Surely every hostess has her own list of proven recipes that come to the rescue and when you need to quickly cook dinner after work, and when guests are expected to arrive. However, the same dishes quickly become boring and you want to add variety to classic tastes and food presentation. In this case, Novate.ru has several useful life hacks.
Life hack 1: Cook pasta in a frying pan
Our mothers and grandmothers taught that to cook pasta, you need a large saucepan, boiling water and a drop of vegetable oil so that they do not stick together during the cooking process. However, it is not at all necessary to wait for the water in the dishes to boil - there are other ways to quickly cook pasta and achieve great taste. Professional chefs recommend taking a frying pan with high walls, pouring cold water into it and immediately pouring in the required amount of pasta. According to the culinary experts, there will be no difference from changing the method, but the pasta will cook much faster and will not stick together when it comes to products made from durum wheat.
Life hack 2: Soak cereals and legumes
You can soak almost any cereals and legumes, starting with traditional rice, buckwheat, beans, and ending with lentils. This preparatory procedure has two big advantages. First, prolonged contact with water will help rid foods of phytic acid, which is poorly absorbed by the body and prevents nutrients from being absorbed. Secondly, the cooking time for cereals and legumes will be significantly reduced. It is best to soak them overnight - pour the required amount of the product into the pan, fill it with cold water and cover the dishes with a lid or cling film.
On a note: You can speed up the preparation of cereals not only by soaking, but also by frying. So, if you roast buckwheat in a frying pan for 7 minutes before cooking, it will cook much faster, and it will also be much tastier. During frying, you can add a small amount of butter for a rich flavor.
Life hack 3: Cook meatballs in the oven
Why not? This is a great way to prepare a healthy, and most importantly, healthy dish that will fit perfectly into the menu of people who adhere to PP or are on a diet. Use a muffin pan to keep the meatballs perfectly shaped and not stick together. Everything is very quick and simple: mold balls from minced meat, arrange in shape and bake for 30-40 minutes (the exact time depends directly on your oven).
Life hack 4: add cinnamon
Many housewives perceive cinnamon exclusively as a dessert spice and is most often used in homemade baked goods. It is especially difficult to imagine a traditional charlotte without it, but it also has its own subtleties of preparation. Try the following method: dry two teaspoons of ground cinnamon in a skillet without oil, after 30 seconds add a glass of sugar, a pinch of vanilla, mix everything well and use to make apple pie. This will give the baked goods a more intense aroma and sweetish-spicy notes.
Plus, cinnamon sounds great in meat dishes. A small amount of spice can be added to a spicy tomato sauce, which is served with lamb or chicken in oriental cuisine. It will also give a more subtle aroma to meat pilaf. Please note that cinnamon can be added to hot dishes no earlier than seven to ten minutes before the end of cooking, otherwise the food will taste bitter. Feel free to experiment and add cinnamon to your homemade canning. Marinades with this spice give vegetables interesting flavors.
Life hack 5: Put zucchini in the minced meat
Most housewives add bread soaked in milk during the preparation of minced meat for cutlets. However, there is practically no sense from this ingredient. But what really makes the finished cutlets juicy, tender and soft is grated zucchini and whipped yolk. As you know, zucchini itself does not have a pronounced taste, so there is no need to worry that it will overpower the taste of minced meat. Also, the vegetable serves as an excellent fastening component - thanks to it, the cutlets do not fall apart. And do not forget about the calorie content of the dish - thanks to the zucchini, it is significantly reduced.
Life hack 6: Learn to cook Pesto sauce
This sauce is a real lifesaver in the arsenal of every culinary specialist. It goes well with any side dishes, meat dishes and even salads. It can also be used as a base for sandwiches. To prepare "Pesto" you will need 70 grams of basil, 30 grams of pine nuts, a couple of garlic cloves, 80 ml of olive oil, 50 grams of Parmesan or other hard cheese, salt and pepper to taste.
The cooking process is very simple: in a blender bowl, you need to beat the basil and pine nuts, add grated cheese and finely chopped garlic there, pour in the olive oil and beat again. The finished sauce should be seasoned with salt and pepper - voila, the delicious Pesto is ready.
Also, the sauce can be prepared with spinach and walnuts, broccoli, cilantro and pumpkin seeds, etc. Choose the option that will suit your taste preferences 100%.
Life hack 7: cook food in a preheated pan
To prevent a dish cooked in a pan from developing and losing its beautiful shape, always cook food in a preheated pan. Moreover, it does not matter at all in what kind of oil the dish will be fried. If you put meat, fish, or vegetables in a poorly heated pan, you will not get a rich taste and mouth-watering crispy crust. There is one more disadvantage - the product will absorb all the oil, as a result of which its taste and consistency will finally deteriorate.
Life hack 8: Boil potatoes in the microwave
First, select tubers of a suitable size, wash them thoroughly and pierce each fruit with a fork in several places. Next, put in the microwave for five to ten minutes. The final cooking time will depend on the size of the potatoes: large ones will take ten minutes, small ones will be enough five. To prevent the finished dish from getting too dry, cut each potato in half before serving and add the filling. It can be soft cheese, olive oil with herbs, your favorite sauce. To prevent the filling from falling out, cut the flesh out of the potatoes, mix with other ingredients and put back in the "boat".
If you want to cook in the oven, do not peel the potatoes, but simply cut them in half, put the skin side up on a pre-oiled baking sheet, and sprinkle with a lot of salt. Next, set the temperature to 200 degrees and the time to 30 minutes. In half an hour, the delicious potatoes will be ready.
And here 9 mistakes even those who often watch cooking shows make in the kitchen try to avoid.