50 Useful Kitchen Tips

1. For cleaning smelly hands after chopping onions or garlic, just rub them on a stainless steel spoon. The steel is supposed to absorb the odor.


2. Fresh coffee beans can also absorb nasty odors from your hands.


3. If you happen to over-salt a pot of soup, just drop in a peeled potato. The potato will absorb the excess salt.


4. When boiling eggs, add a pinch of salt to keep the shells from cracking.


5. Never put citrus fruits or tomatoes in the fridge. The low temperatures degrade the aroma and flavor of these persnickety fruits.


6. To clean cast iron cookwear, don’t use detergents. Just scrub them with salt and a clean, dry paper towel.


7. Will milk curdle if it is allowed to boil? It turns out that this age-old piece of wisdom isn’t true, after all. Milk that has been boiled is perfectly safe to consume.


8. To clean an electric kettle with calcium buildup on the heating element, boil a mixture of half white vinegar and half water, then empty.


9. When storing empty airtight containers, throw in a pinch of salt to keep them from getting stinky.


10. If you are making gravy and accidentally burn it, just pour it into a clean pan and continue cooking it. Add sugar a little at a time, tasting as you go to avoid over-sugaring it. The sugar will cancel out the burned taste.


11. Burned a pot of rice? Just place a piece of white bread on top of the rice for 5-10 minutes to draw out the burned flavor. Be careful not to scrape the burned pieces off of the bottom of the pan when serving the rice.


12. Before you chop chili peppers, rub a little vegetable oil into your hands and your skin won’t absorb the spicy chili oil.


13. If you aren’t sure how fresh your eggs are, place them in about four inches of water. Eggs that stay on the bottom are fresh. If only one end tips up, the egg is less fresh and should be used soon. If it floats, it’s past the fresh stage.


14. To banish ants from the kitchen, find out where they are coming in and cover the hole with petroleum jelly. Ants won’t trek through the jelly. If they are coming under a door, draw a line on the floor with chalk. The little bugs also won’t cross a line of chalk.


15. Before making popcorn on the stove or in an air popper, soak the kernels in water for 10 minutes. Drain the water, then pop as normal. The additional moisture helps the popcorn pop up quicker and fluffier with fewer “old maids.”


16. Don’t store your bananas in a bunch or in a fruit bowl with other fruits. Separate your bananas and place each in a different location. Bananas release gases which cause fruits (including other bananas) to ripen quickly. Separating them will keep them fresh longer.


17. To keep potatoes from budding in the bag, put an apple in with them.


18. If you manage to have some leftover wine at the end of the evening, freeze it in ice cube trays for easy addition to soups and sauces in the future.


19. To clean crevices and corners in vases and pitchers, fill with water and drop in two Alka-Seltzer tablets. The bubbles will do the scrubbing.


20. After boiling pasta or potatoes, cool the water and use it to water your house plants. The water contains nutrients that your plants will love.


21. When you clean your fish tank, the water you drain can also be used to water your house plants. The nitrogen and phosphorus in fish droppings make aquarium water a great fertilizer.


22. When defrosting meat from the freezer, pour some vinegar over it. Not only does it tenderize the meat; it will also bring down the freezing temperature of the meat and cause it to thaw quicker.


23. The substance in onions that causes your eyes to water is located in the root cluster of the onion. Cut this part out in a cone shape, with the largest part of the cone around the exterior root section.


24. Taking the top layer off of a onion can also reduce the amount of eye-watering misery.


25. Toothpaste is a great silver cleaner.


26. Baking soda isn’t as effective a deodorizer for the fridge as that baking soda company would like you to believe. Activated charcoal is much better at absorbing fridge and freezer odors.


27. Baking soda is an extremely effective cleaner, though. Use it with vinegar to deodorize drains and clean stovetops and sinks.


28. A favorite tip of thousands of grandmas: when you nick your finger while cutting veggies, wait until the bleeding stops and paint on a layer of clear nail polish. It will keep juices out of the wound and won’t fall off into the spaghetti sauce like a bandage.


29. The jury is still out on what to put in the bag of brown sugar to keep it from going hard: a slice of apple, a piece of bread, and a shard of a terra cotta pot have all been used.


30. Got a nasty invisible splinter from your kitchen tools? Put a piece of adhesive tape on the area and then pull it off to remove the splinter.


31. When you burn yourself in the kitchen, just spread mustard on the affected area. Leave it for a while and it will ease the pain and prevent blistering.


32. For aluminum pans that are looking dull, just boil some apple peels in them. This will brighten up the aluminum and make your house smell yummy.


33. To keep cookies fresh, savvy grannies like to put some crumpled-up tissue paper in the bottom of the cookie jar.


34. If your salt is clumping up, put a few grains of rice in with it to absorb excess moisture.


35. To clean fruit stains off of your fingers, rub them with a fresh, peeled potato. White vinegar can also do the trick.


