Cook and serve beautiful, delicious, and—most importantly—nutritious meals like a pro. Add these 10 tips to your culinary toolbox and you’ll be the envy of every dinner party host. Plus, your family will think they’re eating out, even when they’re eating in.

1. Skip the messes when measuring sticky ingredients

When it comes to measuring ingredients like honey and molasses, try this tip to prevent measuring cups and other tools from getting sticky. First, put a little oil or cooking spray onto the measuring spoon or cup. You will find that the sticky ingredient easily slides off the spoon or cup, which will save you cleanup time and hassle.

2. Scoop seeds from vegetables with ease

It can be really challenging and time-consuming to get seeds out of vegetables like pumpkins and winter squashes. Make things easier on yourself by scooping all that out with an ice cream scooper. If you don't have that scooper handy, try using any other spoon that has a sharp edge.

3. Quickly remove the skin and pit from an avocado

There's no need to struggle when it's time to dive into a delicious avocado. Remove the skin and pit easily by quartering the avocado and then sliding a knife under each section of skin. The peel will come off easily, and the pit will be attached to one of the quarters, making it easy to pull off.

4. Keep fruit looking and tasting fresh

If you want to cut up fruit but don't plan to eat it right away, here's a tip for keeping it tasting and looking fresh. Simply mix together two parts of water with one part of honey. Drizzle that combination onto the fruit, which should not turn brownish but instead should retain its usual color.

5. Make a quick buttermilk substitute

Buttermilk is great in all sorts of recipes, but what if you don't have it on hand when you need it? Not to worry. Mix together regular milk plus one tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar, and voila. You can use this mixture as a replacement for buttermilk.

6. Chop up grape or cherry tomatoes

Tomatoes add a special touch to many recipes and dishes, but it can be time-consuming to cut up numerous smaller tomatoes. Here's a great workaround for cherry or grape tomatoes. Sandwich a group of them between a couple of lids so that the lids are parallel to the kitchen counter. Then cut the tomatoes horizontally as a group, and at the same time, put pressure on the top lid.

7. Cut up onions without the tears

When you slice into onions, do you well up with tears as much as you do when watching The Notebook? There's no need to let onions make you weepy. Try this trick instead. Freeze the onions before slicing, but only if you are going to cook them. Otherwise, the onions will be rather soggy after thawing out.

8. Easily remove pits from stone fruits

Although biting into a juicy stone fruit, like a nectarine, peach or plum, can be an experience to truly savor, removing the pit from the fruit is not something most people enjoy. It can be downright difficult and tedious. So, try this instead: Slice the stone fruit in half, and then rotate the halves into different directions from each other. Then use a table knife to gently get the pit out of the fruit.

9. Peel several hard-boiled eggs together

This one is fun and will impress your friends. You can peel a group of hard-boiled eggs, several at a time, by placing them into a container with a lid. Then shake that container. Pick out the shell fragments, and what's left behind is a group of eggs just ready to be enjoyed.

10. Cap and cover leftovers

Who says shower caps need to stay in the bathroom? Try using them to cover up leftover food. You will find that they stay snug onto food containers while being super easy and convenient to use. You can even wash and reuse them. This method for covering food can be much more convenient than using plastic wrap or foil.

Try out any or all of these handy tips whenever your kitchen adventures call for them. You will impress your friends and family - and maybe even yourself!

References: 

http://www.myrecipes.com/extracrispy/how-to-peel-potatoes-without-a-peeler

https://www.epicurious.com/expert-advice/how-to-open-a-bottle-of-wine-without-a-corkscrew-article

https://greatist.com/health/kitchen-tips-hacks