Here are some kitchen time-savers, culled from various sources:

When cooking boneless meats, first place each piece between two sheets of wax paper and pound thin with a rolling pin or heavy bottle. The meat will cook much faster.

Fry a pound of bacon at a time and freeze what you don't need right away. Wrap portions in foil; to reheat, put one of the foil-wrapped portions in a hot oven for a few minutes.

Make extra pancakes whenever you cook a fresh batch. Put the extras in a plastic bag and freeze. When you need pancakes in a hurry, wrap three or four in a paper towel and microwave 1 to 2 minutes on HIGH (100 percent power).

Put colored frosting into a plastic ketchup or mustard dispenser for quick cake decorating jobs. The dispensers also can be used for piping fruit purees, jellies, softened cream cheese and mayonnaise.

Cut cleaning time when using a food processor by grinding all the dry ingredients first. Then, work your way up to the messiest liquids. You'll find you can skip several wash-and-dry steps.

Before measuring honey, molasses or other sticky liquids, spray the measuring cup with non-stick cooking spray such as Pam.

When you make a casserole, make two. Bake the second until almost done and pop it in the freezer, after labeling it. The next time you want the dish, the frozen one can be reheated in a snap.

When working with dough, dampen the work surface before covering it with wax paper. The dampness hold the wax paper in place and keeps it from slipping when using the rolling pin. When the work is finished, roll up the wax paper and discard it -- there's no more cleaning up to do!

The quickest and easiest way to grease pans is to slip your hand into a sandwich bag and then into the shortening can. Smear away and come out with a clean hand. When finished, turn the bag inside out and discard.

When baking a chocolate cake, use cocoa to flour the greased pan. When baking light colored cakes, use powdered sugar to flour the greased pan.

To bake custard pies (such as pumpkin) without the crust getting soggy, sprinkle a tablespoon each of flour and sugar on the crust, and rub gently with fingertips before adding the filling.

To prevent pie crust edges from over browning, fold a 12-inch square of aluminum foil into quarters. Cut out the center, leaving an 8-inch hole. Unfold and place foil over the partially baked pie crust to shield the edges.

Lightly flour the knife blade before chopping nuts in a food processor.

Dip a sharp knife in warm water or coat it with vegetable cooking spray before slicing a cheesecake.

To grate a small amount of onion, squeeze a small piece of onion through a garlic press.

To check doneness of yeast breads, insert an instant-read thermometer into the center of bread; it should register 190 degrees.

For easy cleanup, spray a grater with vegetable cooking spray before grating cheese or orange rind.

To quickly chop onion without using a food processor, roll a pizza cutter over onion slices.

Leftover fresh gingerroot keeps up to three months wrapped in a white paper towel in the refrigerator's vegetable drawer. For longer storage, slice gingerroot and place in pale dry sherry up to one year; use gingerroot slices when stir-frying and ginger-flavored sherry in other recipes.

Freeze leftover almond paste up to three months.

Store leftover fresh mushrooms in a paper bag to prevent dampness, which causes them to turn brown.

Fresh cranberries can sometimes be difficult to find. Buy cranberries when they're in the store, and freeze them in the 12-oz. plastic bag they come in up to one year.

Purchase candied fruit on sale after the holiday season, and store in the refrigerator for next year's baking.

Freeze leftover buttermilk up to three months and leftover eggnog up to six months. To reuse, thaw overnight in the refrigerator, and stir vigorously before using.

Easy Gravy: Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of drippings from pan. Add 2 cups water, broth or bouillon. Cook over medium heat, stirring to loosen browned bits. Remove from heat. Mix 2 tablespoons Cornstarch and 1/4 cup cold water until smooth. Stir into pan. Add desired seasonings. Stirring constantly, bring to a boil over medium heat and boil 1 minute. YIELD: 2 cups

Medium White Sauce: Mix 1 Tablespoon Cornstarch and 1 Cup Milk until smooth. Add 2 tablespoons margarine, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Stirring constantly, bring to boil over medium heat and boil 1 minute. YIELD 1 cup (Use for creamed vegetables, meat, poultry, fish or casseroles).

To Thicken Hot Liquids: Mix Cornstarch with a little cold liquid until smooth before adding to hot liquid.

Easy Rule Of Thumb: 1 Tablespoon Cornstarch = 2 Tablespoons Flour. To use cornstarch for thickening gravies, sauces, soups and stews when your recipe calls for flour, use half as much cornstarch as flour.

Storing Gingerroot: Fresh gingerroot has a tough skin that must be carefully removed. For small amounts, slice off a knob or piece as needed; peel the knob with a vegetable peeler or a small paring knife, and then mince, slice or grate.

Choose one of three storage methods for leftover gingerroot: 1). Slice off amount needed; place remaining unpeeled root, wrapped in a white paper towel, in a plastic bag and refrigerate up to three weeks. 2) Seal an unpeeled piece in a zip-top plastic bag and freeze up to 1 month. To use, slice amount needed off of the unthawed root, and return the remainder to freezer. 3) Place peeled slices in a jar, cover with dry white wine or dry sherry, and refrigerate up to six months. Use ginger-flavored wine or sherry in salad dressings or stir-fry recipes; replace used portion with additional wine to keep gingerroot immersed.