36. Keep iceberg lettuce fresh in the fridge by wrapping it in a clean, dry paper towel and storing lettuce and paper towel in a sealed baggie in the fridge.


37. If your loaf of bread is starting to go stale, just put a piece of fresh celery in the bag and close it back up. For some reason, this restores a fresh taste and texture to the bread.


38. Always keep an aloe vera plant in your kitchen. It’s invaluable when you scrape your arm or burn your finger. Just break off a leaf and rub the gel from the inside on the injury.


39. When making a soup, sauce, or casserole that ends up too fatty or greasy, drop in an ice cube. The ice will attract the fat, which you can then scoop out.


40. To reuse cooking oil without tasting whatever was cooked in the oil previously, cook a 1/4″ piece of ginger in the oil. It will remove any remaining flavors and odors.


41. If your milk always goes bad before you can finish it, try adding a pinch of salt to the carton when you first open it. It will stay fresh days longer.


42. Water that has been boiled and allowed to cool will freeze faster than water from the tap. This comes in handy when you’re having a party and need ice pronto.


43. Remove tea or coffee stains from your fine china by mixing up a paste of baking soda, lemon juice, and cream of tartar. Rub it over the stains and they’ll come off easily.


44. If two drinking glasses become stuck together after stacking, it’s not impossible to unstick them. Just put ice in the inner glass and dunk the outer glass in warm water. The warm glass will expand and the cold glass will contract, making the glasses separate easily.


45. For splinters under the fingernail, soaking the affected finger in a bowl of milk with a piece of bread in it is said to draw out the splinter.


46. Did grandpa ever give you a drink of cola for an upset tummy? It turns out that this is actually a pretty effective remedy. The sugar and carbonation can soothe many tummy problems - but it can also exacerbate others.


47. Putting salty bacon on a boil is said to “draw the poison out” of boils.


48. To help old wooden drawers (without runners) open and close smoothly, rub a candle on the tracks.


49. A cotton ball soaked in white vinegar and applied to a fresh bruise will reduce the darkness of the bruise and help it disappear sooner.


50. Drinking cranberry juice and eating blueberries regularly will help stave off urinary tract infections.








http://lifehackery.com/2008/05/17/50-amazingly-helpful-time-tested-tips-for-the-kitchen/

Kitchen Tips, Tricks and more ( I )

If you accidentally over-salt a dish while it's still cooking, drop in a peeled potato-it absorbs the excess salt for an instant "fix me up." 


If you have a problem opening jars: Try using latex dishwashing gloves. They give a non-slip grip that makes opening jars easy.


If it is a meringue pie you are making…add four or five marshmallows cut into pieces or 1/2 cup miniature ones, to meringue just before spreading. These marshmallows give both flavor and body to the meringue. The latter is important if pie is to stand for sometime before serving.


Instead of using a pastry cutter when a recipe asks for chilled and cut butter, I freeze the butter sticks and my cheese grater and grate the frozen butter into the flour. It’s not only much easier, but gives a more uniform consistency.


Ice cubes will eliminate the fat from soup and stew. Just drop a few into the pot and stir; the fat will cling to the cubes; discard the cubes before they melt. Or, wrap ice cubes in paper towel or cheesecloth and skim over the top.


If a recipe calls for 1 cup sour cream, you may substitute 1 cup cottage cheese blended until smooth with 1 tablespoon lemon juice and 1/3 cup buttermilk.


If guests are coming and you're behind making dinner, throw some onions on to sauté and your kitchen will smell wonderful and homey.


If lettuce starts turning a little brown (but not slimy) it may not be suitable for salads, but it is for sautéing. Sauteed salad greens like lettuce, radicchio, and endive make an unusual but tasty side dish. Sauté lettuces just as you would spinach. Cook them quickly in a little olive oil, minced garlic, and salt. They taste great, and you cant tell that the greens were once a little brown.


If you have a problem opening jars ... Try using latex dishwashing gloves. They give a on-slip grip that makes opening jars easy.


If you need extra counter space for cooling cookies on racks or baking sheets, set up the ironing board and let them rest on it (cover the board to prevent stains).


If you need only 1/2 an onion, save the root half. It will last longer.


If your cake recipe calls for nuts, heat them first in the oven, then dust with flour before adding to the batter to keep them from settling to the bottom of the pan.


Instead of adding raw garlic to sauces, sauté the garlic first for a milder flavor.


Instead of the water your recipe calls for, try juices, bouillon, or water you've cooked vegetables in. Instead of milk, try buttermilk, yogurt or sour cream. It can add a whole new flavor and improve nutrition.


Instead of using a pastry blender, mix flour with butter by grating cold butter into it.


It's important to let a roast -- beef, pork (pardon the expression), lamb or poultry -- sit a little while before carving. That allows the juices to retreat back into the meat. If you carve a roast too soon, much of its goodness will spill out onto the carving board.


If you're unsure of an egg's freshness, see how it behaves in a cup of water: Fresh eggs sink; bad ones float.


