Tips and Techniques

1) Want evenly sliced strawberries? Use an egg slicer. Just stem the berries and slice them as you would a boiled egg. It’s faster than using a knife.

2) If you don’t like getting your hands messy when mixing a meatloaf, place the ingredients in a large resealable bag. Close the bag and “knead” everything together until well mixed.

3) Use a pastry bag without a tip to stuff manicotti. Just spoon the filling into the bag and squeeze it into the pasta tubes.

4) Want to keep your butter dish a little neater? Place a whole stick of butter on the dish, and then slice it into tablespoon-sized pats. This way it is pre-portioned for recipes, and keeps the dish neater.

5) For better browning, use a paper towel to blot any moisture from the surface of the meat.

6) Instead of greasing and flouring cake pans, grease and sugar them. Sugar spreads easier than flour, and it doesn’t clump up or leave a floury film on the baked cake. Instead, it leaves a slightly sweet coating on the bottom and sides.

7) To solve the stubborn lid problem on new jars, use rubber gloves. Non-skid and non-slip!

8) When cooking rice, place a folded towel between the lid and the pot. That way, when the rice steams and creates moisture, it doesn’t drip back into the rice. It’s absorbed into the towel! Cook the rice for the recommended amount of time.

9) Use a large rubber mallet from the hardware store to pound meat for cutlets. Not only does it work well for pounding and tenderizing meats, it can also be used to break apart frozen foods such as vegetables and fruit. You can also use it to break up large chunks of ice.