Listen, cooking is hard, even for people with some experience in the kitchen.
So any tips, tricks, or shortcuts are more than welcome. Even lazy ones.
Luckily, Redditor solarbaby614 asked the r/cooking community for their "most shameful cooking shortcuts." Honestly, a lot of them are both relatable and kinda brilliant?? Here are some of the best:
1. "I rub a stick of butter on toast like it's deodorant, saves me from using a knife!"
2. "I make what I call Lick Knife. You take a butter knife and dip it in peanut butter, then you stick it in a bag of chocolate chips."
3. "My fiancé loves a sauce that is just 50/50 ketchup and soy sauce. I use it on shrimp, chicken, pork, omelets, etc. Sometimes I try to make it fancier, but it comes out better the normal way."
– GloomyCR
4. "My dad takes a tub of sour cream, a jar of salsa, and a taco seasoning packet and mixes it all together. I get down on that dip every cookout."
5. "Sometimes when making two different items in the oven that require different temperatures, I will toss them both in at a temperature in between until they both look done."
6. "I get an extra creamy-garlic dip with pizza orders and then make pasta sauce out of it. It's delicious, I'm not ashamed."
– peja
7. "I put olive oil and dried basil and cheese on ramen noodles. Italian ramen noodles."
8. "Sometimes I chop up a mozzarella string cheese stick and put it in a bowl, cover it in balsamic vinegar and let it marinate. Then I eat the cheese bits and drink the vinegar."
9. "Jar of salsa plus smashed avocado = cheater guacamole."
10. "Making a 'grilled' cheese by putting shredded cheddar between two slices of toast, wrapping it all in a napkin, and then microwaving for a few seconds."
11. "Piece of naan bread, slice or two of deli turkey, slice of cheese on top. Microwave for 30ish seconds. Open face melty naan thing I eat multiple times a week."
12. "I wanted to make chili one night...about halfway through, I realized we had no tomato paste, no canned tomatoes, or even fresh tomatoes. We only had one tomato product in the apartment — store bought, meat-style spaghetti sauce. So I made the chili using the spaghetti sauce."
"One of the best chilis I ever made, and I have used spaghetti sauce ever since." – JJC005
13. "Better Than Bouillon is so good...I like to stir half a teaspoon of the organic chicken flavor into a mug of hot water and sip on it. I call it chicken tea."
14. "I make tortilla pizza for my kids when they ask for pizza last minute and I’m out of ideas."
"Flour tortilla, spread on some tomato paste, salt, olive oil, dried oregano, and a sprinkle of pre shredded mozzarella straight from the freezer. Drop it on to a heated cast iron pan for a few minutes then about 30 seconds under the broiler." – clunkclunk
15. "Almonds and honey, except when I’m lazy I don’t put it into a bowl. I eat a spoonful of honey and then shove a handful of almonds into my mouth."
16. "Steaming frozen corn in the microwave then dumping it in a bowl and adding mayo, Parmesan cheese (green container; you know the ones), and a dash of Valentina... poor man’s elotes."
17. "Pick a veggie, choppy choppy. Put it in a hot pan. Pour a packet if hollandaise sauce mix on it. Splash water or chicken stock on them until it gets creamy. Voila: creamed corn or spinach or squash or whatever you have lying around. People will think you are fancy as fuck. You're welcome."
– cahlima
18. "Chop hot dog. Microwave hot dog pieces. Cook tortilla covered in bag shredded cheese in a cast iron pan until melted. Add hot dog and hot sauce. Consume while thinking about the life choices that have led to this meal."
– TheKronk