Kitchen Tips And Tricks

[Trish]

Avoid Spills Inside and Outside Your Fridge

We're all a little groggy in the morning, and if you tend to have trouble pouring your morning orange juice—especially when that jug is particularly full—you can make it easier on yourself by putting a chopstick (or other stick-like object) across the mouth. And, if your spills are more likely to happen in the fridge with plastic packets, you can use magnets to keep those at bay, too.


Eradicate Fruit Flies Once and For All

Got a little insect infestation? Fruit flies are something we all have to deal with once in our lives, and they can be difficult to get rid of once they've settled in. Luckily, you can make an effective trap using just a bit of apple cider vinegar. Pour some in a glass, add a drop or two of dish soap to break the surface tension, and watch the little buggers start sinking to the bottom when they come over for their afternoon snack.


Make Refrigerated Butter Spreadable

Getting a new stick of butter out of the fridge is the worst. You end up with a rock hard stick that you can't spread on your toast, and microwaving it makes a mess all over your plate. Here's a clever fix: use a cheese grater or cutter to "grate" the butter onto your toast, which will melt faster and spread like a dream.

More at the link:  http://lifehacker.com/5964785/top-10-kitchen-annoyances-solved-by-g...

[Trish]

Peeling a hard boiled egg is a pain in the butt, and there's a much easier way to get to the goods inside: just cut it in half and spoon it out of the shell. It should slip out pretty easily, though you should make sure there aren't any tiny pieces of shell still stuck on it before you go shoveling it in to your mouth.

If you don't like eating apples whole (they can, after all, get a little messy that way), but don't always have a knife around, you can actually break them in half with your bare hands pretty simply. Just remove the stem and get a good amount of leverage near the hole at the top. Not only is it convenient, but it makes you look like the Incredible Hulk

If you have a particularly garlic-heavy recipe to make (so brave!), don't waste time peeling each head by hand. Just crush your garlic as normal and throw it all into a big salad bowl. Then, with another big salad bowl, shake the garlic up for a few seconds, and you should find it's fully peeled and ready for cooking. Just remember to neutralize that garlic breath after the meal with a glass of milk.

A list of kitchen time savers wouldn't be complete without something from life hacker extraordinaire Alton Brown. He has a lot of tricks up his sleeve, but our favorite would have to cooking bacon in a waffle iron. Not only does it get you delicious bacon with less effort, but you also don't have any grease to clean up—because once you're done, you can use the leftover bacon grease to cook another piece of your breakfast.

More at the link:

http://lifehacker.com/5899974/top-10-crazy-kitchen-tricks-that-spee...

[Shelti]

When you open a package
of basket~style coffee filters...
turn the entire stack inside~out
and they will very easily separate
each time you need to use one!
   

[Seashelly]

Thanks Shelti, I will try this, I was just having that problem this morning.  Good tip

[Shelti]

~ Oh,  Lili's    mommy!

[Shelti]

If you arrange your
herbs + spices
in alphabetical order,
you will know where
to simply reach for
whatever you may need
when baking and cooking.

[Shelti]

The 2½" x 3½" plastic 
baskets that berries
are sold in, are perfect
for storing
individually wrapped
squares of 
American cheese
in your refrigerator.

 

[Sailspinner]

Great suggestions.  Thanks for all.

[Shelti]

                      
~ Let's please keep this helpful thread going!
        
     

[Shelti]

~ To easily + neatly
slice a cheesecake
use a long + taut
strand of dental floss.