An irregularly shaped gingerroot, called a "hand", can have any number of bulging knobs growing at odd angles. The smaller knobs radiating from the main root have a more delicate flavor. Look for rock-hard pieces with smooth, plump, shiny skin. Check for a fresh, spicy fragrance.

Ginger Math: 1 tablespoon grated fresh gingerroot equals 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger.

Cut throw away aluminum pie pans into wedges, and when baking a pie, place one wedge in the pie pan with the bottom crust on top of it.

After sealing the top crust, mark the position of the wedge and at serving time cut the first piece here. Slip the knife under the wedge and it comes out in one unbroken piece. For the remaining cuts, slip a metal spatula under the edge of the wedge, and it comes out easier than with a conventional pie server pushed under the back. Put the aluminum pie wedge into the dishwasher and use it again and again.

To keep a pie crust from burning, cut the center out of a foil pie pan. Invert it and place it over the pie so only the fluted edges are covered. The crust will brown nicely, but won’t burn!

Use Cinnamon Oil in Plastic Bag to Make Fragrant Pine Cones. First, you will need several pine cones, a large self-sealing plastic bag and some cinnamon oil, which can be bought at candle or craft stores. Just put several pine cones in the bag, add two to three drops of the oil, close the bag and shake well to disperse it. Set it aside for about 24 hours to give the cones time to absorb the scent. Eventually, they will lose their scent, so simply repeat the process when needed, and enjoy!

Sometimes coated frying pans develop a sticky residue from cooking oils. Simply put the frying pan on the stove top over high heat, fill to the brim with water and about ½ cup of v

Oops, it appears I ran out of space...here is the rest of my above Hints and Tips for the Kitchen and Home :)


Sometimes coated frying pans develop a sticky residue from cooking oils. Simply put the frying pan on the stove top over high heat, fill to the brim with water and about ½ cup of vinegar, then bring it to the boil. All of the sticky residue flats to the top and you can skim it off with a paper towel. Let the water cool down before discarding, and wash the pan with soap and water. Reseason it needed with cooking oil.

Put vanilla extract in a spray bottle and spray a suitcase on the inside. Set outside in the sun for awhile. When you bring it inside, saturate some tissues with vanilla and leave them for a few days inside the suitcase. This really gets out the “stale” smell.


Adding Epsom Salts to rinse water for curtains. First, launder the curtains as recommended by the manufacturer. The Epsom-salts bath is easy to do. Fill the sink with cool water and add 1 cup of Epsom salts. Swish the water around until the Epsom salts are completely dissolved. Next, add the curtains, making sure all the material is soaked. Then hang the curtains out to dry. When the curtains are completely dry, they should be crisp and wrinkle-free without ironing.


Storage tips for raisins. When raisins are packaged, they are soft and moist. To keep raisins moist once a package has been opened, store them in the refrigerator. If raisins become dry or sugary, or if a recipe calls for plumped raisins, simply cover them with boiling water or very hot tap water. Soak raisins about 5 minutes, drain, and pat dry.

To plump raisins in the microwave. Add 1 tablespoon water per cup of raisins. Cover microwaveable dish with plastic wrap, venting one side. Microwave on HIGH 30 to 60 seconds; stir. Cover and let stand 2 to 3 minutes.

20 Great Ways to Use Raisins: Bake in applesauce, spice or carrot cake; peanut butter, oatmeal or chocolate chip cookies; or brownies.

Stir into yogurt; custard; rice or tapioca puddings.

Sandwich with peanut butter and orange marmalade between bread; or mix into turkey or chicken salad.


Sprinkle on cold cereal, or with chopped nuts on ice cream.

Toss into cole slaw, carrot, three bean or Waldorf salads; or cold pasta or rice salads.

Knead into the dough of white, whole wheat or rye bread, bagels or rolls.

Add to apple, pecan or rhubarb pie or tarts. (Of course, raisins make a superb pie by themselves!)

Saute with apple slices, butter and brown sugar for a delicious dessert. Add them to fruit fritters or doughnuts and deep fry.

Spoon in a sweet-sour sauce over ham, poultry or vegetables such as carrots of sweet potatoes.

Mix with apple pie filling to serve with roast pork, chops or spareribs; with mint jelly and vinegar to serve with lamb; or with applesauce and a sprinkle of nutmeg to serve with pork or ham.

Soak in rum or brandy and serve flaming over crepes or ice cream.

Stew with dried apricots, apples and prunes as a compote or as a filling for crepes.

Plump in fruit juice or liqueur and serve over cake, ice cream or ginger bread.

Blend in an electric blender with cream cheese and apricot jam and serve on toast.

Combine in fruit salads and gelatin desserts.

Simmer with fresh or dried fruits and tapioca to make a fruit soup.

Heat with chocolate sauce as a topping for ice cream, or in maple syrup to serve over pancakes.

Cook with oatmeal for breakfast; add raisins and chicken bouillon when cooking rice.

Preserve in chutney, relish or pickled fruit.

Bake Again in cornbread, biscuits, muffins, scones or nut breads.


Homemade Pre-Wash Spray: Mix equal parts of dishwashing liquid that doesn’t contain bleach, full-strength ammonia and water. Pour the mixture into a spray bottle and be absolutely sure to label the bottle and keep it out of children’s reach. Important Note: be sure to wash the garment immediately after using this homemade spray; do not let it set because some staining may occur.