28 Cooking Hacks That Save Time and Money

I’m not an expert cook by any means. In fact, I’m planning on taking a cooking class over the next six weeks. As a result, I got curious about some of the best cooking hacks I could mention to keep me from looking like a total kitchen idiot. I figured you may like to hear some of the cooking hacks that save time and money too.

  • Add warm water to a glass, dump it out and put the glass over your butter. Creates softened butter in minutes!
  • Unscented dental floss can cut soft foods
  • Keep your ice cream in zip lock bags to keep them soft enough to serve with ease.
  • Store some marshmallows with your brown sugar to keep it from clumping
  • Run out of mayonnaise? Mix one cup of oil and an egg together to get homemade mayonnaise.
  • Avoid having splatters when using your mixer by poking the ends of your mixer beaters through the middle of a paper plate before you attach them to the mixer.
  • Use a wooden spoon to keep pots from boiling over.
  • Make cakes last longer by placing a few pieces of bread on the outer edges.
  • Pre-cook pasta and it will cook in less than a minute.
  • Microwave an ear of corn and it’ll fall right out of the husk.
  • Coat your cheese grater with nonstick spray for easy shredding.
  • Don’t waste time peeling your potatoes BEFORE you cook them. After cooking they will glide off.
  • Test your baking soda by adding a teaspoon full to ½ cup of hot water. If it bubbles, it’s still good.
  • If you boil garlic cloves for thirty seconds, the peels come off easily.
  • Take an onion cut in half and run it across your grill grates to make the grill non-stick.
  • Put a hole in your burger patties to allow for even cooking.
  • Use a cooling rack when cooking fried foods to help them maintain their crispiness.
  • The soda can top works great as a vegetable peeler too.
  • Freeze grapes and use them as ice to keep your wine chilled without watering it down.
  • Use a pant hanger as a cookbook holder.
  • Doritos are great for kindling a fire.
  • Don’t mess up your bread, but cutting it from the bottom first.
  • To keep your burger from crumbling add bread crumbs to the mix.
  • Cookies stay fresh longer if stored with an apple wedge.
  • 2 Tablespoons of mayonnaise will make your cakes extra moist.
  • Store plastic wrap in a freezer for easier handling.
  • A bit of Vodka in your pie crust will make it for some flaky goodness.
  • Did you make your sauce to thin? Add a piece of dried pasta noodle to the mix and once it’s soaked up the excess liquid take it out.

 

Do you have a cooking hack that isn’t listed? Please share it in the comments.


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Crystal

I'm Crystal. I'm married to Dale, and mother to Johnny.Some might say that my life is perfect because I get to do all the cliché wife things like cooking, cleaning, and decorating - but there's more! I also have many hobbies including needlework (crochet), sewing, and reading. My son's education is important, so we homeschool him together.

22 comments on “28 Cooking Hacks That Save Time and Money”

    • Thank you for checking them out. I’m glad that they have come in handy for you.

      Thank you for stopping by and commenting. I hope to see you again soon.

  1. These are awesome! It would be great to have these printed out for my first cooking matters class to share with the participants!

    Reply
    • Thank you for checking them out. I am glad you wanted them for our class. (There is always a little print button where anyone can print them out too at the bottom of the post. 🙂 )

      (By the way, I’m really enjoying our class!)

  2. Nice!! I heard about the ice cream in a gallon bag. I really want to try that. Nothing worse than hard as a rock ice cream!! Love these tips 🙂

    Reply
    • Glad you liked these tips. I haven’t tried that trick either, but it is definitely something that is worth trying. I hate having to put my ice cream in a microwave to thaw it in order to eat it.

      Thank you for stopping by and commenting. I hope to see you again soon.

    • Thank you for stopping by and checking them out. I’m glad you gained something from the list.

      Thank you for commenting. I hope to see you again soon. By the way, thank you for hosting a great linky party.

  3. Pre-cook pasta and it will cook in less than a minute? That’s like, cook the pasta and it will cook faster, because I just cooked it?

    Reply
  4. “Run out of mayonnaise? Mix one cup of oil and an egg together to get homemade mayonnaise”
    – That’s not a hack it’s the recipe for mayonnaise
    “Don’t waste time peeling your potatoes BEFORE you cook them. After cooking they will glide off.”
    – Only true of some types of potatoes, others you have to carefully peel whilst holding a boiling hot potatoe
    “If you boil garlic cloves for thirty seconds, the peels come off easily.”
    – If you put the blade of a knife on the clove and give it a firm (not hard) bang with your hand the skin comes off – and it only takes two seconds!

    Reply
    • Thank you for taking the time to read my post and give your feedback. I’m sorry if you feel the list wasn’t up to your standards of a “hack” list.
      Thank you for stopping by and commenting.

  5. Awesome awesome tips! I love the one about using the onion on the grill for non-stick and keeping ice cream in a zip loc back to keep it soft. #HomeMattersParty

    Reply
  6. Love this – anything the gives me shortcuts in the kitchen (or anywhere in the house!) and the pocketbook is a winner in my books. I’m going to try the warm water in a cup then over the butter – my husband hates hard butter! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
    #SmallVictoriesSundaylinkup

    Reply

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