CLEVER KITCHEN TRICKS
Many great tips are passed down from generation
to generation, but today extended family is not as close as it used to be.
So here are some handy tips you may not have
known about or may have forgotten.
Keep a roll of masking tape and a pen on top
of the refrigerator so you can label and date leftovers before you put them
inside.
Keep spaghetti sauce from staining plastic
food containers by rinsing the container with COLD water. Hot water sets
the stain.
Break up ground meat while you brown it. Use a pastry cutter.
Chill a can of warm soda fast, by swirling
the can in ice water for five minutes.
For jellies and jams, transfer them to a squeeze bottle (like the kind used to hold syrup or ketsup). Snip the end of the tip to make a slightly larger hole, and no more messy jars!
Refrigerator odor? Put a couple of cotton balls saturated with vanilla into a bowl in the fridge.
Need to make a heart shaped cake? No problem. Bake one round layer and one square layer. Place the square layer with the corners pointing up, down, right and left. Slice the round layer into two equal halves. Place a half on two adjacent sides of the square layer. Frost and decorate.
Wet your counter lightly, place waxed paper
on top, and it 
won't slide. Now
you can make your biscuits or pie crust without sliding waxed paper!
Slice gooey desserts like cheesecake, by holding a piece of dental floss tight and use it to cut through the dessert more easily.
Get more juice out of a lemon by rolling it
around with the palm of your hand to break up the fibers inside, or put
it in the microwave for 30 seconds.
Remove garlic, or fish or onion smells from
your hands with lemon juice.
Clean your microwave by adding the juice of
one lemon to a cup of water. Put into a microwaveable bowl and heat to boiling
for one minute. Let this stand in the microwave for a few minutes before
you open the door. Then the hardened particles should be soft enough to
wipe clean easily.
Keep the blades of your garbage disposal sharp
and deoderize it at the same time. Once a month grind a chopped lemon and
a tray of ice cubes into your disposal.
Sprinkle your wooden salad bowls and cutting
boards with salt and then rub them with a lemon to freshen them.
Keep cut fruit, like apples, pears and bananas
from turning brown by sprinkling the cut slices with lemon juice.
Make a buttermilk substitute: Add one tablespoon
of lemon juice to enough milk to equal one cup. Let stand 5 minutes then
use.