I know you’re probably wondering why someone would need to cook something with a coffee maker, but you never know when these hacks will come in handy. Lets say you’re in a hotel room and you want to eat relatively healthy and not rely on bad-for-you take-out — most hotel rooms have a coffee maker. Or, what if you just want to bust out a neat party trick and show off your cooking skills. Either way — coffee maker cooking is awesome.
Using a traditional drip coffee maker will give you a lot more options as far as what to cook since there’s a burner and you can use that like you would any ol’ pan (hello, grilled cheese), but even if you have a Keruig-type machine — you have a whole new way to cook fast, healthy food. Check out 5 unexpected things you can cook with your coffee maker:
1. Soft-boiled eggs
Eggs is a simple snack if you’re looking for an energy boost and it can’t get much easier than this. Add the eggs to the coffee pot and run the water through. Allow the eggs to sit in the pot with water for about 8 minutes and you’ve got a cooked egg.
2. Steamed vegetables
Whether it’s broccoli, carrots, or some other vegetable — steamed can be a great way to enjoy as a side-dish for your meal or even just a snack. You cook the vegetables the same way you would the eggs and you’re left with perfectly-steamed vegetables.
3. Cocktails
4. Rice
Use 1/2 cup of instant rice and put it in the coffee pot. Check the box for instructions and place that amount of water listed in the coffee water spot and run through. Leave the coffee maker turned on after water has gone into the pot for about 10 minutes or until all the water is absorbed and the rice is fully cooked.
5. Quinoa
I am obsessed with quinoa and the perfect thing about it is you can use it for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. If you’re on a gluten-free diet, quinoa is a great substitute for oats for breakfast and they’re easy to make. All you do is follow the above directions with rice and the package of quinoa (or better yet, quinoa flakes) and you’re all set.
Photo credit: adapted from pjinomaha | Flickr