- 14 hours ago
Ever wish cooking could be a little easier? In this video, Nicole shares 20 of her favorite lazy kitchen hacks—simple shortcuts, clever tricks, and time-saving tips that make everyday cooking less stressful and a lot more efficient. These are practical solutions for common kitchen frustrations, from softening butter in minutes to shredding chicken without breaking a sweat.
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00:00You're making life way harder
00:01than it needs to be in the kitchen.
00:02I've got 20 lazy hacks that'll blow your mind
00:05and might even change your life.
00:06I'm starting with the easy, lazy way
00:08to shred chicken with a mixer.
00:10When your chicken is cooked and warmed,
00:13simply start with the large pieces.
00:15Take your mixer and let it rip.
00:19About 10 seconds, your fingers cannot do that.
00:22Next, you have a recipe that calls to cover the pan
00:25with foil halfway through or in the beginning.
00:28Ain't nobody got time to pull out the foil.
00:30You can take care of that job with a sheet pan.
00:32Simply take your casserole dish and cover.
00:35I'm sorry, but that's just smart.
00:38Works like a charm.
00:39Next, you bought that bread, but you let it get stale.
00:43Let's revive it.
00:44Starts out like this, simply rinse it off.
00:47Just rinse it with water and pop it into the oven
00:49about 325 or 350.
00:51It's going to be warm, toasty on the outside,
00:53but soft in the middle.
00:54I know, it feels wrong.
00:56Trust the process.
00:59Hot bread, toasty on the outside,
01:03but look at the inside.
01:05Hot, steamy, genius.
01:07This next one is something I do at my house all the time.
01:10You want to break out some chips and dip
01:11for the gang when they come over,
01:13but we don't want to do dishes later.
01:14No need to dirty up a chip bowl.
01:16The bag is the bowl.
01:18Take note.
01:18Open the bag and then push the bag in from the bottom.
01:22It'll create its own little base.
01:24Chips come to the top.
01:26Perfection.
01:27It works with any kind of chip and any kind of bag.
01:30I love this hack.
01:33This next one is for people that open packages
01:35and they're too lazy to find something else
01:36to put the open package in.
01:38This works great for things like cheese or bacon
01:40that comes wrapped like this.
01:42Once you open it, that open side gets a little hard.
01:45Kids, take note of this in my house.
01:48Stop leaving me with a hard block of cheese at the end.
01:51Cut the package open.
01:53Take out what you're gonna use.
01:54And then the top becomes the wrapper.
01:57That is so smart.
01:58And then it's easy to access when you pull it back out.
02:02Come on now.
02:03These next hacks are all about butter
02:04and I use this in my life all the time.
02:07You know when a baking recipe calls for you
02:09to cut in the butter?
02:10Have you ever done that?
02:11Whether it be for biscuits or a pie crust,
02:14it takes a lot of time if you're doing it with a fork.
02:17And if you don't have a fork,
02:18do you even have one of these?
02:19Probably not.
02:20The easiest way to cut in butter
02:23when the recipe calls for it is with a box grater.
02:26Takes a fraction of the time and it's so much easier.
02:29Just simply use a grater
02:31and grate it right into your dry ingredients.
02:34You'll still get those tiny little pea-sized balls of butter
02:37and that's what you want in recipes like this.
02:40About 100% of the time when a recipe calls for softened butter,
02:43I do not have that ready.
02:44Here's the lazy but super smart way to soften your butter fast.
02:47Grab yourself a cup or a jar about the size of a stick of butter.
02:52Fill it with hot water.
02:54Let the cup get good and warm.
02:56Once your cup is hot, dump out the water.
02:59Take your butter and cover it with that warm cup.
03:02A few minutes, it'll be perfect.
03:04You might not have thought about this hours before,
03:06but as long as you've thought about it
03:07less than 10 minutes before, you can have softened butter.
03:11Have I blown your mind yet?
03:13Well, let me keep going.
03:14Same thing goes for cream cheese.
03:16You've seen me do this one before because it was
03:18and still is one of my favorite hacks of all time,
03:22softening the cream cheese.
03:23Ain't nobody got time for that.
03:25If I'm making a recipe,
03:26I just thought about it two seconds before
03:29and I don't have time to go soften the cream cheese.
03:31I'm ready to start cooking.
03:31Hot water again, but this time the cheese goes right into it.
03:35Ice cold, block, dump it right in.
03:39Only about two minutes later,
03:41that's some softened cream cheese right there.
03:43Ready for your bagel.
03:44If you're too lazy for that arm workout,
03:46make your batters in a blender.
03:48Not only is this super fast and easy,
03:51when you're done, just pop this straight in the dishwasher
03:53and it's as if it never happened.
