When cooking corn on the cob, never add salt to the water,it makes corn tough and takes away from its flavor. Wait til after your corn is cooked to sprinkle it w/salt.

If your corn is not as sweet as you would like, add a bit of milk or a pinch of sugar to the boiling water. It will sweeten up your corn w/out overpowering its natural flavor

I hate clutter in my kitchen and as much as I love to cook...washing dishes is not my favorite chore!!!


I never use a spoon rest(one more thing to have to wash)I always just use a can of what I'm cooking(corn etc)or a box(cake mix or box rice)then I can just toss it when I'm done...and no messy splat on counter or stove.

I have an awesome new tip for you all.........

I discovered a great new way to prep a lasagna and give myself a day off from cooking!!!

Do this a day ahead...
Run a pot of hot as possible tap water......and just soak your lasagna noodles(reg ones)while you are cooking the meat(they wanna soak 20-30 min)Cook your meats...add your sauce...NOT heating it......assemble your lasagna and refrig overnight(ya ever notcie how lasagna is usually better the next day-this makes it just as good the first time round) set out at room temp for an hour before baking.

Saves on heating up your house(at least for the assembly part)and the flavors meld alot better.

__________________

Good to know I'm not the only one who does that. now i don't feel as guilty. lol

From Mommy2mercedes: I never use a spoon rest(one more thing to have to wash)I always just use a can of what I'm cooking(corn etc)or a box(cake mix or box rice)then I can just toss it when I'm done...and no messy splat on counter or stove.

I, to have done this for years & it's worked well for me! lol

As for my tips, I'm afraid I'm not much of a cook, so they might be basic, but I put both sugar & flour in a gallon sized plasic bag. I store the flour in the freezer, but the sugar I keep in the cupboard because I find if it's frozen, it will get lumpy. If it does get that way, or when I need to mix whi & bro sugars, I use a pastry blender.

Keep a piece of bread in the bag with the brown sugar. The bread will get hard, but the sugar will stay soft.

I love the space saver can opener that attaches to the bottom of your cupboard and also the pampered chef jar opener that attaches to the bottom of your cupboard. They are always close to me and it doesn't clutter up the counters.

Instead of buying a spice rack for $20 and over, I make spice jars out of empty baby food jars and tiny tupperware from the Dollar Tree store. I simply stack them on the kitchen counter and it looks great. I label them with masking tape and a permanent marker. Pennies on the dollar compared to fancy spice racks out there. I fill up the containers from the spice bottles they already come in. Works great for me.

__________________
My blog: Devoted Eccentricity

I use two bowls - one for compost and one for garbage.



Also, bake in bulk and freeze. My oven will hold two pizza pans of biscuits (2-3 dozen biscuits depending on how big I make them) or four skillets of cornbread at a time. Baking multiple batches simultaneously uses less electricity than heating up the oven every time you want a single batch.

__________________
When life hands you lemons, ask for tequila and salt and call me over!
Any time God closes one door, She always opens another, even though sometimes it's Hell in the hallway.
Handle every stressful situation like a dog. If you can't eat it or play with it, pee on it and walk away.
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, prepare to die. (Klingon proverb)
Don't point. You'll poke holes in the air and all the faeries will escape.

You have leftover coffee?!

There's no such thing at my house.

__________________
When life hands you lemons, ask for tequila and salt and call me over!
Any time God closes one door, She always opens another, even though sometimes it's Hell in the hallway.
Handle every stressful situation like a dog. If you can't eat it or play with it, pee on it and walk away.
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, prepare to die. (Klingon proverb)
Don't point. You'll poke holes in the air and all the faeries will escape.

How can you make sauce without heating it? I make my marinara from scratch. Or should I just make it the night before and refrigerate it?

__________________
When life hands you lemons, ask for tequila and salt and call me over!
Any time God closes one door, She always opens another, even though sometimes it's Hell in the hallway.
Handle every stressful situation like a dog. If you can't eat it or play with it, pee on it and walk away.
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, prepare to die. (Klingon proverb)
Don't point. You'll poke holes in the air and all the faeries will escape.

Yup,for homemade, just make it ahead and cool then assemble as directed.

__________________