Kitchen TIPS
Bananas
Peel a banana from the bottom and you won't have to pick the little 'stringy things' off of it. That's how the primates do it.
Take your bananas apart when you get home from the store.
If you leave them connected at the stem, they ripen faster.
Wrap bananas in a wet dish towel and place them in a brown paper bag. They will ripen in a day or so.
Boil-Overs
Add a bit of butter or a few teaspoons of oil to the water. Spaghetti will not boil over or stick together.
Bread / Bisquits
To warm biscuits, pancakes, or muffins that were refrigerated, place them in a microwave with a cup of water. The increased moisture will keep
the food moist and help it reheat faster.
Broiling
Add one cup of water to the bottom portion of the broiling pan before putting it in the oven. The water will absorb the smoke and grease and
make the food more tender.
Brownies
For a cool brownie treat, make brownies as directed. Melt Andes mints in double broiler and pour over warm brownies. Let set for a minty
frosting.
Cabbage Rolls
Just cut out the core and place the cabbage in a large pot of boiling water. Then with a long fork, turn the cabbage and remove the leaves.
Rinse, fill and roll!
Cakes
If you run out of flour or just want your chocolate cake to not have that "white dust" on it, use cocoa to dust the bottom of your cake pan.
To test if your cake is cooked, use a raw piece of spaghetti.
If a cake sticks to the pan after baking, simply set the pan over a pot of boiling water for a minute or two. It will pop out of the pan nice and neat!
Cheese
Store your opened chunks of cheese in aluminum foil.
It will stay fresh much longer and not mold!
Celery
Wrap celery in aluminum foil when storing in your fridge. It will keep weeks longer.
Cookie Sheets
Aluminum foil to cover baking sheets or dishes when cooking in the oven. It saves tons of clean-up time, all you have to do is throw away the foil.
I like to use the new non-stick aluminum foil in my toaster oven as well.
Croutons
To make delicious warm toasty croutons, cut up leftover bread into cubes. Fry them in olive oil and spices and a tad of Parmesan cheese. Just
fry until brown.
Eggs
To hard boil eggs without the "yellow" starting to turn black, poke a tiny hole in the small end to let the air escape, then place in warm water,
bring to a rolling boil, cover and remove the pot from the heat! For one or two eggs, let stand for 10 minutes. For each additional egg allow 1
minute. This also makes the egg shell peel off with ease.
Put any number of eggs in the pan, cover with water and bring to a good rolling boil. While still boiling, cover the pan (to trap the heat and
steam) and turn off the heat. Set a timer for 10 minutes. When it goes off, pour off the hot water and cover with cold water and let sit.
To test to see if an egg is fresh, immerse it in a pan of cool, salted water. If it sinks, it's fresh. If it floats, throw it away!!
To really make scrambled eggs or omelets rich add a couple of spoonfuls of sour cream, cream cheese, or heavy cream in and then beat them
up.
Deviled Eggs
Put cooked egg yolks in a zip lock bag. Seal, mash till they are all broken up. Add remainder of ingredients, reseal, keep mashing it up mixing
thoroughly, cut the tip of the baggy, squeeze mixture into egg. Just throw bag away when done easy clean up.
French Fries
To make better French fries just soak fresh-cut potatoes in water with a few dashes of salt for five minutes, drain and pat dry before cooking to
remove the excess starch that causes them to clump together (and from keeping them from sticking to the pan while cooking).
For extra crispy fries just dust them lightly with flour before you fry.
Frosting
When you buy a container of cake frosting from the store, whip it with your mixer for a few minutes. You can double it in size. You get to frost
more cake/cupcakes with the same amount. You also eat less sugar/calories per serving.
Garlic Cloves
Zap garlic cloves in the microwave for 15 seconds and the skins will slip right off!
Add garlic immediately to a recipe if you want a light taste of garlic and at the end of the recipe if your want a stronger taste of garlic.
Gelatin
Rinse the mold pan with cold water and then coat with oil or Pam.
Dip in warm water when ready to serve
Green Peppers
Peppers with 3 bumps on the bottom are sweeter and better for eating.
Peppers with 4 bumps on the bottom are firmer and better for cooking.
Ground Beef
Add a teaspoon of water when frying ground beef.
It will help pull the grease away from the meat while cooking.
Herbs
To keep herbs fresh longer, loosely wrap them in a damp paper towel, place in a plastic bag and store in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Lemons
To get the most juice out of a lemon, bring to room temperature and roll them under your palm on your counter a few times before squeezing.
Measuring Cups
Before you pour sticky substances into a measuring cup, fill with hot water.
Dump out the hot water, but don't dry cup. Next, add your ingredient, such as peanut butter, and watch how easily it comes right out.
Onions
Light a match and blow it out. Put the non burnt end between your teeth while you cut your onion. The sulfur will absorb the fumes. Always cut
the root end of the onion off last.
