I thought we could play a little game today, Show and Tell! I’ll share my favorite kitchen tips, and would love for you to share yours too…if you have a special trick or secret you’d like to share, leave it in a comment and I will post them all together in a few weeks!
I do love to cook, but I really don’t spend my days in the kitchen… I do have favorite tricks that I use to make cooking quicker and easier~
You probably already do this, but my #1 tip is MENU PLAN. Spend a little time each week to plan meals, make a list, and do one weekly shopping trip. This ultimately saves you so much time and $$!
I use my monthly bucket list to gather recipes, and for quick meal ideas. I keep this list constantly updated throughout the month, adding recipes and ideas whenever I get an inspiration. See January Bucket List here and read more about the Paint Bucket here.
My #2 tip is to always cook extra when you do cook
Cook once, eat twice. It’s like cutting your time in the kitchen in half. Once you get in this habit you’ll have time to take those Cha Cha lessons you’ve been wanting 🙂
Caramelized Onions
When you Caramelize Onions here, [they make everything better], add 1/4-1/2 cup water about half way through cooking. Although this might seem counter-productive, “Won’t adding water slow down the caramelization process?” The opposite is actually true~
When you are cooking onions in a skillet, only a small amount of the onion surface is in actual contact with the pan. When you add water, it heats to the same temperature as the pan bottom and covers the onion slices with this heat, reaching all the surface areas of the onions, actually making them cook faster. The water will evaporate by the time the onions have finished cooking
Bacon
This works for bacon too. Next time you need crumbled bacon for a recipe, cut it into 1 inch pieces [kitchen scissors work well for this]. It’s easier to cook because you just give it an occasional stir, rather than having to stand there and constantly flip the strips. When bacon is partially cooked, add a little water and this will help the pieces cook evenly, and you won’t get pieces that have burnt edges but still fatty
When you don’t need the rendered fat for other cooking, cook your bacon on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake at 350 for about 20-25 minutes. No babysitting, no flipping, easy clean up
You can also roast vegetables right along side
Corn
Did you know you can cook an ear of corn in the microwave in 4 minutes? You don’t even have to shuck it! Just toss it in, cook on high 4 minutes, it’s done! Add 4 minutes for an additional ear.
Other easy peasy corn methods:
Roast corn in the oven either in the husk* [yep, just toss the whole thing in there unshucked] or shuck the ears and wrap them in foil or place multiple ears in a covered baking pan. Bake at 350 for 1 hour. No lost nutrients, no boiling water, and corn stays hot longer for serving and buffets
If you do roast your corn in the husk, an easy way to shuck it after cooking is to cut off the base end [the wide end] about 1 inch with a large knife. Then hold the top end of the husk [not the ear] and gently shake. The corn ear will slide right out, leaving the silk and husk behind
Buttermilk
Marinate chicken overnight in buttermilk to make it extra tender, see Buttermilk Chicken here
Use buttermilk instead of water to doctor a boxed cake mix, like these All Occasion Coconut Cupcakes
Brown Paper Bags
Use brown paper bags to flour chicken, eggplant, etc. The paper is absorbent and works to keep the flour coating from getting moist and clumpy from the moisture in the food pieces. Once you shake shake shake and coat your food, it will be evenly coated for frying or baking and you can toss the bag away~no clean up!
Slow Cooker
Use a liner when you cook in a slow cooker, I buy mine at Bed Bath and Beyond
They cost less than $1, you can pull the bag out, tie it closed and put leftovers directly in your refrigerator. No clean up~
Don’t forget to employ your slow cooker to help out when you need more oven space. See how to use it to make Slow Cooker Scalloped Potatoes here
Peanut Butter
PB 2 is a powder that you can add to food for the flavor of peanut butter without the fat and calories. You will find it right next to the peanut butter in the grocery store
Try it in Amazing Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies here or Peanut Butter and Celery Soup here, or stir it into your oatmeal for a Cold Weather Comfort Bowls here
Cookie Cutters
Cookie Cutters aren’t just for cookies you can use them to make shapes out of biscuits or puff pastry
Make savory cheese straws like these Everything Cocktail Cookies here
Or Goldfish Cheese Toasts here
Use cookie cutters to craft Valentine cards
and to Paint Hearts here
Make personalized tags or place cards like these on Golden Harvest here
You can use them for napkin rings
or as part of a tablescape
Fresh Produce
Sometimes it’s okay to play with your food, it’s pretty paired with flowers like Radishes & Roses here
or in a centerpiece like Crates Full of Spring here
and then you can eat it!
The kitchen can really be a great playground, so get in there and have some fun!
Do you have a favorite tip, trick or secret you’d like to share? Be sure to site the source or link to a blog post if it’s not your original idea.
I will gather the tips and put them all together in a post for you in a few weeks, and we can all benefit !
thank you!!
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I will be joining the fabulous parties on my sidebar and: