People Who Work Smarter, Not Harder Share Their Best 'Lazy' Cooking Hacks

To gain some more cooking tips and insight about how to improve your cooking skills, we reached out to Trevor and Brittany of Mediocre Chef. First, we wanted to hear what inspired them to start their own cooking blog and what being a mediocre chef means to them. "We started getting together once or twice a month to try new recipes back in 2017," the told Bored Panda. "For a lot of the recipes we tried, we found ourselves asking questions like, 'Wait, what does this mean?' or we would make something and go, 'We really wish we had done this instead' or, 'Next time we should do this differently'. We thought, 'Wouldn't it be nice if someone who was just a normal, average cook, annotated some of the recipes to give guidance for other normal, average cooks?'"

"To us, being a mediocre chef means just being a normal, average person who wants to get better at cooking," they shared. "Neither of us went to culinary school, neither of us were food prodigies or anything. We're just two normal people who wanted to get better at cooking and really like food. Being a mediocre chef is having the skills to go a bit above 'normal', but also being cool with eating frozen pizza from time to time."

We also asked Trevor and Brittany what their favorite thing about cooking is. "Getting a chance to try out new dishes from different cuisines. There’s so much good food that we missed out on for a long time simply because we didn’t cook enough/weren’t comfortable enough with our skills to try."

And their least favorite? "Doing the dishes. Dishwashers were the best thing ever invented," they shared.

"Another contender for least favorite: Trying to interpret old family recipes that have no measurements for ingredients or vague instructions," they added. "What do you mean by one onion? What size of onion? When a recipe just says 'simmer', am I supposed to simmer that covered or uncovered?"

We also asked Trevor and Brittany if they could share some of their best lazy cooking tips. "OP in the Reddit thread talks about using jars of pre-minced garlic because they hate mincing garlic by hand. We hate mincing garlic too, but the jarred stuff tastes a lot different versus freshly minced garlic," they explained. "We don’t usually like one-trick gadgets, but a garlic press is great if you’re a garlic lover! It makes mincing garlic a breeze."

"Using frozen puff pastry," they added. "Nobody has time to make puff pastry from scratch. It’s exhausting, and butter is expensive."

"If a recipe calls for wine, cheap wine will almost always do. If your dish needs to be simmered (soups, stews, etc) it can almost always be turned into a slow cooker recipe."

"Air fryers are your best friend if you’re cooking for one (or two) and want food fast," the Mediocre Chefs told Bored Panda. "They take way less time to cook versus an oven. We love potatoes (wedges, fries), chicken wings, and veggies (broccoli, brussel sprouts) in the air fryer!"

Trevor and Brittany also shared their tips for people who want to learn how to cook but just don't know where to start. "Choose a dish that you really like, and make it regularly to build your confidence. Love macaroni and cheese? Practice making macaroni and cheese a lot. Adapt and change the recipe you start out with to fit your tastes — this will also help you gain confidence and learn what works and what doesn’t work when trying to alter recipes."

"Out of our friends that don’t cook, we find the biggest obstacle is lacking confidence," they noted. "Practice makes perfect. You won’t become a master cook overnight. Additionally, start small. If you’re a beginner, don’t try to cook a 5 course French meal from scratch. Simple is best."

"Try to find a video of the recipe on YouTube (or Facebook, or Reddit)," the Mediocre Chefs recommended. "Sometimes chefs aren’t the best at describing what they mean when they write recipes, so having a visual aid helps. Plus, we all learn differently!"

"Try to sample as many different styles of food as possible. If you want to be a good writer, you should read a lot of different books. If you want to be a good musician, you should listen to a lot of different music. If you want to be a good cook, you should eat a lot of different cuisines. You’ll probably find a bunch of flavors that you really like, and it helps to develop your palate."

If you'd like to learn even more tips from Trevor and Brittany, be sure to check out their blog Mediocre Chef right here.

We also reached out to Reddit user ChallengeLate1947 to hear what inspired him to start this conversation in the first place. "Mostly I was looking to still make quality food without taking hours to do it," he told Bored Panda.

"I spend roughly 3 hours a day cooking for my household, and as much as I love it, some time saving tips are always welcome," he shared. "I enjoy baking primarily — I do pastry and make all my own bread. I have a fondness for dumplings."

And as for what he learned from this list, he told us, "I mainly learned what not to cut corners on."

Cooking is one of those things that most of us wish we were better at or had more time for, but it can easily be put on the back burner time and time again. Why spend time learning how to cook when frozen foods and takeout exists? But the thing is, a delicious meal does not have to take hours to make. In fact, even spending 15-30 minutes preparing dinner will likely result in a more fulfilling and wholesome meal than spending 15 minutes running to the nearest takeout joint.

