Cooking

Bacon: When cutting up bacon for frying, freeze it first and it will
cut like a dream. Lou Held, OH

or

If you coat your bacon in flour before you cook it your bacon will not
shrink as much. Pam, VA



Baking Pies: When baking a pie that you have to bake with a filling,
first bake the crust for 10 minutes then add in the pie filling and
bake as usual. This will make the crust crispier and less soggy.
Maezell, TX



Boiling Eggs: If you put a lot of salt in the water the eggs will
shell perfect every time. Janet Stallinhs, TN

or

Place a few drops of vinegar in your water when boiling eggs. If an
egg cracks it will not spill out into the water. LMF, RI



Boiling Over Pots: Place a wooden spoon across the top of the pot
when boiling water. It separates the steam and keeps it from boiling
over. Jim Erickson, IA

or

To keep boiling potatoes or noodles from running over, rub butter on
rim of pan. Tabby



Bread Crumbs: Need Italian seasoned breadcrumbs? Toast old bread
(center of loaf or the ends). Leave for a few minutes to get hard
then tear in little pieces in blender. Add garlic powder, oregano,
and onion powder, any other seasoning you want and blend till crumbed.
Put in freezer bag. It's keeps for up to 6 months. Toni Katrtinecz,
TN



Buttermilk: If you are out of Buttermilk, in a glass measuring cup,
try mixing 1 tablespoon of regular vinegar and add fresh milk (low-fat
or whole milk) to equal 1 cup of your made up buttermilk. Minnie, TX
or
Add 1 teaspoon lemon juice per 1 cup of milk (regular or low-fat) to
make buttermilk. Steve Carroll

or

Add two tablespoons of white vinegar to one cup of whole milk. Mix
well and let set for 5 minutes to let milk thicken. Charolette
Hinshaw, TN

Cake: To make a cake lower in cholesterol (whether is homemade or
from a box mix), simply use egg substitute or egg whites instead of
whole eggs, and applesauce instead of vegetable oil. The cake will
still be delicious and it's better for you. Applesauce is especially
good in spice cake and carrot cake. S. Friel, MO

Cake Moistener: To make your homemade cake moister, use about a
half-cup of sour cream (or less) along with it. You don't taste it at
all, it just makes it super moist, but watch out; moist cakes tend to
fall apart easier. Mandy, KY

or

Mix 1 tablespoon of mayonnaise into the batter. Elizabeth, MO




Chopping Food Safely: When chopping vegetables or meat, lay a damp
towel under the cutting board to prevent it from sliding around.
Karla, IN.

Cooking Oil Substitute: Out of cooking oil simply replace it with
mayonnaise. Kelli



Cornmeal and Flour Bug Repellant: Place a bay leaf or two into your
flour and cornmeal containers. The bay leaf will repel bugs and will
not leave a funny taste when cooking. Annie, LA


Cookies: Refrigerate cookie dough prior to baking to prevent the
cookies from spreading and going flat.

Corn on the Cob: When boiling corn on the cob, add a pinch of sugar to
help bring out the corn's natural sweetness. When boiling corn on the
cob, add enough milk to just cloud the water. This keeps the corn
from sticking to your teeth. Leeann, WA

Cornbread: When making cornbread by the mix, if I'm out of milk I
substitute powdered coffee creamer and water instead. This also works
with pancake mix. Pat, TX

Deviled Eggs: Instead of spooning the filling into the eggs, which is
time consuming and messy, fill a zip lock bag with the filling, cut
the corner off and then squeeze onto the eggs. No mess, no fuss; when
you’re done, toss it in the garbage. You can use it with cake icing
to decorate cookies and cakes too. Stacy Reed, AL

Dough: When rolling out pie dough, biscuits, etc., dampen counter top
and then cover it with plastic wrap. Dampening it will prevent the
plastic from moving and when you're finished; you can just roll up the
plastic wrap and throw it away. No mess! Faith, OH

Fish: After cleaning fish that has scales, soak fish in water with
little vinegar (about 2 capful in half sink of water). This will get
rid of the slime and the fishy smell. Proceed with seasoning. Gayle

Egg Salad: When making egg salad use a potato masher instead of a
knife to mash/cut up the eggs. It is a lot faster and less messy.
Julie Alm, MI

Egg Substitute: If you don't have enough eggs to bake a cake
substitute them with a little mayonnaise. It works and you can't
taste it at all. Katie, LA

Pop-Corn: To assure all grains will pop store popcorn in refrigerator
prior to popping. Rick, AK.

Gravy: When making thickening for gravy, use half flour and half
cornstarch. Your gravy will not lump. Evelyn Evans, IA

Ground Beef: Don't rush around when you need ground meat for dinner.
Cook up a large batch when it is on sale and put it (drained) in zip
lock bags, in the freezer. When you need it in a hurry, a little or a
lot, just break it into sections or use more than one bag. Linda
LeMaire, Biloxi, MS

Graham Cracker Crust: When making graham cracker pie crusts crush the
crackers using a rolling pin in a Ziploc bag. Add melted butter and
sugar to the bag and then close. You can work the ingredients
together in the bag without having to wash another bowl or get your
hands dirty. Kelly, NE

Hamburgers or Meatballs: Keep your hands wet with water and the meat
won't stick to your hands. Makes for much easier cleanup. Kim, WA

Hamburger Patties: Use an upside down (or lip side up) sour cream or
cottage cheese lid under a sheet of wax paper to make hamburger
patties. The edges of the lid help keep the patty round and when
cooked, they are about the size of the hamburger bun. You can still
make them as thick or as thin as you like, but they will be bun sized.
Heather, IA

