Research shows that being surrounded by nature improves our physical, mental, and emotional well-being. For this reason, it only makes sense that homeowners around the world are looking for easy, budget-friendly ways in which they can upgrade their outdoor spaces. If you are looking to give your garden a new look, read our 30 DIY backyard hacks mentioned below.
Create Your Own Gardening Station
If gardening is one of your hobbies, it only makes sense that you should have your very own dedicated gardening station. The best part? Creating the station is as easy as reusing and painting two old barrels and a plank of wood.
Simply paint the barrels and wood any color of your choice and let them dry properly. Balance the wood on the two barrels to give yourself a rustic yet perfectly functional outdoor work desk. This easy hack will make all the difference to your gardening experience.
Design an Outdoor Plant Wall
One incredibly easy way in which you can bring life to your garden is by creating an outdoor plant wall. All you will need to do is choose a variety of colorful plants, pick out some colorful pots for them to go into, and choose which wall you want to makeover.
This hack is perfect for any homeowners who don’t have much floor space. Once you have picked your wall, use wall mount nails to hang your pot plants. If you really want a striking feature wall, you could even paint the wall a bright color first.
Add a Wind Chime
There is nothing more relaxing than listening to the gentle sounds of a wind chime while surrounded by nature. These easy-to-make garden decorations will bring a whole new element to your backyard paradise.
Connect four to six hollow wooden sticks or thin metal pipes to a wooden disk using fishing wire. You will need a drill to make holes for the wire in the disk and sticks. Finally, make a hole for a metal hook (or a loop made from the same fishing wire) to hang the chime on a tree in your garden.
Create a Miniature Succulent Garden
Bring the desert to your garden with this easy DIY hack. Have you ever noticed those tiny figurines at your local gardening store? With just a few of those, some materials from your backyard, and some small succulent plants, you can create a miniature succulent garden.
Simply fill a recycled bowl or pot with soil and plant your succulents of choice to create mini flower beds. Create a path using some small pebbles and lay out the figurines to create a mini scene.
The Easiest Tool-Cleaning Station
Working with dirty tools is not fun. Especially as the dirt will damage the tools in the long run, meaning you will have to replace your equipment more often. To combat this, you could create your very own tool-cleaning station with nothing more than a bucketful of sand and motor oil.
By inserting your metal tools into the oil-saturated sand after you are finished with them, all of the mud and dirt will be removed in no time at all. Plunge the tools into the sand a few times until they come out shiny.
Create Your Own Miniature Evergreen Garden
Mini conifers and perennials are two of the most popular miniature plants. If you want to add a mini garden to your outdoor landscape, you can create a petite flower bed with these two evergreens.
Fill a pot or recycled bowl with soil, lay out the plants as you would like, and then cover the soil with sheet moss and gravel to lock in as much moisture as possible.
Concrete Paver Planter
These concrete paver planters will bring clean lines and a touch of elegance to your garden. All you will need to do is purchase some polyurethane construction adhesive and four pavers (in the size you would like your planter to be).
Add the edges of the pavers and connect them to create a box. Wait for the adhesive to dry properly before laying the planter in your garden and filling it with soil. For a more rustic look, you could also whitewash the pavers.
Add a Bottle Bird Feeder
Bird feeders are basically a staple for every garden-lover. Create your very own bird feeder with a recycled glass bottle, a seed holder, and some copper wire wrapping. You will also need a metal hook to hang the bird feeder.
Start by thoroughly cleaning the bottle before wrapping the copper wire in loops around it. Once you reach the top of the bottle, create a vertical spiral that can be used to attach the bottle to the hook. Finally, attach the seed holder to the bottom of the bottle.
Design a Living Succulent Picture
This hack may look complicated, but it is actually super easy. To create this living piece of art, you will need a variety of small succulents, a reusable picture frame, some chicken wire, and plywood.
Cut and glue the plywood to create a box the same size as the interior of the picture frame, and then glue the two together, with the chicken wire in the middle. Add soil into the box before trimming your succulents, arranging and planting them in the frame.
