Kitchen

Here you will find great tips for cooking, cleaning, storing, and organizing your kitchen!

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Cooking

~ Butter the rim of a pan in which you cook rice or pasta so it won't boil over.

~ Instead of a pastry brush, use a new 1 1/2-inch wide paintbrush to brush on barbecue sauce and melted butter.

~ When baking in a glass pan, reduce oven temperature by 25 degrees F.

~ If you like canned soup but think it's too salty - add a few chunks of cut raw potato before you cook it. The potato will absorb alot of the salt - remove it before eating.

~ When using walnuts for baking: place them in a plastic bag with just a pinch of flower & shake. Keeps walnuts spaced through out the cake, etc. They will not all go to the bottom.

~ If you want creamier macaroni and cheese just substitute sour cream for the milk

~ A cup of vinegar in a cup while cooking fish helps keep that fishy odor away.

~ To cook spagetti, thin spagetti, angel hair, etc.: use your fry pan. You put about 2-3" of water, heat it to boiling, and add the pasta. If the pan is a small one, you can break the stuff in half. This way, you only heat enough water to cook the pasta, instead of 4" you don't need.

~ Put on a kitchen rubber glove to open stubborn jar and bottle lids

~ Make your kids meals a little more exciting - Shape hamburger in a hotdog shape, fry in pan, and serve on a hotdog bun with desired toppings.

~ Pie Crust Tip - Put liquid shortening in the bottom of the pie pan. Use a paper towel, you dont need much. Put the pie crust in and then put a thin film on the bottom of the pie crust. This will keep it form getting soggy. This is great if you use Pillsbury Pie Crust from the dairy case. They will think you made it yourself.

~ Before measuring shortening - line the measuring cup with plastic wrap - less sticky and No Mess to clean up!

~ Need a biscuit cutter and don't have one? Use a mason jar canning ring or a used soup can that has been cleaned and both ends cut out. Makes perfect biscuits!

~ Quick Delicious HomeMade Doughnuts - buy canned biscuits open biscuits and seperate, take a lid off of a plastic soda bottle and cut out the centers of the biscuits. Fry in wesson oil until they float, turn over and fry until other side is brown, put confectioners sugar in a gallon sized baggie and shake

~ When measuring sticky items such as peanut butter, molasses, etc., rub some oil on the inside of your measuring and everything will come out without sticking

~ when your cooking spaghetti - boil the water an turn the burner off. Put the noodles in and cover the pain with a lid. Let sit for as long as it says to cook You will never have over or under cooked spaghetti again....and the noodles wont stick together.

~ Buy a cheap small plastic pump spray bottle, and fill it with any cooking oil . Use it to oil baking or frying pans. Cheaper to use than "PAM"

~ Save butter wrappers or margarine wrappers and use them to grease your pans with. Store in a ziploc bag in the fridge

~ Prevent cheese from sticking to the grater, spray the grater with cooking spray before beginning.

~ Use an electric Drill with a baby bottle brush inserted in the end of drill to clean fresh corn on the cob. Just break off end of bottle brush and insert it into drill.

~ Use an adjustable nutcracker to open jars

~ When a cake recipe calls for flouring the baking pan, use a bit of the dry cake mix instead and there won't be any white mess on the outside of the cake.

~ When boiling corn on the cob, add a pinch of sugar to help bring out the corn's natural sweetness.

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

~ To save money, pour all leftover veggies and water in which they are cooked into a freezer container when full, add tomato juice, and meat, and seasonings to create a "Free soup" in case you have plans and time is short.

~ 3 large stalks of celery , chopped and added to about 2 cups of beans (navy, brown, pinto, white) will make them easier to digest.

~ a lump of sugar added to water when cooking greens helps vegetables retain there fresh color

~ never soak veggies after slicing, they will lose much of their nutritional value

~ Soggy lettuce? soak in a mixture of lemon juice and cold water... result crisp lettuce.

