1.
“I microwave corn on the cob. I leave it with the husk on, run it under running water until soaked through, and wrap it in a wet paper towel. Microwave for four minutes per ear, check to make sure kernels are dark and glossy. The threads and husks come right off. Plus, it’s the perfect texture and taste with no mess!”
2.
“Microwaving scrambled eggs for burritos and other foods. I cook bacon and veggies (plus the assembled burritos) in the oven, so I don’t want to have to dirty a pan and stand at the stove for the eggs. I’ve made eggs in the oven, but I don’t like the texture as much. I scramble them in my Pyrex measuring cup and microwave them on half power. They’re fluffy and delish.”
3.
“I always have frozen chopped onions. Obviously, you can’t use them in place of fresh raw onion in certain dishes, but they’re amazing for things like soup, stir-fry, casserole, ground meat, and moe. I prefer using them because I can’t tell the difference between a frozen and a fresh onion. And I always seem to have half an onion that goes bad in the fridge because I only used half for another recipe.”
4.
“I buy bags of peeled garlic, put it in containers, and keep it in the freezer. I have no wasted garlic, don’t have to peel any, and I always have garlic on hand.”
5.
“I like to speed up baked potatoes by cooking them 90% in the microwave then finish off in the oven to crisp up the skin.”
6.
“I make mac ‘n’ cheese by simply stirring shredded cheese and butter (plus milk, on occasion) into a pot of hot pasta. You won’t find me making a roux.”
7.
“I microwave my grilled cheese before grilling it in the pan. Pre-melted cheese means no sliding around when you flip it, and it requires less time cooking (which means less time to burn).”
8.
“Using garlic powder instead of fresh garlic to make garlic bread. I’m so happy that I don’t have to deal with fresh garlic for my garlic bread anymore.”
9.
“I cook down a batch of soffritto and portion it into silicone molds and freeze. I add it to meat sauces, soups, etc. It saves a lot of time later on, and adds tons of flavor.”
10.
“I make oatmeal in almost-empty peanut butter jars. The oats get all the hard-to-reach peanut butter that sticks to the sides that you can’t seem to get out with a knife. Also, oatmeal with peanut butter is amazing.”
11.
“Bacon in the oven versus fried. I like a little chew, so I bake my bacon at 400°F. You still get the same browning, but more chew. For me, the primary benefits are ease of cleanup and that it’s more hands-off.”
12.
“I go with the lazy man’s blanch. Just boil a kettle of water and pour it over your veggies in a colander.”
13.
“Tomato paste in a tube, no more half-empty tins or messing around with freezing leftover tablespoons of the stuff.”
14.
“I cook pasta in waaay less water than instructed. I use a wide pan, toss the pasta in, cover it with water by an inch or so, toss in a pinch of salt, and set the stove on high. The whole thing is done in like 13 minutes from start to finish. It takes way less time than boiling a giant pot of water and is less wasteful.”
15.
“Skip the flour, egg flour on chicken cutlets. Instead, go for a schmear of sour cream and coat with panko or flour. I swear it’s better.”
16.
“You can make cake in the microwave in a few minutes. Add cake mix, melted butter, and water, and microwave for a few minutes. It doesn’t get the crispy top, but you get a really soft and moist cake.”
17.
“If a recipe calls for chopped onions, peppers, and tomatoes, I always use store-bought pico de gallo instead.”
18.
“Every time you make rice, make double and refrigerate what you don’t use. The next day, use the leftover cold rice to make fried rice. Add an egg and whatever veggies or protein you have lying around.”
19.
“Making curry or pasta sauce? Just chuck your aromatic vegetables (onions, garlic, carrots, etc.) into a blender with a bit of oil and buzz them up. Then dump them into a ripping hot sauce pot and stir until most of the moisture is gone. It’s way faster than dicing, it never cooks unevenly, and it saves a bunch of time on the cooking end.”
20.
“I make immersion blender hollandaise. No more endless whisking on a double-boiler. Even if you do this perfectly, it can still randomly decide to break. Instead, put your ingredients into a cup, insert an immersion blender, and touch a button. Boop! It’s done.”
21.
“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.'”
22.
“Using a hand mixer to shred chicken. I’ll never go back to shredding with forks.”
What is a lazy or low-effort cooking hack you tried that you now swear by forever? Tell us in the comments or in this anonymous form.
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