Clever Kitchen Hacks That Will Save You Time And Effort

Don’t let your herbs dry out or go bad. You can preserve them by placing them in an ice tray with olive oil or water. Freeze them and take out when you’re ready to cook with them.

Bacteria can build up if you don’t properly clean your wooden cutting boards. Cut a lemon in half and dip the cut side with coarse salt. Use it to scrub your cutting board clean, then rinse.

Cast iron pans can rust up if you don’t properly care for them. The best way to do that is with salt. Scrub your cast iron pans with salt instead of dish soap.

Meatloaf can take more than an hour to cook. You can speed it up by placing the meat into individual portions of a muffin tin. Bake your meatloaf at 450 degrees at 15 minutes.

Bubble wrap is a powerful insulator. While on the road, keep your Chunky Monkey from melting by wrapping the pint in plastic bubble wrap. It’ll stay firm for hours.

Make your grains tastier with tea. Cook your quinoa, millet, brown rice, or bulgur with teat infused water. Lapsang souchong, Earl Grey, and chai work well for this.

Since store-bought crunchy taco shells go stale in a hot minute, make your crunchy taco shells from your soft tortillas only when you need them! Drape the tortillas over your oven rack in the shape of a crunchy taco shell until crispy. Then, proceed to eat your weight in tacos (which is the only way to eat them)!

If you have the rest of a bottle of wine that you know you’re not going to drink within a few days, you can still salvage it. Pour the wine out into an ice cube tray. Use the cubes in a cooking recipe, wine spritzer, or pitcher of sangria.

Make grating semisoft cheeses like mozzarella easy. Just put it in the freezer for about 30 minutes. It will be much easier to grate this way.

Stainless steel can get dull with a lot of use. You can permanently dull those surfaces if you’re not using the right cleaning products. Mix vinegar and water together and spray the solution on your surfaces and wipe it down.

How delicious and creamy is roasted garlic? It’s a crowd-pleaser for sure. But, roasting cloves in the oven can take what seems like forever. Bypass the oven by placing a bulb of garlic with its top cut off inside a microwave-safe bowl. Add a little oil and water, wrap with plastic wrap, then cook until it smells yummy and the consistency looks right.

You don't need a double boiler to melt chocolate. In fact, I have never owned a double boiler. Simply melt your chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl on 50% power in the microwave. Check it after the first minute, then remove it and stir it. continuing to do this at 30-second intervals., until completely melted.

If you want to peel your potatoes in advance, simply cover them with cold water to prevent them from browning. Your potatoes might retain a bit more water if they’re left overnight in the fridge like this. But if you’re making mashed potatoes with them, you probably won’t be able to tell the difference.

Place your fresh herbs on a cutting board in a pile. Then roll a pizza cutter back and forth several times in several directions.

No one's really sure why, but crumpling up newspaper and stacking it into smelly Tupperware overnight has been known to finally get rid of bad odors. Just make sure to thoroughly wash your containers after the fact, as newspapers aren't exactly clean.

Need to make cupcakes but don’t have a muffin tin or cupcakes cups? You can still make your muffins. Use parchment paper instead.

Need a pastry brush or don’t have one? No problem! Fold a piece of parchment paper at least four times. Use a scissor to cut some fringe into the paper. Use the fringe side as a brush.

Microwaves can cause food to dry out. But there is a way to combat this. Place a cup of water next to your food in the microwave when you cook it.

Honey can become crystallized and hard to use after a while. You can reverse the crystallization by place it in a bowl of hot water for 5 to 10 minutes. It will be as good as new.

Make the most creamy, decadent, and delicious mashed potatoes your family and friends have ever seen by first boiling them in heavy cream instead of water before mashing them. Of course, this isn’t the healthiest option in the world but my-oh-my is it a taste bud pleaser.