Quickly hard boil an egg: Place egg with 1t water in dish. Pierce yolk and microwave 1 minute.
Roast Almonds: 325 F 10 minutes
Mock Buttermilk: Add 1 ½ t white vinegar to 1 ½ c milk
ABOUT'S
1 small cabbage is about 4 ½ c or a pound
1 large carrot is about 1 c
2 medium stalks celery is about 1 c
1 large green pepper is about 1 c
1 medium head lettuce is about 6 c
3/4 lb mushrooms is a bout 3c sliced mushrooms
1 medium onion is about ½ c chopped onion
3 medium potatoes is about 1 3/4 c
Don't want to wait an hour or so for the meatloaf to cook? Roll it up in big meatballs and arrange it in a muffin pan - it'll be done in15-25 minutes.
After washing out a mustard squeeze bottle, fill it with your favorite cooking oil and keep it on your pantry shelf. It squeezes out a tablespoon of oil for a recipe or for your frying pan.
To easily remove corn silk: dampen a toothbrush and brush downward on the cob of corn. Every strand will come off. Even easier? Let the kids do it.
To ensure your green salad remains fresh and doesn't wilt from moisture,
place an inverted saucer at the bottom of your salad bowl. All the water
will drain under the saucer, leaving your
salad crisp.
Woodwork and Wall Cleaning Solution
1 gallon warm water
1 cup ammonia
½ cup vinegar
1/4 cup baking soda
Combine and use to clean walls and woodwork.
If you have the dreaded job of cleaning your oven racks, place them
in your bathtub, cover them with hot water and add one box of baking soda.
Soak for several hours. Grease and grime just come right off. Very
little scrubbing needed.
This is a kitchen tip that really works. To make an "Instant"
silver cleaner (also good for gold). This works by electrolysis:
In the sink or a tub-like container, add to each quart of HOT water (not
boiling) 1 Tablespoon of powdered fabric softener (Borax) and 1 Tablespoon
of salt. Stir the ingredients until dissolved. Now, place a
large sheet of aluminum foil into the water. Press it down until
it is under the water solution. Place the tarnished piece (one at a time,
please) in the solution, being sure that it is entirely submerged.
(Do not place several items into the solution at the same time. With
this method, do only one piece at a time to insure *maximum strength* of
the solution to work on the object.). Leave for 10 seconds - then
remove and rinse off.
Dry with a soft cloth. Repeat process for remaining items.
Can't tell if an egg is good or not? Place the egg in a full glass of water. If the egg rises to the top it's spoiled. If it stays under the water it's OK to use. This tip came on an egg carton many years ago.
For cutting cakes when presentation matters, use dental floss.
Pull out a long strand, about 8 inches longer than your cake. Hold
taut between your hands, cut with floss where you want your slices to be.
When you reach the bottom of cake with each slice, pull the floss out
one side. Slicing will be quick and uniform. Your cake
will look beautiful and your friends will be so impressed!
To clean oven rack, place it in a plastic garbage back and spray with oven cleaner. Seal it and leave over night, Open bag and rinse off to obtain a clean rack.
If you spill red wine on a carpet, pour white wine right over it. The white will neutralize the red wine follow with very light soap and water and blot with a thick towel.
To keep celery from getting soft pick off leaves, wash, cut away any unwanted pieces. Add a little water to an empty, clean, large mayonnaise jar. Keep celery bunched and slowly slide into the jar, then cover with plastic wrap and an elastic. Keeps it fresh for weeks!
A great way to keep cheese from molding is to wrap the open cheese in a piece of cheesecloth that has been dipped in vinegar and the excess squeezed out. Then place in a plastic bag. To mail cheese successfully follow the above instructions and pour melted wax over cheesecloth wrapped cheese.
My favorite way to peel tomatoes is to take a table knife and scrape the entire tomato being careful not to break the skin. Scrape the knife firmly against the skin, kind of like you're bruising it, and when you've done the whole tomato use a sharper knife to break the skin and peel. This method, if done correctly, will only peel the tomato skin and not take off any of the tomato.
When making cupcakes or muffins using paper liners, after baking cool on their sides. That way the paper liner does not stick and you don't lose half the cupcake or muffin to the liner.