If you’re short on time, the tips on this list can go a long way in your kitchen. Don’t get enough vegetables in your diet? Keep bags of frozen ones on hand to eliminate the time it takes to wash, peel and chop. In certain recipes, you won’t even be able to tell the difference once it’s finished. I make curry at least once a week using whatever fresh veggies I have on hand, but I always toss in some frozen ones as well to bulk it up. And I assure you, I cannot tell which is which by the time everything has soaked up the liquid. Plus, I save myself valuable time by simply dumping out a bag rather than spending time fussing with produce.  

On a similar note, pre-prepared seasonings and broths can be a godsend. Curry paste? My best friend. Mushroom or vegetable broth? My right-hand man. I have various seasoning mixes as well that I rotate through depending on what culture of food I’m making that evening. Many people who responded to this thread also mentioned the value of having a handy-dandy bouillon on hand, and I could not agree more. A cube of stock or a splash of broth concentrate adds so much flavor and salt that it can be a huge shortcut in cooking many dishes.

We all know meal-prepping can save lots of time and energy as well, but themed days of the week can have the exact same effect. In my humble opinion, half of the struggle of cooking every day is just deciding what to make. 6 days out of the week, this can be a problem. On Sundays, however, my partner and I always make pizza for dinner. We mix up the type of crust and the toppings of course, but Pizza Sunday is a beloved tradition that saves us both time and energy. We usually have most of the ingredients on hand already, and the process runs smoothly because we’ve got it down to a science. If you’re too exhausted to think about what to make each day, consider introducing Taco Tuesday, Pasta Saturday or Pizza Sunday to take the guesswork out. 

Another time-saving tip that is mentioned several times on this list is having ingredients that can be used many different ways. For example, rotisserie chicken, tofu, a vegetable that can be used alongside many dishes like peas, etc. Rice is a great food that can be used in many ways as well, as a side, in a stir-fry, in a risotto, in burritos; the possibilities are endless. So when you make rice, prepare more than you need and use the leftovers throughout the week. If I make a curry with rice one evening, I can use that same rice for a completely different meal the next day. I’ll prepare a different protein, some more vegetables and perhaps make a new sauce if I’m feeling fancy, but knowing that the rice is already there helps me decide what to make and allows dinner to run even more smoothly than usual. No need to wash and prepare the rice, and that’s one less pot to clean afterwards. It’s a win-win every time.

Oftentimes, people are deterred from cooking because they have an "all or nothing" approach. "Either I make the entire meal from scratch, or I order something in." That's too much pressure! Maybe on Thanksgiving or a Saturday when you have all the time in the world you'll want to prepare each ingredient by hand, but on the average day, take some shortcuts. When I make pizza, for example, I won’t pull out the flour, yeast, water and salt hours in advance. I will typically use frozen puff pastry as the crust or sometimes a pre-made frozen pizza crust. I’m not always making my own tomato sauce either. And you know what? It doesn’t matter. My pizza tastes delicious and homemade anyway, with the freshly shredded vegan cheese, fresh veggies, basil from my balcony and the fact that I get to eat it as soon as it comes out of the oven. There is no shame in adapting your meals to your own tastes. Who cares what Gordon Ramsey would say? If you like it, that’s all that matters. 

If you’re still not sold on why it’s better to be preparing your own meals, even if they include shortcuts, let me address some of the reasons why home cooked meals are top tier. According to research, meals made at home are often healthier, even if that wasn’t the intention. When we are in control of the ingredients, we are mindful of how much salt, oil, fat, butter, sugar, etc. we include. When something is made in a factory or a restaurant, taste and cost are the only factors considered. Preservatives and excess amounts of fat, sugar and salt are often added to make up for a lack of fresh ingredients or to get customers hooked. But when we make something ourselves, we might realize that, actually, we don’t need that much oil. And the meal still tastes great.  

If you avoid the kitchen because cooking just takes too long, let me point out that eating out might not actually be saving you any valuable time. Sitting in line at a drive-thru, waiting for a table at a restaurant, or standing by the door waiting for your Uber Eats to arrive during rush hour traffic can take much longer than simply firing up the stove and throwing whatever ingredients you have on hand into a pan. It depends on the meal you plan to make, of course, but there are plenty of delicious 30-minute meals out there that you can make. And considering how long it will take to get to a restaurant, get a table, order your food, eat and return home, lack of time just doesn’t seem like the most valid reason for skipping out on cooking at home.