Selected Kitchen Hacks IV 🌞

[justaprogressive]

Get Rid Of The Fat

Get rid of excess fat from stocks, stews, and sauces by skimming an ice cube along the top of the surface of your liquid with a spoon. This will cause the fat to rise and solidify. Then scoop it out with a spoon or a piece of toast.


Easy Peel Potato

There’s a much better way to peel potatoes instead of using a peeler. Start by boiling your potato. Toss your potatoes into an ice bath after you boil them and watch the skin fall right off.


Fresh lettuce

To keep lettuce fresh longer, do this: Wash the lettuce, allow it to drain for a few minutes, and then place it in an airtight container or bag. Before you close it up, slip in a single paper towel. It will keep the lettuce fresh longer. It’s like magic!

Frozen rice

Take away the hassle of cooking rice fresh every time you want it for a meal. You can freeze cooked rice. So, make up a big batch; then pack it into smaller portions and freeze. When you’re ready, the exact-sized portion you want is waiting for you.

Frugal luxury

Real vanilla sugar (for coffee drinks or to sprinkle on cookies and other sweets) can be costly. Here’s a way to make a whole pound of vanilla sugar inexpensively: Place one whole vanilla bean and a pound of granulated sugar in a blender or food processor. Pulse until the bean is invisible and the sugar is a cream color. This keeps very well in a covered canister.

Tie into a bowl

And now for perhaps the best kitchen hack of all time: To keep dry onions fresh for a long time, cut a leg from a pair of clean pantyhose. Slice open the toe and then tie it tightly with a piece of yarn into a bow (or use that plastic tab from a loaf of bread!) Now, drop an onion into the toe area and tie another yarn bow above it. Repeat until the leg is filled with onions. Hang it to allow the onions air space. When you need an onion, simply untie the bottom bow. This makes the pantyhose leg reusable.

DIY powdered sugar

You can make your own soft, fluffy powdered sugar using your spice grinder. Pour regular white granulated sugar into the grinder, close it up and pulverize. Takes only a few seconds. Prepare to be amazed! Pssst: You can also perform this hack in your blender on the machine’s highest speed.

Speedy meatloaf

Need to get dinner on the table quickly, but it’s going to be at least an hour in the oven for the meatloaf to cook. You can drop that time to 15 minutes when you pull out a muffin tin. Fill the compartments to make individual mini meatloaves. Bake at 450 F for 15 mins and dinner’s ready!

Ignore egg dates

There’s a goofy myth out there that insists eggs never go bad. They certainly do, but probably not as quickly as you might assume from the confusing dating information on the carton. Well, you can forget all of that and conduct this test instead: Place an egg in a glass of water. Good eggs sink; bad eggs float.

Easy-peel butternut

Butternut squash can be a bear to peel, seed, and cube. Here’s how to tame: Pop a whole butternut squash in the microwave and zap it for 2 to 3 minutes on High. Allow to cool so you can handle it without getting burned. And then wow … so much easier to quickly turn it into the cubes you need.

Speed-ripen bananas

The best banana bread is made with super ripe bananas. So what to do if yours are still not ripe enough? Here’s the trick: Place a piece of parchment on a cookie tray or sheet pan. Lay the bananas to be ripened on the parchment—in their peels. Turn the oven on to 400 F. and place the sheet pan in right away so the bananas are in there as the oven preheats. When the skins turn shiny and black, bananas are ready—perfectly soft on the inside and ready for that banana bread recipe.

Calcium stretch

Add powdered milk to meatloaf, meatballs, and cookie recipes. It’s a good way to add calcium to your diet. Most kids won’t touch milk made from powder, but mixed into other foods they won’t know it’s there.

Cheap clips

Need a cheap but effective way to clamp shut your chip bags, etc.? Buy a bag of clothespins at the dollar store. They make great chip clips!

No more flipping

Instead of flipping pancakes, bake them. Pour the batter into a lightly oiled sheet pan and bake at 400 F for 20 minutes. Cut that big pancake into squares for the adults and as an option, use animal-shaped cookie cutters for the kids. Now you can sit down with your family and enjoy breakfast.

Cone coffee filters

If you need cone filters for your coffeemaker, buy the cheap 500-for-a-dollar round coffee filters at the dollar store. Fold them in half and bend both corners in an inch or so to create a cone filter. It works great and costs a lot less than the cone-shaped filters.

Odor eliminator

Used coffee grinds can eliminate even the worst refrigerator odors. First, remove the offending item that’s gone bad and is stinking up the fridge. Then, take out the used coffee filter with the coffee grinds in it and place it in your refrigerator in an open container. You just might discover that this works better than baking soda or any other commercial remedy. Just replace the coffee grinds when they dry out.

Cubed eggs

Did you know you can freeze eggs? Use an ice cube tray and spray it with non-stick cooking spray. Break one egg into each compartment. Freeze. Once frozen, transfer them to a zip-type freezer bag. Do it quickly, so they don’t melt and stick together. Return the bag to the freezer. When you need an egg, grab a cube from the bag. This is especially useful if you can buy eggs in bulk.

Easy defrost

If you do not have a frost-free freezer, do this the next time you defrost: Dry the interior walls well and then spray them with a light coating of non-stick cooking spray. This will not prevent frost from building up, but it will make it a lot easier to defrost because the ice and frost will slide off effortlessly.

Two loaves, one loaf pan

If you have only one loaf pan but need to bake two loaves of bread, do this: Set the loaf pan in the middle of a 9 x 13 cake pan. The space on either side of the loaf pan is a perfect size and shape for a loaf of bread. Pour about an inch of water into the loaf pan to create steam during the baking process, which is great for the bread.



https://www.everydaycheapskate.com/31-best-kitchen-hacks/

[Polly Hennessey]

1. Have used the egg in water long before 'hacks' were a thing.

[justaprogressive]

2. good to hear.

2 eggs over easy please!

[PennyC]

3. I do the lettuce thing

I was worried about the cleanliness of lettuce, and I like iceberg cut up in chunks in my salad. So now I buy a whole head and wash myself. With the paper towels and plastic bag, it stays fresh and crunchy for a long time.

[NJCher]

4. Butternut squash

Love it but dread working with it. Going to try this tip!

Also the meatloaf one. Sounds better than having an entire meatloaf around. Easy sandwiches for leftovers, too. No cutting.

[justaprogressive]

7. I thought

the meatloaf one was excellent as well!

[dixiegrrrrl]

5. These hacks and the linked pages are very helpful and inspiring.

Thanks!

[justaprogressive]

6. My pleasure!