- 1 week ago
Your microwave can do a lot more than reheat leftovers. In this video, Nicole puts 18 clever microwave hacks, tips, and tricks to the test, from peeling garlic and butternut squash with ease to reviving stale bread, reheating rice, and softening butter without melting it. She even shows how the microwave can help you dry fresh herbs, poach an egg, cook pasta, and make a warm chocolate mug cake in less than five minutes.
Along the way, discover Nicole’s highest-rated microwave tricks, including her “12/10” method for shucking corn and a dried herb hack that earns an impressive “100/10.” Plus, learn the right way to reheat food without drying it out, make crispy potato chips at home, toast nuts, steam vegetables, sanitize sponges, and even clean your microwave when the work is done. These easy kitchen hacks might completely change the way you use your microwave.
Along the way, discover Nicole’s highest-rated microwave tricks, including her “12/10” method for shucking corn and a dried herb hack that earns an impressive “100/10.” Plus, learn the right way to reheat food without drying it out, make crispy potato chips at home, toast nuts, steam vegetables, sanitize sponges, and even clean your microwave when the work is done. These easy kitchen hacks might completely change the way you use your microwave.
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00Think your microwave is just for reheating leftovers?
00:03Well, these 18 tips and hacks to work smarter, not harder,
00:07will change the way you use it forever.
00:09We're gonna fly through the hacks
00:10because they're quick, cleverful.
00:12Cleverful.
00:16We're gonna fly through them
00:17because these hacks are quick, clever,
00:19and ridiculously useful,
00:20starting with juicing your citrus.
00:23We've all encountered this problem,
00:24and you may or may not have already done this one,
00:26but sometimes you buy citrus, especially limes,
00:29that become super dry.
00:31You can hardly get any juice out of them.
00:33I've tried to find the driest limes I could.
00:36The rind is really hard.
00:38I can tell there's not a lot of juice in here.
00:40I don't know how to show you a before and after,
00:42so you're just gonna have to trust me.
00:43Pop them into the microwave for about 20 to 30 seconds.
00:46That's it.
00:47It's slightly warm, slightly softer.
00:51Oh, that worked better than I thought it was going to
00:54because it still looks like it would be a little dry.
00:57I may as well put it to use.
00:5910 out of 10, that hack works.
01:01One of my least favorite tasks in the kitchen,
01:04you've heard me say this before, is peeling garlic.
01:07I prefer to have the whole bulb of garlic
01:09because the flavor's better
01:10and it's a lot cheaper than buying pre-peeled garlic,
01:12but sometimes I avoid it
01:15just so it doesn't stick to my fingers.
01:16It makes your hands stink.
01:18It's just my least favorite task,
01:20but pop this in the microwave.
01:22Again, just about 15 to 20 seconds.
01:25It's still intact.
01:26You're not trying to soften it.
01:28Now that, clean hands, perfectly peeled clove of garlic.
01:33It takes longer than that to peel the garlic yourself.
01:36It's another 10 out of 10 A-plus hack.
01:39I really have a hard time deciding which I hate more,
01:42peeling garlic or peeling butternut squash.
01:44With the fall months coming, we eat a lot of this.
01:47I love making butternut squash soup.
01:48I love adding it to my chili, but I hate peeling it.
01:53The microwave, again, makes that easier.
01:54You wanna cut off the ends.
01:56A lot of people will avoid this altogether
01:58by buying the peeled and cubed fresh butternut squash,
02:02but you are paying at least triple the price
02:06of buying it whole, and I will not do that.
02:09I just refuse.
02:10Poke several times with a fork,
02:13just to kinda give the steam somewhere to go.
02:16Then you're gonna pop it in the microwave
02:17for just about three minutes.
02:18Then you're gonna let it stand for five to 10 minutes
02:20before you peel it with a simple vegetable peeler.
02:23Let's see if it is easier
02:25than breaking your arms with a knife.
02:29Well, yeah.
02:30It's almost like as if you created
02:32a really thin peel like a carrot.
