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Food prep hacks - buttermilk and hard-boiled eggs


We are all looking for ways to make cooking tasks easier or possible, especially when pressed for time or in need of a specific gadget or ingredient that is not readily available. 

As part of our weekly newsletter (which is FREE - you can sign up on the main page of our website), Joey has featured a few of her food prep hacks to help you out in the kitchen. Here are two of her latest hacks. If you have a food prep struggle or concern that you'd like her to figure out, just send us an email via our website. 


Homemade Buttermilk
By Joey Mock, RD, LD, CLT
Most of us have come across recipes that we would really like to try but that call for an ingredient that is not a kitchen staple that we keep on hand. For me (and likely many others), buttermilk is one of those ingredients. I don’t typically keep it on hand (and don't really like purchasing a carton for a half-cup or cup serving) but love to use it in things like pancakes, muffins, and quick breads for that extra tenderness and fluffiness. I do however typically have milk and lemons on hand and discovered and have been using this homemade buttermilk food preparation hack for some time now with great results. It can be made in about 10 minutes (usually while you are preparing the rest of your recipe ingredients). Next time that you come across buttermilk in a recipe but it's not already in your refrigerator, make your own with this easy food prep hack.

Ingredients
  • 4 ½ teaspoons (or 1 Tablespoon plus 1 ½ teaspoons) freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 cup milk
Preparation
  1. Place the lemon juice in a glass measuring cup and add milk to the 1 cup line.
  2. Stir to combine and let stand for about 10-12 minutes (milk will thicken during this time).
  3. Use as needed in your recipes that call for buttermilk.

Oven baked hard cooked eggs 

By Joey Mock, RD, LD, CLT

Hard cooked eggs make a convenient protein addition to meals and snacks. While it is a seemingly simple process, there is definitely a technique to achieving perfect hard boiled eggs that are not over or under cooked. When I recently saw this kitchen hack posted on social media by Registered Dietitian colleague Erin Palinski-Wade, I knew that I had to try it myself. Oven baked hard cooked eggs . . . I must say that I was a little nervous of oven “egg explosion” so I tested the technique using just 6 eggs (you may want to place a baking sheet below the muffin pan the first time that you try this in your oven just in case). What I found from my kitchen experiment: 
  • It was amazingly simple-place whole eggs in the cups of a muffin tin, bake, and put in an ice bath.
  • I didn’t have to keep an eye on a boiling pot of water and remember to time multiple steps (turning off the stove, covering and removing from the heat and letting the eggs sit for a period of time in the pot, etc) to achieve the perfect hard boiled eggs.
  • I found the eggs to be easier to peel than when I boil them.
  • They turned out great!
Since oven temperatures vary and cooking time may vary with number of eggs cooked (it may take about 30 minutes to bake a dozen eggs), it may take a little trial and error in your oven but this is one kitchen hack that I will definitely be using again. 
Ingredients
  • 6 eggs
Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Place 1 egg in each cup of a regular or mini muffin pan.
2. Place the pan in the preheated oven and bake for about 25 minutes (be sure to set your oven timer to avoid over or under-cooking the eggs). 
3. While the eggs are baking, make an ice bath by filling a large bowl with ice and cold water. 
4. When the eggs are done, remove from the pan with oven mitts and place in the ice bath. Let sit in the ice bath for about 10 minutes.
5.  Peel off the shell under cool running water and enjoy!

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