I think my knife skills are pretty good but I find the prep work is often understated. And for me it's not just chopping/slicing/dicing that is prep. Washing the veggies, getting out the pots and pans, honing the knife. (Washing mixed salad greens can take a while.) It all adds up. I generally do as you Steve and Karen and take as long as it takes, enjoying an adult beverage all along the way. (Wonder if that could be part of the problem.
) But I have also become very committed to making everything from scratch. No prepared foods for me.
And I have been tending to make meals with a full compliment of sides. A starch, veggie, salad, etc.
BTW, I'm not really referring to Rachel Rae here. I realize she has a show about 30 minute meals but I don't watch her either. She is to frenetic for me. I received a complimentary copy of
Cook's Country and it had a bunch of recipes that were supposed to take 30 minutes and they all seemed over ambitious to me.