02:34It's just flying off.
02:35So much easier.
02:36Normally, I'm like, my arms are killing me.
02:39It's dangerous because you're going at full force
02:42with a knife.
02:43Get ready, kids.
02:44We're about to put butternut squash in everything.
02:46Do me a favor.
02:47Do not spend $17 for a box of peeled and cubed butternut squash.
02:54Easy peel corn.
02:55The only way I shot my corn now
02:57is first by putting it in the microwave.
02:59You have seen me do this before, I think,
03:01but if not, here you go.
03:03It's definitely worth including
03:04because it is a 12 out of 10 hack.
03:08Works every time.
03:09No more little stringy hairs going everywhere.
03:13Usually about three minutes is all it takes.
03:15Now, they're not going to be cooked
03:16because sometimes you want like fresh corn for a recipe.
03:19You can go further and cook it all the way
03:22and then you never even have to boil it.
03:24But we're just talking about how to make your life easier
03:26when it comes to shucking.
03:28Because I'm a real mother shuffle.
03:31Just cut off the end and then you start peeling away the husk.
03:35Usually about three minutes is all it takes.
03:38If your corn is really fresh,
03:39you might need to go another minute or two.
03:41Just loosen the silks a little bit.
03:44Beautiful.
03:45Come on.
03:46Clean as a whistle.
03:47Now we're going to really start cooking in the microwave.
03:50We're going to make a chocolate mug cake.
03:53Yes, in the microwave.
03:54This is an oldie but goodie.
03:56I kind of forgot about it.
03:57So my guess is you have too.
03:59The microwave comes in clutch
04:00when you've got that sweet tooth craving,
04:02but you don't feel like baking
04:04and you have no desserts.
04:05It's dessert for one.
04:07Straight into the mug.
04:09I'm going in with some flour, sugar,
04:11couple tablespoons of cocoa powder,
04:13a little baking soda.
04:14So same ingredients.
04:16I mean, this is not even from a box mix.
04:17This is from scratch.
04:19And a little salt with that little stir
04:23to really incorporate the dry ingredients.
04:25Hope my mug is big enough.
04:27And with some milk, a little oil.
04:30I feel like this cake really probably should serve two people,
04:32but I shouldn't be judging.
04:34And a little bit of water and a splash of vanilla.
04:37I mean, you can literally be eating warm chocolate cake
04:40in less than five minutes from scratch.
04:43Then you just pop it in till it's done,
04:46just about a minute and 45 seconds.
04:49I should have put this on a plate.
04:51What?
04:52I didn't choose a big enough mug.
05:00Okay, so maybe choose a slightly larger mug.
05:05I kind of like the aesthetic.
05:07I know I need to let this cool,
05:08but I also need to make sure it's done.
05:13Look at this, guys.
05:14That is a perfectly moist, hot and delicious piece
05:18of chocolate cake right there.
05:24Mm, I gotta teach my kids this one.
05:26I mean, this is better than what comes out of a box,
05:28because you can actually tell
05:30that it didn't come out of a box.
05:32The flavor is perfect, purely chocolate,
05:34not too sweet, despite the fact
05:36that there's a quarter cup of sugar in this cup.
05:39I just love how moist and chocolatey it is.
05:41It might've gotten a little messy,
05:43but it's still an A from me.
05:44These next couple hacks are all about how the microwave
05:47can be a superhero when it comes to reviving.
05:50First thing I'm going to revive is some leftover rice.
05:52Nine times out of 10 when I cook rice,
05:54I always cook too much, so I have leftover.
05:56But when it comes to reheating it,
05:58it can get a little tricky.
05:59When it's cold, it just kind of congeals together,
06:02the starches in there, so it kind of sticks.
06:04So the key is you want to steam it to bring it back to life.
06:08So I'm gonna take this cold rice,
06:09you'll see how cold it is,
06:11and then you wanna stick an ice cube in it.
06:13The idea is that you don't wanna add
06:14a ton of extra moisture.