If you end up with a few green tomatoes at the end of the season, place them stem side down to ripen in a dark place. Tomatoes ripen from the blossom part up. If they are placed right side up the tomato could rot before it ripens. I make sure to leave some space between the tomatoes, so if one does go bad it will not ruin the rest.
Gravy grease separator : Just pour the cooled pan drippings into a gallon
size food storage
bag. After the fat rises, just snip the tip off one of the bottom
corners, letting the meat juice escape, then stop the flow when it gets
to the fat.
Clean windows with 3 Tablespoons ammonia in 3/4 cup water and a dash
of dishwashing detergent in a spay bottle. Then rinse with ½ cup
corn starch in ½ gallon of water. Dry with
paper towels. Do not clean windows in direct sunlight.
FOLDED NAPKINS
1. Fold an open square cloth or paper napkin in half like a book
Beginning at the bottom edge, form one inch accordion pleats until 4 inches
remains.
2. Turn the napkin over so the pleats you just made are under the bottom edge and the flat side without pleats faces you ( See Fig 1) Fold the napkin in half from right to left so half of the pleats are now on top
3. Fold the top down to form a l l/2 inch hem. See Fig 2:Fold
the top left corner down diagonally and tuck it under the pleats. Spread
to stand.
Step 2 Turn Over and Fold ( right to left)
Step 3 Hem and Tuck
When boiling water for pasta, spray the surface with cooking spray (or drop in a tablespoon of oil) and never have a boil over! I use olive oil.
To keep an open ice cream container from getting ice crystals, cover with a piece of plastic wrap before putting the lid back on.
If you have stored a red sauce based item in Tupperware and cannot remove the stain, let it sit in the windowsill and the sun will bleach out the red.
To keep flour free from bugs, when you buy a new bag of flour, place
it in the freezer for 24 hours before putting it in the cannister. This
kills all the bug eggs in the flour and your flour will
remain bug-free.
If you store bananas in a plastic Ziploc bag, they'll stay yellow all
week without developing those
annoying dark skins and getting over ripe.
Brown sugar gone hard? Just add a slice of bread and close the bag. Like magic the sugar will soften for use and the bread you can throw away.
Before cutting open a lemon or lime to squeeze out the juice, roll it on the counter a few times, pressing down hard with your palm. This helps break the little cellulose walls that hold in all the juice. If you're not in a hurry, grate off the peel first. You can freeze it for future use.
When cooking Brussels sprouts, no matter how you cook them, soak them in a little salt and water 20 minutes before cooking and they will be sweet as can be. Rinse them to remove the salt before cooking.
To clean Copper: Sprinkle with salt and rub with a half of lemon or lemon juice soaked paper towel. Or Make a paste of 2/3 c white vinegar, 2/3 c flour and ½ c salt and apply it for 20-30 minutes, then remove.
Stains on your kitchen counter top: make a paste of baking soda and water and work it into the stain with the rough side of the sponge and it completely comes clean.
Keep the little plastic shower caps you find in most hotel rooms. They make great food covers and can be used quite a few times before they become useless.
When hard boiling your eggs, put a few onion skins (just those loose ones that fall off anyway) in with the water, then cook as usual. The eggs will turn a light brown color and you will be able to tell them from the raw ones.
To cover a cake and not have the icing adhere to the plastic wrap
just spray the wrap with cooking spray. This works well for anything such
as a casserole which is going into refrigerator
or the freezer.
The textured surfaces on refrigerator doors and other appliances very hard to clean. If you will use a little baking soda on a wet sponge it takes no effort and all the little indentations clean.
Most stubborn jar lids will open much easier if you place the tip of
a spoon or a can opener under the edge of the lid and pry it up just a
little. This releases the vacuum seal. If this doesn't work, try
wrapping a rubber band around the lid to give you a better grip.
USED FABRIC SOFTENER SHEETS: These are great for giving that final polish
to silver, brass, stainless steel and chrome. Keep some handy to sparkle
up your sink and bathroom fixtures.
Also use them to dust with.