~ For a quick low-fat crunchy topping for muffins, sprinkle the tops with grape-nuts cereal before baking.

~ boiling eggs - to see if they're done spin, it if it spins it done, if not it needs to boil some more

~ If you like ramens, but don't like the cumbersome long noodles, just roll a rolling pin over the pkg. before opening. Makes the noodles shorter and easier to eat

~ Dry Bread Remedy - If your bread becomes dried out, try popping it in the oven for a few minutes after adding a little water to it ( or microwave with a wet paper towel ). The bread will absorb the water and become moister.

~ When rolling out dough on your counter for cookies, etc...lightly spray counter with cooking spray before flouring; the flour wipes off counter with a paper towel instead of sticking.

~ To see if your eggs are fresh, float them in a bowl of water. If they float, discard them.

Beverages

~ To get the most juice out of a lemon, soften it first by pressing and rolling it on a countertop

~ If your coffee is bitter add just a pinch of salt (not too much)

~ When making a pot of coffee, put a shake or two of salt in the grounds before brewing and it will make your coffee less bitter tasting

~ If your iced tea is cloudy add a pinch of baking soda.

~ To make big ice cubes for your pitcher of iced tea or lemonade, use muffin tins as ice cube trays.

~ To add a special touch to iced tea, freeze whole berries, fresh mint, or citrus slices in ice cube trays filled with water.

~ Pour the syrup from canned fruit into ice cube trays and freeze for later use. They can be added to punch, etc.

Cleaning

~ A cup of vinegar in your mop water will give your floor a shine.

~ Lemon Microwave Cleaner - Add 4 tablespoons of lemon juice to 1 cup water in a microwave-safe, 4-cup bowl. Boil 5 minutes in the microwave, allowing the steam to condense on the inside walls of the oven. Then wipe clean.

~ An old toothbrush can help clean garlic presses or other hard-to-clean kitchen utensils

~ Put a lot ice cubes in your disposal to sharpen the blades!

~ Grind up a cup or so of rice in a coffee grinder to clean the grinder and sharpen its blades.

~ Try a tablespoon of vinegar in the dishwasher rinse - it's a lot cheaper than the commercial rinse aids.

~ If you recycle those Ziploc baggies, here's an easy way to clean them: Put a drop of dish soap in the bag fill about half of it with hot water. Then put your dish scrubby in the bag also. Zip up and scrub away. Rinse and reuse.

~ Use baking soda to clean stubborn stains on pots and pans

~ For the coffee stains that accumulate in your coffee pot: use ice cubes that are crushed a bit and salt. Just swish the mixture around for a couple minutes, then rinse out coffee pot.

~ If you want to remove the label off of a milk jug ( usually for a craft project), all you need to do is fill the jug with super hot water, wait a coulple of minutes, and peel off the label! It usually comes off in one piece, too. This works also on glass jars, but not quite as well.

~ To clean stuck on food from pans - fill with warm water and boil on stove for a couple of minutes, then clean with a sos soap pad.

~ Clean the inside of your fridge with 1 tsp of dawn dish liquid and 3 tbsp. of baking soda mix and add warm water. Your fridge will smell like new!.

~ To clean koolaid stains on the kitchen counter just sprinkle some baking soda on it and use a wet cloth to wipe it up. It comes off very easy!!

~ Vinegar can remove spots caused by tomatoes, soak the spot with vinegar and wash as usual.

~ To clean the gunk out of the dishes your kids had hiding under their beds - use exfoliating Gloves!

~ To clean stuck on food from your microwave - wet a dishtowel and microwave for a few minutes - the stuck on food will wipe right off!

~ Use a denture cleaning tablet to get the hard coffee stains out of your glass coffee pot!

~ Cut S.O.S. Pads in half before using. You'll waste less and it will sharpen your sissors!

~ Permanent marker on appliances/counter tops (like store receipt BLUE!) rubbing alcohol on paper towel.

