Kitchen Hints and Tips - Let's list them!

Mine are cleaning tips.
Get 3 spray bottles. Fill one with half vinegar, and half water. Fill one with 91% rubbing alcohol. Fill the last one with peroxide. For regular cleaning, spray with vinegar (wait a minute if anything is crusty) and wipe clean. For nastier things (raw meat, eggs), use the alcohol and let it sit a minute. If you really need to disinfect, peroxide is great (I use it on the sink).
I used to spend a fortune on paper towels. It was getting expensive. Then I remembered that my grandmother used to use old flour sacks to clean. I found flour sacks in Target, Walmart, etc and started using those. We probably have 2-3 dozen now. We keep a clean one hanging up for drying and a less clean one for wiping spills while cooking. When we start running low we wash them with hot water and bleach and they're like new. If they get really stained we mark them "rag" with a sharpie and use them on ickier things and throw them out if necessary. A roll of paper towels now lasts about a month.

Get a 15 PSI pressure cooker, and cook in minutes not hours.
(you're cooking with steam, so you seal in all the goodness!)

The only thing the crockpot is good for now is keeping food
warm at functions, and potlucks!

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going on a cleaning spree this weekend.....marking this for reference....thanks everyone for sharing

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Have fun toasting marshmallows over a candle.
When boiling water for tea or coffee, I pour the excessing boiling water down my sink to help keep it fresh.
Shampoo you don't like makes a good bath and toilet cleaner
Damp Rid, the wardrobe hanging type, is good to hang inside your car to get rid of excess humidity and smells (car windows shut)
If I only 1/2 finish a bottle of pasta sauce I place it in the freezer so it's fresh when I get round to using it
I ice the bottom of my cakes - a smooth flat surface, maybe I shouldn't mention that on this site :-)
I freeze leftover cooked rice, keeping adding to the 'stash' until you have enough for a family meal, or freeze in individual serves
I keep my onions in the fridge and chop them on top of a paper towel to save the chopping board getting 'onionified'
I add a splash of white vinegar to curdle.the milk when baking scones (biscuits if your not Aussie). Makes for a light texture

bump.....I will be back to read and offer some of mine if they aren't on here already. :happy:

These are great!

Cutting an onion releases gasses that are attracted to water; anything wet nearby will attract them instead of your eyes. Simplest solution: stick out your tongue!

Want to loosen the grease under your hood range, boil a pot of one part vinegar, one part water on the stove the steam will loosen the grease and wipe clean.

Keep book marks on your favorite receipts in cook books, makes them easier to find.:noway:

Not kitchen related : When you want to find sheets and pillow cases that match wash them and fold flat, tuck sheets and pillow cases inside one of the pillow cases...easy to store and saves space in your closet: tongue: ...everything is together in one spot.

Want a quick clean up for unexpected company, grab a basket and go around the room picking up what doesn't belong, carry them to the rooms where they do belong and unload.:bigsmile:

Grab some index cards and do an inventory of your pantry and cupboards tape the card to the inside of the door and you will always know what you have...don't forget to delete items as you use them.:flowerforyou:

You should only rinse pasta for salads, if you are making a dish with sauces leave the starch on and the sauce will stick to the pasta better...a little starch won't kill you and your pasta will taste amazing. :indifferent:

There are a lot of helpful things here. Thanks :smooched:

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"Freeze brewed coffee in ice trays to make a frozen coffee drink without dilluting it. Also works for koolaid and fruit juice."

And punch as well.

One relative likes making pumpkin bread--she buys nuts and keeps them in the freezer.

Home remedy for a stopped-up drain: baking soda and white vinegar.; A few shakes from the box of baking soda and a few glugs of white vinegar--there will be fizzing and foaming (natural reaction), but this will subside. You might have to repeat this a few times for it to work.

If you love to cook with fresh ginger (I put it in almost everything) but are tired of it going bad, keep it in the freezer. Peel it when you get it, then keep it in plastic wrap and a baggie in the freezer. When you needed it, just pulled it out and slice or grate (don't thaw!) and add it right away, then put it back int he freezer. It never goes bad and it grates and slices easily!

I always freeze my ginger, but I never thought of peeling it first! That was always the hardest part - trying to peel frozen ginger. Thanks!

Read all of the post, now if only I could remember all of them...

Got a bad stain on a piece of clothing? Cover stain in dish washing detergent and dip it into boiling water until the stain in gone. Works on anything from grease to fruit juice, once got blueberry out of a white top. (Sort of kitchen related, right?)

Funny when cutting onions, if you don't blink your eyes
won't water. The more you blink, the worse it gets.