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Martha Stewart shares vinaigrette hack to make the most of your mustard jar

Before you toss that almost-empty mustard jar, consider making salad dressing with it.
Stewart never lets any mustard go to waste with this simple hack.
Stewart never lets any mustard go to waste with this simple hack.TODAY
By Kerry Breen

Never waste mustard again with Martha Stewart's genius hack for a quick and delicious salad dressing.

Stewart, who appeared on TODAY Tuesday to talk about her new cookbook "Very Good Things" and share her recipe for green juice, demonstrated the method at the very end of her segment when Al Roker asked what could be done with an almost-empty mustard jar.

"You never can get all the mustard out of the jar, so just put your olive oil right in the jar, put a little bit of lemon juice in the jar, salt, pepper, a little shallot, shake it up, and you have the most delicious salad dressing," Stewart explained. "So easy."

If you're looking for an exact recipe, try Stewart's shallot vinaigrette recipe, which calls for two tablespoons of champagne vinegar (which could be subbed for lemon juice), one and a half tablespoons of Dijon mustard, a small minced shallot, coarse salt, freshly ground pepper and one-quarter cup of extra-virgin olive oil, plus more, if desired.

Add all the ingredients into a large bowl, whisking to combine, or, if you're using the jar hack, simply shake everything up in the mustard jar instead — and make sure to save the container when you're done!

"Save the jar!" Stewart added. "You can use it over and over again."

This isn't the only brilliant hack that Stewart consistently uses to save time in the kitchen. One method involves using two bowls to peel a bunch of garlic bulbs, so home chefs don't have to spend tons of time peeling the aromatic alliums.

"It's a very fun way to peel garlic!" said Stewart in 2017, as she demonstrated the hack for Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb and Craig Melvin. Simply take two medium-sized metal bowls, put the whole garlic bulbs in one, and place the second on top and shake. The friction caused by bouncing around in the bowls will cause the skin to easily fall off.

One of Stewart's most iconic hacks adds a big flavor boost to a classic sandwich: In 2016, she revealed that she puts mayonnaise on the outside of her grilled cheese, instead of butter, for a perfectly crisp sear.

Kerry Breen

Kerry Breen is a reporter and associate editor for TODAY.com, where she reports on health news, pop culture and more. She holds a master’s degree in journalism from New York University.