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1. Wrap your meals in parchment paper before putting it in the oven. Not only is this an easy, mess-free approach, but it'll also create a ~steam pocket~ that ensures everything comes out much more moist, tender, and flavorful than when cooked independently.
2. Fret not if that seems too *fancy* — all you need to do is fold the piece of parchment paper in half, cut out a heart, and fold all your ingredients inside. Nothing to steam over — especially when you realize this also means fewer dishes!
3. Keep a hand juicer nearby to add some lemon whenever your food tastes flat. The lemon's acidity cuts through fat, balances dishes that are too salty, and brightens flavor, making it the easiest antidote to all of your culinary emergencies.
4. Master a simple pesto recipe so you can upgrade just about every previously bland meal: plain chicken, leftover pasta, WHATEVER. It's super easy to make and will last you all week so you can always rely on it as a *finishing touch*.
5. Invest in at least one good chef's knife if you're hesitant to buy a full knife set. It's the ultimate multitasker — it'll help you learn how to chop, mince, slice, dice, and everything in between so you can actually follow more advanced recipes.
6. And! Practice basic knife skills so you can a) learn what the heck "chiffonade" means in your cookbook, and b) start to chop like a total pro and make your onions look *chef kisses fingers* SUPERBE.
7. Transform your go-to ramen noodles into exciting, gourmet meals with merely a few fresh ingredients. It's still a cheap and fast way to end your day, but will now be MUCH more satisfying.
8. Dump everything onto a sheet pan to streamline your prep time, while still benefiting from highly nutritious (and delicious!) meals. One dish to clean + zero time commitment = a very happy stomach.
9. Incorporate more herbs into your dishes to ~spice things up~ without the need for too many ingredients. A pair of herb scissors will do all the mincing and cutting for you so everything's in the pot before you have time to give up.
10. Explore more possibilities than just baked goods when using a muffin pan (poached eggs, anyone?). All that is required of you is tossing in a few ingredients and of course not burning the house down.
11. Enjoy satisfyingly crispy food *without* the usual oil mess by converting to the wildly popular Airfyer. It only requires a tablespoon of oil (or less!). Basically finger foods are about to be REBORN.
12. Pick up some ~pro tips~ from culinary experts to know all the little hacks that make restaurant food so dang delicious. For starters, pat your protein dry to ensure they'll always get that perfectly golden sear.
13. Memorize a few simple, yet creative side dishes to keep your go-to chicken recipe from getting mundane. You'll thank yourself when you can liven up day four of meal prep with some 🙌honey-roasted carrots🙌.
14. Unleash the magic of garlic (it makes EVERYTHING taste better) without any of the work. A garlic peeler prevents the painstaking process of getting to the clove yourself, while a garlic press cancels tedious chopping.
15. Discover a quality classic roast chicken recipe you'll be able to rely on for years. The trick is finding the perfect balance between reasonable prep time, simple ingredients, and *crispy yet juicy* results.
The clear winner: Ina Garten's "famous roast chicken". It's timelessly savory (hello, lemon and herbs), incredibly straightforward to make, and comes out golden and crisp every 👏damn👏 time👏. Bonus points if you use cooking twine.
16. Balance your Kindle or cookbook on a metal stand so you can easily keep up with recipes. No more splattering tomato sauce all over your book as you try to read measurements. Plus! It doubles as a tower ladle and lid stand to help prevent messes!
17. Check whether your meal is fully cooked with a digital meat thermometer, instead of slicing it open to see if it's still raw. Cutting your chicken, meat, etc. open too early wastes all of those precious juices and makes your dinner d-r-y.
18. Conquer seemingly high maintenance meals like homemade pasta with a ravioli maker. All you need to do is buy the dough (you're not making it, let's be real), and stuff the middle with a filler. And, well, cook it, but this will do all the hard work.
19. Match your choice of pasta to to sauces that best bring out *just* the right amount of texture and taste. Essentially, the thicker the pasta, the chunkier and meatier the sauce.
20. Transfer anything and everything you're chopping from the cutting board to the stove with a bench scraper. It's more efficient than trying to collect food with your hands, and will also prevent you from dulling your knife if you usually scrape with that.
