Many people think they don’t have time to cook, and others think that they don’t have the right skill set. You don’t have to be a master chef to create some delicious meals in the kitchen. We put together our favorite kitchen hacks to help you see how quick and easy it can be to create amazing meals.

1. Hard Baked Eggs

   An easy way to achieve hard eggs inside the shell is by baking them instead of boiling them. This trick involves a muffin tin. You simply put a raw egg in each muffin cavity and then turn the oven to 325°F. Do not preheat the oven. Your eggs will be done in 30 minutes.

2. Wine Ice Cubes

   If you have a recipe that calls for wine and you have some leftover in the bottle (that you don’t feel like drinking at that moment), you can easily save it for later by pouring the leftover wine into an ice cube tray and putting it in the freezer. This way, you can put the wine ice cubes into a pot the next time you’re making a sauce that calls for wine, and you won’t have to open another bottle.

3. Easy Cake Decorating

   You don’t need to be an expert at frosting a cake in order to have an eye-catching dessert. All you need is powdered sugar and something to put on top of the cake that creates a design. Sprinkle the powdered sugar on top, and you’ll be left with a pretty impressive looking cake.

4. Juicy Burgers

   This is a trick you have to try at your next cookout. For juicy burgers without extra calories, all you need is an ice cube. Really. Simply put an ice cube on top of the burger, and it will melt while cooking leaving you with an incredibly juicy burger.

5. Turn Meat Like a Chef

   Every kitchen needs a good pair of tongs. If you pay attention to how they flip meat in a professional kitchen, you’ll notice that they aren’t messing with spatulas. Tongs make it so much easier.

6. Omelet Without a Stove

   You don’t need to hover over the stove in order to create the perfect omelet. All you need is a large mug and a microwave. Crack eggs in a mug and add whatever meat, veggies, cheese and seasoning you want. Put the mug in the microwave for a minute. Stop to stir. Then place the mug back in the microwave until the eggs are completely done (microwave times vary). This is a great way to have a healthy, filling breakfast on a busy morning.

7. Upside-Down Turkey

   With Thanksgiving not too far in the distant future, many Americans will be striving to achieve the perfect, evenly-cooked turkey. We suggest doing something radical and cooking the turkey upside-down. This will result in a super-juicy and evenly cooked bird.

8. Quickly Soften Butter

   If you’ve ever baked, you know that many recipes call for softened butter. If you forgot to take the butter out of the refrigerator and don’t have time to wait for it to soften (because we’ve all been there), you can speed up the process by putting the butter between 2 pieces of plastic wrap and rolling it out with a rolling pin. It works like magic.

9. Microwave Pasta

   You don’t have to wait for the water to boil on the stove to make pasta. Simply put the pasta and enough water to cover it in a microwave-safe bowl. Add 3 minutes to the cooking time on the pasta box, and you’re done.

10. Easy Pancake Pouring

    Whether you have a go-to pancake recipe or you like a box mix version, you can eliminate the mess created when pouring the batter in the pan or on the griddle by repurposing a squeeze bottle, like an old ketchup or salad dressing bottle. Clean the bottle well and pour the pancake batter inside. Not only will there not be any mess, but you’ll have complete control over the shape of your pancakes. You can make them perfectly round or even get creative and make some fancy shapes.

11. Coffee Pot Cooking

    Your humble coffee pot is capable of much more than making your morning cup of joe. You can actually use it to make everything from oatmeal to poached salmon. This is especially handy if you’re staying at a hotel with a coffee maker in your room and don’t want to eat out for every meal.

12. Bake Your Bacon

    If you want to make bacon like a chef, put it in the oven. All you need to do is put a baking rack on a baking sheet and place as many pieces of bacon as you want on top. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until it reaches your desired level of crispness. This a great hack if you’re feeding a lot of people and want the bacon cooked quickly.

13. Homemade Ravioli in an Ice Cube Tray

    All you need for this hack is 2 sheets of egg pasta and a dip (such as spinach and artichoke dip) to use as a filling. Press one sheet of egg pasta into the ice cube tray. Add the filling. Top with the other sheet of egg pasta and freeze until you’re ready to boil it.

14. Juicy, Tender Whole Roasted Chicken

    The trick here is to add water to the chicken’s cavity. The water will steam the chicken from the inside leaving the meat super juicy.

15. Perfectly Sliced Food

    You don’t need to be a pro with a knife in order to create perfect slices of kiwi, strawberries, etc. You can get the impressive look with the help of an egg slicer. Yup. This underused kitchen gadget can be used for way more than just perfectly sliced eggs.

Which kitchen hacks do you plan on trying?