Create a Step Way With Log Slices
If you have a tree that you want to get rid of, you can use the trunk to create this rustic yet functional garden stepway. Simply chop the tree down, and you are ready to get started.
Once you have the trunk, chop it into smaller slices of about 2 inches in thickness. Lay them out across soil or grass to create a budget-friendly walkway. If you would like to add some color, paint the log slices a bright shade before laying them down.
Hanging Wooden Basket Flower Container
Have an old crate or basket that you don’t know what to do with? With just some wire or rope, you can create the perfect hanging plant for your garden. We recommend filling the basket with a colorful plant to really add some flare to your outdoor space.
Sand down the basket before adding some paint (in the color of your choice). Fill the basket with soil before adding your plant/plants. If your basket has holes in it, you can add a layer of moss before the soil to keep it from falling through.
Add Some Garden Orbs
If you have any dogwood branches left over after pruning, creating some garden orbs would be a creative way to put them to good use. Garden orbs are natural garden ornaments that will add an element of design to your outdoor space.
Form a steady base with thicker dogwood branches by making two loops and overlapping them to create a ball shape. Use a bendable wire to secure the loops together. Start wrapping the remaining dogwood branches around the base to create the orb, routinely securing the branches with the wire.
Install a Pond Box
Ponds are always a fan-favorite in any garden. They are especially helpful if you want to add some water plants to your collection. You will need a crate (the bigger, the better), some waterproof plastic wrapping, nails, and glue adhesive.
Cut out enough waterproof wrapping to cover the interior of the crate. Add glue to each side of the crate before sticking down the wrapping, nailing it in place along the edges once dried. You can then fill the crate with water.
Make Some Concrete Balls
Concrete balls are another straightforward way in which you can add some elegance and style to your garden. For this hack, all you will need is some styrofoam balls (in a variety of sizes) and cement or mortar mix.
Start by mixing the cement/mortar. Use a paintbrush to coat the styrofoam balls with a layer of the mixture. Once dry, you may need to add another layer. If you are going for the white-washed look, use gentle brushstrokes, so add some white paint to the cement/mortar.
Upgrade Your Terra-Cotta Pots
Want to give your basic terra-cotta pots a quick upgrade? Make them stand out by adding a layer of brightly colored paint or, if you fancy yourself as an artist, some intricate patterns to make your pots the talking point of your garden.
We recommend using an eye-catching color that still looks classy, such as rose gold. If that’s still too basic for your taste, paint the pot a neutral color, and once it has dried, go over it with some floral details using brighter colors.
Pallet Garden Organizer
Having your garden tools properly organized is always a time-saver. It also makes the whole gardening experience a little bit less overwhelming. You can upcycle a cast-off pallet into a tool organizer that can be hung in your garage, shed, or wall.
Simply start by sanding down the pallet. You can then stain it with the color of your choice before screwing in some hooks for a variety of tools. Don’t forget to attach a mount to the back of the pallet so that it can be hung.
Make Your Own Compost
Just about every gardener out there would recommend that you make your own compost. It’s easy and sustainable, and you will end up saving money in the long run. All you will need for this quick hack is a drill with a paddle bit and an empty plastic bin.
Start by drilling holes into the bin in an even row and on all sides. These holes will allow air into the bin, enabling the compost to break down quickly. You can then go about filling the bin with any compostable items you would usually throw away.
Design Marbleized Pots For a Splash of Color
If you want every one of your pots to have a unique look, you should definitely try going for a marbleized effect. The pots will end up looking expensive and classy, but they only take an hour or so to decorate.
Select a variety of paint before pouring small amounts into a container of water. Once you have created a pattern you like, dip the pots into the water so that the paint sticks. Let the paint dry, and you will have a stunning new addition to your garden.
Vertical Gardens
Vertical gardens are a brilliant way to add some dimension to your garden. If your outdoor space is on the smaller side, this is an especially useful hack. You will need a vertical piece of wood, such as a recycled door, sandpaper, paint/varnish, a drill, and screws.
