8 Time-Saving Cooking Hacks

When life gets busy, the first activities to go are also the things that tend to be the most fun – like spending some quality time cooking in the kitchen. Once stress builds, cooking stops being a fun, rewarding activity and becomes a big chore. Life usually is busy, so we've come up with some tricks to help make cooking as stress-free as possible, while making sure your meals still taste good, too! These 8 time-saving cooking hacks are guaranteed to speed up the cooking process and make things easier in the kitchen. Poach eggs like a pro, drain pasta without losing even 1 noodle, and learn a simple trick for putting professional finishing touches on your baked goods. Life may still be busy, but now the kitchen will be a place to escape the chaos, not add to it!

1. Perfectly Poached Eggs

Believe it or not, poaching eggs is actually pretty simple! Start by boiling a thin layer of water in a frying pan, then crack an egg into a silicone cupcake liner and season it with salt. Carefully place the silicone cupcake liner in the boiling water, and after just a few minutes, you can enjoy a perfectly poached egg!

2. Toasted Chocolate Sandwich

Melted chocolate wrapped in golden brown toast? Don't mind if we do! Place 2 pieces of chocolate in the center of a slice of bread, then put a second piece of bread on top. Cut out the center of the bread using a glass, then press down the edges of the bread to seal in the sandwich. Pop the chocolate sandwich in the toaster for 12 minutes, and you'll have a perfect snack for when you're on the go!

3. Roll Out Dough More Easily

When you roll out dough, sometimes it keeps slipping and sliding away from your rolling pin. But that doesn't have to frustrate you any more! Use a knife to make a cross-shaped cut on top of the dough, then gently pull the edges apart. Now when you roll the dough out, it will stay exactly where you want it to!

4. Drain Pasta Efficiently

Sometimes when you drain a large amount of pasta, a few stray noodles sneak out of the pot and fall into the sink. Instead of getting frustrated, try placing a colander on top of the pot before pouring out the water. Not only will you keep all of your pasta out of the sink, it will stay in the original pot you cooked it in, too!

5. Sugary Sweet Hearts

Adding a little finishing touch to your baked goods can make them really stand out. Rather than slaving away for hours to make some intricate designs or spending a fortune at a bakery, try these simple homemade hearts instead. Pour some brown or cane sugar into a non-stick frying pan, then use a wooden spoon or popsicle stick to move the sugar into the shape of a heart. Gradually heat the frying pan and wait for the sugar to caramelize, let your sweet decorations cool, then use them to decorate cupcakes or other baked goods.

6. Peel Tomatoes

Peeling tomatoes can be an extremely tedious task, but there's a super easy way to do it that will save you tons of time. Cut the tomatoes in half and briefly heat them in a pan. The skin will peel right off if you pinch it between your thumb and index finger!

7. Perfectly Portion Butter

Portioning butter evenly is a lot easier than you might think! Use a knife to lightly draw lines in the butter that connect the opposite corners to one another. The point where the lines intersect is the center, so you can divide the butter in half by making a vertical cut through that point. You can use the same technique to divide the butter into quarters – just repeat the first step within the 2 halves you already divided.

8. Cut Bell Peppers Without Waste

Sometimes when you cut a bell pepper, a lot of the pepper gets stuck to the stem, which creates a lot of waste. To prevent this from happening, cut the bell pepper right up to the stem several times, then carefully pull the pieces apart. All that's left to do is remove the stem, and there will be barely any pesky seeds left on your pepper  plus you'll be able to use the whole thing!

Thanks to these tricks, you can spend time in the kitchen that's completely stress-free. Cooking more efficiently can save so much time, plus it will make cooking fun again!

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