06:15We don't want this to get gummy,
06:17but you need to add just a little bit
06:19that will slowly kind of infuse and steam.
06:21And then you just want to cover it
06:22with a little parchment paper,
06:23or I think you could just do a paper towel
06:25or some plastic wrap.
06:26And you just kind of cover it,
06:28and then pop it in the microwave for about a minute or so.
06:33Hot, steamy, but the ice is still there,
06:35which is shocking, I know,
06:36but it adds just enough moisture.
06:40Efferless fluffing, see?
06:41You can give life back to your leftovers.
06:47Fluffy, not gummy.
06:48It's another solid 10.
06:50Another thing to revive, stale bread.
06:53I'm guilty of this all the time.
06:55I like to get that hot baked bread in the grocery store,
06:58and then I don't use it within the first day.
07:01So it turns a little hard.
07:04Here's how we revive it.
07:05I'm gonna do half so we can see it before and after.
07:07All you do is take a damp paper towel,
07:10wrap the bread up in it, and pop it in the microwave.
07:12And we know bread heats up fast,
07:13so this will start with 10 seconds,
07:16and then you can increase for 10 more seconds if need be.
07:19That was really fast, I'm going another 10.
07:22I'm going another 15.
07:23This will come in clutch
07:25when I'm trying to make my kids lunches in the morning.
07:27They love sub bread.
07:30I think we've done it.
07:32Wow, look at the difference.
07:34It is softer, can you see that?
07:37That's pretty amazing how it does that
07:38without making it feel like stale.
07:42Microwave is the way to go here
07:43if you just want to revive that bread
07:45back into its fresh state.
07:47If you want it crusty, you gotta go in the oven,
07:49but this tastes like I bought it today.
07:51Raise your hand if your recipe calls for softened butter,
07:54but you forgot to take it out of the fridge all the time.
07:58The microwave is the fastest way to soften the butter.
08:01There is a little technique to it.
08:02You can't just pop it in, or it will melt,
08:05and you won't have evenly softened butter.
08:06The way to do it is to use your defrost setting.
08:10Defrost just cooks at about 20 to 30%
08:13of the full power of the microwave.
08:15You're gonna start on defrost for just about 20 seconds,
08:18and I like to flip it halfway through.
08:20That way it softens evenly.
08:22If you need to go another 10 seconds or so, you can.
08:24There are lots of other ways to soften butter,
08:26but this in the microwave is definitely the fastest.
08:30Softened, but not melted.
08:31It cuts like butter.
08:33The next one will make you feel like a real chef.
08:35Did you know you can dry your own fresh herbs
08:38in the microwave?
08:39Neither did I until today.
08:41And apparently this is actually an ideal way
08:43to dry your herbs because they retain their color
08:46and their flavor better because it happens faster.
08:49It's not like leaving them out to dry over days and days
08:52where they might lose some of their potency.
08:55This hack will also benefit you when you know
08:58you've made a recipe that calls for maybe
09:01a tablespoon of fresh whatever.
09:03You buy the whole package and then the rest of it goes bad.
09:06Not no mo', okay?
09:08Take a plate and put two layers of paper towel down.
09:12Washed herbs, take the leaves off the stem onto a paper towel,
09:16and then you put another paper towel on top.
09:19So you go in starting with about 40 to 45 seconds,
09:21and then you can do spurts of about 20 seconds as needed
09:24depending on how hardy your herb is.
09:27First 40 seconds is up.
09:30Oh, it smells good in here.
09:31It is working.
09:34Natalie, can you get me a bottle of dried rosemary,
09:38my least favorite herb?
09:39Sure.
09:41Your bottle of dead Christmas tree needles.
09:44That's what I call them, Christmas tree needles.
09:46I went a total of a minute and 15 seconds.
09:50They are dried, and look how green they are.
09:54They are just as green as when they were fresh.
09:57Sometimes these little bottles cost, you know, five, six, seven dollars.
10:02Let's see if they chop up nicely.
