Over the past several years/decades while reading cooking and kitchen magazine articles there are several tips I have learned. Created some of my own or heard from friends and family. With that information, I compiled a list of Tips Worth Trying. I hope they are useful to you.
- Pour melted ice cream over berries, instead of cream & sugar.
- For hamburgers; mix ground beef with egg, minced onion, salt, pepper, a bit of flour & crushed flake-type (non-sugary) cereal. Cereal will stretch the ground beef and makes it less greasy.
- Add about 1 cup seasoned stuffing mix, softened with milk to ground beef for tasty meat loaf, or meatballs. This also works with leftover stuffing, leave out the milk. However, you can add a bit if it seems dry.
- Use cleaned, plastic squeeze bottles leftover from salad dressing to dispense the right amount of mayonnaise or sour cream.
- When grilling hot dogs or hamburgers, take the buns out of the plastic bag, put the meat on the bun and return the sandwiches to the plastic bag and twist the bag closed. This will steam the buns and make them nice & soft.
- For French Toast that holds its syrup, prepare toast as usual but cook it in your waffle iron.
- Add one or two eggs and a can of salmon or tuna to leftover mashed potatoes. Form into patties and fry in hot oil until browned on both sides.
- Try mixing a finely chopped apple into cornbread batter for moist, delicious bread or muffins.
- To serve one or two, puree tomatoes with other garden vegetables. Pour into ice cube trays and freeze. Then pop them into a plastic bag and store in the freezer use one or two cubes for the base of a stew or soup.
- Instead of taking the time to make meatballs, make meat “squares”. Spread meat mixture in a jellyroll pan and bake then cut meat into small squares.
- Add one egg to 1 cup mashed potato, shape into patties. Fry in hot oil until brown on both sides.
- Add leftover sausage (thinly sliced) to pancake batter. This will stretch a small amount of sausage.
- Grate smoked Gouda cheese into Green Bean Casserole, it adds a delicious smoky flavor to this Holiday classic.
- Remove crust from bread – cut into 1×2” rectangles. Brush all sides with melted butter. Roll in cinnamon/sugar mixture. Broil on both sides and serve with jelly or syrup.
- Slice leftover roast into strips and sauté with sliced onions & peppers. Serve with warm tortillas, cheese & salsa.
- If you don’t have enough cooling racks, use inverted muffin tins. Simply place pie or cakes (still in the pan) on upside-down tins. Oven racks works well too, just make sure they are not hot.
- To soften brown sugar that has gotten rock hard. Place a soft slice of bread in the box or bag. In a few hours it should be soft again.
- Bury avocados in flour to hasten ripening.
- Grind leftover beef, turkey or pork. Combine with minced onion & enough gravy to make a paste. Spread the mixture over rolled out biscuit dough. Roll up (jelly roll-style). Bake until golden, slice and serve with additional gravy.
- For creamier scrambled eggs, add 1 Tbsp. (undiluted) evaporated milk per egg and cook stirring frequently until firm & glossy.
- Wet hands in cold water before mixing or shaping ground meat into patties or balls. Meat won’t stick to wet hands.
- The easiest way to remove silk from an ear of corn is to wipe downward firmly with a clean, damp cloth.
- Perk-up the flavor of beef stew by adding a few drops of lemon juice or red wine vinegar during the last 15 minutes of cooking.
- Before opening a new package of bacon, roll it up, and then unroll. The slices won’t stick together.
- An easy way to remove dried foods from inside a microwave is to boil 1 cup water in a bowl for 2 minutes. The steam will soften the food, then just wipe clean.
- When making deviled eggs, put the hard-cooked egg yolks and other ingredients in a plastic bag. Knead to mix, then push all ingredients to one corner, cut off the tip and squeeze into egg white halves.
- To make colorful sugar cookies without messy hands. Put dough in a plastic bag, add food coloring and knead bag until mixed. Spoon onto cookie sheet and bake.
- Spray your cheese grater with non-stick cooking spray. This will speed up grating and make clean-up faster.
- For slightly different flavor, replace milk in your cornbread recipe with orange juice.
- If your soup or stew is too salty, add 1 small raw, peeled potato, let cook 20-30 minutes, remove & discard potato before serving.
- To restore crispness to soggy cereal or stale crackers, place on a cookie sheet and heat for a few minutes in the oven.
- To get ketchup out of a fresh bottle, insert a drinking straw and push it to the bottom. This will let in enough air to start an even flow.
- To get the onion smell off your hands, rub them on a stainless steel sink, or with a stainless steel spoon.
- To keep clear plastic wrap from sticking together, store it in the refrigerator.
- When removing ink, lipstick or grease from clothing, spray soiled area with hair spray (not spritz), rub and let dry. Launder as directed.
- Sprinkle burnt pots generously with baking powder and just enough water to moisten; let stand several hours. Generally the burnt portion will scrape out of the pan.
- When making meat balls for spaghetti, first boil them in water until they rise to the top. Drain and add to sauce to finish cooking. This eliminates the mess of frying and cuts some of the grease.
- To freeze individual servings of casserole or stew; line the bottom of bowls with enough foil to cover top & bottom of food, spoon meal into bowl, cover with foil. Place filled bowls in the freezer for several hours. Then pop covered meal out of bowl, label for cooking and return to freezer.
- To save time, use frozen vegetables in recipes that call for a variety of chopped vegetables.
- When making hamburgers, scoop out meat using an ice cream scoop, and then just flatten. You’ll save time & have uniform burgers.
- Poke a small hole in the center of hamburgers, they’ll cook faster and the hole will be gone when the burger is cooked.
- Shredded chicken can be used in BBQ chicken pizza, chicken enchiladas, tacos or nachos, chicken soup and so much more. I have found the easiest way to shred chicken breasts is to use a stand mixer. Just place cooled, cooked chicken breasts in a stand mixer using the paddle mixer and turn on low until shredded.
When I learn of more Tips Worth Trying I will add to this page. In the meantime, you can find recipes and cooking suggestions on my Cooking Food and Wine page.
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