Kitchen Tips, Tricks and Hacks
Chicken broth
Rather than buying and storing big quarts of chicken broth - and then having to open one when you only need a little bit - I keep a jar of Better than Bouillon in my fridge. This is a rich concentrate that lets me reconstitute just as much broth as I need at a time. The jar stipulates 1 tsp concentrate to 1 cup water, but according to Cook's Illustrated using 3/4 tsp per cup yields a less salty broth. That equates to 1 tablespoon concentrate to 4 cups of water.
Garlic
Peeling garlic is a pain. Instead, I buy large amounts of pre-peeled garlic cloves (yay Costco!) and freeze them! To use, let thaw for a fe minutes, then push through a garlic press. I like the Joseph Joseph garlic rocker much better. In a pinch, you can grate the frozen cloves on a microplane zester.
Ginger
Prepping fresh ginger is also a pain! So, I just concentrate the pain, by prepping a ton of ginger at once! Use a spoon to scrape the skin off the ginger, then cut it into 2" pieces and freeze. To use, grate the frozen ginger on a microplane zester.
Onions, Bell Peppers and Other Veggies
You can pre-chop onions and store them in the fridge for several days before they will start to soften too much. Same goes for bell peppers, cucumber, broccoli.
Insta-Salad
Lots of veggies keep well in the fridge when prepped. Add in a clamshell of prepped baby greens and a bottle of salad dressing (homemade or not), and you can make a side salad for any meal in a pinch! Bonus: everyone can pick and choose what they want in their salad.
Rather than buying and storing big quarts of chicken broth - and then having to open one when you only need a little bit - I keep a jar of Better than Bouillon in my fridge. This is a rich concentrate that lets me reconstitute just as much broth as I need at a time. The jar stipulates 1 tsp concentrate to 1 cup water, but according to Cook's Illustrated using 3/4 tsp per cup yields a less salty broth. That equates to 1 tablespoon concentrate to 4 cups of water.
Garlic
Peeling garlic is a pain. Instead, I buy large amounts of pre-peeled garlic cloves (yay Costco!) and freeze them! To use, let thaw for a fe minutes, then push through a garlic press. I like the Joseph Joseph garlic rocker much better. In a pinch, you can grate the frozen cloves on a microplane zester.
Ginger
Prepping fresh ginger is also a pain! So, I just concentrate the pain, by prepping a ton of ginger at once! Use a spoon to scrape the skin off the ginger, then cut it into 2" pieces and freeze. To use, grate the frozen ginger on a microplane zester.
Onions, Bell Peppers and Other Veggies
You can pre-chop onions and store them in the fridge for several days before they will start to soften too much. Same goes for bell peppers, cucumber, broccoli.
Insta-Salad
Lots of veggies keep well in the fridge when prepped. Add in a clamshell of prepped baby greens and a bottle of salad dressing (homemade or not), and you can make a side salad for any meal in a pinch! Bonus: everyone can pick and choose what they want in their salad.