We’ve all had that last minute panic just before guests arrive. “Someone forgot to buy dip! Someone – I’m not pointing fingers…” I hear my wife mumble as she races back to the kitchen. By the way, I’ve learned a couple of things over the years. The first is that that particular question doesn’t need an answer, and the second is that it always turns out that someone always happens to be me! When you’re just minutes away from incoming visitors, there are some useful food hacks that will save the day, and in my case, a little more.
7 Food Hacks That’ll Save The Day When You’re Really Desperate
Homemade Mayonnaise
What’s a mayonnaise party without the mayonnaise? Also, what the heck is a mayonnaise party? Nevermind. If you’re out of mayo, just grab a raw egg and some olive oil. Whisk the raw egg with 150 ml of olive oil until it looks like regular mayonnaise. Next, add some salt and pepper (and even lemon juice ) to get it to taste just like you want it. The bonus is that you can brag about making it when everyone arrives.
Tortilla Chips
It’s snack time and you’ve promised everyone some yummy tortilla chips with some delicious dips. One problem, you opened the bag more than 2 hours ago and nobody likes stale tortilla chips! Problem? No, solution. Turn on your oven to 375 degrees and put those chips in for 10 minutes. They won’t just not be stale, they’ll be crispier than ever!
Boiled Eggs
Oh, this dilemma has kept me up for hours at night. How do you know if the egg is boiled or not? The answer? Spin it. That’s right! Spin the egg on a flat surface and it if spins easily then it has successfully been boiled. If it’s slow and wobbly, it’s not ready yet. This method sure beats my previous “crack-on-head” method!
Pizza Dough
Food hacks are actually a godsend when you come to think about it. You don’t always have time to run out to the store and buy what you need. Pizza dough is a true example of this. For the easiest (and arguably the tastiest) pizza dough, just mix one cup of self-rising flour with one cup of Greek yogurt. Voila!
Peeling Eggs
Why is it that when I boil eggs, it takes me forever to peel them? And to top off my frustration, when I do peel them, half the actual egg comes off with the shell. There is a solution, and it’s pretty darn easy! After the eggs have finished boiling, pour out the water and add some ice water. Once the eggs have cooled down, the shell will easily come apart from the egg. Quick and easy.
Opening Wine Bottles
Most of us have been down this road. You’ve got a superb bottle of wine just waiting to be opened, but there’s one problem – you don’t have a corkscrew. What can you possibly do? The answer comes in the form a hammer and screw. No, you don’t bash the bottle and drink the expensive beverage as it comes gushing out with shards of broken glass. Instead, knock the screw almost all the way into the top of the cork. Then simply pull it out with the backside of the hammer. Wine shall be had!
Opening Wine Bottles
Squeezing Lemons
You’re dressing the salad and you realize that you have just one lemon for four different salads. How are you going to manage? All you need to do is put that lemon in the microwave for a few seconds. You’ll be absolutely flabbergasted realizing just how much more juice you can get out of these citrus fruits!
Food Hacks
These are only 7 types of food hacks that can make your life a whole lot easier. The truth is that we can all think up some hacks that can help us out in our direst moments in the kitchen. After all, desperation often breeds ingenuity!