~ To easily remove burnt on food from your skillet, simply add a drop or two of dish soap and enough water to cover bottom of pan, and bring to a boil on stovetop.

~ Clean thermoses with AlkaSeltzer - fill with warm water and drop in 4 AlkaSeltzer Tablets and let soak for an hour (or longer, if necessary)

~ Unclog a drain. Clear the sink drain by dropping three Alka Seltzer tablets down the drain followed by a cup of Heinz White Vinegar. Wait a few minutes, then run the hot water.

~ Grind a half lemon or orange rind in the garbage disposal to remove any unpleasant odor

~ Baking soda cleans stains in coffee cups, freshens laundry, can use a teaspoon in a little water to get rid or heartburn.

~ To get coffee stains out of the glass pot try table salt, lemon juice and a little water swirl around in pot then wipe any remaining stains before rinsing

~ Use salt and lemon to clean Copper pots and pans - Spray lemon juice on the tarnish .... add table salt, watch the tarnish vanish. You can also use vinegar in place of the lemon.

~ If you love brownies but hate to wash the baked-on mess in the pan, try lining the pan with aluminum foil. It makes it easier to get them out of the pan too!!

~ Remove scuff marks on your floors, or on your shoes - use a dab of fingernail polish remover; the nonacetone, and for the really tough spots, try some with acetone in a concealed place to check for (bleaching).

Storing

~ Store berries in the refrigerator without washing them - they'll last longer. Just wash right before eating.

~ Store Brillo or SOS Pads in a baggie in the refrigerator - it keeps them from getting rusty!

~ Freeze those little packets you get from Burger king, of mustard and ketchup. They make great ice packs.

~ When you get to the bottom of your bag of chips and only have crumbs left, don't toss them. Put them in a freezer bag or container and stick them in the freezer. They will stay fresh and the next time you need a topping for a casserole or dish they are ready to go!

~ After opening bags or boxes of Brown Sugar & Confectionar Sugar, store the rest in Ziplock baggies to keep the sugars moist & fresh.

~ Instead of buying the saran wrap elastic bowl covers (kind of expensive), use shower caps (you can get about 15 for $1 at the Dollar Store!)

~ To keep leftover salad crisp just place a paper towel over the top and put the lid on and turn upside-down in the fridge. Just replace paper towel each time you get some out.

~ Need a butter dish, the plastic covered dish that comes with Crisco sticks works great, it is one way to reuse something that you would throw away When it is time to go on cook outs you can take it and not worry about it getting broken

~ put your flour in the freezer - NO bugs

~ Store ground coffee in fridge to keep it fresh

~ Spray your Tupperware with nonstick cooking spray before pouring in tomato based sauces and there won't be any stains.

~ Wrap celery in aluminum foil when putting in the refrigerator and it will keep for weeks.

~ Store your fresh baked cookies (or other baked goods) with a piece of white or wheat bread in first,the moisture will be absorbed by the piece of bread and your baked goods stay nice and soft!

~ Put your plastic wrap in the freezer. It WILL stick to your containers, but it WON"T stick to itself

~ Putting a piece of white bread into a bag of brown sugar also keeps it from drying out.

~ Put a cracker in your salt shaker and the salt wont get hard.

~ Put rice in your salt shaker , it will keep the salt from sticking.

~ Did you know that bread is delivered fresh to the stores five days a week? Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Each day has a different color twist tie.
They are:

Monday - Blue
Tuesday - Green
Thursday - Red
Friday - White
Saturday - Yellow

When was your bread delivered?

Organizing

~ Use a napkin holder to hold all your bills for the month. When you get ready to sit down and pay bills, they're all in the same place, no hunting for them. Also keep stamps and a pen in the holder, and you've got everything in one place.

~ Cover a Small cardboard box with shelf paper (the self-adhesive kind) and use to store all of you tupperware/rubbermaid lids. It's cheap and pretty!

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