We don't know about you, but our Sunday evenings typically involve scrambling to get our weekday lunches prepped and portioned before bedtime. The last thing we want to do is wait around for a pot of rice or a batch of beans to cool down. Here's what we do instead.

Grains and legumes left in the pot can take a long time to cool to room temperature. Both the pot and whatever is inside it tend to hold that heat in rather than letting it go.

To help move things along, we transfer the rice, beans, or whatever we're cooking to a cool baking sheet lined with parchment and spread the food out into a thin layer. This lets the heat disperse quickly and evenly. We also sometimes cover the baking sheet with plastic wrap to prevent the food from drying out and poke a few holes to allow ventilation.

This little trick has saved us from long wait times countless times (or just chucking the whole pot in the fridge, which isn't always the best thing to do).

Do you do this, too?

Related: Cooking Tip: Foolproof Method for Cooking Any Kind of Rice

(Image: Faith Durand)