10 simple ways to improve your outcomes when cooking simple food

There are a lot of foods that can be heated in the microwave easily but with a little effort they can go from good to great

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1. Finish Microwave burritos in the oven/toaster oven

Cook them for less than the recommended time in the microwave and then stick them in the oven for about 10 minutes. They will have a crispy "baked" shell. Add cheese to melt if you want

2. Buy and use a high quality food thermometer, even on frozen burritos

I use a Therma Pen instant read. Most food should be 165 degrees F. For anything that you are cooking from frozen it helps you avoid "cold spots " and overcooking as well

3. Cook oatmeal on the stove instead of the microwave

When cooked properly oatmeal suddenly becomes creamy on its own. I don't know the science behind it but on the stove over medium heat it is easy to see the transition. As a bonus I add a pinch of cayenne pepper and salt and it picks up the oatmeal quite a bit.

4. Awesome grilled cheese

Not great for the calorie conscious but these are delicious:

Get butter, (white) bread and cheese. Melt the butter in a pan over medium heat and then make the sandwich 🥪. Cook one side and flip to the other. Voila a golden brown grilled cheese. American (fake yellow) cheese will melt fine like this but for firmer cheeses you might want to warm the cheese befor you use it so that it can melt.

5. “The Elvis” sandwich

Make this like the grilled cheese above except use peanut butter and thinly sliced bananas.

6. Cook fresh or frozen vegetables on the stove top instead of the microwave

More often than not I overcook vegetables in the microwave. Cooking them in a pot of water on the stove is slowe but you have a lot more control.

7. Sauté vegetables after pre-Cooking them in the microwave

Pre cook (I think this is called blanching in the trade) food like broccoli in the microwave. It is hard to cook completely by only sautéing it.

Then take a little butter, salt and a pan (cast iron is good) and give them a nice glaze in the pan. This also works with frozen vegetables.

8. Corn starch is a key ingredient for home made stir fry

To taste more like the restaurant when you are near the end take a few tablespoons of corn starch and mix it with water to form a paste with the consistency of milk. You can either use it as a sauce or you can also marinate your meat in it before you fry for a crispy coating. You will also want some combination of a store bought sauce or mix teriyaki, water and brown sugar.

9. Use a thermometer when grilling or cooking meats

This helps avoid the raw inside dilemma of frozen chicken that was cooked too fast on the grill or turning thin steaks into shoe leather by overcooking them.

10. Don’t be afraid to turn your temperature down

If you are cooking something and it is starting to burn but still not cooking through turn the temperature down. This may seem obvious but I am a reformed "everything on high" guy.

if you are grilling you might want to have 2 or more heat zones set up so you can move food around.

Many things cook better at lower temperatures like bacon.

11. Hotel quality scrambled eggs

There are a number of YouTube videos with famous people showing how to do this but the key is to cook at a very low temperature. If you have a double boiler that is recommended so the pan is about the temperature of boiling water.

Be patient and stir, watch the videos. You will make amazing eggs!

Chris407x