If you need only a few drops of lemon juice, avoid cutting the lemon in half--it will dry out quickly that way. Instead, puncture the fruit with a metal skewer and squeeze out exactly what you require.


In a pinch, yogurt can be substituted for cream in recipes that don't require cooking. But yogurt can curdle when cooked - in which case it's best to stick with whole milk or half and half.


If you burn milk while heating it on the stove, add a pinch of salt to temper the scorched smell and taste.


If you burn gravy and don't have enough time or pan drippings, to start from scratch, stir a teaspoon of smooth peanut butter for each cup of gravy. This should eliminate any burned taste.


If you've cooked more rice than you can eat, make rice pudding by adding butter, cinnamon, sugar and milk or create fried rice by saute'ing with a beaten egg, soy sauce and sliced green onions, or toss rice with slivered almonds and raisins for a Middle Eastern inspired pilaf.


If your glass coffee pot gets cloudy, make tea in it. Tea’s tannic content will remove the film. 


If two glasses are stuck together, fill the top glass with cold water and set the bottom glass in hot water. Try to carefully twist the two glasses apart after a minute


Iced tea requires only one-half as much sugar if sweetened when hot than when cold. After tea is strained and ready to serve, freeze a portion of it in the electric refrigerator and add this to glasses for cooling instead of plain ice.


If a vase won’t hold water, melt paraffin and pour into the bottom. Often this will seal a crack and prevent future seepage of water.


If you are in a hurry and you find that you are out of silver polish, dip a piece of raw potato in baking soda and rub the potato on the silver. 


It’s easy to keep your dresser from becoming stained and spotted from perfume and toilet water bottles. Place a piece of wax paper under your dresser scarfs for sure protection.


If you need a wide piece of wax paper, seal two strips together with a hot iron; it cools quickly.


If you have a brass or metal door knocker, wax it immediately after polishing. This practice will keep it bright.


Insects in earth can be killed with a spoonful of mustard in gallon of water. This is effective with potted plants.


Instead of whittling a candle at the base to make it fit in the candle holder, I hold the end in a cup of very hot water for a few minutes to soften the wax then gently and firmly press it into the holder.


If your candle holder is too large wrap a bit of plastic wrap around the base of the candle and wedge into your holder.

Kitchen Tips, Tricks and more (H)

Here’s a clever–and quick–way to skin a kiwi: Trim both ends of the fruit; ease a tablespoon between the flesh and the peel. Turn the kiwi, pressing the back of the spoon against the peel as you go. The fruit should slide right out in one piece–ready for slicing.




How long does olive oil last? How do I store it? Olive oil will last for about two years, if it goes rancid there will be a smell to it. Store olive oil in a cool, dark place. No need to refrigerate it but if you do, you’ll notice that the oil will get cloudy and solidify. If this happens, remove the bottle of olive oil from the fridge and leave at room temperature–it will return to its normal state.


How do I measure baking pans to see what size they are? Measure from inside edge to inside edge.


Herb & Spice Storage ~~~ To help preserve flavor, herbs and spices are best stored in airtight containers, out of sunlight and away from heat sources. Store the jars and containers in the pantry or a cupboard. Keeping spices and dried herbs in cute glass jars over top of the stove is a popular practice, but it does negatively affect the flavor of your spice collection.


How to Keep Cookies Soft ~~~ Keep cookies moist and chewy by throwing a few slices of apple in your cookie jar to keep cookies soft. Don’t do this if you like crispy or crunchy cookies.


Homemade Non-Stick Spray Recipe ~~~ Fill a pump spray bottle with olive oil or vegetable oil and use as you would commercial non-stick spray products. 


Homemade Non-Stick Spray Recipe ~~~ 1/2 cup vegetable or olive oil
4 TBS liquid lecithin (found at health food stores) Mix ingredients well and store in a pump spray bottle. Recipe can be made in batches with the ratio 2:1 (oil to liquid lecithin). 


Homemade Non-Stick Mix Recipe ~~~ 1 part vegetable oil, 1 part Crisco or vegetable shortening (at room temperature), 1 part flour




 How to avoid over-spilling milk when boiling : Before pouring milk into a pot for boiling rub butter along the top edge and inside lip of the pot. When the milk foams up, it will stop over spilling when it hits the butter.
Beat all ingredients together until completely mixed and smooth. Store in airtight container and refrigerate. Coat on pans with a pastry brush–make sure to cover pan surfaces completely. Recipe can be made in batches with equal parts for all ingredients.

Kitchen Tips, Tricks and more (G)

Greaseless Griddle Cake: When making griddle cake grease the pan for the first cake. After that rub a piece of raw potato over hot griddle instead of greasing. The cakes brown nicely and there will be no smoke. *Found on loose page of from an old cookbook.


Gravy thickening, sauces, etc., can be made smooth by using a small jar with a tight lid. Put the mixture of milk or water and flour into the jar and shake well until all lumps disappear.


