Kitchen Tips

¡@

A quick and easy way to organize collected recipes from magazines or newspapers is to file them in photo albums that have clear plastic self-adhesive pages. Simply peel back the plastic sheet and press the recipe in place. A three ring binder works best since you can add or remove pages a necessary.

To clean stained teapots off coffeepots, soak a denture tablet in them overnight.

Spray your Tupperware with nonstick cooking spray before pouring in tomato-based sauces to prevent stains.

If you accidentally over-salt a dish while it's still cooking, drop in a peeled potato to absorb the salt."

¡@

Place a miniature marshmallow in the bottom of an ice cream cone to prevent drips.

Use disposable gloves while kneading dough. It does not stick to the gloves and cleanup is a breeze.

Put one stick of chewing gum with the outside wrapper removed into an opened box of flour or oatmeal to keep it free of bugs.

¡@

Add some lemon juice(not concentrated) and a pinch of baking soda in the water before you soak your stainless steel dishes. This will give a nice shine to the dishes.

Lemon juice also cuts grease very effectively.Pour some on greased pans along with warm water and detergent and let soak overnight.

Thriftiest use of leftover tea, coffee and soda: make ice cubes to put in cool drinks without watering them down.

¡@

Coffee Stains

To remove a coffee stain from fabric or a rug, try one of these methods:

Dip a white cloth into a beaten egg yolk and rub the yolk into the stain. Then rinse with clear water.

Work denatured alcohol into the stain, then rinse with water. Apply a solution of 1/2 teaspoon mild detergent in a pint of water.

Blot with a white towel. If the stain remains, apply a 50-50 solution of water and white vinegar and blot.

¡@

Spray nonstick cooking spary on beaters before mixing ingredients to stop batter from sticking.

Use latex dishwashing gloves.

¡@

They give you a nonslip grip that makes opening jars much easier.

Potatoes will take food stains off your fingers. Just slice and rub raw potato on the stains and rinse with water.

Use a meat baster to "squeeze" your pancake batter onto the hot griddle -- perfectly shaped pancakes every time.

Frozen vegetables are a convenient alternative to fresh. If you are in a time crunch, thaw frozen vegetables in the microwave on HIGH for 2 minutes, stirring once. When substituting frozen for fresh, reduce the cooking time slightly.

Put your plastic wrap in the frige it will come off the roll much easier.

To clean your microwave: In a bowl, mix 1 and 1/2 cups water and 3 teaspoons of lemon juice. Place it in the microwave and cook on high for 10 minutes. When time is up, remove the bowl. Then just wipe down the microwave with a cloth or sponge.

Boil apple peels in aluminum pans to make them shine like new.

Last updated 2000.5.27