21. Marinate your protein for the proper amount of time so that your dish soaks in as much flavor as possible. The good news: even if you forget to throw ingredients together in advance, everything besides red meat can soak for about 20 minutes and still give you plenty of flavor — ESPECIALLY when you use a meat injector.
22. Get big results with minimal effort by making your meals in an Instant Pot. You just need to muster the energy to toss everything into the pot, set the timer, and leave. It'll do all the hard work while you spend your day doing anything but cooking.
23. And! Use slow cooker liners to make cleanup incredibly fast so you're actually motivated to cook again. The faster messes are gone = the faster you can dump in more ingredients to try out more meals.
24. Organize yourself before diving into a recipe with stoneware pinch bowls. You won't feel as frazzled when everything has its own place — aka there's less of a chance you'll make mistakes. No more accidentally adding three tablespoons of chili powder. A true regret.
25. Roast your meatballs in an empty egg carton to wick away the grease, cook each one evenly (hello, heavenly crispy outside), and transfer them more smoothly than when they're stuck on pans. Perfectly round meatballs — that's amore.
26. Be sure you're cooking with kosher salt, as opposed to table salt. Kosher salt is the only kind to dissolve quickly and without any strange flavors so it'll merely *enhance* your dish, not alter it. And try to sprinkle it from high above to evenly distribute it — yes, think Salt Bae.
27. Say goodbye to unwanted chunks by replacing your whisk with an immersion blender. It features six speeds from fine-tuning to turbo pulse so your creamy soups will finally have the restaurant-quality texture that would require a heck of a lot more time when whisking by hand.
28. Reach Michelin star–status while doing a whole lot less (and for a lot cheaper) by cooking your entire meal in a pre-seasoned cast iron skillet. Aesthetically pleasing? Check. Barely trying? Double check.
29. Extend the shelf life of your groceries so you always have fresh ingredients on hand with a set of produce-saving sheets. This is *especially* helpful if you're cooking for one, but still want to buy fresh produce.
30. Feel free to always go for the cheaper cuts of steak (we're on a budget). To bring out the most flavor, marinade it with ingredients like soy sauce and garlic and then sear it in a cast iron skillet. Voilà; you are now a fine diner.
31. Beautify your egg-cooking abilities (aka I know how to not burn things) by cracking the egg into a strainer first. The yolk will come out perfectly yellow, which means you're about to hit 200+ likes on Instagram.
32. End any struggles with measuring by enlisting the help of stainless steel mixing bowls with measuring guide markings. No math, no problem.
33. Transform your usual go-tos (i.e. popcorn, spaghetti, etc.) with just one household ingredient (soy sauce for popcorn and baking soda for spaghetti). The added component will make you feel like a five-star chef, when really you should be thanking your pantry.
34. Prepare your meat and poultry in a ceramic sauté pan. Not only can ceramic cookware hold up in the oven, but it's non-stick so you'll never lose the crispy coating when transferring your meal to your plate. Basically this was MADE to get high-quality dishes into your belly faster.
35. Budget your meals so your saved moolah becomes a major incentive to eat in (and practice your cooking!). "But that's so boring," you say? Does a bento box with green curry, crisped tofu, and sweet potato sound uninteresting? I THINK NOT.
36. Refresh boring chicken recipes with nothing more than three-ingredient marinades. A bit of coconut milk, lemon juice, and kosher salt are all you need to give your chicken breast a whole new life (so to speak...).
37. Impress yourself and your guests with seemingly hard dishes (yes, I DID bake my own bread). But between you and me, this four ingredient no-knead bread recipe gives fluffy, fool-proof results every time.
38. Convince both yourself and your Instagram followers that you're on your way to Ratatouille status by poaching eggs with special silicone cups. They make the process so easy, you can even do it before coffee.
39. Invest in a fish spatula to avoid accidentally ripping your fish. They're super thin and flexible so you can safely get under delicate fillets without breaking them. Tl;dr: it's much easier to protect that yummy, crispy skin with this style spatula.
40. Measure out your ingredients accurately with a digital scale so you don't waste food (for future meals) and prevent any mistakes when tackling more *advanced* recipes.
When you successfully flip an omelette after a full week of ordering takeout:
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