If the only thing standing between you and a home cooked meal is the time and energy to shop and prep, a new breed of would-be cyber sous chefs wants to help get you cooking.

Think of it as Hamburger Helper for the Amazon.com era. A bevy of new online services is angling to be your virtual kitchen assistant, giving you the chance to outsource the tedious aspects of cooking — the shopping, sorting, washing and prepping — so you can focus on the more satisfying assembling and eating parts.