People Are Sharing The Cooking Hacks They Swear By, Here Are The 50 Best Ones

"clean as you go" it would be nice if your partner could do that part...

Mise en place!!! Saves you much time and pain. Once you get a feel for cool times of certain veg you can cut them to size for the same cook time (ie thin sliced carrots, thick onion chunks of squash). Very helpful when cooking veg medley, or similar sides.

I do this but can never get my husband to do it. Clean as you go is so much easier.

To time consuming for me. I'll stick by preparing in order of cooking - I cut the potatoes first, put them in boiling water, cut the carrots and add them and so on.

I do this especially with stir fry. Carrots need to cook longer than bell peppers & onions, broccoli gets added at the last minute (so it stays bright green and a bit crisp), green onions very last. It's helpful to do this with spices as well. I put 10 different seasonings in my Spaghetti Bolognese, so having them all measured (by eye, I've been making it forever) into one bowl beforehand is a huge timesaver.

This. Very much learnt this the hard way

I guess if you are flash frying the onions... I saute my onions and garlic all the time, they never burn.

You’re worried about the flavor of GARLIC ?

Right: never together. Also garlic's flavor 'cooks out' during cooking.

I would also recommend that you pepper your food towards the end because I learned watching cooking shows that pepper can burn too.

Thank you for bringing up the issues of depression and mental health. This is a very real issue and you have wonderful ideas! Depression and chronic pain are issues I deal . Sometimes microwaving food is even more than what I want to deal with. I have started making meals and putting them in the freezer on my good days so that I just have to take them out and put them in the microwave. Prepping meals ahead of time has been a huge help for me. As much as I prefer fresh food my microwave has become one of my best friends.

Malliard reaction - browning food. The same reason you sear or brown meat before using it in a stew.

Great rip on depression hacks. Overwhelmed to cook, let alone shovel it in and chew. I tend to just do Nutritional shakes with collagen, fruit and proteins but that gets old quick. Your post is very much appreciated

Frozen veggies, FTW. They often don't have the I-have-been-chopped-up-for-you premium that the fresh pre-cut produce has (also, they don't have a weird taste because something's been put on them to keep them fresh longer). Drop some mixed veggies/green beans/broccoli into your pan; or put them in a bowl in the microwave.

My favourite stand by - microwave rice, frozen mixed veg, any easy protein - chopped ham, tuna, tinned beans, any flavouring you like - soy sauce, salt & pepper, butter, chilli sauce - a good all round meal Xx

Brown that butter for extra yum.

The secret to life is butter.

And heavy whipping cream. Everything, eggs, gravy, sauces, soup

My three grandparents all lived to almost 100, and all ate butter.

but i dont like butter, except if its on toast

Browned butter makes EVERYTHING better...

Browned butter chocolate chip cookies 🍪 made with a mixture of brown and granulated sugars are divine. They take on this when wonderfully nutty and slightly caramelised taste. Soo good.

Oh ya it’s a game changer. Much more rich depth of flavor

You and your wife have your own, separate butter ?

Yummy

So many tips... 1. If using multiple veggies, try to use different colors. 2. Use veggies that will cook at the same rate. Zucchini and cauliflower cook faster than potatoes. Thin carrots cook faster than thick ones. 2. Try to always add onion - purple onion adds nice color and flavor. Onions and red peppers hold up even if cooked a long time. 3. You can roast at anywhere from 375° to 450°, but don't use extra virgin olive oil over 375°. That's its smoke point, and it will change the flavor. Here's a guide for oil smoke points - a chart is toward the bottom. https://www.verywellfit.com/smoke-points-of-cooking-oils-4781972

Bonus tip for delicious roast potatoes. Quarter potatoes and Boil in beef stock, once fork tender pull out put potatoes into a colander (hold onto stock) and swirl to rough them up. Heat your fat of choice in deep pan in oven with enough oil to cover half of the potato (400 degrees) lightly salt and oil potatoes, add to oil, should sound like deep frying when added. Check after 10 minutes, flip and return for another 10 (possibly repeat until golden). Reduce stock, add roux (if cooking a cut of beef, brown beef, save drippings for roux) season potatoes and gravy, dip and enjoy

Roasted Brussels sprouts!! Unbelievable!

Many people don't like Brussel Sprouts, but if they're roasted, they are yummy!

Yes, roast, even despite Julia Child's disapproval. And do boil (preferably steam) roots before roasting.

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Too much MSG in a dish gives me a headache.