A good way to cut onions without tears is to cut them near COLD running water, or just rinse to save on water bill.
Or put them in the freezer for about 5 to 10 minutes before cutting them
Oranges
Need to peel a bunch of oranges for a salad? Just soak the oranges in boiling water for five minutes then peel as usual. As a bonus, the "white"
part of the peel will come off along with the peel.
FYI: The bigger the naval, the sweeter the orange!
Pancakes
Use a Turkey baster to squeeze your pancake batter onto the hot griddle.
Pies
Beat an egg white and brush over your pie crust before baking for a beautiful glossy finish.
Pizza
Heat up leftover pizza in a non-stick skillet on top of the stove, set heat to med-low and heat till warm. This keeps the crust crispy. No soggy
micro pizza.
Potatoes
Sprinkle with dry powdered milk for the fluffiest mashed potatoes ever!
Potatoes Baked
Microwave them on high for 4-minutes on each side, then bake them for about 20-minutes at 450 degrees until skin is crispy. Or you can boil in
salt water for 10-minutes before putting them into a preheated 450-degree oven.
Ripen Tomatoes
Wrap green tomatoes in a wet dish towel and place them in a brown paper bag. They will ripen in a day or so.
Salty
For soup and stews, add cut raw potatoes and discard once they have cooked and absorbed the salt.
Scorch-Free Pans
When a recipe calls for scalded milk, add (but don't stir in!) a teaspoon of sugar before turning on the heat. The sugar will prevent hot milk from
scorching the bottom of your saucepans.
Spaghetti Sauce
To absorb the acidic taste that you get with tomato sauce, drop a whole carrot into the sauce while it simmers. Just remove the carrot before
serving the sauce
Splattering and Sticking
When pan frying always heat your pan before adding the butter or oil. Not even eggs stick when you use this great tip!
Another good tip to keep hot oil from splattering is to sprinkle a little salt in the pan before frying.
Tea
Fill your pitcher one quarter full with hot water and add the instant ice tea mix and stir. Then add the cold water and ice. No more having to stir
forever waiting for it to dissolve!
I like to fill a big jug with HOT water and let tea bags sit in it for a few hours, squeeze them put in lid and shake...insta ice tea. Try fruit flavored
Ice Tea!
Walnuts
To get the walnut meat out whole, soak over night in salt water then crack gently.
Whipped Cream
Sweeten your whipped cream with confectioners sugar instead of granulated sugar. Also holds its shape better!
Peel a banana from the bottom and you won't have to pick the little 'stringy things' off of it. That's how the primates do it.
Take your bananas apart when you get home from the store.
If you leave them connected at the stem, they ripen faster.
Wrap bananas in a wet dish towel and place them in a brown paper bag. They will ripen in a day or so.
Boil-Overs
Add a bit of butter or a few teaspoons of oil to the water. Spaghetti will not boil over or stick together.
Bread / Bisquits
To warm biscuits, pancakes, or muffins that were refrigerated, place them in a microwave with a cup of water. The increased moisture will keep
the food moist and help it reheat faster.
Broiling
Add one cup of water to the bottom portion of the broiling pan before putting it in the oven. The water will absorb the smoke and grease and
make the food more tender.
Brownies
For a cool brownie treat, make brownies as directed. Melt Andes mints in double broiler and pour over warm brownies. Let set for a minty
frosting.
Cabbage Rolls
Just cut out the core and place the cabbage in a large pot of boiling water. Then with a long fork, turn the cabbage and remove the leaves.
Rinse, fill and roll!
Cakes
If you run out of flour or just want your chocolate cake to not have that "white dust" on it, use cocoa to dust the bottom of your cake pan.
To test if your cake is cooked, use a raw piece of spaghetti.
If a cake sticks to the pan after baking, simply set the pan over a pot of boiling water for a minute or two. It will pop out of the pan nice and neat!
Cheese
Store your opened chunks of cheese in aluminum foil.
It will stay fresh much longer and not mold!
Celery
Wrap celery in aluminum foil when storing in your fridge. It will keep weeks longer.
Cookie Sheets
Aluminum foil to cover baking sheets or dishes when cooking in the oven. It saves tons of clean-up time, all you have to do is throw away the foil.
I like to use the new non-stick aluminum foil in my toaster oven as well.
Croutons
To make delicious warm toasty croutons, cut up leftover bread into cubes. Fry them in olive oil and spices and a tad of Parmesan cheese. Just
fry until brown.
Eggs
To hard boil eggs without the "yellow" starting to turn black, poke a tiny hole in the small end to let the air escape, then place in warm water,
bring to a rolling boil, cover and remove the pot from the heat! For one or two eggs, let stand for 10 minutes. For each additional egg allow 1
minute. This also makes the egg shell peel off with ease.
