Helpful Cooking and Cleaning Tips #2

26~Measure everything accurately unless you are a seasoned cook
27~To keep bananas fresher longer, wrap them in a dark towel or newspaper. Place in the bottom drawer of the refrigerator (veggie/fruit drawer). Remove 1 at a time to eat or use for recipes, make sure to rewrap remaining bananas. If you don't wrap the bananas, placing them in the refrigerator will cause them to turn black and mushy
28~Keep cucumbers fresher longer by peeling, slicing and storing in covered container with 1/4 c. vinegar, 1 c, water, and 1 t. salt and store in refrigerator
29~For an easy way to seed cucumbers, cut in half lengthwise. Use knife to make a cut like a trench on each side of the seeds down the length of the cucumber. Use a spoon to rake out the seeds, they will come out clean and easy
30~When simmering hearty meat stew, place 3-4 corks, YES, Corks! to the pot. Enzymes in the corks help tenderize the meat quickly, delivering a slow simmered taste faster. Remove before serving. Corks can be reused
31~To salvage burned rice, leave the burned bottom layer in pan. Scoop remaining rice into a new pot. Place a single layer of onion skins on top of rice. Cover the pot, let it sit 15 minutes. The onion skins remove the smokey acrid taste from the rice. Discard skins before serving
32~For a change from basic salsa, mix with equal amount of refried beans and top with cheese. Heat in microwave until hot
33~Top cream cheese with any of the following for a quick and easy appetizer: green pepper jelly, drained small shrimp and cocktail sauce, chopped pickle or pickle relish, dash of Worcestershire and chives, chopped chutney and dash of curry powder. Serve with crackers, toast, or chips
34~Store garlic and onions in the refrigerator to keep them from sprouting and to last longer
35~Garlic burns easily when cooking, causing a bitter taste. Watch carefully
36~Meat with bone in takes longer to cook
37~Do not press hamburgers down when cooking, it makes them tough
38~When buying a turkey, allow 1 lb per person. This will allow for leftovers
39~Place a small onion or apple in the turkey cavity before baking. An apple makes it more moist, an onion adds flavor. Be sure to remove bag of "innards" from turkey cavity first : )
40~Never put a pyrex dish under the broiler. Use a metal pan instead. Pyrex shatters if it gets too hot--you'll have to start over and clean up a big mess : (
41~Let meat rest at least 5 minutes before cutting into it. Resting gives the juices time to redistribute through the meat. Cut too soon, and you'll have juice all over your plate
42~Canola oil has a high burning point and does not have a strong flavor to detract from the food. It is the best kind to use for frying
43~Iceberg lettuce has very little nutrients, substitute with raddichio, boston, or romaine
44~Avocados and olives are high in fat. Use sparingly
45~Cheese adds fat to salads
46~Season salads with herbs instead of salt
47~Limit dressings to 1 T or use low or no fat ones
48~Substitute plain yogurt for sour cream in homemade dressings, and in other recipes that call for sour cream, I use it in my banana bread recipe.
49~Substitute low fat mayo or miracle whip when making potato salad
50~Pickles and olives are high in salt, use sparingly