10:05I love this.
10:06And look at the difference.
10:08This might be 100 out of 10.
10:11Why, after 25 years of cooking, did I just figure this one out?
10:15We're going to keep our little chef hats on right now, and we're going to make poached eggs in the
10:20microwave,
10:20because sometimes we just can't be bothered.
10:22So you start with some water in a bowl, a mug, and to that you just want to add a
10:27splash of white vinegar, white wine vinegar.
10:29That kind of helps the whites coagulate a little bit.
10:32Crack the egg into the water and vinegar.
10:36You want to take a toothpick and just slightly puncture the yolk.
10:40That kind of keeps it from exploding in the microwave.
10:43Then loosely cover, and then into the microwave for about a minute.
10:47Stayed intact.
10:49Is she cooked?
10:51Or am I cooked?
10:54Oh, my yolk's too hard.
10:56I think a minute for my egg was a little too long, but let's try again.
11:01Okay, I'm going to do 45 seconds.
11:05Don't do it.
11:09Never did that before.
11:12It gave a little boom at 40 seconds.
11:16I don't know, what are we thinking?
11:20As you can see, the white is cooked, the yolk is runny.
11:24It might not be the most beautifully perfect poached egg, but it definitely works in a pinch.
11:29This hack, because it requires a little finesse,
11:31is going to get a 7.5 out of 10, but it does work, and it's delicious.
11:39Make that an eight.
11:40Are you one of those that have sensitive eyes when you chop onions, you cry every time?
11:45This next hack is for you.
11:47Apparently, you can just pop your onion in the microwave for about 20 to 25 seconds and chop away.
11:5420 seconds should be all it takes.
11:57Now, I'm not one that cries.
11:59I've become immune to the onion.
12:00I would like to make sure that the onion is not cooked at all, because I want raw onion when
12:05I go to chop it.
12:06But the microwave somehow altered the compound that gets released and makes you cry.
12:11It is still crisp, and the peel comes off nice and clean.
12:16I can even do that.
12:18That's not affecting me at all, and I don't know that I ever normally do that.
12:21Still good and crunchy.
12:23I have no tears, so this hack is nothing to cry over.
12:27I'd like to think you've done this next hack, but maybe you don't fully understand how great this is.
12:32You can par cook or fully cook your veggies in the microwave.
12:36Why would you par cook something?
12:38Let me tell you.
12:39Sometimes it just speeds up the process.
12:41If you're roasting potatoes or sauteing something that takes usually a long time to cook, par cooking them in the
12:48microwave is just a genius move.
12:50And you've created a better canvas to get really brown and crispy.
12:54You also can fully cook and steam your veggies in the microwave.
12:58So we're going to do both.
13:01I'm going to par cook and fully cook.
13:02First I'm going to do my potatoes.
13:05For those, I want to pretty much cover them and kind of let them boil in the microwave a little
13:11bit for about five minutes.
13:13This is a hack that I do when I'm cooking dinner.
13:15I could be doing something else while these are par cooking, and then when it's time to roast them or
13:20saute them, it won't take nearly as long.
13:24See, they're good and tender, so all that's left is getting them browned and adding flavor.
13:29Of course, you can eat them like this, but the point of par cooking is to do that.
13:34Cook them partially and then finish them off another way.
13:37This is the perfect thing to do to make skillet home fries.
13:40This takes way less time than if you were to start on a sheet pan in the oven or skillet
13:44on the stove.
13:45And then when you're wanting to steam your veggies, you don't really want to cover them in water because, again,
13:50we want to retain as many of the nutrients as we can.
13:52So you just need a little water to create that steamy environment.
13:55I like to also season at this point with a little salt.
13:58This will take about three minutes, and then you might want to give them a little zhuzh halfway through or
14:03so, but be careful so the steam doesn't burn you.
14:05Always be careful when you lift the plastic.
14:09Do it away from you because the steam is hot.
14:12Look how bright green, crisp, tender, and perfect.