Start by sanding down the door before adding a layer of paint/varnish. Drill the screws into the door in whatever pattern you like. You can then simply hang your pots from these screws, creating a vertical garden that is sure to be a talking point in your backyard.
Add Some Dimension with Raised Flower Beds
If you have some new flowers that you really want to show off, why not build your own raised flower bed? By upcycling an old wooden crate, you can raise your favorite shrubs, making them the centerpiece of your backyard paradise.
Once you know where you want your flowers, lay down the crate, and if there are gaps in between the wooden planks, add a layer of moss to prevent the soil from falling through. It’s as simple as that! Just plant your flowers and admire your work.
A Solar Water Fountain
By simply adding a solar pump to any water container, you can create your very own solar water fountain! This hack would be perfect for a pond, but if you don’t have one, you could also create a mini water feature with a large bucket or even a wheelbarrow.
Throw in some water-loving plants — such as Cardinal Flowers, Hostas, or Spiderworts — and this feature will be the main attraction in your outdoor space. Just make sure that the solar pump is in a location that gets enough sunshine.
Repurposed Patio Chair Flower Boxes
Instead of throwing away your old patio chair, give it a new life by adding a fresh coat of bright paint. Then, remove the seat to make space for a pot. The pot should be large enough that the outer rim balances on the edges of the chair.
Add some soil and colorful flowers of your choice to the pot, and you will have a brand-new decoration for your outdoor space. Throwing in fun pieces like this is a great way to spice up the area by adding an extra pop of color.
Rainbow Crate Wall
As we’ve seen, crates can be extremely useful when giving your garden a makeover. If you have an old shelf that you don’t know what to do with, you can use it to create a rainbow crate wall filled with all of your favorite colorful plants.
Start by cleaning the shelf and painting it a neutral color so that the crates stand out. The more crates you have, the more colorful your wall will be. Be sure to choose striking paints that match the colors of your flowers.
Repurpose an Old Bathtub
Adding an old bathtub to your garden is an easy way to create a centerpiece because most people won’t expect it to be there. Many people like the rustic look, a mosaic finish, or they simply leave the tub as is, filling it with a variety of plants.
However, you could also add some floral patterns to the outside of the tub, giving it a more delicate look. There are many ways in which you could decorate your new centerpiece — it’s all about your personal style and preference.
Add a Wooden Obelisk
An obelisk is a type of trellis that people plant over climbing vegetables and other plants. It is fully functional while also acting as a piece of homemade art in your garden. All you will need is some wooden sticks, a drill, and screws.
Make three square bases with the sticks, each decreasing in size, and screw them in place. Then, use the remaining sticks to attach the three bases together, forming a long pyramid shape. You could also sand and paint the obelisk to finish it off.
Use Mason Jars to Grow Your Seeds
You can create your own herb wall using only mason jars, chicken wire, a staple gun, an old frame, and copper wire. This will not only make an eye-catching addition to your garden, but it is also practical.
Use the staple gun to replace the back of the frame with chicken wire. Twist the copper wire around the rim of the jars, using the remaining wire to create a hook. You can then fill the jars with your seeds and hang them from the chicken wire for easy growing.
Include a Kids Garden
If you have a young child, chances are they want to copy you by helping out in the garden. That’s why you should give them their very own miniature gardening station so that they can feel involved.
Use an old crate or trunk to plant a variety of easy-to-grow flowers, fruits, and vegetables. When the time comes, your child can help with harvesting, watering, fertilizing, etc. You could even get your little one some miniature tools for the job!
Protective Plant Cover
Sick of unwanted visitors ruining your plants? With just some chicken wire, copper wire, and 3 wooden sticks (cut them so that they are 5-10 centimeters taller than the plant you want to cover), you can protect your plants from rodents.
Lean the sticks together, create a teepee, and use the copper wire to secure them together where they join. Cover your miniature teepee with chicken wire, using the remaining copper wire to attach along the length of the sticks and at the top.