Hard Boiled Eggs: If you have hard-boiled eggs and get them mixed up
with your fresh eggs, just spin them like a top. The hard-boiled eggs
will spin and the fresh ones won't. Brad Goulet, WA
Shake salt in water when boiling eggs. If they crack, they will not
spill into the water. Arleen Emison, TN

Hot Pepper Burn: Apply olive oil and you will have no burning
feeling. Suman, SC

Ice Cubes: If you need to make ice in short period of time, fill ice
tray cubes with warm water. The warm water freezes at much faster
rate then if you filled them with cold water.
Trina Berrian, SC

Lasagna: Soak lasagna noodles in cold water for 15 minutes. After
all other ingredients are ready to assemble, remove noodles and pat
dry with paper towels. This softens the noodles somewhat and reduces
the cooking time for the lasagna to half. Marsha Montgomery, TX

Leftovers: Keep two large plastic ice cream buckets in the freezer,
one for leftover poultry and cornbread and one for leftover roast beef
and vegetables (such as corn, carrots, etc). When full, make
cornbread dressing with the first and homemade soup with the second.
Small piece of onion or celery can go into either container. Claire
LeMoine, LA

Lettuce: When cleaning lettuce, turn head of lettuce upside down and
hit core against counter or table and then pull core out. Run water
thru head of lettuce to wash thoroughly and then turn upside down
again to drain. Never use metal knife on lettuce, this will turn
lettuce brown. Using a plastic knife to shred or cut lettuce will
keep the lettuce looking fresher.

Milk Substitute: Use non-dairy coffee creamer mixed in water for
recipes that call for milk. This is great for people that are
allergic to dairy products. Anita Rogers, GA

Non-Sticking Noodles: When cooking pasta, put a cap full of vegetable
oil in the water before adding the pasta. Your noodles won’t stick
together. Deanna, TX.

Oil substitute: When a cake recipe calls for margarine or oil, you can
use applesauce as a substitute. It works great and less calories.
Taffy Ponvelle

Onion Hands: Do you have onion smell on your hands after cutting one?
Use the metal part of the knife and rub your hands with it while under
running water. Rob, MS

or

Want to chase away onion odor from your hands. Just use a metal
serving spoon. Rub off the odor under running water. K Rose, TN

or

After cutting an onion, spray the vinegar on your hands as well as on
your cutting board and knife. The strong odor will completely be
removed. Linda, IO



Onions: When slicing an onion, to avoid tears, try holding a piece of
white bread in your mouth while slicing, it prevents tears every time!
Billie, KY
or
When chopping onion, you will have fewer tears if you put your
chopping board under the exhaust fan on your stove or light a candle
and place it near the cutting board. Sara R., WY
or
Before slicing onions, place the onion in the freezer for half hour.
This will keep the onion from smelling and burning your eyes. Mandi,
AR
or
To prevent tears when cutting an onion, cut the root end off last.
Becky Ellison, MS

or

To make chopping onions a less teary-eyed experience hold two unlit
matches in your mouth. Have the non-striking end in your mouth. No
tears on your cutting board. Cordy, AR

or

Place the onion in the microwave for a few seconds and then chop it
up. You won't tear up anymore. C Bergeron, LA



Orange Zest: To always have some orange zest on hand just save your
orange peels and freeze them. Then you always have some on hand.
Adele Majchrzak, NY



Pasta: To stop pasta (and potatoes) from boiling over, put a little
oil in the pot. This saves time watching the food while cooking and
no mess on stove. Carolyn Jackson, TN

Pasta: Place a small amount of vegetable oil or margarine in the
water in which you cook starchy foods such as rice, potatoes, and
pasta. This keeps the water from foaming up and boiling over.
Barb, MN

Peanut Butter Cookies: To make the criss-cross pattern, instead of
using fork tines, use a potato masher. It's easier to handle and one
print will go the width of the cookie. Sandra Glover, MS
Potatoes: To keep potatoes from boiling over, place a wooden spoon
across the top of the pan. Tami, MO

Raw Egg Clean Up: If you drop a raw egg, simply pour salt on it, this
makes it is easier to clean up. Gloria Snyder

Rice Krispy Treats: To spread these bars easily into the pan after
preparing, run your hands under cold tap water for a few seconds.
Wipe excess water off your hands, and press the rice crispy mixture
into the pan. Repeat cold water if necessary. Melinda, IA

Clogged Salt Shaker: Place about a tablespoon of uncooked rice in
shaker then fill the rest of the way with salt. The rice will absorb
the moisture and keep the shaker from clogging. Karen, KY

Sauce: If you put too much salt in a sauce, drop in a potato while the
sauce is simmering and it will absorb much of the salt.

Soup: Don't throw away the bones from that chicken you had last night,
boil the bones with a little chopped up onion and celery (don't forget
the leaves) salt and pepper to taste. You have a great chicken stock
for soup, veggies and rice.
Robin, GA.

Stop Boiling Over Pots: To keep pots from boiling over when you boil
potatoes or pasta, just spray pot with Pam first. Your stovetop will
thank you. Nancy E Hess

Tastier Cakes: When cake mix calls for water use buttermilk instead.
It will make the lightest and best cakes. Plus it will give it that
homemade taste. Mary Alice, TX

Time Saver: Work full-time? Here's a real time saver. When you do
cook, cook a lot. Then freeze the leftovers in small containers.
Makes it easy to just throw a single serving into the microwave when
you don't have the time to cook. Pam McClung

Tupperwa To keep tomato stains out of your plastic bowls (or
Tupperware) when storing tomato-based dishes (such as spaghetti sauce,
chili, etc.), spray bowls first with cooking spray. Cheryl Missouri