30+ Game Changing Cooking Tips and Tricks from the Budget Bytes Community

30+ Game Changing Cooking Tips and Tricks from the Budget Bytes Community

Description: A collection of over 30 cooking tips and tricks shared by the Budget Bytes Facebook community, covering everything from making ingredients easier to measure and adding flavor to recipes, to improving textures and simplifying cleanup.

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Coat a measuring spoon or cup in oil to make ingredients like honey or peanut butter come right out.
  2. Use mayonnaise on bread instead of butter for a grilled cheese.
  3. Splurge for an immersion blender.
  4. Use Better Than Bouillon in soups, sauces, and gravy for extra depth of flavor.
  5. Freeze and defrost tofu to improve its texture.
  6. When cooking steak on a stovetop, use two pans. Put one on high and one on low. Use the hot pan to first sear the edges of the steak before cooking it on low/med. Searing the edges locks in the fluids and gives you a juicier steak.
  7. Steam eggs rather than boil them.
  8. Add a bit of anchovies (or miso) to tomato sauce and add butter at the end for super umami tasty and creamy results.
  9. Wrap fresh corn on the cob (in the shucks) with a paper towel, run under water to wet the towel, and steam in the microwave for 5 minutes.
  10. Use parchment paper when baking rolls and cookies to avoid scraping the pan.
  11. Hard boil eggs in the Instant Pot.
  12. Cook bacon in the oven.
  13. Use frozen vegetables for convenience, keeping them on hand for easy roasting and dinners.
  14. After frying meats like ground meat or sausage, use a paper towel with tongs or a spoon to move it around in the pan to remove grease, then discard the paper towel. This saves from washing a greasy colander.
  15. Cook mushrooms in a pan with 1/4 cup water. Once the water has evaporated and the mushrooms are soft, finish them with butter for taste and shine. They won't get as greasy as when cooked only in oil or butter.
  16. Freeze tomato paste in ice cube-sized portions.
  17. Accept that you may not be able to make certain recipes as well as some family members, and cherish the recipe for safe keeping.
  18. Cook ground beef in the crock pot for bulk cooking, dividing it up for future meals.
  19. Clean as you go while cooking.
  20. Add lemon juice or vinegar if your food is tasting bland to give it a kick.
  21. Properly salt your food so it has a 'zing' when you taste it. Taste the water in which you boil pasta, potatoes, or vegetables; it should taste pleasantly salty like the ocean.
  22. Squish a banana before peeling it for use in muffins.
  23. Use the holes in a colander to pull through herbs like rosemary, lavender, or cilantro.
  24. Take a Mason jar, put flour in it with milk, and shake to make a slurry for gravy or thickening soups to avoid lumps.
  25. Add cream cheese to make sauces creamier, more stable, and richer. For example, adding it to spaghetti sauce makes it rich and creamy and cuts down on the acid content.
  26. Make sheet pan pancakes in the oven.
  27. Add a parmesan rind to a soup or sauce to add flavor/umami.
  28. Practice mise en place: put everything in order before you begin and read through the full recipe before you start to cook.
  29. Let a machine cook the rice for you.
  30. Poach eggs in a frying pan instead of a pot. The water is shallow and there is more room for poaching multiple eggs.
  31. Brown your tomato paste first in butter or a little olive oil until it turns a dark brick red before adding it to recipes for better flavor.
  32. Use clear swim goggles to cut onions to avoid crying.
  33. Shake boiled eggs in a mug for easy shell removal.