It’s never too late to improve our cooking skills! Content has been edited for clarity purposes.
“Best Soup Starter”
“Save all bones and veggie scraps! Keep them in a Tupperware or bag in the freezer, and once it’s full, make broth. Seriously the best soup starter, plus it’s frugal and waste-free!”
Internal Heat Will Finish The Job
“Things don’t stop cooking the second you take them off the heat.
For example, cooking eggs. You want to take scrambled eggs off the stove when they are still glistening and slightly wet-looking. The internal heat will finish the cooking.
Similarly, you want to take meat off just a little before the internal temperature reaches what you’re shooting for because the heat from the outside of the meat will continue to migrate inwards and cook the inside while the meat is resting.”
The ‘ABC’ Of Cooking
“It’s called the ‘ABC’ of cooking, which stands for ‘Always Be Cleaning’.
It saves time and effort, and you’ll end up with happier roommates, spouses, family, and yourself.
For extra bonus points, consider the two-minute ruleset:
Any chores/task that can be done in two minutes or less isn’t worth procrastinating. For example, wash the kitchen knife just used or wipe down the stovetop. If the task takes more than two minutes, but you can make meaningful progress with two minutes of work, take two minutes and make that progress happen. Like unload the dishwasher or fold the clean laundry.
The idea here is that postponing the chore will most likely cause you or those you live with more worry or anxiety due to the unmade task than the effort to put in the work for two minutes.
The second rule help one get started with bigger things, and just getting started might help make the dread of a huge task a little more manageable.”
Do It Like Gordon Ramsay
“I do the Gordon Ramsay thing where you leave the root on while you’re chopping the onion. I don’t know if it’s because of my faith in Gordon, but after I started doing that I’ve never teared up from chopping onions.”
Leftover Pizza
“Leftover pizza is best reheated in a pan on a stovetop. Throw in some water near the end to steam it to melt the cheese. Then the crust becomes crisp but the cheese and meat are still hot and gooey.”
Fluffy Scrambled Eggs
“When making scrambled eggs, beat your eggs first in a cup or bowl. Add a dash of milk or cream; this adds fluffiness and volume to the eggs. Let the pan get warm on medium heat. Add half a tablespoon of REAL, grass-fed butter. The butter should sizzle but not brown or smoke when you add it to the pan.
Distribute and coat the pan with butter. Add eggs. Let it sit for about 4-5 seconds then use a spatula to gently scrape the eggs. Do not stir!
Then salt and pepper. You should only do one pass the entire surface of the pan once. The eggs may look a little runny, but the residual heat will take care of that when you fold the eggs onto the plate. Enjoy.”
“Avocado Oxidizes Quickly”
“Avocado oxidizes quickly, which is why it turns gross and brown when you open it. When you store your guac, put a layer of saran wrap directly on top of the guac, then another layer on the top of the container.”
Day Old Rice Vs Fresh Rice
“It took me forever to learn about day-old rice instead of fresh for fried rice. It completely changed the game. I could never figure out how to make fried rice not come out as a sticky congealed mess until I was out of normal rice but had some extra from the previous nice already cooked.
A true ‘Ah-Ha!’ moment.”
What If You Don’t Have Day-Old Rice?!
“You can also mimic the effects of day-old rice by spreading out freshly-cooked rice and blow-drying it with a fan or a hair dryer (on cool) for about an hour. The key is drying it out.
Also, always use high heat when cooking fried rice.”
Say No To Paying For Store Bought
“Here’s a taco seasoning recipe:
- 2 tablespoon cumin
- 2 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon cracked pepper
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
Then add to 1 pound drained ground beef along with 3/4 cup of water.
Throw the pre-packaged, store-bought seasoning packet away.
Bonus: add 1/2 cup of a diced onion while cooking the beef, before draining. Add 1 can of drained tomatoes and green chilies along with the seasoning mix and water.”
Don’t Make This Mistake With Your Hamburger
“The biggest mistake I see people make with burgers is using lean ground beef (it’s gotta be at least 80/20) and turning up the heat way too high. Really hot grills are great for searing steaks and huge cuts of meat, but not great for rendering the fat out of a small disc of ground beef. Lower and slower wins the race.
There’s a reason why today’s most popular burger joints (In & Out, Five Guys, Shake Shack, etc.) fry up their burgers on a flat-top.”
Need Extra Iron In Your Diet?
“I love my cast iron skillet, and try to cook as many meals in that as possible. A well-seasoned pan is wonderful to cook, because it does give you extra iron in your diet.
Also, it basically is nonstick as long as you take proper care of it and keep it seasoned.”
What A ‘Meat’ Trick
“Dry your meat before searing and never set it in a pan that isn’t hot. You steam your meat and make it hard for the pan to come back up to temperature when you set it in wet. You can dry your steak with a towel.
Then salt and pepper before you add it to the pan. Once you pop it in, press down gently to create even surface contact.
Wet beef will look gray and unevenly browned, but dry beef will get that nice sear all around.”
Homemade Herbs
“Growing your own herbs is way easier than you might think and they taste better than what you buy at the store. Green onions can be grown in a jar of water or a small pot of dirt that’s watered regularly.
You can also cut green onions and the roots will allow them to grow back.”
How To Make Bomb Burritos
“Wanna make Bomb Burritos? Buy the big tortillas. Set oven to broil and once it gets hot, use a flat cooking sheet with a 1/2 spoonful of olive oil in the round area your tortilla will sit.
Then wet the tortilla. Yes, wet the tortilla, then set it on cooking sheet. Then add your cheese. Let this cook for 30 seconds to one minute, eyeballing it closely for the cheese to melt. Or else your tortilla will burn.
Have other meat veggies heated separately ready to roll. Don’t overfill the tortilla before you roll your burrito. It’ll be big. Roll it as you own it.”
Tomato Paste
“Cook your tomato paste in the pan with the veggies before adding water. It adds so much depth and also gets rid of that acid flavor a lot faster. I let it cook until it turns a dark maroon color then add the liquid.
Great for tomato sauces and soup.”
Cooking For Beginners
“Unless you cook a lot, use a meat thermometer and don’t be cheap when getting one. It will forever up your food game.
If possible brine your chicken and as a side note use parchment paper on pans when cooking it in the oven. It saves a lot on the scrubbing afterward and prevents the food from sticking to the cooking sheet. This wnay you actually get to eat what you cook.”
“Lasts For Ages”
“In Japan, we put two peeled bulbs of garlic in a mason jar and a bottle of low salt soy sauce. Keep in the refrigerator and pour a couple of teaspoons over a seared steak.
It’s umami tasting and lasts for ages. You can also top up the garlic with more soy sauce.”
