I worked for a catering company and on a food truck for a long time, so I picked up some pretty great cooking hacks over the years from my boss and other co-workers.

And who doesn’t love cooking hacks, am I right?!?!

You know it!

So pay attention and check out what AskReddit users had to say about this.

I like that!

“Boxed chocolate cake : use cooled brewed coffee instead of the water.

Richens the flavor so much.

I do it with boxed brownies too.”

Fill ’em up.

“When making stuffed shells by hand, mix the filling in a zip top bag, then cut a corner off and use it as a makeshift piping bag to fill the shells.”

Good to know!

“Revive veggies that have lost their water by cutting their edges and soaking them in cold water.

Lettuce, carrots, and celery will be crisp again.”

Freeze it.

“Freeze anything with liquid when there is extra.

Open a tomato paste and need 1TB? Freeze the rest of the can in a flattened zip lock. Break a piece off when needed. Extra gravy from thanksgiving? Freeze it. Make extra sauce on pasta night and freeze the rest. Now you don’t have to settle for jarred stuff when having mozz sticks.

Open a pineapple juice can for 2oz? Freeze the rest in 1oz increments. Leftover creamed spinach? Freeze it and either eat later or add to scrambled eggs for the best scrambled eggs you’ve ever had.”

Make things easier for yourself.

“Do similar tasks all at once.

Making potatoes and carrots? Peel both first, then chop, don’t do one veg and then the other. You’ll have a better rhythm with your tools and you’ll only have to change tools once instead of three times.

Breaking down a pack of chicken thighs? Do all the skins and fat at once, all the bones at once, then all the slicing at once.”

Convenient.

“Keep a damp rag next to your cutting board for cleaning your board and knife, and keep a dry rag over your shoulder for drying or wiping anything as needed.

This saves a ton of trips over to the sink and/or towel holder.”

Nice!

“Buy a 5 lb bag of onions, caramelize all the onions at once, divide up into portions and package individually, then freeze.

The onions cook down to a manageable size during caramelization. Only needs to be done once every few months this way.”

Easy does it.

“If it’s bland, add salt. If it tastes good but is “missing something”, add acid (lemon juice, hot sauce, some type of vinegar, etc).”

Broth is good.

“Boiling stuff in broth instead of water. Rice, potatoes etc.

When making mashed potatoes, boiling them in chicken stock seriously makes a world of difference.”

Good one.

“If a veggie grows underground, put it in the pot before it comes to a boil.

Any other veggie, and everything else (spaghetti, instant ramen, rice, meat, seafood) put it in when it is boiling.”

The meatloaf!

“Cook meatloaf in a round bundt pan instead of a loaf pan.

Increased surface area means more of the meatloaf is the outer crust, which is the best part of meatloaf.

I learned this from my wife and I’ll never go back to making rectangular meatloaf.”

Hungry?

“Don’t fry bacon on a stove.

Place the strips on a cookie sheet, throw in the oven at about 400 until the doneness you like.

Use parchment paper or aluminum foil and there is virtually no clean up.”

Okay, brb… gotta go grab some groceries…