Before eating a lemon, lime or orange, grate the peel and let it dry. This is true even when making lemon and lime water. You can use it later in cookies and cakes. Just store it in an air-tight jar.
If a recipe calls for less evaporated milk than what is in an entire can, use the left over milk in your coffee. This works best when you grind the beans yourself in a coffee grinder, brew it with the best coffee maker, and serve in your favorite coffee mug!
Use up your pickle juice! Use it to make homemade salad dressings in place of vinegar or in stuffed eggs, cooked in an egg cooker, in the place of mustard. Make sure to mix in your salad dressing shaker.
After you crimp the edges of your pie crust, with your fingers, lift it up so it does not touch the rim of the pie plate. This will make slicing much easier.
If you need to decorate your cookies in a pinch, put white sugar in a sugar bowl or small glass jar. Add a few drops of food coloring and stir or shake (if in a jar). Sprinkle over your cookies. If you have small jars, you can make up several batches in different colors and keep them on the pantry.
For left over whipped cream, add 2 tbsp. of cocoa, pumpkin pie spice or instant jello and whip slowly to combine. Use on pies or in your cup of coffee, tea or hot chocolate.
Chilled evaporated milk can be whipped and used in desserts.
When cooking vegetables, add a bouillon cube in the water. This will add flavor to your vegetables. It works great in your pressure cooker and crab pot!
Adding a teaspoon of lemon juice to rice may help it stay fluffy and adding chicken stock to your water when cooking it will add flavor.
Next time you make meatloaf, try adding crumbled corn flakes in place of bread crumbs made from a bread machine
Rinsing raisins and dates before running them through a food processor will help keep them from turning into a clumpy mess.
A wire cheese grater is also great for slicing refrigerated cookie dough! It even works better than a Japanese knife!
Spray a measuring cup with cooking spray before using it to measure syrups or peanut butter. I prevents sticking.
If you have over ripe bananas try: Baking banana bread or peeling them with an apple peeler, slicing each in half with a kitchen utility knife and freezing. after frozen, dip in melted chocolate and freeze again!
If cutting large marshmallows into small pieces, dip kitchen shears into hot water before cutting. This will prevent marshmallows from sticking to the shears.
If slicing a cheesecake, dip knife or metal cake slicer into hot water before cutting. This will keep the cheesecake smooth and each slice will look neatly cut.
If slicing a pineapple, try slicing it into rings and then remove the core and skin with a pineapple corer and apple slicer.
Extra mint sprigs? Add some to your iced tea maker!
Toasting oatmeal in a convection oven or drying it in a food dehydrator before using it to bake cookies will add a nice flavor to them.
Party City is a great store to find affordable baking pans, party trays and kitchen gadgets. If you want something more expensive and better quality, try out a Copper Chef Set, Calphalon Cookware Set, or All-Clad Cookware Set.
While you’re here, be sure to check out our kitchen product reviews!