Cooking Shortcuts You'll Love

Everyone loves a shortcut, especially in home cooking in baking. It makes for less stress and less work The end result is more or less the same - without a headache or two.There should be no guilt in not sticking  the original recipes. The chefs and bakers who created them probably had a hack or two up their sleeves as well.

Cooking hacks or shortcuts have been around ever since early man put water in a bowl and boiled it over an open flame. There have been a number of commercial shortcuts created in the 19th and 20th centuries. One of the first was the dessert Jello, followed by instant gravies and mashed potatoes.A easy hot lunch or dinner shortcut, is picking up sliced turkey, Stovetop Stuffing and jarred turkey gravy.Make the stuffing, heat the gravy and serve with the meat. Add a side of steamed veggies for a filling hot meal. One of the most delicious dishes any home chef can make is quiche. However it can be a pain to make, especially the crust. The easiest solution is premade pie crust. Everyone from Pillsbury to Stop & Shop have excellent ones.I just made Ione's Zucchini Pie, from Heirloom Cooking With The Brass Sisters. The recipe is labor intensive, with zucchini being grated and onions being chopped. My days are busy so making a homemade crust is a lot of work and time. I asked the sisters if it was all right to sub in an already made crust. The answer was yes and I used Stop &Shop's brand . The crust was light and flaky which shattered upon biting. I plan on using it when I make quiches for the holidays,

One of the best cooking hacks is the bouillon cube.Instead of cooking chicken and beef bones for hours to achieve the perfect Paleo broth. you can just drop two or three cubes in boiling water for the base of soups, bisques or sauces. A couple of bouillon cubes in water can be the basis for chicken or beef noodle or minestrone.Surprisingly there is even fish bouillon cubes that you can use for chowders and bouillabaisse .The chicken and beef add extra flavor to gravies too, including turkey gravy.Another hack is steamed veggies. Most of us grew up with them being steamed in a pot. Unfortunately one  glaring side effect was mushy, tasteless vegetables . Nowadays  it's bags steamed in the microwave for a few minutes and the result is a fresh tasting carrots, peas and broccoli to name a few. Open a can of cream soup ,  pour over them and you have a tasty side that only took minutes to create. Home bakers have been using short cuts for years.For those who love creating a cake or icing - like myself - cake and cookie mixes are a godsend , especially when there is serious cooking to do also. Icings- and pre made candy decorations are also a blessing , especially around the holidays.

There's nothing wrong with a cooking hack, It saves times and cuts down on the stress.Use one or two to make cooking and baking a lot easier  and a lot less complicated.