Grease drippings can be clarified for further use by straining to remove large particles and then cutting up an Irish potato and frying it in the grease. All the small particles will cling to the potato.


Gelatine in individual form can be handled easier if a muffin pan is used instead of small molds. Pan can be placed in a refrigerator without danger of over-turning and much time is saved.


Grapefruit or oranges can be peeled easily if permitted to stand in boiling water for ten minutes.


Greasing muffin tins, bundt & cake pans is a breeze with a pastry brush first dipped in melted butter or shortening. A pastry brush also makes cleaning graters quick work–just brush off the bits clinging to the grater before washing.


Getting the catsup out of the bottle: insert a drinking straw, push it to the bottom of the bottle, and then remove. Enough air will be admitted to start an even flow.


Grate orange and lemon peel before peeling. Dry and add to spice cake or any cookies or puddings. The dried grated peel will keep well in a covered jar.


Grapes ~~~ To enjoy on a hot summer day, pop your grapes in the freezer. They are delicious frozen.


Get two batches out of one recipe of marinating liquid by marinating meats in a sealed plastic bag. Put half the amount you usually would in the bag with the meat, remove all the air and seal the bag. Squish around the liquid and it will stretch a lot farther than it would if you marinated in a covered container. I like to make two batches at once, one is for that night’s meal and the other is frozen in the bag with the marinating sauce. (Leona)

Kitchen Tips, Tricks and more (F)

For a juicier hamburger add cold water to the beef before grilling (1/2 cup to 1 pound of meat).


For fluffier, whiter rice, add one teaspoon of lemon juice per quart of water. To add extra flavor and nutrition to rice, cook it in liquid reserved from cooking vegetables.


For fresh flavor in orange juice add the juice of one lemon.


For fresh-tasting lemon or lime juice year-round, freeze lemons and limes whole; thaw in microwave before squeezing.


For the perfect boiled egg, cover eggs with cold water and a pinch of salt. Bring the water to a full boil. Remove the pan from the heat and cover. Let the eggs sit for 8-9 minutes. Drain the water and place the eggs in ice water to cool and stop the cooking process.


Freeze tomato paste in the can. Open both ends and punch out the paste. Wrap the frozen paste in foil and freeze, then slice off what you need as you need it.


Fresh fish freeze (cute alliteration, and tongue twister) well in a milk carton filled with water.


French toast is made crisper by adding a tablespoon of flour to the egg and milk mixture.


For a variation in meat balls, add chopped apple to ground meat along with other seasoning, roll into small balls and simmer in tomato puree, seasoned with sage.


Fluff Up Mashed Potatoes: Try adding a healthy pinch of baking powder to the potatoes when mashing them. For fluffier mashed potatoes, use an electric mixer to whip air into them. 


Fresh Fruit & Veggies Washing Tip: Sprinkle wet fruit and veggies with baking soda then gently scrub and rinse. This cleaning method safely removes dirt and residue off produce. 


For a super fast fish dish, add some fresh ginger or garlic to some oil in a saute pan. Heat and stir over a medium fire for about 3 minutes. Remove the ginger or garlic and cook the fish in the flavored oil.


Flour Bugs ~~~ Keep a couple bay leaves in the flour canister to help deter the bugs (flour Weevils) congregating in their favorite hangout. You can toss the leaves loose in the flour or make a rough pouch out of one layer of cheesecloth to keep the leaves separated from the flour. Another tip is to tape the bay leaves to the inside of the lid. Always try to keep flour and other grains in air tight containers, this will help keep pantry pests out.


Fill Empty Muffin Tins With Water ~~~ If your muffin or cupcake recipe doesn’t fill all the spots in your muffin pan, fill the empty places 3/4 full with water. This will help protect those slots from darkening or getting scorched.


Fat can be removed from hot soup by straining broth through a cloth wrung from cold water. All the fat will remain in cloth except just enough to enrich soup. Heat soup again before serving.


Fish or onion odor can be removed from utensils and dishes by adding a teaspoonful of baking soda to the dish water.


Fish scales can be removed quickly and easily by first dipping the fish in boiling water.


First rinse raisins, dates and figs in very cold water before putting them through the food chopper. They will not form such a gummy mass.


Frosting that 2 layer cake ~~~ Hate it when you try to frost your cake and it slides off to one side. I found sticking a few broken pieces of spaghetti through the top holds it firmly together.


For crisper salads: Place a saucer upside down in the bottom of the salad bowl before filling with salad. Excess moisture will run underneath the saucer and this will help keep the salad crisp and fresh.


For fried foods that require flouring, try pancake flour for a change, it’s quite nice.


For bananas that are ripe and ready to eat but you have too many, peel the bananas and freeze them then dip in melted chocolate and freeze again, these make a nice treat!


