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.