~*~ Use a meat baster to "squeeze" your pancake batter onto the hot griddle and you'll get perfectly shaped pancakes every time. I did this with my kids many years ago....made animal-shaped pancakes in an electric fry-pan! Dinosaurs were the easiest!:-) Myron ~*~ Pancakes: Adding a little sugar to the batter of pancakes and waffles will make them brown more quickly. ~*~ When making pancakes for breakfast, make a double or triple batch. Let the extras cool, then cut up into bite sized portions. Freeze on a cookie sheet for about an hour. Then put them all into a freezer bag. On school days, take out the amount you need, microwave for 45 seconds, pour some syrup into a short glass or cup, and you have warm pancake dippers. ~*~ Candy: Try to make your candy on dry days. The candy does not set as well on humid or rainy days. ~*~ Casseroles: Most casseroles can be made up to 24 hours in advance and refrigerated. Be sure and add 15 or 20 minutes to the cooking time to compensate. ~*~ Chicken Breasts: The best buy at the supermarket is to purchase a large bag (usually 3-4 pounds) of boneless, skinless chicken breasts from the freezer section, rather than buying it a pound at a time from the fresh meats section. This saves me about $15.00 a month or more. ~*~ Chilling Foods: To chill foods quickly put them in your freezer for 20 to 30 minutes rather than longer in the refrigerator. ~*~ Chopping Onions/Horseradish: To prevent your eyes from watering, take a quarter of a slice of bread and place the piece between your teeth. Be sure to allow it to stick out of the mouth a little and keep your mouth slightly open. Now, you can chop the onions or grate the horseradish and you will have no tears or burning eyes. ~*~ Cookies: When making cookies, always use unsalted butter, never margarine. The unsalted butter gives the cookies a lighter texture. To keep cookies soft, place a slice of bread in the storage container. To prevent cookies from spreading when baking, refrigerate the dough and the baking sheet for a couple of minutes before baking. Using a cookie scoop (or a small ice cream scoop) to spoon out cookie dough gives them a uniform look and size. It also keeps your fingers clean. ~*~ Corn: Never boil corn for more than 3 minutes. Be sure to place the corn in boiling water, and do not add salt. You will find the flavor is much better than cooking for 10 minutes or more. Corn will never get soft, no matter how long you cook it-it will only lose its taste. When boiling corn on the cob, add a pinch of sugar to help bring out the corn's natural sweetness. ~*~ Crisper Drawer: Line the bottom with a paper towel to absorb liquids that make veggies wilt. ~*~ Eggs: A fresh egg's shell is rough and chalky looking. An old egg will have a shell that is smooth and shiny. Another is to place the egg in a pot of cold, salted water. If the egg sinks, it is fresh. If it floats, it's not fresh, so throw it away! Have eggs in your refrigerator, and can't tell if they are raw or hard boiled? Spin the egg. If it spins, it is hard boiled. If it wobbles, it is raw. It is easier to separate eggs when still cold. To prevent egg shells from cracking, add a pinch of salt to the water before hard boiling. ~*~ Fish: When baking whole fish, wrap in aluminum foil. When fish is done, it can be lifted from the baking pan without the fish falling apart. To remove the foil, slip a spatula under the fish and slide foil out after fish is on the platter. ~*~ Food Stains in Plastic Storage Containers: Use a baking soda paste (baking soda and water) and rub into the stain. You can then rinse with vinegar (optional) and wash normally. Another method is to place container outside on a nice sunny day and the sun actually bleaches the stain out. To avoid stains in the first place, spray container with cooking spray before putting things in it that stain i.e. spaghetti sauce. ~*~ Frosting Tips: Add a pinch of baking soda to your frosting and the frosting will stay moist and prevent cracking. ~*~ Frozen Vegetables: These are an important staple, a quick way to separate them is to pour boiling water over them in a colander and then add them to your casserole or stove-top dish to finish cooking. ~*~ Fudge: Always use a wooden spoon when making fudge. ~*~ Garlic: Save yourself lots of time by always using jarred minced garlic that can be found in the produce or condiment section of the supermarket. ~*~ Gelatin Molds: To easily unmold gelatin salads or desserts, lightly brush mold with oil before pouring in the mixture. ~*~ Glass Baking Dishes: When using a glass baking dish for cakes, lower oven temperature by 25 degrees. ~*~ Ice Cream Cones: Stuff a miniature marshmallow in the bottom of a sugar cone to prevent ice cream drips. ~*~ Juicing Citrus Fruits: To get the most juice out of fresh lemons, limes and oranges, bring them to room temperature and roll them under your palm against the kitchen counter before