Fill a large hole or sugar shaker with flour and use that when needing to dust surfaces with flour or just pour out a tablespoon as you need it, this is handy way to keep a bit of flour on hand instead of digging in the flour bin.


Food Processor clean-up tip ~~~ Covering food processor bowl with plastic wrap before placing on the lid, saves cleaning up the lid.


Finding Broken Glass Under Soapy Water ~~~ 
If you break glass in soapy water while doing dishes, to prevent cutting yourself while looking for it you can use a tall clear drinking glass or a wide clear glass bowl–keeping the top part above the bubbles, push the glass into the water and use it as a lens to look around and find the broken pieces.


For a lint-less dustcloth, soak the cloth in hot soap suds with a few drops of turpentine for several hours. Wring out and let dry. These dustcloths give furniture a brilliant polish and hold dust. Repeat this process every two weeks.


For removing rust from refrigerator shelves, wash them in mild scouring powder and hot water. Dry well with soft cloth. Apply a thin coating of hot melted paraffin.

Kitchen Tips, Tricks and more (D)

Do not use metal bowls when mixing salads. Use wooden, glass or china.


Don't waste pie pastry scraps ... sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar, and bake like cookies.


Don't just keep dental floss in your medicine cabinet. Keep some in the kitchen. It's a great tool. Unflavored dental floss is often better than a knife to cleanly cut all kinds of soft foods, soft cheese, rolled dough, layered cake and cheesecake. I learned that watching my daughter, Miriam, work on a potter's wheel.


Don't throw out all that leftover wine ... freeze it into ice cubes for future use in casseroles and sauces.


Drain deep fried foods on brown paper grocery bags as opposed to paper towels to retain crispness.


Don't throw out all that leftover wine: Freeze into ice cubes for future use in casseroles and sauces.


Dry herbs and spices can lose their flavor when cooking so long, if possible–try adding them the last two hours before the meal is ready to help keep the flavor. Use fresh herbs when possible, these can be added first thing since they’ll hold their flavor better when cooking for hours.


Dropping Cookie Dough - To get cookie dough to drop without sticking, dip the spoon in milk first.


Don't Oil the Pasta Water ~~~ Giving the pasta a good stir about 30 seconds after adding it to the pot will keep it from sticking together.


Dusting Tip ~~~ Save your old pairs of woolen or cotton socks to use as dusters. Simply slip them over your hands and go. When the get dirty, simply toss them in the laundry. 

Kitchen Tips, Tricks and more (C)

Checking cookies if they are done ~~~  check them at minimum baking time.


Cheese that hardens in your fridge ~~~ cheese won't harden if you butter the exposed edges before storing.


Chefs ~~~ They pound meat not to tenderize the meat, but to help even the meat so it cooks evenly.


Choosing eggs ~~~ fresh eggs' shells are rough and chalky; old eggs are smooth and shiny.


Cooking  corn ~~~ Cook corn with husks and silks on. The silks slide off with husks and both add more flavor.


Cooking with Oil ~~~ There are better cooking oils than olive: sunflower, grape seed, canola, in that order. They don't burn. Start it in the pan cold, bring up the heat slowly. If you want olive-oil flavor, start with one of those, then add a little olive oil.


Cookie dough ~~~ It can be frozen up to three months in an airtight container or refrigerated three to four days.


Cookies ~~~ If your cookies are spreading too much, try refrigerating the dough for a couple of hours before baking.


Caesar salad ~~~ serve it in a wooden bowl and rub the inside of the bowl with a clove of garlic to add some extra flavor to the greens.


Cutting in the butter ~~~ use a potato masher. It’ll help break the butter into small pieces.


Cleaning Cilantro ~~~ Plunge into a sink full or pot full of cold water. Swirl around a few times and let sit for a while. The sand, dirt, and other debris will settle to the bottom, and the leaves will float to the top and can be removed. Repeat the procedure if the cilantro is very dirty. 


Cooking vegetables ~~~ Adding one or more bouillon cubes instead of salt–improves flavor. Tossing in a few garlic cloves when boiling vegetables makes things tastier too.


Canned fruit ~~~ is much better if opened and removed from the can an hour or two before using to restore the oxygen


Cut meat for grilling ~~~~ cut big pieces of meat in half to grill them quicker. Small chunks of meat on a skewer grill in a snap.


 Cutting an Onion Without Crying ~~~ Use sweet onions. Peeling  and  cutting under running water, chopping near a gas flame, and refrigerating onions before chopping, all methods for reducing the volatility of the sulfide that causes the irritation.


Cottage cheese ~~~ will remain fresher longer if you store it upside down in the refrigerator. This slows the effects of oxidation.


Cooking Hamburgers ~~~ When cooking hamburgers, indoors or on the BBQ, poke a hole in the center. This will stop the hamburger from rising in the center and your burger will be more evenly cooked; not burnt on the edge and only medium in the middle. The hole will close while cooking. 


Checking dried beans ~~~ Put dried beans in a bowl of cold water, and discard any that float to the surface, since this is an indication of insect or mold damage. 


