Do you have any kitchen tips??? (cooking cleaning, etc)

Quilters Friend = Crock Pot

freeze extra tea in ice cube trays, so that way your ice tea won't get watered down and will stay cold

(also great for lemonade, koolaid, punch, tea etc.)

Put everything back where you got it when you're done with it. Much less mess when your done.

Quilter's friend = maid. I don't have any friends ;-)

while you are cooking, clean up the dishes, and tidy up kitchen, good time to unload the dishwasher (multi tasking)

That is true.

Try to eliminate (get rid of) things that are useless clutter.

if you have extra cooking stuff, containers etc. give away so you can organize your kitchen cabinets better

this link has some useful tips

http://www.hintsandthings.com/kitchen/kitchen.htm

Please be careful. I reached to my right, but accidentally got to close to my large soup pot w/lid on it (steam was coming out around the rim) & steamed a too delicate part of my upper female anatomy about 3 months ago. Also, don't use the front eyes of your range top when you have a toddler loose in the kitchen. It's so easy for them to reach up & burn those tiny hands/fingers. Don't place electrical appliance cords where a child can jerk it off the counter or table. My cousin's son did that & pulled a pot of coffee off on him. It burned him pretty badly, but thankfully the scars went away after awhile. I'm sure others of you have warnings. We can never be to careful around heated electrical appliances, be they inside or outside of the house.

Sliding shelves in cabinets.... I want them, but don't have them yet.
Someday.... lol

http://www.familyhandyman.com/DIY-Pr...ate-more-space

that website may be okay but I disagree with the "cleaning the oven" tips. Do NOT line your oven with aluminum foil unless the owner's manual says it won't be a problem. AF will possibly change the cooking temp in your oven....and may cause other problems. A simple tip for cleaning a NON-self-cleaning oven is to take out the racks, put them in a 30 gal garbage bag in your bathtub, put in 1/2 cup ammonia and close with twist tie. Leave it overnight and then carefully remove them, and wash off the racks. Amazing how easily the racks come clean. For the even, line the bottom of the oven with an old wet, dishtowel. Pour 1/2 cup ammonia on the dishtowel, close the oven and leave overnight. The next morning, wipe the oven clean. If you have REALLY badly burned on food, it may take a few attempts to get it all out.

Not a compulsion issue, just a time-saver for me...I alphabetize my canned goods and spices. Then I can do a quick check to see what I'm out of or low on when I do my shopping list. Also, I always try to shop with a list if I need more than 5 things. With 5 things I can keep track and I know if I've forgotten anything (I have a finger left!). I also keep a list on the frig. As I use something up, I add it to my list.

I also alphabetize my canned goods for vegetables. on my lazy susan, it sure makes it easier to find things

I try to have a spot for everything so I know exactly where it is

If you absolutely HAVE to quit quilting to feed the family then cook LOTS and LOTS. Freeze the leftovers in smaller portions so that they can heat it up themselves the next time they're hungry.
Seriously though, I do try to make enough for at least two meals. I also purchase the biggest package of 93/7 hamburger that I can at Walmart, bring it home, cook it, drain and cool it, then bag it in quart freezer bags. When I want to make tacos, spagetti, hamburger casserole, chili or anything else needing hamburger I just grab and bag and dump it in.

fully agree.. there are dishes (like homemade ravioli) that i only make 1-2 times a year. but when i do, i make enough to feed the world lol... i used to send family home with a bunch. some things freeze well.

and frozen precooked hamburger meat is a blessing to have when i completely forget to take something out :D

My best kitchen tip. Cook like me. My husband cooks out of self-defense. My mother calls me the "nuke-it queen".

When I need to make cookies, like around the holidays, I set aside an entire day just to make cookies. I use the cake mix cookie recipe usually but sometimes I make others too. I put the dough into freezer bags, flatten it to about 1" and freeze it. Then when I bake I can take out several bags of different kinds of cookies, cut off what I need, reseal the rest, and with one large cookie sheet usually bake enough for unexpected company or cookie starved family. I can have a nice assortment of cookies in a matter of minutes and only have one cookie sheet and one knife to clean.

Use a piece of bread with butter or oil to grease your casserole baking dishes easily.

Sprinkle a handful of table salt over a “run over” in your oven. It will stop the burned smell until you are through baking and can clean the oven.

Use an egg slicer to slice butter into individual pats. This tip also works for fresh button or baby bella mushrooms.

Eat out!

Eat out!

Mine is to clean as you go. I make sure that as soon as I am done with something it goes right back to the proper place. The cans or packages that I empty while cooking imediately goes in the trash. Makes for less clean up when I am done. I can't survive without my slow cooker or my roasting oven, they are must haves for me.

