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by Linda C. Butler
Shave chocolate with a potato peeler for bits of chocolate to sprinkle on desserts.
Stand rolls of foil, waxed paper, plastic wrap, upright in a box if you don’t have a place to store them flat.
If you run out of brown sugar, stir two tablespoons of dark molasses into a cup of white sugar.
Sour Milk: To make sour milk add a tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice to a cup of sweet milk. Stir.
If you have hard water, run the dishwasher on regular cycle without soap and when the machine wills with water, open the door and add a cup of white vinegar. Allow the cycle to run. This helps to dissolve deposits that may have formed.
Cut cranberries in half, or chop coarsely in a food processor, before adding to muffins or quick breads.
Warm lemons in hot water, then roll gently before squeezing.
Rub the bottom of an ice cube tray with a bit of oil and it will loosen easily from the freezer shelf.
To open stubborn screw cap jars, cut a strip of sandpaper and hold it in the palm of your hand as your apply turning pressure.
Freeze leftover coffee or tea in ice trays to use in cold drinks
Use clothespins to close bread bags or other items instead of using twist ties.
Hamburgers for a crowd: Line a baking pan with aluminum foil. Lay out the patties and spread with catsup, barbecue sauce or seasonings. Add another layer of foil and repeat with another layer of patties. Bake at 350 deg until done, or about 40 minutes.
To freeze pie, cut into serving pieces before freezing so you can remove as many pieces as you need without defrosting the entire pie.
Monster Ice Cubes: Freeze ice in muffin pans to make large cubes for a punch.
Pear Garnish: Arrange canned pear halves on lettuce and fill the centers with mint jelly or cranberry sauce.
Apricot Glaze: Warm apricot jam in the microwave, then force the contents through a sieve and spoon the glaze over ham.
Fruit Crisp: Fruit crisps can be made in custard cups for individual servings. Slice apples, add some cranberries and sprinkle with brown sugar. Add a crisp topping of oatmeal, brown sugar and cinnamon mixed with a bit of melted butter.
Mint Flavored Whipped Cream: Beat the whipped cream and fold in a little crème de menthe. It is excellent over desserts.
To keep chicken bones from smelling in the garbage, freeze them in a plastic bag until pickup day.
Substitute part orange juice for the water in a gelatin salad.
An emergency coffee filter can be made from a piece of paper towel.
To split a cake into two layers, pull a length of dental floss through it. The cake will split and not tear.
Orange Sour Cream Topping for Desserts: Combine one cup dairy sour cream, 2 tsp grated orange rind, 4 tsp orange juice and 2-3 tsp sugar. Makes 1 cup.
To prevent the crust of a meat pie from absorbing the gravy, brush the white of an egg over the lower crust before baking.
Frosted glasses: Dip the rims of glasses into lemon juice and then into powdered sugar. Place in the refrigerator for 20 minutes. Fill glasses with juice and add a mint leaf as a garnish.
Add a bay leaf to flour, sugar or cereals to keep tiny bugs out of your canisters.
Lemon Icing: Substitute powdered milk for some of the powdered sugar to make an icing that is not as sweet. Whip to a fluffy consistency and flavor with a bit of lemon juice and lemon zest.
Shelled walnuts can be kept in the freezer to retain their freshness.
Freeze marshmallows first if you plan on cutting them as the frozen ones don’t stick to your shears.
Use a vegetable brush to remove cornsilk from corn-on-the cob. It’s faster than using your fingers.
Add a bit of pickle juice to an oil and vinegar salad dressing.
Substitute lemon juice for some of the vinegar in your oil and vinegar dressing recipe.
To measure honey, measure the shortening first in the measuring cup, then measure the honey and it slides out with ease.
Hot rolls will stay hot longer if you place aluminum foil under the napkin in your roll basket.
Add chopped celery leaves to sliced potatoes before frying. The celery will give a nice flavor.
To keep metal poultry skewers together put on an old key ring, or twist tie them together. Hang from a hook in the cupboard.
A quickie apron can be made by folding a terry towel over a cord and tying around your waist.
Lemon Chicken: Squeeze the juice of several fresh lemons over chicken, then stand in the frig for 30 minutes or more before cooking. The lemon tenderizes the chicken and gives it a delicious flavor.
Line the bottom of your dishwasher basket with nylon netting to keep silverware from slipping through.
Stuffed bake potatoes: Use an apple corer to make a hole in the center of each potato. Put a sausage in the hole (or other stuffing). Wrap in aluminum foil and bake.
Spray cookie cutters with a vegetable spray to keep the dough from sticking.
To slice an onion thin: Turn a plate upside down and put the onion in the center ridge on the bottom. Place a knife flat side down, resting on the ridge, then slice across. You’ll have thin slices.
For tasty ice cubes add twists of lemon peel to the water before freezing.
Freeze fresh lemon juice in ice cube trays.
If you plan to freeze a casserole, line the dish with aluminum foil, fill, cook and freeze. After the casserole is frozen remove it from the container and store in the freezer. The dish is now free to use again.
To keep asparagus fresh longer, cut a small amount off the stalk and stand them upright in a container with a small amount of water. Cover with a plastic bag and refrigerate.
Freeze seedless grapes to use as garnishes.
Use tongs to turn chicken during cooking. A fork will pierce the meat and let the juices run out.
Keep a jar of fresh fruit compote in your frig for easy desserts. Combine four cups of diced or sliced raw fresh fruit with ¾ cup orange juice, or thawed fruit concentrate. Vary the fruit or use dried or canned fruit.
Cover raisins or dried cranberries with wine. Add the plump fruit as a garnish to salads or use in baking.
To keep salt from clogging in your salt shaker, keep 5 to 10 grains of rice in the container.
When wooden cooking spoons get ragged, sand them.
Use a potato masher to flatten and mark peanut butter cookies.
If you need a corkscrew and don’t have one, stick two safety pins diagonally through the cork opposite each other. Pull on the upper part of the two pins to remove the cork.
To save leftover whipped cream drop spoonfuls of it on waxed paper on a cookie sheet and freeze. Then transfer to plastic bags and return to the freezer. Add a frozen dollop to a dessert and it thaws quickly. |