03:55And my arms don't feel a thing.
03:57Turn this batter into a Dutch baby.
03:59I haven't even broken a sweat.
04:03See, blender batters are just better.
04:06This is a lazy way to make marinades.
04:08I like to feel inspired by what is almost empty in my fridge.
04:11Take that jar or bottle and turn that into your marinade.
04:14I've got the rest of a balsamic dressing.
04:17Just gonna add a bunch of things to it.
04:18Then we have a perfect marinade.
04:20We didn't dirty a bowl.
04:21We can toss the bottle when we're done.
04:22Turn something good into something great.
04:25Simply shake and pour.
04:27Marinate and toss.
04:30One less condiment in your door.
04:32It's all about working smarter, not harder.
04:35On another note, you can do a similar thing
04:37with empty jars of jelly.
04:39In this case, turn it into a jargarita.
04:41I did not make up the term.
04:43I do not claim it, but I do like to use it.
04:45Almost look forward to our jams and jellies in our fridge
04:48getting to just about a tablespoon or two left in the bottom.
04:52We turn that into a margarita.
04:55Perfect for summer, a peach margarita.
04:57It offers the flavor, but it also offers the sweetness.
05:00So in this type of margarita,
05:01you don't have to add agave or simple syrup.
05:04Add your tequila, a little triple sec,
05:06and a good squeeze of lime.
05:08Fill it with ice and shake.
05:09I might have to give it a little help
05:11to loosen the jelly from the bottom.
05:16Oh.
05:18Even if the jar is not empty, make this.
05:21That's a damn good jargarita.
05:23Don't forget that hack.
05:25In case we haven't met, you know I hate peeling garlic.
05:29The lazy way to do it is give it a head start
05:31in the microwave.
05:32Sometimes I even buy the pre-peeled cloves
05:34just so I don't have to peel my garlic.
05:36But this hack, I have done before, and it works.
05:39You could do this with the whole bulb,
05:40but you rarely need a whole bulb of garlic,
05:42so I'm just gonna tear off some
05:43cloves, pop them on a plate,
05:46and then into the microwave for just about 20 seconds.
05:49You're not trying to cook or soften the garlic,
05:51just loosen that peel from it,
05:53and it only takes a few seconds.
05:54I could have done this job in 10 seconds,
05:57but after 20 seconds,
05:58look how easy it is to peel this garlic.
06:00The cloves come right out,
06:01and what I love is that the peel
06:03does not stick to your hands.
06:05It might be lazy, but it's even more genius.
06:08Same rule applies when you're looking
06:09for an easy way to shuck corn,
06:11because let's face it, it can be a real mother shucker.
06:14You're simply just gonna pop it into the microwave,
06:16just like this, you don't have to give it
06:18any kind of head start for about three minutes.
06:19You gotta admit, when you are shucking corn
06:21and all those little hairs get stuck in there,
06:23it is annoying.
06:24You can do it like this.
06:26It slides right off.
06:27It's been given a head start.
06:29You can do it just enough to shuck the corn,
06:32or you can keep it in the microwave longer
06:34till the corn is fully cooked.
06:36You can cut off the ends,
06:37or you can simply shuck it as you normally would.
06:42Look how clean that was.
06:44Did you see how clean that was?
06:45That's some good stuff.
06:46I'm sorry, but if you're not doing that,
06:49you're just silly.
06:51It doesn't get much lazier than not wanting
06:53to clean a measuring spoon,
06:55but hey, sometimes we just don't feel like it,
06:57especially when it comes to something sticky
06:59that you then have to get out with a spatula
07:03or your finger.
07:04Here's the easy slash lazy way to do it.
07:06So once your dry ingredients are in
07:08and it's time to add the wet or the sticky,
07:11take your measuring cup.
07:12So I'm looking for a quarter cup of honey
07:15to add to this mixture.
07:17Form a quarter cup into the dry mixture
07:20and then fill it to the top.
07:22Then all you have to do, give that a wipe,
07:25put it right back in the drawer,
07:27and we have our quarter cup.
07:28I swear, if it wasn't for TikTok,
07:31I don't know where we'd be these days.
07:33No peeler, no problem.
07:35All you need is a spoon.
07:37Sometimes the spoon is the easy way out
07:39when it comes to peeling things
07:40such as ginger or kiwis.
07:43The skin is super thin,
07:44so sometimes that can be a little difficult to work with.
07:47When it comes to ginger, take a spoon,
07:51run it along the side, and the peel comes right off.
07:54This is easier than doing it with a knife
07:56where you have to work around
07:57all these little nooks and crannies.
08:00If you've been watching me for a while,
08:01you should know that one.
08:02Then, kiwi.