GLASS CLEANER: Dissolve 2 tablespoons of cornstarch in a gallon of hot water. Wipe on glass, then shine with a paper towel, a sheet of newspaper or used fabric softener sheets. Remember not to wash windows on a sunny day, as they will streak.
TO REMOVE STAINS FROM OLD WHITE LINEN TABLECLOTHS AND NAPKINS: Mix equal
parts of laundry detergent with salt and lemon juice. Add enough water
to make a thick paste. Rub into the spot(s) and place the article on the
dewy grass where it will be exposed to the sun. Leave out for several hours,
then wash as usual.
P.S. Sugar caramelizes as it oxidizes, so if the stains are from anything
that contained sugar (and that, unfortunately, includes champagne), the
stains will prove impossible to remove.
NEW USES FOR COFFEE FILTERS: Use as a dish cover in the microwave to
absorb splatters, or place mugs or bowls inside a filter to catch anything
that might bubble or spill over.
Flatten a filter in half for an absorbent holder when serving tacos
or Sloppy Joes.
Place a flattened filter in the bottom of a flowerpot before adding
soil. This will keep the soil from washing out of the pot's drainage holes
but still allow excess water to pass through.
Line a sieve with a filter when straining oil from a deep fat fryer.
RE-USE plastic lids from empty coffee cans and nut cans: Ideal for mixing two part epoxy, blending oil paints, to prevent rust stains from shaving cream kept on a shower shelf, and as coasters to protect furniture.
If you have trouble separating your bacon slices, just roll the package
of bacon sideways before you open it. Magically all the slices separate
easily.
Tuck rosemary sprigs under pillows to prevent nightmares. Spilled salt should always be thrown over the left shoulder. To keep a man faithful, feed him minced garlic. And whenever women get mad at each other, they should peel onions. (Folk remedy, found in Estelle Brabham's diary, 1902)
Keep ants and wasps from your hummingbird feeder: Rub cooking oil on chain and on top of feeder and apply shortening around the holes.
Always disinfect your hummingbird feeder between refills. Use a little
bleach in water, then rinse well.
Eliminate Carpenter ants by making a mixture of 1/4 t Boric Acid (from drug or thrift store) and 3 T of syrup. Fill beer or soda caps with the mixture and put them where the ants are but away from pets or children
Hate the smell of fish? All you have to do after cleaning fish is to wash your hands with soap and water and then wash with toothpaste. Results? No more fishy smell.
Another way to remove burnt on gunk - place pan or broiler or whatever
in a black plastic garbage bag, add one cup of ammonia (don't sniff when
pouring or later opening the bag). Lay outside for a day in the
sun. Open and hose off.
A warm lemon yields almost twice the juice of a cold one. Before juicing, microwave at high for 15 seconds or immerse in hot water for 10 minutes, then roll between palm and counter top for a few seconds. With this method, expect to extract about 1/4 cup (60 ml) from an average lemon.
How many times to you have bits of flat Coke or any other fizzy drink
left over? Fill ice trays with the bits left over and freeze, use in your
Coke or fizzy drink next time you want to put ice in it. The
drink will not be watered down because you are not adding water.
Here is a quicker way of coating a pan before using it to bake: Mix
2 cups of solid vegetable shortening and 1 cup all purpose flour. This
mixture can be covered and stored for
up to six months. To use: smear around inside of baking pan and add
the cake batter. Eliminates the need to grease then flour the pan. One
easy step.
Crockpot Tip: Use a baking bag as a liner and when done just throw the bag away and the pot will need minimal clean up.
To easily skin chicken, use a paper towel to grab the skin. It comes off a lot easier and you won't end up with greasy hands.
To keep cut flowers fresh add this combination: 1 quart cool water,2 T lemon juice, 1 T sugar, 1/.2 t liquid chlorine bleach. Or 2 oz antibacterial mouthwash to 1 gallon water.
To keep flowers from drooping and shedding, spray the flowers in an upward direction with hair spray from about a foot away.
To prevent a soggy bottom pie crust: Place bottom crust in pie pan. Place small amount of corn starch on bottom crust and spread out with finger tips. Fill pie like usual. The corn starch acts like a barrier and as pie bakes, it thickens, also helping to prevent a soggy crust.