Cloudy Ice Tea ~~~ Add just a small dash of boiling water.


Cure Garlicky Hands ~~~ Immediately after chopping raw garlic or after a marinating process, rub your fingers thoroughly with the bottom of a stainless steel spoon under running water. Then wash your hands with soap. The metal magically neutralizes the garlic fumes!


Cleaning or Unclogging Drain ~~~ A tip you may have forgotten. To unclog a drain or keep it fresh smelling add one cup of baking soda and one cup of vinegar.


Cleaning Artifical Flowers ~~~ To clean artificial flowers, pour some salt into a paper bag and add the flowers. Shake vigorously as the salt will absorb all the dust and dirt and leave your artificial flowers looking like new! Works like a charm!


Candle ideas ~~~ Instead of whittling a candle at the base to make it fit in the candle holder, hold the end in a cup of very hot water for a few minutes to soften the wax then gently and firmly press it into the holder.
If your candle holder is too large wrap a bit of plastic wrap around the base of the candle and wedge into your holder. To make new candles dripless, soak in a strong saltwater solution for a few hours, then dry well.


Clean a vase ~~~ to remove a stain from the bottom of a glass vase or cruet, fill with water and drop in two Alka-Seltzer tablets.


Cleaning Copper ~~~ Pour lemon juice on copper and sprinkle with salt. Then wipe off instantly. The salt works as an abrasive.


Cleaning Silverware ~~~ Line sink with aluminum foil, put in silverware, sprinkle with baking soda and pour boiling water over. Rinse and dry.


Centerpiece ideas ~~~ Place an array of different size candles on a circular mirror and you can also add little flower vases for a few small flowers.


Cure for headaches ~~~ take a lime, cut it in half and rub it on your forehead. The throbbing will go away.


Clean a toilet ~~~ drop in two Alka-Seltzer tablets, wait twenty minutes, brush, and flush. The citric acid and effervescent action clean vitreous china.


Cleaning a coffee pot ~~~ Pour a handful of table salt into the dirty coffee pot. Use a dish towel or sponge to rub it around and on the stains. Rinse clean. 


Cleaning scratches on wood furniture ~~~ Rub the same color crayon as the wood on to the scratch. This will  fill the scratch. Then clean with mayonnaise. The scratch will disappear. 


Cleaning A Messy Blender ~~~ To clean a blender,  add a cup of  warm water, run for a few seconds. Now add a drop of dishwashing detergent and another cup of water and blend. Let is sit for a few seconds. Rinse clean.


Clean a thermos bottle ~~~ fill the bottle with water, drop in four Alka-Seltzer tablets, and let soak for an hour (or longer, if necessary).

Kitchen Tips, Tricks and more (B)

Before opening a package of meat packaged in slices, roll it. This helps separate the slices for easy removal of individual slices.


Bread will stay fresh longer if a celery rib is stored with it in the package.


Brown gravy in a hurry with a bit of instant coffee straight from the jar ... no bitter taste, either.


Buy mushrooms before they "open." When the stems and caps are attached snugly, you know the mushrooms are truly fresh.


Buy several small spray bottles to use in the kitchen, for tasks like moistening pie dough, coating oil on pans, misting salad dressing on delicate greens, or other purposes you might think of.


Brush a beaten egg white over pie crust before baking to yield a beautiful glossy finish.


Buy small spray bottles at the store to use when spraying water on top of baking bread to help make it crispy, or even use it for misting salad dressings on top of salads. Also squirt bottles are a great tool to have as well for drizzling butter on top of corn on the cob, topping cakes such as a coffee cake with a glaze, and even for drizzling strawberry sauce on to a plate before presenting that delicious piece of cheesecake.


Baking bread? Do not preheat. When you light your oven, pop in the bread pans immediately and you’ll be amazed at the resulting lightness of the bread. 


Buy large lemons and  limes, they tend to be much sweeter. Make sure that the skin is thin, those are much juicer. To obtain more of the juice from lemons, limes or oranges, microwave on high for 30 seconds and then let stand for a couple of minutes before cutting and squeezing. Rolling them between your hand and the counter will also help release more juice. 

Kitchen Tips, Tricks and more (A)

A dampened paper towel or terry cloth brushed downward on a cob of corn will remove every strand of corn silk.


A few drops of lemon juice added to simmering rice will keep the grains separate.


A jar lid or a couple of marbles in the bottom half of a double-boiler will rattle when the water gets low and warn you to add more before the pan scorches or burns.


A low-calorie solution for high-fat frying of corn tortillas is to place them in the oven, directly on the rack. Bake at 350 F, to desired crispness. The tortillas will automatically fold over into taco shell form with just a little postioning help.


A lump of butter or a few teaspoons of cooking oil added to water when boiling rice, noodles, macaroni, or spaghetti will prevent boiling over.