Stay out of the kitchen !!! LOL that is why there is carry out :wink: Teach them young the numbers ( well , now computer) for pizza :thumbup:

Let DH do most of the cooking!!!! :)

No, but my mother always says my kitchen looks like a tip. (a dump for the non australians)

stay out of and quilt more. no need to clean it:)

I found this tip in a magazine ,organize your pantry by specialty cooking or what ever your family likes Example:Mexican- refried beans ,Rotel,wheat tortillas, etc, Italian, Veggies and so on, then when family hollers "We want mexican" you know what you have at a glance.And I also do like Raptureready and cook a family sized pk of ground round and freeze in # pks, also cook chicken this way(chicken breast skin & bone in)allow to cool, pick off, shred and freeze in quart freezer bags, allow broth to congeal , spoon off fat, freeze broth in bags( yum:chicken fahitas or dumplings in a snap!)
Three(4?) things I do before cooking:
1.Wash hands & set out all ingredients
2.Empty dishwasher
3.Run sink full of hot water only !-by the time you need it ,it's cooled to just right.
And I also store appliance cords,etc in the pot/pan they belong to, that way no tangled cords in a drawer,especially electric skillet& fry daddy(which we no longer use, gotta stay away from those fried foods. :cry:

Sliding shelves in cabinets.... I want them, but don't have them yet.
Someday.... lol

I did this for DD's kitchen in Ireland.
Save large cardboard boxes, cut down to height that works for you, and put slippery freezer paper on bottom so it can slide in & out for you, but only good for light weight plastic ware, and dry goods.

those fancy sliding shelves...you can buy the hardware separate and then just shop for the drawer mechanism at junk stores and yard sales.

So now for two real tips.

First:
I have a special "composition" style lined paper notebook just for special recipes...the ones that work every time, as well as the special ones friends exchange with me. Mine is an antique from an estate sale, with leather binding outside.

I organize it on the inside with subject tabs...vegetable dishes, deserts, breads, main dishes, and msc.

Now in that section I have a recipe for such things as doggie biscuits, play dough, finger paints, glue, etc.

Second is one an Italian friend taught me decades ago.
If you place a long handled wooden spoon across the top of your pot, it will not boil over. Does not work with plastic or metal, only wood.

The last tip is not really how to organize the kitchen, but how to organize the shopping.

I keep the shopping list on the fridge door.
But I plan out a menu rather like the school does, only not as strictly adhered to.
I plan for one week, plus one day.
I list the ingredients, and check to see if there is enough in pantry or what I need, and that part goes on the shopping list.

I plan one more time consuming recipe.
Plan several average time meals of moderate energy as well,
and two quickies.
Add one for when company shows up,
and the last can be more like heavy snack...salad and soup, with a good show.

There you have one week's worth, and you can re-arrange any menu for any day of the week.

If I find a good sale, I can indulge.
I really like to plan as if it were an 8 day week, in case I can't shop on the day I like, the cupboard is not bare.

Our adult children know how to watch for what's up so they can plan their visits around what they would like to eat while over...and know what they will need to bring that way as well.
An extra carrot, potato or what ever...

When DH grills out, he always over cooks for the amount of meat we will consume. Then we can wait until it has cooled, and put extra chicken, de-boned and chunk-ed up, in freezer, or cut up the roast he also grilled/smoked, and that too is put down in the freezer. With mad cow disease still out there, we proffer not to only cook up ground beef where you can not tell what parts they put in...so we use our own selections.

Also, for when mad cow does pop up again, if you select your own roast, you can ask the meat department to grind it while you wait. Make sure to ask them to clean the grinder. Or, if you are really fearful of the germs, buy a food processor with a meat grinder/pasta maker attachment.

Hope you liked my hints.

ALWAYS HEAVILY COMPLIMENT SOMEONE ELSE THAT COOKS!!!!

(it encourages them to cook again...soon!)

I bake all my chicken breasts, hamburger patties or turkey burger patties at once and then freeze the ones I don't use in Ziploc freezer bags (wrapped in something else inside the baggies).

Anything aromatic can make the garbage disposal smell nice: lemons, limes, oranges, clementines, cilantro...

Instead of just standing there waiting for the microwave to heat something up, use that couple of minutes to wipe down the counter or the outside of the toaster or whatever.

Crafty, I also do this for any citurs fruit in season. I get loads of lemons from all my neighbors with lemon trees. They all come at the same time. I juice them and freeze them in cubes. When they're frozen I dump it all in a freezer bag, so I always have fresh lemon/orange juice for lemonade, lemon tarts or just cooking. Good to do with leftover wine too. Did I say we ever have any left over??

My mother just told me what her favorite housekeeper used to do to make the house shine.......she used Pledge on EVERYTHING!!! She said she Pledged the faucets, the sides of the sinks, the countertops, the fronts of the cabinets, window sills, PHONE, stove top, hood, fridge....EVERYTHING!!!! I have to admit, I remember that housekeeper and she DID have everything shining! And it would last for weeks, too! Of course, be sure to clean everything first. It makes dust and dirt roll off!!! I just tried it on my stainless steel sink and chrome faucets and it looks like I've been scrubbing for days!!! :thumbup: Now.....WHY didn't mom tell me this 30 yrs ago????????????????? :?

very good idea!

thanks for all of your tips!!!!