No matter how much or how little you cook at home, it's always fun to have some new tricks up your sleeve. So I rounded up some of the best food-related tips and hacks I've seen lately from the subreddit r/FoodHacks. Some of these are actually really smart, and I can't wait to try them in my own kitchen.
1."Wrap a piece of lettuce around one side of your sandwich or burger to keep the ingredients from falling out the other side."
2.Use chopsticks to hold beaten eggs in place while you turn the pan to create a tornado omelet.
3."If you're out of breadcrumbs, just grate a piece of toast."
4."Cook spaghetti in a skillet rather than in a large pot. The water boils faster and the residual pasta water is super concentrated and starchy, perfect for sauces."
5."Pour coffee into ice molds, freeze them, and use the coffee cubes instead of regular ice cubes in your iced coffee so it doesn't get watered down."
6."Make s'mores indoors with the help of your toaster oven."
7."Make a chicken shawarma cone in your own kitchen by sticking a few skewered into a halved onion."
8."You can thicken soups and stews quickly with instant potatoes. I find it easier than adding flour or corn starch because there's no need to make a roux or slurry. Just pour some in and stir until you reach a consistency you like."
9."Use a bundt pan to slice corn off the cob. I don’t bake, but I have a Bundt cake pan just for this. Just plunk the corn on the cob in the middle hole facedown, and the pan catches everything as you slice through the corn. It prevents a giant mess from all the kernels rolling around your counter."
10."Slice straight through a pint of ice cream, peel off the paper, then place the ice cream slabs between cookies for DIY ice cream sandwiches."
11."Turn any frozen pizza into deep dish. Thaw it for 20 minutes, drop it into an oiled cast iron skillet, add any toppings, and bake it for an extra 10 minutes."
12."If you're out of cooking twine, use bacon."
13."When grilling fish, place the fillet on a bed of sliced lemons so you won't have to scrape salmon skin off of the grates."
14."For the easiest, laziest lasagna, layer frozen ravioli with tomato sauce and mozzarella and bake it in the oven."
15."Upgrade boxed mac 'n' cheese by adding cream cheese."
16."Put boiled eggs through a potato ricer to make awesome egg salad. It improves the texture and takes the dish up a notch."
17."You can easily re-grow scallions. Save an inch of the white part and rest it in water, using a toothpick to keep it upright. Refill the water when it starts to dwindle. Scallions grow quickly."
18."Use aluminum foil to make a divider when your baking pan is too large for what you're cooking."
19."Put a little mayo on the outside of your bread before you place it in the pan. It makes a perfectly golden and crispy grilled sandwich."
20."You can cut an uncooked frozen pizza and put the slices in the air fryer for a quick slice."
21."The bottom of a wine bottle makes a great press for homemade ravioli."
22.For the easiest minced garlic, put peeled garlic cloves in a plastic bag and hit it with a meat tenderizer."
23."I swear by making grilled cheese in a waffle iron. It's faster, less greasy, and gives you yummy pockets for dunking in soup."
24."The spice packet in instant ramen makes an awesome popcorn seasoning! Mix the powder with some melted butter or margarine and then toss with the popcorn."
25."Or use the powder that comes in boxed mac 'n' cheese to season popcorn."
26."Empty, cleaned ketchup bottles make excellent batter holders and dispensers."
27."Use a mason jar lid as a ring to make perfectly round eggs. It's perfect for a breakfast sandwich."
28."Or to form perfect burger patties."
29."Or cook eggs in onion rings for perfectly shaped fried eggs ready to be placed on a sandwich."
30."Add two eggs and 1/2 cup of oil to any boxed cake mix to turn it into cookie dough. turn any cake mix into cookie dough."
31."Oil your hands liberally when making meatballs or burgers. The meat won't stick, and you get a uniform, smooth texture that crisps nicely in the oven, frying pan, or skillet."
32."Turn tortillas into crunchy hard taco shells with the help of your oven rack."
33."When you don't have a cheese grater, use a vegetable peeler to shave Parmesan."
34."Put paper towels inside your salad containers to absorb excess moisture and keep greens fresher for longer."
35."Pour warm milk into an almost-empty Nutella jar and shake to make Nutella hot chocolate."
Do you have a genius food hack you think other people should know about? Leave 'em in the comments below!