textfiles/food/foodtips

     
     
                                 FOOD TIPS
     
     When freezing soup stock, pour it into loaf pans, freeze, and
     then remove and wrap in freezer paper or plastic bags.  The
     blocks will take up less space in the freezer and you'll have
     your pans to use.
     
     Save leftover pie crust for a cheese stick snack.  Roll out left-
     over pie crust, then cut into strips.  Sprinkle with cheese and
     bake in oven.
     
     Prevent lumps when cooking hot cereal by starting with cold
     water.  The texture will be smoother.  
      
     Put flour in your freezer or refrigerator to keep from getting 
     bugs in it. 
     
     Save money by shredding your own cheese.  Buy cheese in bulk
     pieces and shred it yourself. 
      
     Keep cereal longer by storing it in your refrigerator. 
     
     Here is some instruction on how to recycle cooking fat and to
     feed birds at the same time.  While cooking, pour off excess
     cooking fat into an empty coffee can.  For every cup of fat,
     you'll need 1/2 cup bird seed.  Slowly remelt fat and add seed. 
     After stirring the combination together, put into paper cups and
     refrigerate.  When mixture is hard, remove paper cups and tie
     string around mixture.  Now you are ready to hang it in your
     trees and watch the different birds eat.
     
     Does your salt shaker get plugged up?  To prevent this put 5 to
     10 grains of rice inside the shaker. 
     
     Add a few peppercorns to your pepper shaker to keep holes from
     plugging and for a fresher ground pepper taste. 
      
     While broiling food, to avoid smoke add a cup of water to the 
     bottom of broiling pan before putting into oven.  The water will
     absorb the smoke and grease. 
      
     To prevent food from sticking in a new frying pan, boil some 
     vinegar in the pan before using. 
      
     For a pleasant smelling kitchen, combine a few teaspoons of 
     sugar and cinnamon in an empty pie tin  and slow simmer on 
     stove. 
      
     Simmer vinegar in a small pan while cooking vegetables that 
     leave unpleasant odor. 
      
     While cooking spaghetti, noodles or rice, add a little cooking 
     oil to the water to prevent water from boiling over. 
     
     Keep salt near stove in case of a grease fire.  Salt will drown
     flames and help soak up the grease.  Works great on the inside of 
     your oven for food that boils over.  Sprinkle salt on the food to
     keep if from smoking.  
      
     Keep a fire extinguisher near the kitchen for any fire that can't
     be contained quickly.
     
     To cook hamburgers in a hurry: when shaping the burger, poke a 
     hole in the middle.   The center will cook quicker and the holes
     will disappear while cooking. 
     
     Make hamburgers on a cookie sheet, freeze, then store in plastic
     bags until ready to use.
     
     Spread foods that stick together when freezing (berries, peas,
     etc.) out on a baking sheet and place in the freezer.  When
     frozen, place in a freezer bag, label, and put back in the
     freezer.
     
     Freeze foods quicker in your freezer by placing frozen food on
     top.
      
     For a different taste in pancakes, make with fruit-flavored
     yogurt instead of milk.
     
     When baking a cake and you don't have a toothpick to test it, use
     a piece of uncooked spaghetti.
     
     Remove cakes from pans easily by lining the cake pans with wax
     paper.  Grease and use flour as normal then insert wax paper.
     
     When icing a cake, dust a little corn starch on the cake first.
     This will keep the icing from running off the cake.
     
     Store cheese in a glass jar to keep it from getting moldy.
     
     Freeze bacon in small portions by placing strips between waxed
     paper that has been accordion-pleated.  Wrap in freezer wrap and
     freeze.
     
     Beat egg whites in glass or metal bowls, not plastic.  Plastic
     bowls can prevent whites from whipping, as they tend to retain
     grease.  
     
     Eggs warmed to room temperature will beat to a greater volume.
     
     When sauteing with butter, add a small amount of oil to the
     butter.  The combination will prevent the butter from burning.
     
     If you peel more potatoes than you need, cover the extra potatoes
     with cold water (immersed completely) and add a few drops of
     vinegar to the water.  Refrigerate and they'll keep for several
     days.
     
