Kitchen Tips

~When boiling milk, stir in a pinch of baking soda. It will help keep the milk from curdling.

~Add one teaspoon of lemon juice to each quart of water when cooking rice, it will keep the rice fluffy.

~For crisper salads place a saucer upside down in the bottom of the salad bowl before filling with salad. Excess moisture will run underneath the saucer. This will help keep the salad crisp and fresh.

~To make tasty flavored whipped cream, first whip cream and then add two tablespoons of flavored jello and continue beating on slow until the whipped cream is the right consistency.

~To use up leftover ham, lay ham slices in a baking dish and cover with maple syrup. Refrigerate overnight and then fry the ham in butter the next morning.

~Substitute crumbled cornflakes for bread crumbs when making meatloaf.

~Keep a small amount of sugar in small glass jars. Add a few drops of food coloring and shake the jar. Keep several colors on hand for cookies and cake decorations.

~Use sweet pickle juice to thin salad dressing or make French dressing instead of vinegar.

~Cook vegetables with one or more bouillon cubes instead of salt. It will improve the flavor. Also tossing in a few garlic cloves will make it more flavorful too.

~Salt added to flour used for thickening gravy, etc will help prevent lumping.

~Keep brown sugar in a closed container with an apple in it. The brown sugar will stay soft and moist.

~Grate orange and lemon peel before peeling. Dry and add to spice up a cake or any cookies or puddings. The dried grated peel will keep well in a covered jar.

~Wrap parsley in foil before freezing. Cut as much as you need and return to freezer. It will retain its flavor and freshness.

~To keep peeled potatoes from turning dark without putting them in water, wrap in a paper towel and wet under the faucet.

~Toast oatmeal in the oven before adding it to recipes.

~Add two teaspoons of vinegar to jello and it will keep the jello from melting when you serve it.

~Adding lemon juice or vinegar when cooking cauliflower helps to keep it white.

~A tablespoon of instant tapioca sprinkled into apple pie will absorb excess juice while baking.

~Add one teaspoon of baking powder to mashed potatoes to make them fluffy.

~Use a small bowl of melted butter and a brush to brush onto ears of corn. If you have a metal bowl, put butter in that bowl and put on the grill to melt.

~If you have too many ripe bananas, peel and freeze. Then dip in chocolate and freeze again.

Chicken Tortellini Soup with Garlic Bread

My friend, Luanne, printed this recipe and kindly gave me a copy. I adjusted a couple things (listed below) The original recipe can be found here: http://www.fox8.com/lifestyle/thatslife/wjw-chicken-tortellini-soup-recipe,0,4217888.story.

Since I pulled chicken out of the freezer to make today, I figured something different would be nice.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Makes 6 servings

You will need:

2 (48 oz) chicken broth
1 (16 oz) cheese tortellini (frozen)
6 oz. baby leaf spinach, (a small bunch will do)(fresh)
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 cup celery, chopped
1 cup carrots, chopped
1 cooked whole chicken, skinned and deboned (or 4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts)
4-5 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. olive oil
Salt & Pepper to taste

IN a large stockpot over medium heat, add olive oil, onions, celery and carrots (in that order). Saute for three (3) minutes then add the broth and bring to a soft boil.

ADD cooked chicken and frozen tortellini and cook for 5-10 minutes.

ADD spinach and butter.

SERVE with garlic bread (optional).

NOTE: I used boneless, skinless chicken seasoned with garlic and onion powder, salt and pepper and it was cut into chunks. I also added freshly grated parmesan cheese to each serving. It really tastes great!!

Cinnamon Pull-Apart Bread (Monkey Bread)

My husband this morning was talking about this. He said he went to the store and saw the pull-apart pepperoni bread, but couldn't find the cinnamon kind. And, since he is a serious lover of cinnamon, any chance I get to make him something with cinnamon in it is a good thing. So, I searched and found this recipe. It was really easy to make and the only things I had to buy were the biscuits and eggs (but I needed the eggs anyway since I am making chicken paprikas tonight for dinner.

As you can see, as soon as I put it on the plate, someone stole a chunk!

from: www.pillsbury.com; here is their direct link: http://www.pillsbury.com/Recipes/ShowRecipe.aspx?rid=45473

1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 cans Pillsbury Grands Homestyle refrigerated buttermilk biscuits
1 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup butter or margarine, melted

HEAT oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a fluted bunt pan.

IN a large resealable plastic bag, mix granulated sugar and cinnamon.

SEPARATE dough and cut each biscuit into quarters. Shake in bag to coat. Arrange in pan.

MIX brown sugar and butter; pour over biscuit pieces.

BAKE 28 to 32 minutes or until golden brown and no longer doughy in center.

COOL in pan for 10 minutes. Turn upside down onto a serving plate; pull apart to serve. Serve warm.

Note: I greased my pan more than lightly, since I sometimes don't grease it enough. And, I used 2 tsp. of cinnamon (since my husband loves it), and I used a plastic container to shake the dough pieces in.