With all the cooking articles you see online, you don’t have the time to read them all when you’re cooking on the spot. You have hungry mouths to feed, and there you are, you’re scrolling through thousands of recipes and cooking tips. You’ve got no time for that!
While the list below won’t help you with your current cooking either, it surely will with your next dishes. Below, we presented the best cooking hacks provided by the people in this thread. These tips will surely make your cooking not only delicious but also taste professional as well!
More info: Reddit
#1
Image source: jmac94wp, Teresa Trimm
I love to bake but I don’t like to reinvent the wheel. If something is great, why make it from scratch? So I unapologetically use brownie mix. Also, anything Krusteze brand.
#2
Image source: Celestina-Warbeck, cottonbro
I boil water in my electric kettle instead of in a pan on the stove. Saves time and also money on gas (which is going to cost us 1.5 as much as of next month)
#3
Image source: Spymonkey13, Dominik Schwind
MSG. Yep, just a pinch and you’re done.
#4
Image source: christinextine, Natalia Wilson
You can also thicken soups with instant potatoes! I find it easier than flour or corn starch. No need to make a roux or slurry. Just pour some in and stir until you get a consistency you like.
#5
Image source: EquanimityVibe, jeffreyw
If a recipe calls for chopped onions, chopped peppers, and chopped tomatoes, I’ll always use pico de gallo instead.
#6
Image source: FlyingGirlAF, Chris Young
Buy the box cake mix, then add double butter for oil and equal milk for water, plus one extra egg. A little vanilla extract and almond extract and NO ONE will ever know.
#7
Image source: MelMickel84, Phil Gwinn
Cheap rotisserie chicken, at least once a week. I break it down and serve it for a couple meals, use the little bits stuck on the bones for salads, and I save the bones for stock. I could roast my own, sure. But the rotisserie chicken is
a) already done and
b) cheaper than I can buy raw.
Wins all around.
#8
Image source: _leftbanks_, Ted Barrera
Boxed pizza, turned deep dish. Thawed 20min to drop into oiled cast iron. Add all the toppings you want, and bake an extra 10min or so.
#9
Image source: klaraclarkk, Denys Almeida
Never waste a precious drop of your Nutella again. Instead, pour warm milk into the dregs of the jar to create Nutella hot chocolate and happiness.
#10
Image source: Runbunnierun, Rebecca Siegel
Leftover mashed potatoes into tater cakes or pierogies
#11
I rarely remember to soak beans the night before I want them, so I pressure cook them from dry.
I hate kneading, so all my bread — from baguettes to rolls to pita — is baked from the same no-knead dough I make every ten days and keep in the fridge.
I buy ginger in a tube!
Source: goblinbox
#12
Image source: EclipseoftheHart, Smabs Sputzer (1956-2017)
Frozen peas have a permanent place in my home. Pasta dish that needs a little green? Add peas. Need a quick side? Peas!
#13
I’ll take a fresh flour tortilla, spread a spoonful of marinara, a sprinkle of mozzarella and pinch of parmesan, and then what ever toppings I have on hand, usually pepperoni or spinach. Throw it in the oven for 5min, and I have an amazing thin crust personal pizza.
#14
Image source: Darwin343, Veganbaking.net
Frozen puff pastry even though I love to bake. As long as it’s made with all-butter then it’s good enough for me. Making puff pastry from scratch can be such a hassle. Plus, I don’t even like puff pastry all that much anyways. I much rather be making a tart or pie crust because I like them way more.
#15
Image source: PirateKilt, max fuchs
Moderate priced wine… two glasses poured, then the rest into my cheap ice-cube tray. Freeze for a couple days, then add them to my tupperware of wine cubes in the freezer.
Random dishes immensely improved by just dropping in a wine cube or two while cooking…
#16
Not a ‘hack’, just a damn good idea.
Slice potatoes chunkily. Parboil as many as will fit in your pot. Drain and store in the fridge.
Then, when you want breakfast taters, you have more than enough to just dump into a hot pan with too much butter. Easy peasy! And also the best damn potatoes you’ll ever have. The key is ‘too much butter.’
Source: GreenChileEnchiladas
#17
Image source: Routine_Cat_9494, Didriks
If I can get away with not peeling a vegetable, I don’t.
#18
Image source: _incredigirl_, Teja J
Garlic and onion powder have their place. Also, they can be bloomed in water to revitalize more of a pungent flavour.
#19
Image source: ChallengeLate1947, Colorado State University E
I like to pride myself on doing everything from scratch. I make my own bread/pastry, my own jam, my own butter, I pickle my own vegetables — I’m not afraid of putting in the work to do things “the right way” (to me).
However, I shamelessly use jars of preminced garlic almost exclusively. I Hate mincing garlic by hand.
#20
Alton Brown calls quiche refrigerator velcro, and he’s not wrong. Almost any savory item, fresh or leftover, can be worked into a quiche, or a frittata.
Source: scottvs