08:04The problem with peeling kiwi with a peeler or a knife
08:06is that you end up taking off too much of the flesh.
08:10An easier way with the spoon, just to cut off the ends,
08:14take your spoon and run it just along.
08:17I'll be darned.
08:19This is the first time I've ever done that.
08:20Could you tell?
08:21I mean, that is perfectly peeled,
08:23and it keeps the nice round shape,
08:26unlike when I do it with a knife
08:27where it is kind of like rigid and bumpy.
08:29A spoon is so smart.
08:32This hack is about planning ahead,
08:34so when it comes time to party, then you can be lazy.
08:37Do you know you can make pre-made scoops of ice cream?
08:40Let's face it, when you're at the party,
08:42and you're trying to scoop everyone some ice cream
08:44to go along with a slice of cake,
08:45it takes twice as long.
08:47You're already having to cut the cake, then scoop the ice cream.
08:50That can be tongue-consuming.
08:51Here's a smarter way.
08:53Go ahead and scoop them ahead of time,
08:55place them on a sheet tray, and pop them in the freezer.
08:59Then you have pre-scooped, frozen balls of ice cream,
09:03because this is where your real arm workout happens.
09:08I don't want to break a sweat at my party.
09:11Scoop, freeze, and then watch how we serve it.
09:15This is a smart thing to do.
09:17You've cut your cake, your brownies,
09:19whatever you're serving.
09:20This, my friends, is a whole lot easier.
09:23Simply cut your cake, throw your ice cream on top,
09:26garnish if you please, and now even you can enjoy the party.
09:30This is an oldie but goodie,
09:31and if you're a fan of working smarter, not harder,
09:34the potato masher for ground meat is just genius.
09:37When you're cooking ground meat,
09:39whether it be beef, chicken, pork, whatever,
09:41it takes a long time to get the fine crumbles
09:44with a wooden spoon.
09:46Potato masher cuts the work in half at least.
09:49Down with your beef, and then mash away.
09:52It does the work of about three or four spoons at a time.
09:56So if you use the spoon,
09:57you're only gonna be getting a little at a time,
10:00and it's gonna happen in big chunks.
10:02With this bad boy, it happens a lot faster.
10:04Also love when you can find another use
10:06from a tool that you don't use that often.
10:09I mean, how often do you make mashed potatoes?
10:11I use this for ground meat way more
10:12than I do for mashed potatoes.
10:14I mean, this really does work so well.
10:17I mean, if you're looking for an arm workout,
10:21this is not the place to come.
10:22You want the lazy way to cut a lot of things at one time?
10:25All you need, a couple plates, or a couple lids.
10:29This is another oldie but goodie,
10:32because ain't nobody got time to sit there
10:34and cut a bunch of little things.
10:36This is great for things like strawberries,
10:38tomatoes, grapes.
10:40Just dump out as many as you want onto a plate.
10:43Place another one on top,
10:44and slide your knife right across.
10:47Nice halved tomatoes, ready straight for the salad.
10:51Also works with two deli lids.
10:54Want to cut your grapes in half for your fruit salad?
10:57No problem.
10:58Boom, one little swipe.
11:01Perfect.
11:03Snack time just got easier.
11:04We're in the home stretch,
11:05and it's time to get out a little aggression.
11:07This is a very quick hack.
11:09It's also one that I just learned that not everybody knows.
11:12I thought everyone knew this.
11:13The easiest way to get the core out of a head of lettuce
11:18is just to smash it.
11:19You're gonna try to hit it flat on the core,
11:22onto your surface, kind of pop it in,
11:24and then just pull it right out.
11:26This is easier and faster, therefore it is a lazy hack,
11:30instead of cutting your head in half
11:33and then removing the core like that.
11:34Don't blink.
11:36One, two, three.
11:40Smash and pull it out.
11:41Did you really not know that?
11:42A lot of times when you use a knife,
11:44you end up wasting a lot of lettuce.
11:45You cut off more than you need to.
11:47This is the only thing you need to remove.
11:49My final hack.
11:50I didn't know it was hard to open a pack of spaghetti,
11:53but apparently it could be.
11:55Although you could tear it and it could be uneven.
11:58You could look for the scissors,
12:00but if you're too lazy to look for the scissors,
12:01here's the way to do it.
12:03It's just another way to get the aggression in.
12:05Are you ready?
12:06One, two, three.
12:10Just like that.
12:12Perfectly open package.
12:13There you have it.
12:1420 ways I just made your life
12:16a little bit easier in the kitchen.
12:18You're welcome.
12:19If you have any more hacks that I need to try,
12:21please send them my way.
12:23That one was just fun.
12:25Remember pickup sticks?
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