We took a look at some hacks for home cooks that could make life easier during our busier lives.
Pre-Cooked Beans and Vegetables
We’re not talking about the canned stuff because the flavour is just not as good. also, they tend to have a softer texture than the homemade stuff. Two of my favorites are chickpeas and white beans. All you need to do is soak ⅓ cup of the beans of your choice in a container with 2 cups of water. Leave them overnight and then boil them for 30 minutes. Drain them and store in your fridge for 4 – 5 days.
Not only will they be the best tasting beans, they are so versatile in your meals. A few of my favorites are sprinkling them over a salad or roasting them in the air fryer for a nice snack. Alternatively, you can smash them into a dip or add them to a soup or stew or curry. As you have already cooked them, you do not need to plan ahead with them.
Hacks For Home Cooks – Pastes
This one is an absolute game changer. This is a ground up paste of all the aromatics that I already have in my pantry. I tend to stock up on garlic, scallion, ginger, turmeric, and chilies. I grab equal amounts of everything and blend into a thick paste. With this intense aromatic bomb at the palm of your hands, you are ready to flavour blast each and every one of your meals in an instant.
Hacks For Home Cooks – Pre-Cooked Potatoes
Pre-cooked or parboiled potatoes, in my opinion, are more adaptable than any raw potato. Before boiling potatoes until they are fork soft, I prefer to peel them and chop them into wedges. You want them to be fully cooked but not crumbling. They will keep for a few days in the fridge, but not long enough before I prepare some delectable air-fried wedges. You don’t have to wait for the potatoes to cook or be concerned that they will starch up your meals because I will also throw them into a frittata, soup, or curry.
Steamed Vegetables
Broccoli is one of my favourite steamed vegetables to keep on hand. I break apart a broccoli stem and cut the head of broccoli into smaller florets. They will be steamed until fully cooked and vibrant green. It takes roughly 3 minutes for me. You want to be able to cook them in a stir fry or spaghetti as well as utilise them straight away. What you want is to have chilled, perfectly steamed broccoli that is ready to eat.
Pre-Soaking
The worst thing to do is to put them in boiling water or soup and watch them turn very mushy or clump together. Your rice noodles will hydrate in around an hour, but you may keep them in for longer if you choose. They will last for a few days if you drain them and put them in a container.
Pre-soaked rice noodles take far less liquid to cook through, providing you with wonderfully al dente rice noodles in your stir fries. Also, if you are eating the noodles in a soup, you do not need to boil them first. The noodles will be cooked to perfection if you simply pour the scalding hot broth over them and cover them for three minutes.