14:16Better than frozen, if you want to create your own frozen broccoli or you've got some broccoli that's about to
14:22go bad, you can do this ahead of time and then pop it in the freezer.
14:24Add some butter and it's ready to go just like this or it's ready to go for other recipes that
14:29might cook it further, like a broccoli cheese casserole or stir fry.
14:34But this is simplicity at its finest.
14:37This next tip is how to reheat the right way.
14:40Yes, microwaves' most valuable purpose is to reheat leftovers.
14:44However, I think most of us do it wrong.
14:48Most microwaves today come with its own reheat setting.
14:51That is set at 80% usually, and so instead of 100%, it's going to heat up just a little
14:59bit slower so your food doesn't burn.
15:00I find that sometimes that can be even a little too hot.
15:04You can actually control your own power setting on your microwave, and so the ideal right way to reheat is
15:11for 50% of power for twice as much time.
15:14So I've got some leftover baked ziti.
15:17It is ice cold.
15:18What happens if I just heat this up at high is the outside is going to be scorching hot and
15:24the inside is still going to be cold.
15:26Normally, something like this to me would take about two minutes on high in the microwave.
15:31But for better cooking, we're going to do four minutes at half the power.
15:35Set the time.
15:36So I'll do four minutes.
15:39Then you do the power.
15:43It's at 10 power right now.
15:44That's 100%.
15:45So we're going to do five, and that's 50%.
15:48This is especially beneficial when you're reheating meat, steak, or leftover chicken.
15:53It won't dry out and taste like jerky.
15:57Hot, but the plate is not completely burning me.
16:01You don't see a bunch of like sizzled up like fried edges.
16:05All right, we know the outer bites are going to be hot.
16:08How does it feel inside?
16:10Hot.
16:11Hot.
16:11And I just love that it kept its integrity, but it's all evenly heated.
16:15Tastes like it was just cooked today.
16:18We're making our own potato chips in the microwave now.
16:22This is something you probably would not do a lot, but just to know that you can and get crispy
16:29fried potato chips without deep frying.
16:32Okay, you get some parchment, put it down on a microwave safe plate.
16:35Coat the bottom of the parchment with a little oil.
16:38Okay, and then you take very thinly sliced potato.
16:41Obviously this would work with any other kind of root vegetable also.
16:44And then you want to fit as many potato slices as you can in a single layer.
16:49It has to be a single layer.
16:50So the only like problem with this method is you can only make a serving of chips at a time.
16:56Although maybe that's a good thing.
16:57It teaches you a little portion control.
16:59And then you want to brush the tops with oil too.
17:01So they do still have oil, but it's a very small amount.
17:05Probably a half a tablespoon for the whole situation.
17:07Then they just go into the microwave.
17:09You have to do this in two stages.
17:11The first one about three and a half minutes.
17:13Then you're going to flip them and go another three to four minutes.
17:16You got to keep your eye on it the second go round.
17:19Because they will, once they start drying out, then they brown really fast.
17:23Although I like a brown potato chip.
17:28Look at them potato chips.
17:29Like the fried version, you want to salt it when they come out.
17:33And then you can just keep doing the same process for more chips.
17:35And you want to take them off here to cool.
17:38Perfectly thin and crispy chip.
17:46You weren't expecting that.
17:48The perfect single serving of a salty snack is ready in your microwave in less than 10 minutes.
17:54Another one I'm trying for the first time.
17:57Toasting nuts in the microwave.
17:59Kind of like the softening butter.
18:00You come across some recipes that call for toasted nuts.
18:03Of course you can do it on the stove.
18:05But when you do it on the stove, you run the risk of burning them.
18:08First of all, because you walk away and they can go from not done to done very fast.
18:14Let's say you have a little control in the microwave.
18:16Another benefit, obviously, just like everything else, it's going to happen faster in the microwave
18:20than if you did it on the stove or in the oven.
18:22You just do it in one minute burst until they are toasted.
18:28One minute down, and you can see it's already starting to happen, but it is happening in the center.
