GREAT Food & Cooking Hints and Tips

• Apples help ripen tomatoes!. Apples emit ethylene, which helps tomatoes ripen faster than they would on their own. Use any container with a lid, or cover a bowl with plastic wrap.
• Screw cup hooks onto the back of a pantry door to hold mesh bags of potatoes, onions, or fruit. Make sure the hooks and your door can handle the load and stress.
• Store popcorn in the freezer to help eliminate un-popped kernels and keep popcorn fresh.
• Preserve ripe bananas by wrapping them in aluminum foil and storing them in the salad drawer of your refrigerator. The foil will halt the ripening process, keeping the bananas from turning brown.
• Run out of lemon juice? You can substitute 1/2-teaspoon vinegar for 1-teaspoon lemon or lime juice in a recipe.
• Eat breakfast—and still get out the door quickly in the morning. The night before, set the table with dishes and silverware, and put out nonperishable foods, such as a package of muffins, bread loaf, preserves, or cereal.
• Gather some clean, fresh snow, and form snowballs. Place each one in a bowl and drizzle with your favorite juice for delicious summer-in-winter snow cones!
• Don't throw away leftover wine. Instead, freeze it in an ice cube tray to use later in casseroles, desserts, and sauces.
• Broken cork in a wine bottle? Use a coffee filter to train the cork particles
• Keep veggies fresh longer by lining the bottom of your refrigerator's crisper drawer with a paper towel to absorb liquids.
• Here's an easy way to clean your microwave: In a heatproof glass, add 1 teaspoon baking soda to water, and heat for 2 minutes on HIGH. All that steam from the water will loosen food particles, making them easy to wipe off.
• To prevent cheese from sticking to your grater, chill the grater first, place it in the freezer for a few minutes or hold it under cold water.
• A teaspoon in the glass will prevent it cracking when boiling water is poured
• Save money on frozen pancakes or waffles: Next time you make a scratch batch, make a few extra and freeze them in a sealed bag. Just pop into the toaster to reheat.
• If you get in the habit of lighting candles at dinner, it can lift winter spirits and even boost a child's self-esteem...if a child is old enough, give them the responsibility of lighting or extinguishing.
• To rid your cutting board of strong smells, such as fish, garlic or onion, cut a lime or lemon in half and rub the cut side over the board. Or, make a paste of baking soda and water and apply generously, then rinse.
• Sprinkle baking soda onto crusted baking pans to remove baked on grease and food.  Dampen slightly, soak and scrub
• Did you know you can store garlic cloves in the freezer? When you need some for a recipe, peel and chop before thawing.
• Need softened butter in a hurry? Just grate the amount you need! Or, invert a small, heated pan over the butter dish.
• Before pouring honey, molasses or syrup in a measuring cup, grease it first with butter, oil or cooking spray to prevent sticking.
   
• Here's a trick to get the new bottle of ketchup moving: push a drinking straw to the bottom of the bottle, and remove. You'll have created an air pocket that will start it flowing!
• Use a pastry blender to break up ground beef into small pieces after browning for chili or spaghetti sauce.
• To get the most juice out of oranges, lemons, limes and other citrus, place whole fruit in warm water several minutes before juicing.
• To keep potatoes from getting eyes, place an apple in the bag with the potatoes.
• To prevent egg shells from cracking, add a pinch of salt to the water before hard boiling.
• If you accidentally over salt food while it's still cooking, drop in a peeled potato and it will absorb the excess salt in a pinch.
• For celery to keep longer, wrap it in a piece of aluminum foil before putting it in the fridge.
• Pasta---Drain pasta noodles after cooking, then add a little grated Parmesan cheese. It creates a bumpy texture for the sauce to cling to. Add noodles to sauce in saucepan and toss until pasta is coated.
• Use Lifesavers as Birthday-candle holders. Make sure you buy the original rolls of candy for a snug fit. (The LifeSavers sold in big bags are slightly larger and don’t work as well.) Secure candle inside candy and then place on top of frosting.
• To get the most juice out of fresh lemons, bring them to room temperature and roll them on the kitchen counter before squeezing.
• Peel too many potatoes? Cover them with cold water and add a few drops of vinegar. Refrigerated, they'll last 3-4 days.
• An easy way of preparing onions for cutting is to trim the ends off, but don’t peel them. Microwave the onion on high for one minute. It is then easy to peel off the skin, and also you won’t cry when you chop them up.

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