7 Time-Saving Cooking Hacks That Make a Big Difference

Watermelons are super fruits at any time of year. They’re especially popular in the summer months due to their refreshing nature and delicious taste. But it can be quite difficult for amateur cooks to cut them up properly, and many people often make a mess or waste large parts of the fruit when trying to slice a watermelon. Here’s a little trick to make it easier. For this trick, all you need to do is divide the watermelon into four quarters. Next, turn the melon so that the flesh is facing you and cut horizontal and vertical lines into the fruit to form a kind of checkerboard pattern. When you’re done, you can flip the melon over and then watch as all the little cubes fall right out.

Following a recipe isn’t always easy. Sometimes, we can get a little lost with all those ingredients, forgetting whether we’ve already added2 cups of flour or 3. Well, there are a few ways you can solve this common issue, and one of the most fun and tasty solutions involves M&Ms.
For this trick, prepare a bag of M&Ms in front of you, and place a corresponding number of M&Ms to match whatever you’re measuring out. If you need 5 cups of flour, for example, place 5 M&Ms in front of you. Now, every time you add a cup, eat an M&M. This system will let you enjoy a tasty snack while also keeping track of your measurements.

Lots of people enjoy mashed potatoes. They’re so tasty mixed up with a little butter or cream, but they can take so long to make, especially when you have to worry about boiling the potatoes for many minutes. What if you could make mashed potatoes in a fraction of the time? Well, that’s truly possible with this little trick. This simple cooking hack involves rinsing your potatoes in water and then placing them in the microwave (in a microwave-friendly bowl or on a microwave-friendly plate) for about eight minutes, or a little more or less, depending on how powerful your microwave is. When you take them out, the potatoes will be soft and ready to mash. Then, all you need to do is mash them up, add some butter and seasonings and enjoy.

Fried cheese is one of those guilty pleasures that so many people love, but making fried cheese sticks can be a little tricky if you don’t know-how. Fortunately, there’s a really simple way to enjoy some fried cheesy goodness without needing to know any complicated recipes at all.
To follow this recipe, grab yourself some cheese and a few slices of bread. Cut the crust off the bread and then flatten it with a rolling pin. Place a slice of cheese onto each slice of bread and roll it up like a Swiss roll. Then fry the rolls of bread in a pan until the outside is nice and crispy, and the cheese inside has melted.

Lots of people love to make lasagna. It’s a classic and hearty Italian meal the whole family can enjoy, great for get-togethers or even ideal to prepare for parties and potlucks. However, one of the issues a lot of people face is the high price of ricotta cheese. Well, there’s a way you can get around it, making a ricotta-free lasagna with the same great taste.
All you need to do is buy cottage cheese instead of ricotta cheese. It’s usually a lot cheaper, and you can mix it up in a mixer until it’s more or less the same consistency as ricotta. Plus, it’s less fattening, so you can eat lasagna more often without worrying about the calories.

One of the best Mexican foods of all time, guacamole is perfect served alongside some nachos or spread on the inside of your tacos, and it’s so easy to make, but mashing up the avocados can be a challenge. Well, there’s a simple way you can make this tedious task a whole lot easier, using just one item you probably already own. Most people tend to mash avocados with the back of a fork, but try using a potato masher instead! It’s designed for mashing, after all, and it works just as well on ripe avocados as it does on soft potatoes. Mashing with an actual masher helps to create a really smooth and creamy consistency in your avocado, free from any unwanted clumps or lumps.

Grilling fish can be quite a tricky task. Fish is way more fragile than meats like beef and chicken, and it can easily fall apart as you try to move it around or if you happen to grill it for too long. A really clever way to get around this is by using a few slices of lemon.
The next time you’re grilling up some fish, place a few lemon slices down beforehand and then place the fish on top. The lemon will act as a barrier to let the fish cook without getting too crumbly or breaking apart, as well as infusing it with flavor. This hack is both flavorful and functional at the same time!