To avoid bitter green peppers: After seeding and washing the green pepper well, take a pinch of sugar and sprinkle around the inside. Then proceed with your favorite recipe. No bitter pepper.
Potato storage should ideally be a cool, dark, dry place... here's
a tip many don't know:
throw in an apple for good measure. Even after two months, potatoes
stored with an apple will be firm and sprout-free, whereas apple-less stored
potatoes will be shriveled and soft.
Painting Tips" Coat all door hardware with petroleum jelly before you
begin painting.
This allows easy wipe up when you are done.
Wrap masking tape around the metal ferrule and about a ½ inch
over the bristles- Rather than drying on the bristles, paint
will collect on the masking tape. To clean, remove the tape and clean the
paint that remains on the brush. If you will continue painting | the next
day, don't bother cleaning your paintbrush. Instead, wrap it well
in plastic wrap, put it in a plastic bag, and pop it in the freezer.
Take it out the next ;. It will defrost in minutes and you are ready to
paint - Cover the rim of the paint can with masking tape if you are going
to pour paint from the can. When you are done, remove the tape to clean
the top. If you are painting from the can, punch two or three holes
in the small groove in the top rim of your paint can. As you wipe the paint
from your brush the paint will drip back into the can instead of collecting
in the groove and spilled over and down the sides. When sealing the lid
of a paint can, wipe a thin layer of Petroleum jelly around the rim as
this will allow the can to open easy next time
Another solution to soggy pie crust. Brush with beaten egg white just before pouring in the pie filling.
To make fun-shaped pancakes, use a squeeze bottle. Cut the outlet if needed or thin the batter.
Once you're done cooking your tomato sauce, if you find that it still
has a acid bite (no matter how much sugar you've added), just sprinkle
about 1/8 teaspoon of baking soda on it at a time (adjust
quantity with larger portions). Stir it around and watch as the fizzle
reduces the acidity before your very eyes! The addition will not diminish
the flavor of your sauce at all, only the need for Rolaids once you're
done eating it! As a matter of fact, it actually allows all the other subtle
flavors of you sauce to make their presence known!
To transport a hot or cold dish: Seal it up with it's lid then carefully, lay out four or more sheets of newspaper opened fully, sit the dish or pan in the center and carefully fold the newspaper around the hot or cold item. After it is folded up, use masking tape to hold it closed. You would be surprised how hot or cold the dish remains in the newspaper wrapping . If it is a long trip place the dish in a cooler with a frozen bottle of water. The expended ,small size, spring water bottles filled 3/4 full of tap water and placed in the freezer work well. Place an X on them so they are not confused with the spring water you bring along in the cooler to drink.
If your dishwasher is dirty or grimy, just run a packet of lemonade Kool-Aid through the wash and rinse cycle. Your dishwasher will look brand new.
If you want to save time when baking a pie, put all ingredients in a bowl and microwave until done. It will only take a few minutes to brown the crust in the oven. You can also put the microwave ingredients in a freezer container and freeze until ready to use.
. Before you stuff a turkey, place the dressing in a center of cheese
cloth. Close the cheese cloth and tie a knot. Then stuff the bird with
the cheese cloth filled with dressing. Knot side out.
When the bird is done, pull the knotted cheesecloth and the stuffing
out. Cut off the knot and pour the pressing into a bowl.
To keep apples from turning brown when serving slices, making salads, pies, or whatever, put a little salt in a bowl of cold water and drop the cut apples in. When finished cutting, pour the water off. The pieces will stay white!
Keep flowers fresh by using this mixture: 2 c water, 1T lemon juice,
½ T sugar, 1/4 t bleach or
1 quart water, 2 T lemon juice, 1T sugar, ½ t bleach.
To get rid of baked on messes on your baking dishes fill the dish or pan with hot water and throw in a sheet of fabric softener and let soak for a few hours or overnight. The mess comes out very easily with a quick wipe.
Have those pesky, papery onion peels ever dropped all over your kitchen,
making a mess? Store your onions in old, clean, panty hose legs. Tie a
knot between each onion and hang them somewhere. To use, just cut the bottom
one out right below the knot. Not only is mess
reduced, but the air will circulate nicely around them, keeping them
fresh and prolonging their longevity.