It happens almost once a week. I'm trying something new in the kitchen and it occurs to me that I don't own the niche, yet seemingly necessary tool to complete the task at hand. Rather than run out to buy the missing tool - whether it be a mandolin, a high end blender, or some as-seen-on-TV magical gadget - I usually end up pulling a MacGyver with whatever I have on hand. So inspired by my own kitchen engineering, I decided to investigate to see how others make due with less. These are some of the tricks I found:
1.) No Blender? No Problem - A box grater can sub in for a blender in a surprising amount of situations. You can grate a tomato in lieu of puree, or grate butter when a cookie recipe calls for cut butter. (The grating butter trick also works wonders for spreading on toast). Added bonus: a grater is much quieter for when you don't want to wake napping kiddos.
2.) Who Needs a Pizza Wheel? I actually thought I came up with this on my own, but as it turns out, more than a few other people on the internet have discovered the wonders of cutting pizza with kitchen scissors. It feels simultaneously weird and satisfying, and I'd argue it works much better than a wheel.
3.) Speaking of Scissors... Kitchen scissors do much more than cut herbs, and as we recently learned, pizza. You can also use kitchen scissors to quickly cut the ends off asparagus and the stems off kale. And cutting uncooked bacon with scissors is much easier than trying to do it with a knife—trust me on this one Added bonus: It's safer than trying to show off your knife skills and it makes you feel like you're being crafty with your food.
4.) Use Your Muffin Tin - I'm not sure I've ever made muffins, but my Cuisinart muffin tin has certainly gotten a lot of use. Mostly from making easy to-go egg bites and other perfectly portioned breakfasts - great if you're trying to meal-plan ahead. You can also make single sized snacks and desserts. And muffin tins aren't just for food! Have you noticed the new trend of big ice cubes for cocktails? No need to buy a special mold. Just use the muffin tin.
5.) Everything That Doesn’t Work in the Muffin Tin can go in the Waffle Iron - You can make everything from crunchy hash browns to brownies in a waffle iron. There are so many waffle iron recipes that I may end up buying one and never actually make any waffles! Instead I’ll make waffle brownie ice cream sandwiches for days.
Author: Emily Smalter
Emily is currently enrolled in a Master's of Social Work program at Kansas University. Outside of her schoolwork, Emily advocates for women to have a stronger voice in both the public and private realm, and spends her spare hours writing on how to make the seemingly smaller tasks in our lives more manageable.
1.) No Blender? No Problem - A box grater can sub in for a blender in a surprising amount of situations. You can grate a tomato in lieu of puree, or grate butter when a cookie recipe calls for cut butter. (The grating butter trick also works wonders for spreading on toast). Added bonus: a grater is much quieter for when you don't want to wake napping kiddos.
2.) Who Needs a Pizza Wheel? I actually thought I came up with this on my own, but as it turns out, more than a few other people on the internet have discovered the wonders of cutting pizza with kitchen scissors. It feels simultaneously weird and satisfying, and I'd argue it works much better than a wheel.
3.) Speaking of Scissors... Kitchen scissors do much more than cut herbs, and as we recently learned, pizza. You can also use kitchen scissors to quickly cut the ends off asparagus and the stems off kale. And cutting uncooked bacon with scissors is much easier than trying to do it with a knife—trust me on this one Added bonus: It's safer than trying to show off your knife skills and it makes you feel like you're being crafty with your food.
4.) Use Your Muffin Tin - I'm not sure I've ever made muffins, but my Cuisinart muffin tin has certainly gotten a lot of use. Mostly from making easy to-go egg bites and other perfectly portioned breakfasts - great if you're trying to meal-plan ahead. You can also make single sized snacks and desserts. And muffin tins aren't just for food! Have you noticed the new trend of big ice cubes for cocktails? No need to buy a special mold. Just use the muffin tin.
5.) Everything That Doesn’t Work in the Muffin Tin can go in the Waffle Iron - You can make everything from crunchy hash browns to brownies in a waffle iron. There are so many waffle iron recipes that I may end up buying one and never actually make any waffles! Instead I’ll make waffle brownie ice cream sandwiches for days.
Author: Emily Smalter Emily is currently enrolled in a Master's of Social Work program at Kansas University. Outside of her schoolwork, Emily advocates for women to have a stronger voice in both the public and private realm, and spends her spare hours writing on how to make the seemingly smaller tasks in our lives more manageable.