Hands up if you’ve been using this time to improve your skills in the kitchen. We know we have!
For many people cooking isn't just a method of making food for themselves and their families; It’s a form of therapy and provides a much-needed creative outlet during these unusual times.
But there’s nothing worse than getting stuck in the kitchen and being unable to create the dish of your dreams. So if this has ever happened to you, here are 5 food hacks that might help get you out of a sticky situation:
2-Ingredient Pizza dough
A lot of people never make their own pizza dough because it sounds like a difficult and time-consuming process. And while the latter is true, the result is well worth the wait.
But what if you’re missing dried yeast, an essential ingredient to make pizza dough? You’d be totally stuck, right? Well…
If you find yourself short of yeast, simply combine 220g of self-raising flour with 245g of greek yoghurt. Yes, you read that right! The two consistencies will slowly mesh to form an easy, 2-ingredient pizza dough you can use to your heart’s content. It’s super tasty, too!
Microwave Mug Cake
Want to brush up on your baking skills but having oven trouble? Turns out you don't even need an oven to make an incredible and delicious cake! All you need is a microwave and a mug (and some ingredients, of course).
For an awesome and quick chocolate cake, simply mix 4 tbsp of self-raising flour, 2 tbsp cocoa powder and 4 tbsp caster sugar in a mug, before slowly mixing in your wet ingredients - 3tbsp veg oil, 3tbsp milk and one whole egg.
The result should be a deep brown cake batter, resembling that of chocolate cakes you’ve come to know and love. Then all you need to do is microwave the mix in your mug for between 1 and 2 mins, depending on your microwave, or until the cake has risen and is firm but still springy!
Super-Quick Meat Defrosting
How many times have you planned to enjoy a good steak for dinner, only to forget to take it out of the freezer to defrost? We’ve all been there!
But before you consider blasting the steak in the microwave to defrost (NOT RECOMMENDED!) try this method first:
Place the steak (or whatever meat you need to defrost) in a watertight bag, like a sandwich or freezer bag, seal it at one end and place the bag under a running cold tap.
The constant movement of the water over the meat will help speed up the defrosting process, meaning you can enjoy the lovely meal you had planned after all!
But what about you? Are there any other amazing food hacks you use to make meal time the best time of day?
