Here are 24 handy little kitchen hacks that we swear by. We can't imagine cooking without them, and we don't know what we did before we discovered them!
1. Make Eggs in the Microwave
Are you sick of eating a mediocre AM meal of bland yogurt at work every morning? Meet your new office best friend: the microwave. Find out how to make a breakfast-of-champions in just a few simple steps, plus the help of minimal equipment (a microwaveable plate or bowl). In under 5 minutes you can make scrambled eggs, or even fried eggs (hello desk-side huevos rancheros!), in the time that it would take you to order that overpriced cup of oatmeal. Your work day is about to get a whole lot better.
2. Section ground meat before freezing
You can break off as much as you need without defrosting the whole package.
3. Reuse pickle brine
Drop chip-size slices of fresh cucumber into leftover pickle brine in the jar and store in the refrigerator for a few days to make crunchy quick pickles. (You can also drop in other vegetables like green beans, garlic, carrots or radishes. For best results, par-boil these veggies before pickling to speed up the process.)
4. Wet your fingers to remove eggshell
Stray shell bits in your cracked egg? Dab your finger in water before you go after it. Water acts like a magnet and the shell will stick to your finger without having to chase it around the bowl.
5. Make limp celery crisp again
Trim the top and bottom of the celery (cut it off of the root if it is still attached) and drop the stalks upright into a pitcher or jar of ice-cold water to re-crisp. You can also store celery like this. The ice water trick also works on tired broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, lettuce, and spinach.
6. Makin' crispy bacon without the mess
Forget about the cast iron skill. Line a baking sheet with heavy-duty aluminum foil (or two layers of foil) that has been crimped at 1-inch intervals to create a disposable bacon rack. Elevating the bacon keeps it out of the grease and allows hot air to circulate around the bacon, so it cooks and crisps evenly.
7. Use an egg slicer to slice mushrooms (or strawberries)
8. Use your Microplane grater on burnt bits
If the bottom of your cookies got a wee bit scorched, brush the grater over the burnt side to buff away the evidence.
9. “Dot” your butter … better
When a recipe calls for “dotting” with butter, such as a fruit crisp or a breadcrumb-covered casserole (it adds richness and helps browning), grate chilled butter on the large holes of a flat grater to create uniform pieces that are easier to distribute.
10. Seal bagged foods with a MacGyver'd plastic bottle
Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all. – Harriet Van Horne
Potato carrot cucumber slicer