     Marinade meat in beer for a few hours if you're out of wine.
     
     If browning meat in a microwave, brush with either soy sauce or
     Worcestershire sauce.  This will improve the taste and
     appearance.
     
     Add coarsely chopped carrots to peanut butter.  It will make the
     peanut butter crunchier and add a little extra nutrition to your
     sandwich.
     
     Cheese and meat sandwiches are easier to cut if cheese is placed
     under the meat.
     
     Use a pizza cutter to cut homemade bar cookies for a smoother
     edge.
     
     Use leftover pumpkin pie filling to make a pumpkin pudding
     dessert.  Place cupcake liner in a muffin tin, fill with leftover
     pumpkin filling and a few chopped nuts. Bake it the same time
     with the pie.
     
     Fill an icing bag by placing the pointed end of the bag in a tall
     ice tea glass.  Icing bag should be easily filled this way.
     
     When decorating a cake, use a toothpick to trace the message or
     design you want. Then frost the outlines.
     
     Use an empty mustard squeeze bottle filled with colored frosting
     for decorating cakes and cupcakes.
     
     Use a plastic cutting board instead of a wooden one.  Wood
     cutting boards can harbor bacteria.
     
     When making soup, make extra and freeze for a later meal. It
     doesn't take much more time to make double and you'll have a
     second meal.
     
     Date all frozen food so you'll be able to see what needs to be
     used first.
     
     Freeze left over tea in ice cube trays.  You can use this the
     next time you have ice tea.
     
     Spices should be stored in cool dark places.  Write the purchase
     date on the bottom of cans or bottles.
     
     Remove peach skins with a potato peeler.
     
     Tomatoes will ripen more quickly if placed in a plastic or brown
     bag.  Place bag out of direct sunlight.
     
     Lettuce and celery will keep longer in your refrigerator if
     stored in paper bags instead of cellophane.  Don't remove leaves
     until ready to use.
     
     Remove carrot tops before placing in the refrigerator.  The tops
     will drain moisture and the carrots will become limp.
     
     Rid bugs in leafy vegetables by soaking them in cold water.  Add
     a few tablespoons of salt or vinegar to the water and let soak
     for about ten minutes.
     
     To clean your grill easily, coat it with vegetable oil before
     cooking food, and then clean as soon as it has cooled.
     
     When cooking over an open fire, coat the underside of the pans
     with shaving cream or liquid detergent.  Pans should clean up a
     lot easier.
     
     On the inside of a cupboard door, hang useful information.  This
     could be calorie chart, cooking equivalents, etc.
     
     Save time grocery shopping by doing your's early in the morning
     or late in the evening.  The stores are less crowded during these
     times. 
     
     Stores usually have the best selections the days that the stores'
     ads come out.
     
     Early morning shoppers can save money on marked-down produce and
     breads.
      
     Another way to preserve recipe cards is to store them in flip-top
     photo albums.  You won't even have to remove them while using
     your favorite recipe.
     
     To keep spills and splatters off cookbooks, after finding the
     recipe you what to use, slide the open cookbook into a clear,
     large plastic bag.  You'll be able to use the recipe and keep the
     cookbook clean.
     
     
     Here's a few tips for brown sugar:
     
     If it's hard as a rock and you need it in a hurry, simply grate
     what you need with a hand grater.
     
     Brown sugar can be softened by placing a slice of soft bread in
     the package and closing tightly.  In a couple hours, the sugar
     should be soft again.
     
     You also can put brown sugar and a cup of water next to it in a
     covered pan.  Turn your oven on low and put in the oven for a
     while.
     
     For cookies, you can combine the brown sugar and water from the
     recipe and put it in the microwave for a few seconds.  This will
     dissolve any lumps.
     
     
     Would you like to chop onions without crying?  Try these hints.
     
     
     Refrigerate or freeze onions for fifteen minutes before chopping.
     
     Run cold water over onions while peeling.
     
     If you cut the root end of the onion off last you should shed
     fewer tears.
     
     While chopping, periodically rinse hands under cold water. 
     
     Remove onion smell from your hands by wetting hands, then
     sprinkle with salt.  Rub hands then rinse and the onion smell
     should be gone.