squeezing. ~*~ Marinading Meats: Lemon and lime juice and vinegar aren't the only things that work well as marinades. I use kiwi fruit, either sliced, mashed, or juiced. For sliced, lay the meat over the slices and lay slices over the top of the meat as well. Allow 2-4 hours to marinate. For a faster method, mash or juice the kiwi and use in marinade as a substitute for lemon, lime, or vinegar. This method only takes about 1/2 hour for tender meat. I also use unseasoned meat tenderizer powder (found in the spices section of the supermarket) for the times I just don't have time to marinade meat. ~*~ Measuring Corn Syrup, Molasses, and Honey: Dip measuring cup or spoon either in hot water or brush with oil before pouring in the syrup. This way, you get all that's in the cup to come out. ~*~ Meatballs: When making many meatballs a fast and simple way is to shape the meat mixture into a log and cut off slices. The slices roll easily into balls. Another option is to pat the meat into a square and cut it into cubes which again easily roll into meatballs of uniform size. ~*~ Meatloaf: Meatloaf will cook faster if you make it in small rounded loaves or even in muffin cups. Muffin cups make reheating leftovers a breeze! ~*~ Meringue: To stop the meringue from shrinking away from the sides of the pies, be sure that when you put the meringue on top, you make sure it touches the pastry all around the edge. This way, it will bake onto the pastry and will not shrink! ~*~ Onions/Green Peppers: You can buy frozen chopped onion or green peppers for a quick recipe shortcut, or since they freeze so well, chop a whole bunch at once and freeze them in single servings. ~*~ Parsley: Fresh parsley can be frozen. Wash the parsley and pat dry. Chop up the parsley and put it in a zip lock bag, freezer type and put in freezer. When you need some parsley, just take out what you need! Parsley can be kept fresh longer in the refrigerator by wrapping it in moistened paper towels and placing in a plastic bag. To have bright, crisp parsley for winter, spread freshly gathered parsley on a piece of paper and place in a cool oven with the doors left open. As soon as this is dry, crush the leaves and put in a bottle with a cork stopper. The parsley will retain its green color and fresh taste this way. ~*~ Peeling Fruits and Vegetables: Vegetable peelers are good for more than just carrots and potatoes. Use them to peel avocados, kiwi fruit, and many more produce items. Try it out next time you need to peel something difficult. ~*~ Pies: For flakier crust, substitute 1 teaspoon vinegar for 1 teaspoon of the cold water called for in the recipe. When cutting cream pies, first dip knife in hot water so that none of the filling will stick to it. Brush some beaten egg white over pie crust before baking to yield a beautiful glossy finish. ~*~ Potatoes: To keep them from budding, place an apple in the bag with potatoes. ~*~ Quick Garnish: Toast coconut or chopped nuts in a shallow baking pan in the oven in 5 or 10 minutes at 350 degrees. Once cool they can even be frozen in plastic bags for future use. ~*~ Ripening Fruits and Vegetables: Many fruits and vegetables found in supermarkets today look ripe, but are hard as a rock. Soften them up by placing them in a brown paper bag and hiding the bag away in a dark cabinet for a day or two. This is great for items such as avocados, kiwi fruit, peaches, nectarines, and more. ~*~ Salads: Serve iceberg lettuce wedges instead of torn salad greens to save time making a salad. Also, before refrigerating iceburg lettuce, wash and remove the core so each time you need some for salad it's clean and ready. ~*~ Sea Salt: I switched to sea salt about 1 year ago and have used nothing other since. You need to be aware, however, that some sea salt does not contain iodine. Once you try sea salt, you will never go back! ~*~ Shredding Cheese: To easily shred cheese, let sit in freezer for 30 minutes. ~*~ Speedy Sauce: Spur of the moment sauces can be easily created by heating a can of undiluted condensed cream soup (i.e. cream of mushroom, cream of celery, etc.). Other soups which work are cheddar cheese or tomato soup. ~*~ Soups: Remove some of the fat in soups by adding a lettuce leaf to the pot. Remove the leaf after fat removal. Place a raw potato in salty soup. The potato will absorb the extra salt. ~*~ Vanilla: Make your own vanilla by placing 2 split and chopped vanilla beans in 1 liter of vodka or bourbon. Shaking the bottle once a day, let sit for 2-3 months, or until desired color. This also makes great holiday gifts when poured into glass bottles. ~*~ Wine: Don't throw out all that leftover wine. Freeze into ice cubes for future use in casseroles and sauces. ~*~ Wooden Skewers: When using wooden skewers for kebabs, soak in cold water for 10-30 minutes to prevent them from burning. ~~*~~ If you can learn from hard knocks, you can also learn from soft touches. ~~*~~ Sally Jo