The 8" chef knife is pretty much the only thing I ever use. I've tried many gadgets and single-taskers, but it's almost always a bother. The chef knife will get anything done in no time.

OK, I hit a home run on the cook front last night. I stopped at a local Mexican food store and bought some just-out-of-the-oven corn tortillas. At home, I threw together fresh guacamole, then folded some jack cheese into the tortillas and made quesadillas. It was super tasty, the guacamole added some key healthy vegetables, and the whole thing took < 30 minutes. And there was minimal clean-up. I'm definitely doing that one again. Maybe I'll add black beans next time and/or pick up a rotisserie chicken.

Ed, I totally agree with watching what you eat. If you cook good food and a variety of food, it's amazing how much of it kids love and how they choose good food over junk food if given the choice. Good call on the weekends. We usually do one decent sit down during the week and usually each meal is a nice home cooked meal.