Add a Budget-Friendly Stone Garden Path
A garden path is the perfect way to give your outdoor space an interactive element. It also doesn’t have to be an expensive project. At your local nursery, you should be able to get your hands on a bag of budget-friendly pebbles or stones.
If you are going for a manicured look, start by outlining your path with square bricks or tiles. You could also simply use a path border, which is sold at any hardware store. Then, just fill in the cordoned-off area with your pebbles or stones.
Chevron Lattice Trellis
A chevron is used to help grow vegetable vines, such as cucumbers or peas. Most people just use a stick to help the vines grow upwards, but that won’t add anything to the aesthetics of your garden.
Create a rectangular frame using four wooden posts and a nail gun to secure them in place. Then, add smaller posts diagonally across the frame to create a chevron pattern. This DIY project is both practical and stylish.
By Layla B. –
If you’re anything like us, then you hate to cook but love to eat. Unfortunately, in order to enjoy a delicious meal, it’s necessary to pay your dues in the kitchen. Luckily, there are some genius cooking hacks that can make food prep a lot easier and go a lot faster. Here are 40+ brilliant tricks for the shamelessly lazy chef who still wants quality meals!
A Quick and Healthy Snack
Sometimes, you just can’t be bothered to make a proper snack. Or maybe you’re rushing to work and don’t have time to cook a nutritious breakfast. Either way, this hack will have you covered!
Simply pour some oats into an almost-empty jar of peanut butter. It’s delicious, healthy, quick, and easy to make, and it’ll ensure that you’re not wasting those last peanut butter drops. If you’ve got some extra time and you’re feeling fancy, you can add fruit or nuts to the jar, as well.
Have Garlic Ready to Go
Most tasty dishes require fresh garlic, which can be a total pain to peel and chop. Not to mention that your hands will smell like garlic for the remainder of the day. This hack requires some prep work at the get-go but it’ll save you tons of effort later on.
Get a whole bunch of garlic, peel and chop it, and simply throw it all into an ice tray before popping it into the freezer. That way, the next time you need some garlic, it’ll be ready to go!
Buy One Chicken for Everything
In order to have enough chicken for all sorts of dishes, simply buy one large rotisserie chicken. You can then cut off chunks of it and use them for several days — even a week! Want a chicken salad? No problem, you already have the chicken ready to go!
Fancy some chicken soup? No need to cook the chicken chunks, just throw them in with some broth and your favorite soup vegetables! Why prepare separate food each day when you can just get one big, multi-purpose chicken once a week?
Fake a BBQ With Smoked Paprika
If you love the flavor of barbequed food but don’t want to spend hours by the grill, there’s one simple spice that’ll solve that problem. Cooking smoked paprika into your food will give it that rich and heavy flavor reminiscent of a BBQ.
Is it exactly the same thing as a meal that’s been on the grill? Unfortunately, no. Is it an excellent substitute for someone who doesn’t like barbecuing or lacks the space for a big grill at home? Absolutely!
Buy Frozen Goods
Oftentimes, frozen goods can be shockingly tasty and they’re certainly a lot less time-consuming than making your own pastries from scratch. If you still want your desserts to have a bit of a unique flavor, you can always give them your own personal touch
Add some vanilla extract or chocolate powder to your pastry before putting it in the oven. Really, there’s no limit to what you can do to make a basic pastry your own.
When in Doubt — Go Instant
Instant foods, such as instant mashed potatoes, are popular for a reason! There may be a bit of a stigma against them, but, let’s be honest, sometimes you really want mashed potatoes and can’t be bothered to spend hours slaving away in the kitchen for them.
You can always add a secret spice or sauce to your instant food in order to personalize it and make it seem like you prepared it from scratch. Or just let everyone know it’s instant — there’s no shame in that!
A Personal Pizza in Minutes
There’s no need to spend hours preparing the dough if you want to make pizza. You don’t even have to defrost a big pre-made pizza dough — especially if you’re just one person.
Instead, use a flour tortilla or pita bread, spread marina sauce on it, add a bit of cheese, and whatever toppings you want, and put it in the oven for five minutes. There you go, you now have a personal pizza!