A perfect pastry crust ... in your favorite recipe, substitute a 4 to 1 ratio of lard to butter.


A roast with the bone in it will cook faster than a boneless roast - the bone carries the heat to the inside of the roast quicker.


A slice of soft bread placed in the package of hardened brown sugar will soften it again in a couple of hours.


Add a little lemon and lime to tuna to add zest and flavor to tuna sandwiches. Use cucumbers soaked in vinegar and pepper in sandwich instead of tomatoes. Use mustard instead of mayo to cut the fat and add a tang.


Add a small amount of lemon juice to the artichoke cooking water to retain the color of the artichoke.



Add one teaspoon of lemon juice to each quart of water when cooking rice, this will keep rice fluffy.


Add a dash of lemon juice into meatballs before cooking them.


After crimping the edge of the pie crust, lift the edge of the crust gently all around with your fingers. This keeps the dough from sticking to the dish while baking and makes it easier to take out the pieces of pie.


A teaspoon of sugar mixed with your yeast and water makes it raise better. Even if you are making bread you can use some sugar. Never mix salt directly with the yeast and water mixture as the salt kills the raising action.


Add two teaspoons of vinegar to jello and it will keep the jello from melting when you serve it.


A dash of ginger added to chocolate icing gives a delicious, unusual flavor.


Add one of the following to the room temperature egg whites for the highest meringue: add a pinch of baking powder; add a pinch of salt; add a generous pinch of baking soda.


A teaspoon of celery salt added to cracker crumbs in which oysters are rolled before frying improves their flavor.


A little crushed or diced pineapple is delicious added to savory stuffing used for roast.


Add Flavor To Cooked Vegetables, toss in a bouillon cube or two to the boiling water instead of salt when cooking vegetables. Adds a delicious flavor to the veggies. Another alternative is to add a couple roughly halved cloves of garlic to the boiling water, then lightly tossing veggies in butter once cooked.


A little oatmeal adds much flavor and richness when used as a thickener for soups. Try it.


Add one-quarter teaspoon soda to cranberries while cooking them and they will not require much sugar.


A teaspoonful of vinegar added to the water in which eggs are poached keeps the whites from spreading and makes the whites cook over the yolk.


Add a slice of lemon to peeled sweet potatoes while cooking. The lemon will help them clear and free of discoloration.


Add one teaspoon baking powder to mashed potatoes to make them fluffy.


A wire cheese cutter is ideal for cutting chilled refrigerator cookie dough.


An ordinary funnel makes the best cooling rack for your tube cake pans.


Ants, ants, ants everywhere ... Well, they are said to never cross a chalk line. So get your chalk out and draw a line on the floor or wherever ants tend to march-see for yourself.


A damp cloth under any bowl or dish in which you are stirring or beating something will keep it from sliding around.


A rubber patch cut from an inner tube makes a good temporary sink stopper.


A cloth dipped in lemon juice will clean discoloration on aluminum pots and cookware. Rinse and wipe dry.

A simple way to sharpen kitchen shears ... cut a piece of steel wool.

Cooking with wine tips

This tip is from howto-simplify.com 
for more tips and recipes click on link below


http://www.howto-simplify.com




Selecting a wine


You might think that cooking with an expensive wine will bring out the best characteristics of the food. While this may be true, it's also not necessary. However, cooking with a super cheap bottle of wine might not be the best choice. The rule of thumb is to never cook with a wine that you won't drink. If you don't like the taste of the wine straight out of the bottle, then you will definitely not like the dish if you decide to cook with that wine. Always cook with a wine that you like to drink...and then you'll have something to sip while preparing your dish!


Some recipes mention that you should use "cooking wine" and grocery stores have shelves after shelves of this type of wine. One piece of advice: don't buy it. In my honest opinion, a normal bottle of table wine will work just fine. In fact, I prefer to use table wine because cooking wine is comprised of thinned wines mixed with salt. Does that sound appetizing? Yeah, I don't think so either.


Below you will find suggestions on how to select reds vs. whites when cooking:


Reds 
Young, full bodied: Red meat dishes
Young, full bodied, robust: Red sauces
Earthy, full bodied: Soups with root vegetables or beef stock
Whites
Dry or dry fortified: Fish/shellfish, poultry, pork, veal, light cream sauces
Crisp, dry: Seafood soups and bouillabaisse
Sweet or sweet fortified: Sweet desserts
Dry, fortified: Consomme, poultry, vegetable soups
Regional: Regional cuisine
Types of dishes
Spicy dish: Use an aromatic wine like Gewurztraminer, Riesling or Vioginer. These wines have fruity flavors that will help balance the spices in the dish.
Hearty dish: Use a hearty wine such as Petite Syrah or Zinfandel because they will help enhance the heartiness of the dish.
Light dish: Use a light wine such as Pinot Noir or Chianti because they will not overpower the flavors of the dish.
Cooking with wine


It's important to mention that using wine in every dish of a meal will only make the meal seem a bit...well, obnoxious in taste. Use wine in recipes only when you think it will enhance and intensify the flavor and aroma of the dish. Anything else will simply be overkill.


