Tips & Tricks

                                                                       
 
 

Kitchen Hints
From Susie		 I was forever loosing the booklets that came with my small appliances until I got smart and began punching a hole in the upper left hand corner and putting them on a note book binder ring.  Now I have them! 

 
 
 
 
Holiday Tips
From Susie		 Cook a couple extra eggs for Deviled Eggs. You can use the extra yolk for the filling and the extra white for a Quality Check. Put the filling in a zip lock bag, snip off the corner and fill the eggs. You can also use that zip lock bag to mix the filling. I call it 'smash and go'

Mix meatloaf in a plastic zip lock bag. No mess on your hands.

When making fruit or veggie salads, store them in zip lock bags in the fridge. It's a real space saver, especially when holiday time comes around and refrigerator space is at a premium!

If you happen to have a food saver, or a vacuum seal system, you can make TV dinners from leftovers. These can easily be taken to work, popped in the microwave and wa-la, lunch!

If you use the slice and bake cookie dough, button thread cuts it very nicely. If you make your own, you can do the same thing.

A pinch of baking soda in tea will keep it clear. Also letting brewed tea cool completely before putting in the fridge will help keep it clear too.

This one is a bit weird, but I got the idea from my sister. Mix your lettuce salad at the beginning of the week. do no put in tomatoes at that time. Mixing all your veggies in a bowl of water will add crispness to them. Then drain in a large colander. If you don't have a salad spinner, you can wrap your salad in a large kitchen towel and put it in the washer on spin. That will spin the water out. Or use a lingerie bag, works great. It doesn't hurt the salad at all!

Sometimes lettuce and celery can be bitter. I knock out the core of my lettuce, and tear it up. I cut the top of the celery off, cut the ribs in half, then cut off the bottom. You can then put the vegetables in a large bowl and sprinkle a couple packets of sweet~n~low over it and fill it with cold water. Let the vegetables sit for a little while. Drain and store. The bitterness will be gone.  
 
 
 
Meat Loaf Grease
From Susie		 We love meatloaf, but I don't like all the grease it generates in the bottom of the pan. It doesn't taste good and it's not good for us. So what I did was this; I sprayed a large glass pie pan with Pam, then I got out my basket strainer for pans and placed it in the pie pan and sprayed it with Pam also. It lays flat in the pie pan. Then I put my meatloaf on it covered it with foil and I am ready to go. Now the grease will be in the bottom of the pan, the meatloaf will taste better and be more healthy.