The Secret to Shredding Chicken
There may have been a time when cooking had to take hours upon hours, but not in this day and age. Nowadays, we have tons of technology to help us out. So, are you using all of your kitchen gadgets to their max?
For example, it’s no longer necessary to stand there pulling apart chicken if you need it shredded. All you have to do is use a mixer and your chicken will be shredded in seconds. To think we once believed that mixers were just for mixing!
Have Potatoes On-Hand
Potatoes are extremely versatile and can be used for meals at pretty much any time of the day. Dedicate a bit of time, every now and then, to cut and boil potatoes and then keep them in the fridge.
That way, half the work will already be done when you need to make something quickly. In fact, you can always just throw them onto a pan with some butter or oil and spices for a super quick and easy bite.
Macaroni and Cheese Popcorn
Turn your popcorn to the next level and make it into a once-in-a-blue-moon snack by using instant macaroni and cheese packets to season the popcorn. Pop your popcorn in the microwave, as you normally would.
When you put it into a bowl, sprinkle the macaroni and cheese powder on top and then mix it in. Once you do that, you’ll be ready for a proper movie night, Netflix and chill, a quick snack, or all three!
Clean a Blender Effortlessly
Cleaning a blender can be tricky, as you run the risk of accidentally hurting yourself on the blade. However, there’s a much quicker, easier, and — most importantly — safer way to clean the blender, simply by letting it do its thing.
Fill your blender a little less than halfway with warm water (not too hot), add a touch of dish soap, put the lid on, and run the blender for a few seconds. Pour the dirty water out, rinse the blender, and you’re done!
Microwave Garlic for Easy Peeling
Peeling garlic can be a serious task that leaves an even more serious odor on your hands, but it doesn’t have to be. Heating the garlic up a bit can save you a lot of time and energy.
Just toss a head of garlic into the microwave for 20 seconds and then the peels will slip off with ease. This method will ensure that you won’t have to deal with juices, messes, or smelly hands — just some ready-to-cut garlic!
Don’t Thaw Frozen Fish
Fish can be cooked even while frozen, meaning that you can skip the stage of waiting for it to thaw. This might increase your cooking time but you’ll save more on all the time you would have waited for it to reach room temperature. So it all depends on how urgently you need it ready.
What’s nice about this method is that not only do you not need to decide in advance if you want fish, but, since it’s frozen, the spices and sauces will stick to the outside and the fish won’t get overcooked inside.
Shake Whipped Cream
Whipping cream by hand can leave you feeling like you’ve just grown an extra bicep. Save that energy for the gym, instead, and shake your whipped cream. Pour heavy whipping cream into a jar, add powdered sugar and vanilla, close the jar tightly, and shake it until it’s nice and fluffy.
Feel free to blast some music and dance around the house while shaking your whipped cream like a maraca — it sounds like a soon-to-be TikTok trend, doesn’t it?
Use the “Underwater Method” for Pomegranates
De-seeding pomegranates is often messy, frustrating, and seemingly impossible. Luckily, there’s a trick to getting those pomegranate seeds out efficiently and without any messiness involved.
First, cut the pomegranate in half, and then soak it in some water. Pick out the seeds and let them drop to the bottom of the bowl. The pomegranate membrane and rind will then float to the top. Just drain the seeds and you’re ready to go!
Use Baking Soda to Save Time
Making a dish like polenta or grits can take quite a bit of time and energy. However, there’s a quick trick to getting these meals ready in half the time: add baking soda. The baking soda will get your food to the right consistency and texture, without all the effort.
Just make sure not to overdo it — you don’t need more than a pinch. For polenta, mix the baking soda with water before adding it in and your dish will end up perfectly creamy.
Microwave First, Oven Second
Certain foods, like casserole or lasagna, take ages to heat up in the oven. However, if you heat them up in the microwave, they’ll lose their original texture.
The solution to this dilemma is to defrost your food in the microwave first, and then finish warming it up in the oven. The microwave will quickly heat the insides of the dish and the oven will heat up the outside, while still maintaining the texture.
