3 Cheap Recipe Hacks to Help You Elevate Your Kitchen Skills

Today, we are going to start off with a marinated pickled onion recipe. These are fantastic on pizza, sandwiches, and salads.

We’re also going to make a three-ingredient honey, dijon mustard salad dressing recipe. You’re going to love this on a broccoli salad. It’s going to help you eat more broccoli. It also works on any salad where you might want to add a fruit component.

Finally, we’re making a really easy, two-ingredient, healthy caramel sauce for apple slices. Kids are going to love this as an after-school snack (and you’re going to love it as well).

Let’s get started on our recipe hacks.

1. Pickled/marinated onions

The first thing we are going to do for our marinated onion recipe is make our dressing. I like to use these glass storage containers to store my onions. We’re going to make our dressing right in this container.

We’re going to add ⅓ of a cup of vinegar. I like to use balsamic vinegar, but I’m actually out, so I’m using apple cider vinegar today.

Next, we’re going to add half a cup of good-quality olive oil. Whatever you can afford.

Now, we’re going to add two teaspoons of dry oregano. I buy my spices in bulk through Azure Standard. Lastly, we’re going to add salt and pepper. As much or as little as you want.

Ok. That’s it. I’m not even going to stir anything. Now, we’re going to chop up a purple onion. I prefer the flavor of the purple onion and I think it’s prettier as well. We’re going to cut as thinly as we can.

Separate the rings and put them in this vinegar mixture.

Now, we’re going to put the lid on top, turn it upside down, and shake it. No, it doesn’t look like a lot of dressing is there. It looks pretty dry. But, the moisture in the onions is going to start releasing and you’re going to get a lot of liquid in here. So, just set it on the side, on your counter.

These are marinated onions that have been sitting out for a day. I let the onions sit on the counter for two days, and every so often I’ll flip the container. You’re going to get these beautiful onions.

They’re going to be juicy and rich in flavor. That oregano is really going to take over. That vinegar is going to give them a pickle taste.

After two days, I put this in my refrigerator. The olive oil will solidify a little bit. I’ll just leave them on the counter before serving or using them until the olive oil isn’t solid anymore.

They will last in your refrigerator for 5-7 days. They are amazing.

2. Honey mustard dressing

For this honey mustard salad dressing recipe, we need a teaspoon of honey and a tablespoon of Dijon mustard. This dressing is my favorite. I think it’s one of the best, and it’s really inexpensive.

Whisk these two ingredients together.

Lastly, we’re just going to add two tablespoons of plain yogurt. I just made this yogurt this morning. It’s soy milk yogurt. Two tablespoons of that. And that’s it. You are going to love this honey mustard salad dressing recipe. No oil is needed.

Now, we’re just going to add some salt and pepper. I’m going to actually make my lunch for you right now and show you how I use this dressing in my lunch. Here’s my lunch bowl. I have broccoli at the bottom, chickpeas, apple chunks, golden raisins, and sunflower seeds.

Now I’m just going to add my dressing. And there we go. I’m going to let this sit in the fridge for about 30 minutes to an hour before I eat it. This is a delicious and easy salad.

3. Two-ingredient caramel sauce

This recipe hack for healthy caramel sauce uses dates to sweeten the sauce. We’re going to take one cup of dates, slice them in half, and put them in a bowl.

I’m just going to cover the dates in boiling water and let them sit for about 10-15 minutes just to soften them. A good indication that the dates are ready is when they look like they’re splitting into layers.

We’re going to drain the dates. Use ⅔ of a cup of any milk (you can use cow's milk or non-dairy milk). I’m using soy milk. Add a little salt. It helps elevate the flavor. Now, we’re just going to pulse this until we get a creamy consistency.

Now that’s a treat you can feel good about giving your kids.

Cheap recipe hacks

These three recipe hacks can help you make simple and delicious food on a budget. Which of the three recipes: the healthy caramel sauce recipe, the honey mustard salad dressing recipe, or the marinated onion recipe was your favorite? Let us know in the comments.