Tip of the Week!

Always have a couple sets of Measuring Cups and Spoons on hand.  When you are doing a lot of cooking in a day, or even just one complicated dish, it's nice to not have to stop and do the dishes to continue with the recipe.

Tip of the Day!

If your gravy has turned out a little greasy, you can add a little baking soda to it and it will get rid of it.

Tip of the Week!

When picking a melon, smell it for freshness and ripeness.  Make sure it is heavier in weight (heavier=juicer) and that the spot on the end where it was plucked from the vine is soft.

Tip of the Week!

For fluffier, whiter Rice, add one teaspoon of Lemon Juice per quart of water, while cooking.

Tip of the Week!

When using Sugar Cones for ice cream, put a miniature marshmallow in the bottom of the cone before adding the ice cream.  This will keep the cone from getting soggy and leaking through the bottom of the cone.

Tip of the Week!

When making biscuits or pie crusts and you have to roll them out, roll them as gently, as possible, but still as few times as possible too.  This will make the crusts and biscuits flakier, and not so heavy.

Tip of the Week!

To get the skins on a Clove of Garlic to come off easier, microwave it for 10-15 seconds and the skin will slide right off.
Be careful when doing this, I have accidentally exploded my garlic a couple of times.  When it exploded, the garlic clove was still in tact and the skins were on the other side of the microwave, so technically it was easier, but I wouldn't recommend it.

Tip of the Week!

To Keep Cauliflower white while cooking:  Add a little milk to the water it is boiling in.

Tip of the Week!

When you need to cut meat, especially into small pieces or slices, partially freeze the meat first.  This will make it easier to slice and make the slices more uniform and keep them looking nice.

Tip of the Week!

When beating egg whites, they should always be at room temperature.  Also, you need to make sure there is no yolk in the mix and that the bowl and beaters are clean and dry, or else the eggs won't beat up nearly as nicely.

Tip of the Week!

Always have your essential ingredients on hand.  I always make sure I have an extra container of Flour, Sugar, Oil, Salt, Pepper, Milk, Eggs and a few others always on hand.  Whatever you use frequently make sure you always have an extra container on hand, so that if the one you are using runs out while you are cooking, you don't have to run to the store and get another one.

Tip of the Day!

Keep cooking dishes that you use the most at waist level or close to it, then work higher and lower away from you so that the ones that you use the least are stored the highest and lowest.  This makes for easier access of your most commonly used items, and makes your cooking experience more quicker and less stressful making it more fun.

Cooking Tip of the Day!

If you want the shell on the Hard Boil Eggs to come off easier, after you boil them, immediately drain the hot water, then cover in cold water and cover with ice cubes, and let sit until they are cool.  This should make it so the shell comes off beautifully.

Tip of the Day!

 

When baking anything in the oven, but especially something containing meat, and the recipe tells you to cover the dish, make sure that you use either parchment paper, or wax paper under the aluminum foil when you bake it.  This is keep from adding a metal taste to your foods, and keep the nutrients in better as well.

Substitue for Shortening

One of my readers asked if there was a good substitue for shortening.  I thought this was a great question seeing how Shortening isn't that healthy for you, so I did some research and this is what I came up with.

I talked to a few people and found some spots on the internet that suggested using Coconut Oil instead.

Another suggestion I found was to use applesauce.  Now in some recipes this probably won't work very well, like pastries.

I have also found that a lot of people use a one to one ratio of butter to shortening when substituting.  They have said that this will make cookies spread a little more, and that the pastries won't be as flaky.  I will be making cookies and cream puffs today and will try using butter in them. I let you know if I find a good substitute.

Has anyone found a good substitute?  If so, I would love to hear about it.

Abbreviation Guide

Here is a list of commonly used abbreviations used in cooking and what they stand for.

t. = tsp. = Teaspoon
T. = Tbsp. = tbsp. = Tablespoon
C. = Cup
pt. = Pint
qt. = Quart
gal. = Gallon
doz. = Dozen
oz. = Ounce or Ounces
fl. oz. = Fluid Ounce or Ounces
lb. = Pound
g. = Grams
gms. = Grams
kil. = kg. = Kilogram
l. = Liter
mil. = Milliliter
hr. = Hour or Hours
min. = Minute or Minutes
pkg. = Package
° C = Degrees Celsius Centigrade
° F = Degrees Fahrenheit

Metric Cooking Guide for Measuring

For those of you that use the metric system when measuring your ingredients, here is a little conversion table that should help when using my recipes.

1/8 tsp. = 0.5 milliliter
1/4 tsp. = 1 milliliter
1/2 tsp. = 2 milliliters
1 tsp. = 5 milliliters
1/4 C. = 2 Fluid Ounces = 60 milliliters
1/3 C. = 3 Fluid Ounces = 90 milliliters
1/2 C. = 4 Fluid Ounces = 120 milliliters
2/3 C. = 5 Fluid Ounces = 150 milliliters
3/4 C. = 6 Fluid Ounces = 180 milliliters
1 C. = 8 Fluid Ounces = 240 milliliters
2 C. = 16 Fluid Ounces = 1 pint = 475 milliliters
1 q. = 32 Fluid Ounces = 2 pints = 1 liter
1/2 inch = 1.27 centimeters
1 inch = 2.54 centimeters