Lazy Apple Pie
Very few things taste as good as some warm apple pie. Unfortunately, very few things require as much time and effort to bake as apple pie does. That being said, there’s a lazy option for this classic dessert.
Cut an apple into small cubes and place it into a cup or bowl. Add butter, sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Then, put it in the microwave until the apples get mushy. Finally, sprinkle crushed graham crackers on top. There you have it — five-minute apple pie!
Use Lemon Juice Instead of Lemons
If a recipe calls for squeezing lemons or lime, you can save yourself some time by using bottled lemon or lime juice. It’s a lot less messy, a lot easier, and won’t leave you trying to fish out the seeds.
We’ll be honest, the flavor won’t be as fresh as it’d be if you squeezed lemons or limes yourself. Therefore, you should really just use this hack for recipes in which the food is being cooked or mixed with a lot of other flavors anyway.
Recycle Leftovers
Leftover food doesn’t need to go to waste and you certainly don’t need to prepare a new meal every single day. But, don’t think that means you have to eat the same food every day, either! Instead, recycle your leftovers and use them for a different dish.
For example, leftover mashed potatoes can become tater tots. Leftover rice can be used for a buddha bowl or even rice pudding. Pasta can become a casserole or a pasta salad. You get the idea…
Use Dessert Mixes
Boxed dessert mixes are often looked down on but no one can deny that they’re a true time-saver and taste just as good as something baked from scratch. You can even add your own touch to these mixes in order to personalize them.
Throw some ground coffee into a chocolate cake mix in order to give it a mocha flavor. Or splash a bit of milk into a brownie mix to make it creamier. Add chocolate chips, coconut flakes, nuts, or whatever you want!
Salvage a Broken Cake
We’ve all been in that dreaded situation in which we’ve spent time and energy baking a cake, just for it to break and ruin the whole aesthetic.
Not all hope has to be lost, though, as you can easily turn the broken cake into a trifle. Just layer in some fruit and whipped cream and… voilà! No one ever has to know that your perfect trifle was once supposed to be a cake.
Any Pizza Can Be Deep-Dish
Believe it or not, any pizza can be made into a deep-dish pizza — without all the effort of making the dish from scratch. Whether or not you live in Chicago, you can still enjoy a deep-dish pizza — even from home!
Buy a pre-made supermarket pizza, let it thaw for roughly 20 minutes, toss it onto an oiled pan, add whatever toppings you want, then bake it for an additional 10 minutes.
Prevent Cuts With Magnets
If you’ve ever cut your finger on the lid of a can, don’t worry, you’re not the only one. Lifting a can’s lid can be a dangerous task if you’re prone to clumsy accidents.
For those who are maybe a bit less agile, we suggest using a strong fridge magnet on top of the lid to lift the lid completely off the can. That way, you won’t end up hurting yourself when trying to reach the can’s contents.
Leave the Potato Skins
Believe it or not, potato skins actually add a lot of texture and flavor to most spud-centric dishes. Given that mashed potatoes can be quite monotonous, potato skins are a great way to break up the flavor and add a little something extra.
Furthermore, you’ll be saving yourself tons of time by not peeling all the potatoes before boiling them. You’d be surprised how being “lazy” about making potatoes can actually result in a unique and delicious dish. Just make sure to still clean them before use!
Get Ice-Cold Drinks Quickly
We’ve all been guilty of forgetting to put a drink in the fridge and then being stuck with having it at room temperature. Sure, you can try to put it in the freezer for a bit but that never works as quickly as you’d like it to.
However, there’s an easy way to make the freezer work much more efficiently. Wrap the bottle in a wet paper towel and then put it in the freezer. It’ll be nice and cold in just a few minutes!
Pico de Gallo Instead of Veggies
Pico de gallo, aka salsa fresco, can be used instead of fresh veggies as a huge time-saver. If you have a recipe that calls for onions, peppers, and tomatoes, you can just throw in store-bought pico de gallo instead.
