alot of rucola leaves and grind them with pesto ingredients, then I pour it into ice cube trays, freeze and when completely frozen, pop the cubes out into a ziploc freezer bag and when I need them just grab the needed cubes and toss with pasta(after having defrosted).
• These pestos can be spread on pizza and toasted french bread, tossed with pasta. If you want something a little more outrageous, mix in some of that leftover chicken like a chicken salad with a twist.
• Oh and BTW, if your leaves are store bought, which for the cost of things might not be wise-grow your own- I soak all my leafy veggies in water with baking soda for about 10 mins, and then rinse well, they say that it helps to strip some of the pesticides.Especially if you will be eating them raw. May be true because baking soda is great to clean with. 
• Breadcrumbs, I usually mix my own here, we dont have that Progresso type. You can go to a bakery and if they have day old bread, and hardened, grind it into breadcrumbs, mix in salt and pepper, garlic powder, dried parsley and pop in the fridge, when you need it throw in a handful of grated cheese. But do not put the cheese in the breadcrumbs that you keep in the fridge because grated cheese does spoil. But if you use these breadcrumbs often enough then go ahead and add. Then your crumbs are ready whenever you need, coating porkchops, or chicken breasts.
• I do the toasted breadcrumbs for the Pasta di San Giuseppe and always have extra on hand in the fridge since it has no cheese, just salt and pepper, it lasts a good while.

Here are just a few starters and I will add as I go along. Because tricks in the Kitchen are endless. Enjoy. Blessings to you all!