-
Keep your lettuce
wrapped in a paper towel and in a plastic bag in the fridge and it will
stay as fresh as when you bought it. -
Spray your measuring
spoon or cup with cooking spray (like Pam) before measuring
honey so it won't stick. -
To remove tarnish
from silver, fill a sink with hot water, place a large piece of aluminum
foil in the sink and add some baking soda and salt, about a tablespoon each, then put in
your tarnished things, the tarnish will go to the foil. - Mix your meatloaf in a large ziploc bag to keep your hands clean.
- Use a fork to remove small weeds from your garden.
-
When you have extra
fresh basil, mince it in the food processor with some olive oil and
some garlic it you like and freeze it in an ice cube tray. Store the cubes in a container in
your freezer and you will always have some fresh basil to add to soups or sauces. -
Remove garlic odor
from your hands by rubbing your hands with any stainless steel
cooking utensil under running water after washing them with soap (be careful with sharp knives!) -
Don't throw away
those stale bagels, cut them in half horizontally, spread with peanut butter
and dip the peanut butter side in wild bird seed. Hang these "bird treats" on a nail in a fence
or a tree for the birds outside, they love them. -
Freeze leftover
wine in an ice cube tray. Store the cubes in a container in
the freezer and
use them to deglaze a pan to make a sauce. -
Mix together a
cup of butter with a cup of flour and spread in an ice cube tray and freeze.
Store the cubes in a container in your freezer and use a cube with a cup of milk heated slowly
over low heat stirring till thickened for an instant white sauce. - Soak fresh fish in milk for a few minutes prior to cooking it to remove any fishy odor or taste.
-
Rinse a coffee
pot clean before your next pot of coffee by putting a few ice cubes, some
salt and
water in the pot a swishing it around, then rinse. - Use the tip of your potato peeler to remove the stems and core from strawberries.
- A cherry pit remover works well for olives too.
-
When freezing fresh
fish, put it in a plastic zip-loc bag and fill the bag with water. Freeze the
fish in the water-filled bag and the fish will stay as fresh as when you caught it. -
Put a little (about
a tablespoon or two) of a light carbonated beverage, like 7-up or Sprite,
in
the water with fresh cut flowers to make them last longer. -
Save an empty spice
jar with a shaker top and fill with flour, it's handy to sprinkle some
flour
in sauces or gravies to thicken them. - Rub olive oil around the edges of a pet food bowl to prevent ants from attacking it.
- Put a teaspoon in a glass before pouring hot liquid like tea in to prevent the glass from breaking.
-
Keep a seam-ripper
from the yard goods store in your kitchen drawer, it works great for removing
labels from cans. -
Everyday, put your
damp kitchen sponge in the microwave for a minute to zap any germs, or
better yet, run it through your dishwasher. -
Heat flour tortillas
in a large, zip-lock freezer bag in your microwave. Just put a few tortillas
in
the bag, add a damp paper towel and don't seal the bag all the way. Put in the microwave for
about a minute and serve the tortilla right out of the bag. -
Save those empty
vanilla extract bottles. They're great for starting plant clippings
on a kitchen
window sill. Since they're dark, the water takes a long time to evaporate. -
Hair spray removes
ink for almost anything; hands, clothes, you name it. If ink gets
into a garment,
just pretreat it with a healthy dose of hair spray, the ink will practically dissolve. - When hard boiling eggs, put in a few drops of food color so you can tell which ones are cooked
when they are back in the refrigerator.