It contains all those ingredients already chopped and ready to go, and it’ll taste exactly the same as fresh veggies when cooked into a dish. If you’re more of a DIY person, you can always make your own every once in a while, and keep it in the fridge.
Spruce Up Ramen Noodles
Trust us when we tell you that it’s entirely possible to make a delicious dish from instant ramen noodles. Yes, we know how that sounds but stay with us here. Add peanut butter and sriracha to instant beef-flavored ramen and your mind will be blown by how simple, yet tasty, it is!
Of course, if you’re not a fan of sriracha or peanut butter, you can add other ingredients instead. The point is that you can create a delicious ramen dish without starting from scratch.
Cook Spaghetti in a Skillet
Cooking spaghetti in a skillet, rather than a pot, will reduce the time it takes for it to be ready as the water will boil much faster. Furthermore, the leftover water is the perfect base for making a sauce.
It’ll be concentrated and starchy, so you don’t need to start creating a sauce from zero. When the spaghetti’s finished cooking, put it on a plate and use the same skillet to make the sauce, which you’ve already started with the water.
Separate Egg Yolks With a Bottle
Separating egg yolks from the whites is no easy task… unless you know the trick to it, that is! All you need is a water bottle in order to easily extract egg yolks. Crack the eggs into a bowl, hold the mouth of the water bottle over the egg yolk, and slowly release your grip.
When you release the squeeze, the bottle will suck up the yolk. You can then deposit the yolk into a separate bowl, as needed.
Blend Hollandaise Sauce
Despite being absolutely delicious, many people don’t have hollandaise sauce on a regular basis because it’s such a pain to make. This sauce requires endless whisking and perfect timing, in order to come out just right.
However, if you don’t mind cheating a bit, there’s a much easier way to get this sauce. Simply mix the ingredients in a blender and, at the click of a button, it’ll be ready. Feel free to keep this trick a secret so your guests admire your expert “whisking” abilities.
Use Anchovies to Elevate a Dish
Not everyone loves the taste of anchovies but if you use them sparingly, they can elevate a dish without giving off that fishy flavor.
For example, dissolving one or two anchovies into a bolognese sauce will give it that extra oomph that makes it taste like it’s from a gourmet restaurant. It’s also a wonderful alternative to salt! If you’re cooking for other people, just make sure they’re good with eating fish as they won’t taste the anchovies in the dish.
French Toast in a Mug
Who doesn’t love French toast for breakfast in the morning? However, who really wants to spend their whole morning cooking? That’s where French toast in a mug comes in. Rip up pieces of bread and place them in a mug.
Then, create a French toast batter (eggs, milk, sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla) and pour it into the mug. Put it in the microwave for one minute. Take it out, pour maple syrup on it, microwave it for another 15 seconds, take it out again, and enjoy your breakfast!
Repurpose Leftovers Into a Quiche
Remember, leftovers never have to go to waste while there’s still no need to eat the same thing every day. Making a quiche or frittata is a great way to utilize any savory foods that may need repurposing.
This whatever-goes type of cooking is also a great way to use up vegetables that are going to go bad soon. Use them in any sort of baked egg dish — it’s pretty much impossible to go wrong with those.
Bake Bacon
Cooking bacon can make you feel like you need to wear a full-body shield. Frying this delicious food will leave grease splatters all over your kitchen — and all over you.
In order to avoid the mess but still enjoy a bacon-filled breakfast, bake your bacon in the oven rather than frying it. Line a baking pan with tin foil (you can also use a cooking sheet), put the bacon on it, and pop it into the oven. There you have it!
The Egg Peeling Trick
Peeling eggs can be pretty frustrating and time-consuming — if you don’t know the trick to it, that is. In order to peel hard-boiled eggs quickly and painlessly, put them in a jar of cold water.
Then put the lid on (make sure it’s screwed on tight), and shake the jar. When you go to take the eggs out, the shell will come right off! This trick should cut down your egg salad prepping by half!
No More Onion Tears
Peeling onions isn’t really anyone’s favorite task. It’s difficult to do, it stinks up your hands, and most people get teary-eyed from it. A simple solution is to soak the onions in hot water for a few minutes before starting to peel them.