18:32So I'm going to give it a little toss so that they toast evenly.
18:36It's pretty cool.
18:37It's only been one minute.
18:38The whole process will be done in two.
18:40Two minutes to lightly toasted, not burned nuts.
18:45And they have that good nutty smell to them like when you toast them in a skillet.
18:50Look at that.
18:51Lightly golden, perfectly toasted nuts.
18:54Ready to go for whatever recipe you need them for.
18:58And they taste delicious.
18:59And now I'm going to show you the number one way I used the microwave in college.
19:02This hack is perfect if you live in a small place or for you college kids who are in your
19:07dorm
19:08and don't have a stove, you can make pasta in the microwave.
19:11I used to do this in college because sometimes I had a craving for buttered noodles,
19:16but really what I made is my own personalized tender noodle casserole.
19:20It really grossed my roommate out.
19:22So all you do is you put whatever kind of pasta you want to use,
19:26however much you want to cook, into a microwave-safe bowl.
19:29Of course, add in some salt.
19:31Then you're going to add your water to cover and then go up a couple inches or so.
19:35And this will work with lots of different types of pasta.
19:38You're going to cook it for whatever the package direction states,
19:41plus add three minutes because that three minutes is going to factor in
19:45how long it takes for the water to start coming up to a boil.
19:48My package states eight minutes.
19:50I like it al dente, so I'm going to start with 10.
19:55Hot, be careful.
19:57Feels done indeed.
19:59Let me strain it.
20:03Ready to be turned into dorm room tuna noodle casserole
20:06or ready to be topped with your favorite sauce.
20:09The time it takes to bring a pot of water to boil,
20:12you can have your pasta and eat it too.
20:18Sort of amazing how that works.
20:20I'm tired.
20:21My final two tips slash hacks are all about cleaning that microwave.
20:27You've probably seen this before, but I'm here to show you just how well it works.
20:31I've gone through the workplace to find the dirtiest microwave we have.
20:38I hope that didn't make you too sick.
20:40You're going to take a bowl of water and you can do vinegar or a squeezed lemon.
20:47This one's so bad.
20:48I'm just going to do both.
20:49So these are both acidic and the acid is going to help lift off some of that grime and grease.
20:55This is a pretty substantial amount of water, so it might take a little longer to boil.
20:59But ideally, small bowl of water, you're going to boil it for about three minutes in the microwave
21:05and then keep the door closed and let it stand in here for about five minutes.
21:09Now listen, the idea is it's not going to magically all disappear.
21:12It's going to loosen everything so that all we have to do is a simple wipe down.
21:18All right, my water took a while to boil.
21:20All in all, I cooked it for about seven minutes and then it's been sitting for about five minutes.
21:26Hot and steamy.
21:28Well, look, it has already kind of melted off the door, kind of melted down the sides.
21:34So it did break up the gunk that was sticking.
21:37Take this out.
21:38I'm also going to take out the tray and this because we can take that out and wash it in
21:44the sink.
21:45And now we should be able to clean this up with just a simple wipe.
21:49Get the initial gunk off with a paper towel, then follow it up with a clean spun.
21:54It is lifting off very easily.
21:56I'm going to get all in your way and continue to wipe it down.
21:59That looks like a brand new microwave.
22:01Ta-da!
22:02Let's roll the before and the after.
22:06I feel like Vanna White.
22:08No, not Vanna White.
22:10I feel like I'm on the Price is Right.
22:12For my final hack, the microwave is the perfect tool to sanitize your sponges.
22:17Make sure your sponge is damp.
22:18Pop it in.
22:19Let it go for about a minute and the bacteria will be no more.
22:25Hot, steamy, and germ-free.
22:27This bad boy has earned its spot on your countertop or above your stove.
22:32And I've just proved to you 18 reasons why your microwave should be used for more than just popping popcorn
22:36and reheating leftovers.
22:40You deserve a break.
22:42So do I.
22:43Well, it is a great pleasure about your greenhouse.
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