Here are some tips on different ways to incorporate wine into your cooking: 
Wine reductions: Simmer or boil the wine until most of the liquid evaporates. Use this technique when making sauces. Reduced wine will create thick sauces while unreduced wine will result in thin sauces.
Deglazing and sauces (after roasting or sauteeing): Add wine to the pan to dissolve the remaining bits of food, then add more wine and scrape the pan, add stock and reduce the liquid to make a wine sauce.
Marinating: Marinate meat and poultry in red or white wine.
Dressings: Mix wine with different herbs and olive oil to make a delicious salad dressing.
Wine can help add flavor to a variety of dishes and, when mixed correctly, the final result will be something that is truly memorable. I absolutely love cooking with wine and I hope that if you don't love it yet, you will grow to enjoy it over time. The best thing about wine and cooking is that it's wine and wine, to me, equates to a fun and enjoyable experience so have a good time cooking with it!


With Valentine's Day being just around the corner, what are your plans? Rather than head to an overcrowded restaurant, why not pick up dinner from the grocery store and enjoy a night at home 


http://www.howto-simplify.com/2011/02/tips-tricks-cooking-with-wine.html

Crockpot Cooking Tips & Tricks

This tip is from  tipnut.com for more tips click on the link below
http://tipnut.com


Cooking With A Crockpot Is Convenient And Great For Busy Days


1. If you don’t like the taste or texture of the meat from simmering in its juices, set the meat on a layer of vegetables (like potatoes, onions or carrots) or set it on foil balls high enough to keep the meat out of the juices.


2. Spray the crock lightly with non-stick spray, olive oil or vegetable oil to prevent the dish cooking or burning onto the sides of the crock, you’ll also find plenty of crockpot cleaning tips here.


3. Make sure the crock is half full of food ingredients to keep the dish from burning or overcooking…don’t fill the crock too full, you want it no more than 2/3 full or the dish will need to cook longer to prevent it from being undercooked. If you can, have both a smaller and larger size slow cooker on hand to accommodate various quantities and recipes. Slowcookers can be found really cheap at garage sales and it’s worth it to have another one on hand.


4. Carefully remove the lid from the crock by lifting it straight up then over. This will help prevent much of the condensation running back into the dish which just dilutes the sauce consistency and flavor.


5. Unless the recipe instructs you to do so, do not lift the lid to stir or peek at the dish. This lowers the temperature inside the crock pot and the meal won’t be fully cooked within the alloted time.


6. Prevent half cooked carrots and potatoes by layering them on the bottom of the crock first then adding the rest of the ingredients. Cut them in about 1″ chunks or so, this helps them cook faster.


7. Use fresh vegetables rather than canned or frozen since they’ll retain their flavor and texture better (as well as add flavor to the meat). If you do use canned or frozen vegetables, add them to your crockpot toward the end of cooking time, just long enough to heat them through. This way they won’t be tasteless mush.


8. For more flavor, first brown any meat, onions, garlic and some of the flavorful veggies (like onions and green peppers).


9. Trim off as much of the fat on the meat as you can as well as remove the skin from chicken, this helps prevent much of the fat melting into the sauce.


10. Cook with thawed meat rather than frozen (unless recipe instructs otherwise). The dish will need longer cooking otherwise and will affect the rest of the ingredients.


11. Choose cuts of meat that will fit in your slow cooker easily. If the cut of meat is too big and you cram it in, it won’t cook through as well and will likely need longer cooking time (affecting the rest of the recipe’s ingredients as well). Trim off excess meat and freeze to use later in soups or stews.


12. Choose cheap cuts of meat where possible since the meat turns out quite tender when cooked slow. Slow cooking is a great opportunity to economize.


13. If the sauce or gravy is too thin, remove the lid from the slow cooker the last 1/2 hour and turn up the heat to try to thicken it. You can also add potato flakes to thicken the sauce.


14. Dry herbs and spices can lose their flavor when cooking so long, if possible–try adding them the last two hours before the meal is ready to help keep the flavor. Use fresh herbs when possible, these can be added first thing since they’ll hold their flavor better when cooking for hours.


15. For better pasta and rice, cook these separately about an hour before the meal is ready. Once they’re barely cooked, throw them in with the meal to simmer in the sauce.
16. You can cut cooking time in half by cooking on High instead of Low, but cook according to directions whenever possible since the recipe results might differ otherwise (meat may not be as tender, etc.).
17. If your slow cooker doesn’t come with a timer, you can buy an appliance timer for just a few bucks (check Amazon for “Appliance Timer”, some are quite low in price). This is really nice to have since you can start the crockpot later in the morning, in the middle of the night or set it to turn off in case you’re late getting home from work.




http://tipnut.com/crockpot-cooking-tips-tricks/