This trick will make peeling the pesky vegetable much easier and help a bit with the crying (sadly, it won’t completely eliminate the tears). Another trick to help with tears when cutting onions is to put the onions in the freezer for 10-15 minutes before cutting them.
Cheat at Cake Decorating
We all want people to be impressed with our amazing cake-decorating skills. That being said, not all of us have those abilities handy. Luckily, you can fake it by placing cookies into the cake, making it look like you’ve drawn the design on with frosting yourself.
If your conscious can handle cheating even further, you can buy several different-sized cakes and pile them on top of each other. That way, it’ll look like you’ve baked a huge three-tiered cake!
Kernel-Less Popcorn
A true first-world food problem is reaching for a handful of popcorn only to discover that you’ve eaten a mouthful of bitter kernels. Apparently, the bag that microwavable popcorn comes in is designed to prevent that very instance — but no one uses them properly!
The bag is meant to be opened just a small bit, at first, so that you can shake the kernels out into a bowl. Once they’re all gone, you can open the popcorn bag all the way and enjoy without fear of a bad bite.
Be Ready for Taco Tuesday
Everyone loves taco Tuesday — except for when all of the contents of our taco fall out of the tortilla and onto our hands, that is. In order to keep your taco whole, place the tortilla in a microwave-safe cup.
Then, fill the tortilla with whatever you want in your taco. Microwave it, and only take the taco out of the cup when it’s ready to eat. That’s how you get an (almost) mess-free taco.
Never Burn Grilled Cheese Again
Most people use butter on their grilled cheese. While delicious, it’s pretty easy to burn if you’re not careful or willing to keep a close eye on it. An alternative, and equally tasty, option is to use mayo instead.
It’s a lot less likely to burn and needs less attention when being grilled. Bonus points for the fact using mayo saves you the time of needing to soften the butter so you can spread it.
Switch to Powders
When it comes to onion and garlic, powders are just as good as the fresh stuff. We admit that, at first, they’re a bit less flavorful. However, that can easily be fixed by simply mixing the spices with a touch of water.
Anyway, you won’t really notice if the recipe in question calls for the onions or garlic to be cooked into something. Powders will save you the time you would’ve spent peeling and chopping, and they’ll also save you a whole lot of mess.
Always Have “Fancy” Ingredients Ready
Certain ingredients can make any basic dish seem fancy. For example, sun-dried tomatoes have the magical power of always feeling gourmet. Figure out what your “fancy” ingredients are and make sure to always have them on hand to quickly spruce up a meal.
If you’ve got excellent culinary skills, you can make an actual fancy meal. However, if you’re in a rush or cooking just isn’t where you shine, fake it with a “fancy” ingredient.
Egg Slicers Aren’t Just for Eggs
Who says egg slicers have to be exclusively for eggs? This useful tool can be used for pretty much anything that’s soft and needs slicing. You can use egg slicers for strawberries, mushrooms, soft cheeses, olives, and so on.
Why sit there, spending your time chopping all sorts of foods, when you have an egg slicer that can be used for so much more than its original purpose? Feel free to find multiple uses for your other kitchen appliances as well! Get creative with it!
Two-Ingredient Caramel Sauce
Caramel sauce can be a true pain to make, as it requires endless whisking, quite a few ingredients, and will burn unless you keep an eye on it. However, there’s a way for even the laziest chef to cook caramel sauce — and it only requires two ingredients.
Mix condensed milk with boiling water, let it sit for roughly three hours, and you’ll have caramel sauce! The best part is that there’s no need to stand over it while it cooks.
Put Potatoes in the Dishwasher
We all know the importance of washing potatoes thoroughly before cooking with them. However, we also know what a pain it can be to get the grimy vegetables properly cleaned by hand. Instead, let the dishwasher do all that hard work!
Place potatoes on the top rack of the dishwasher, and set it to the rinse cycle. Just make sure that there aren’t any dishes, soap, or detergent in the dishwasher when you do this.
