Set up the coffee pot the night before so all you have to do is push a button when you enter the kitchen in the morning.

Buy the best lean ground beef you can, the cheaper is too full of fat and you end up throwing a lot of the weight you paid for when you bought the whole package.

Buy flash-frozen chicken sections from the freezer department in the large economy bags, take out only as many as you need and keep the rest in the freezer until you need it.

Look for meat sales and buy up reasonable quantities to freeze; also many stores now have a frozen section on meats which expired on the freeze date, they are often deeply discounted and are perfectly safe if you keep them frozen until ready to cook.

If you have a salad shooter or other similar fast grating device, purchase cheese in the large size bricks, which are more economical. Take some time to grate all of it and divide into 1 or 2 cup quantities and freeze in Ziploc bags labeled and dated.

Subscribe to the weekend, especially Sunday, newspapers. If you don't get around to reading all the paper, at least pull the Sunday food coupon sections out and take some time to cut and categorize in an index box. Only clip those items you know you will need. The savings will more than pay for the newspaper subscription. Look for double coupon days at the supermarket. Combine the coupons with discount sales when possible.

Learn to frequent thrift shops to purchase and have on hand a quantity of Pyrex casseroles, which you can buy, cheaply at such places. The 9 x 9 square size, and the 9 x 13 are great for casseroles and freezer meals. If you have 6 to 8 of these in your cupboard ready and waiting, you can buy up sale items at the store and spend a weekend afternoon assembling freezer meals to have for later. When possible, look for lids which also fit over some types of ovenproof glass casseroles, many of them were produced in the 1960s and have designs around the edges. Corningware-style casseroles also make good freezer-to-oven cookware.

When assembling a casserole for the evening's meal, double the recipe and assemble two instead. Put the extra one in the freezer, labeled with contents and date (use within 2 to 3 mos. for best results).

After cooking a large turkey, chicken or roast, dice up 2-cup portions of the leftover meat and freeze in freezer Ziploc bags, labeled and dated. Then they'll be the right amount to toss into a casserole in the future.

Save vegetable water from cooking or steaming vegetables. Pour it into a glass wide mouth jar you keep in the freezer. Just keep adding to it, even it it's only an inch at a time. Carrot, spinach, squash, pea, beet and potato juices are flavorful. Next time you make soup, just thaw and add for extra vitamins and flavor.

If you made too much salad and there is a substantial amount left over, puree it in the blender, pour into a plastic container and freeze to add flavor later on to hearty style soups.

If something you cook burns the bottom of the pan or casserole, after you take the food out, be sure and put water in the pan immediately along with a drop or two of dish detergent, and let it sit; it will be amazing how fast the charred food will come loose. If it's real stubborn, put in a tablespoon of dishwasher detergent along with boiling hot water and let soak overnight.

Keep your kitchen sink clean by mixing a diluted solution of a quart of warm water and 1/4 cup Clorox, pour over the inside of the sink and let sit for 5 minutes. This is much easier and cheaper than scrubbing. It sanitizes from germs as well. Always wipe up the counter space as you go along and load the dishwasher as you use up items; this keeps the countertops clear for working space.

Another fast way to clean up and sanitize the sink, especially an old one which stains easily, is to heat a teakettle of water to a rapid boil and pour it over the empty sink.