Put any number of eggs in the pan, cover with water and bring to a good rolling boil. While still boiling, cover the pan (to trap the heat and
steam) and turn off the heat. Set a timer for 10 minutes. When it goes off, pour off the hot water and cover with cold water and let sit.
To test to see if an egg is fresh, immerse it in a pan of cool, salted water. If it sinks, it's fresh. If it floats, throw it away!!
To really make scrambled eggs or omelets rich add a couple of spoonfuls of sour cream, cream cheese, or heavy cream in and then beat them
up.
Deviled Eggs
Put cooked egg yolks in a zip lock bag. Seal, mash till they are all broken up. Add remainder of ingredients, reseal, keep mashing it up mixing
thoroughly, cut the tip of the baggy, squeeze mixture into egg. Just throw bag away when done easy clean up.
French Fries
To make better French fries just soak fresh-cut potatoes in water with a few dashes of salt for five minutes, drain and pat dry before cooking to
remove the excess starch that causes them to clump together (and from keeping them from sticking to the pan while cooking).
For extra crispy fries just dust them lightly with flour before you fry.
Frosting
When you buy a container of cake frosting from the store, whip it with your mixer for a few minutes. You can double it in size. You get to frost
more cake/cupcakes with the same amount. You also eat less sugar/calories per serving.
Garlic Cloves
Zap garlic cloves in the microwave for 15 seconds and the skins will slip right off!
Add garlic immediately to a recipe if you want a light taste of garlic and at the end of the recipe if your want a stronger taste of garlic.
Gelatin
Rinse the mold pan with cold water and then coat with oil or Pam.
Dip in warm water when ready to serve
Green Peppers
Peppers with 3 bumps on the bottom are sweeter and better for eating.
Peppers with 4 bumps on the bottom are firmer and better for cooking.
Ground Beef
Add a teaspoon of water when frying ground beef.
It will help pull the grease away from the meat while cooking.
Herbs
To keep herbs fresh longer, loosely wrap them in a damp paper towel, place in a plastic bag and store in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Lemons
To get the most juice out of a lemon, bring to room temperature and roll them under your palm on your counter a few times before squeezing.
Measuring Cups
Before you pour sticky substances into a measuring cup, fill with hot water.
Dump out the hot water, but don't dry cup. Next, add your ingredient, such as peanut butter, and watch how easily it comes right out.
Onions
Light a match and blow it out. Put the non burnt end between your teeth while you cut your onion. The sulfur will absorb the fumes. Always cut
the root end of the onion off last.
A good way to cut onions without tears is to cut them near COLD running water, or just rinse to save on water bill.
Or put them in the freezer for about 5 to 10 minutes before cutting them
Oranges
Need to peel a bunch of oranges for a salad? Just soak the oranges in boiling water for five minutes then peel as usual. As a bonus, the "white"
part of the peel will come off along with the peel.
FYI: The bigger the naval, the sweeter the orange!
Pancakes
Use a Turkey baster to squeeze your pancake batter onto the hot griddle.
Pies
Beat an egg white and brush over your pie crust before baking for a beautiful glossy finish.
Pizza
Heat up leftover pizza in a non-stick skillet on top of the stove, set heat to med-low and heat till warm. This keeps the crust crispy. No soggy
micro pizza.
Potatoes
Sprinkle with dry powdered milk for the fluffiest mashed potatoes ever!
Potatoes Baked
Microwave them on high for 4-minutes on each side, then bake them for about 20-minutes at 450 degrees until skin is crispy. Or you can boil in
salt water for 10-minutes before putting them into a preheated 450-degree oven.
Ripen Tomatoes
Wrap green tomatoes in a wet dish towel and place them in a brown paper bag. They will ripen in a day or so.
Salty
For soup and stews, add cut raw potatoes and discard once they have cooked and absorbed the salt.
Scorch-Free Pans
When a recipe calls for scalded milk, add (but don't stir in!) a teaspoon of sugar before turning on the heat. The sugar will prevent hot milk from
scorching the bottom of your saucepans.
Spaghetti Sauce
To absorb the acidic taste that you get with tomato sauce, drop a whole carrot into the sauce while it simmers. Just remove the carrot before
serving the sauce
Splattering and Sticking
When pan frying always heat your pan before adding the butter or oil. Not even eggs stick when you use this great tip!
Another good tip to keep hot oil from splattering is to sprinkle a little salt in the pan before frying.
Tea
Fill your pitcher one quarter full with hot water and add the instant ice tea mix and stir. Then add the cold water and ice. No more having to stir
forever waiting for it to dissolve!
I like to fill a big jug with HOT water and let tea bags sit in it for a few hours, squeeze them put in lid and shake...insta ice tea. Try fruit flavored
Ice Tea!
Walnuts
To get the walnut meat out whole, soak over night in salt water then crack gently.
Whipped Cream
Sweeten your whipped cream with confectioners sugar instead of granulated sugar. Also holds its shape better!
