When you set off the smoke alarm in a single-family house it’s a nuisance. When you set it off in an apartment complex, it can be humiliating. Suddenly all your neighbors know that you still can’t fry bacon without burning it to the pan. If you are looking to improve your basic cooking skills, these simple tips will help you along your way.
Reading is Fundamental
Always read and re-read your recipes before you start cooking. It will be tempting as you improve your cooking skills to just skim the recipe and start the process. Don’t give in to the temptation! Just like carpenters measure twice and cut once, good cooks read twice and cook once.
Embrace the Crock Pot
Even the worst cooks can create delicious meals in a crock pot. The low temps and slow cook time remove the risk of burning and ruining your dinner. Search Pinterest for literally thousands of amazing crock pot recipes, from appetizers to desserts.
Breakfast Served All Day
Breakfast foods are some of the easiest to master. If you can whip up a stack of pancakes with a side of scrambled eggs, you can have a tasty meal any time of day. Once you have mastered those skills, challenge yourself to try new ways of cooking eggs like poaching or frying.
Perfect Your Pasta Skills
Pasta is life. It is inexpensive, filling, and easy to cook. Just follow a few simple rules of thumb to up your pasta game. Always add salt to boiling pasta water. Ladle a small amount of the water you used to cook the pasta into the pasta sauce; it will help the sauce stick to the pasta. And never ever rinse your pasta.
Don’t Cook Hungry
Have you ever heard the adage, “Don’t shop when you’re hungry?” You should avoid being desperately hungry when you are cooking as well. If you are starving, you are more likely to rush the cooking process. This could result in burnt food or knife accidents. It is a better idea to begin cooking before your stomach starts growling.
Don’t Cook at All
Of course I don’t mean that you should never cook ever again, but there are plenty of delicious meals you can prepare that require no cooking at all. Assemble a fresh salad with homemade vinaigrette dressing. Stack a mile-hile sandwich with all your favorite fixings. You can even impress dinner party guests without cooking. Choose gourmet meats, cheeses, nuts and fruits, and prepare a delicious charcuterie board for your guests.
[tweetthis]Love to #cook but dread the smoke alarm?! Try these tips for keeping your #apartment smoke free! [/tweetthis]
Enjoy Yourself!
No matter what you are cooking in the kitchen, have a good time. Listen to music. Dance around. Sing and make jokes. Cooking is so much more enjoyable if you relax and allow yourself to have a good time. Planning to host a get together among friends? This guide to hosting a cookout in your apartment is the perfect starting point!
What are your best apartment cooking hacks? Let us know in the comments below or on social media. We’d love to hear them!