Freezing Green Tomatoes to Make Relish Later?
Freezing fruits and vegetables changes the texture because it breaks down the cell structure. If you use previously frozen green tomatoes for relish, the relish wont have a crispy texture. Not only that, but it might seem watery, because ruptured plant cells...
Potatoes Tasty Pastrami (Microwave)
Oh, I forgot to tell you all that you should stir the potatoes every couple of minutes to be sure they cook evenly.
Lowfat Cake Recipes?
A meringue dessert is delicious too. You can look it up on any recipe website. Low fat, low sugar, can top it with fresh fruit, and it makes a stunning and elegant presentation. Pavlova is a meringue dessert. It takes a bit of planning ahead, but it isnt difficult...
Fixing Grainy Fudge?
When I was taking Food Preparation classes in college, we made fudge, and if it turned out grainy or didnt set up, we re-cooked it. The reason that it turns out grainy is that there was a rogue sugar crystal in it. Fudge is what is called a super saturated...
Canning Tomatoes?
The issue with adding lemon juice tomatoes is acidity. High acid foods do not spoil if canned properly in a water bath canner. However, modern tomatoes are not usually high in acid and need added acid (lemon juice, citric acid, or vinegar) to up the acidity...
Everyday Meat Loaf
I am so glad to see this recipe! It is my favorite meatloaf, and the sauce is so good on it. Thank you.
Pressure Canning Beans?
Call your local extension office. The pressure might be different if you live at a high altitude. When I lived at a higher altitude, the extension agent that I spoke with told me to can the beans at 11 lbs. Couldnt hurt to double check.
Skillet Chicken Parmigiana
According to the experts, there is no nutritional difference between brown and white eggs. What the chicken eats and the freshness of the egg is what counts nutritionally. Here is a link for more information. http://www.eatbetteramerica.com/askexpert/cooking...
Canning Fruit Without a Canning Rack?
Put a dish towel on the bottom of the pot and them put your jars on top of it. It will keep the jars from direct contact with the heat. My mother used this method often, and I now use it too. It works.
Blanching Vegetables Before Freezing?
Blanching vegetables and sometimes fruits is necessary before freezing to destroy enzymes and bacteria that could cause spoilage. It also helps to preserve a vibrant color on the frozen product. Plunging the vegetables in ice water stops the cooking process...
Determining Canning Time for Smaller Jars?
Check out the USDA website or call your local extension agent. Here is a link to the USDA website. http://snap.nal.usda.gov/nal_display/index.php?info_center=15&tax_level=4&tax_subject=261&topic_id=2131&level3_id=6589&level4_id=11048&level5_id=0. You will find...
Strawberries with Sour Cream and Brown Sugar
Yum! This is called Strawberries Romanoff. I had it at Campbells restaraunt in Chelan, WA many, many years ago. It was elegant and delicious, and I have tried to make it every year during strawberry season.
Potato Flakes to Thicken Gravy
Potato flakes work great to thicken spaghetti sauce and chili as well, if you dont want to wait for them to cook down. However, too many of them will make the spaghetti or chili taste potato-y.
Cooking Beans from Scratch
Check out the USDA website on how to can beans. Beans are a low acid food and should not be water bath canned. The risk of botulism is very high, and you could get really sick from improperly canned beans. Even canning them for a very long time does not eliminate...
Boil Water Before Scalding Milk
I had never thought of doing this! Scorched milk is so hard to get out of pans too, so this tip will save lots of grief to be sure. Also, think about using the microwave to scald milk, it also works wonderfully.
Use Glass Pudding Cups to Make Muffins
Just a little hint: The muffin tins wont have baked on stuff if you fill the empty cups halfway with water before baking.
Getting Worms Off Fresh Broccoli?
Blanch broccoli in boinling water for a few seconds. Plunge the broccoli into cold water, and the worms show up white, while the broccoli will be a brilliant green. Pick the worms off, and then cook the broccoli as usual.
Flavored Coffee Tips
Extracts are fine to use, but it may take a bit more of them. Add them at the end of the process and they will not cook out. You can also use a whole vanilla bean, split and put it in at the beginning for a fabulous flavor.
Using Leftover Hot Dog Buns?
Thank you everybody for your responses. I gleaned many new ideas. Those hot dog and hamburger bunds just keep coming, and I have my freezer full of them already! I will pass on as many as I can and use the rest for the recipes and ideas found here. Terrific...
Roasting Meat Overnight in the Oven
I call this the long and low and slow method of cooking a roast. I will cook a large roast like this all day, and even if I dont cover it, it comes out juicy and tender every time, no matter how tough a cut it is. Heres how I do it: I put a roast in the roaster...
Ordering Bulk Dried Goods?
Bulkfoods.com is great, and if you order $70 or more, shipping is free. They offer a great variety of grains, nuts, dried fruits, spices, herbs, candies, flours, and other things. I have ordered from them before, and they are trustworthy.
Perking Up Take-out Fried Chicken
This is a great idea, and I will try it sometime. I have another hint to share. Put the chicken in a crock pot and pour bbq sauce over it. Cook it on high for a couple of hours and you will have bbq chicken like you get at the restaraunts. My uncle used to...
Recipes Using Very Tart Tomatoes?
If your tomatoes are tart from too much acid, you can add a bit of baking soda to whatever recipe you are using them in. I make tomato sauce with all my tomatoes, including the cherries, and if I am not canning it but using it right away, I will add baking...
Banana Tips
My mother and father raised 7 children on a very low income. One of my moms tricks with bananas to make them go farther was to buy the bunch with the smallest sized bananas on it. That way we each got a whole banana to eat, but they went a lot further as there...
Scenery: Trafton Schoolhouse
I live about 15 miles from this school. It is indeed still in use, and I even know the principal! Thank you so much for showing this, as I have admired the building for years.
Mother's Day Ideas Using Crepe Paper Streamers?
Thank you all so much. I will give some of these a try. God bless you all.
Link: Hillbilly Housewife
I found out about this website on a previous posts feedback. I love it and have found a lot of great information and some really good recipes there too.
Teaching Letters and Numbers?
When my children were very young, we used to count steps. We counted every step that we went up and down, we counted how many footsteps it took to get to a certain place. When giving directions to my children, I would try to be specific, like saying, Please...
Information About 'Science Insights Exploring Living Things' Book?
The Publisher is Addison Wesley. You can find the ISBN number at http://www.fes.follet.com. That is where I go when I need to order text books. I looked up your book there, and it is a middle school science text, as far as I can tell. I am not sure of content...
Hand Sanitizer For All Purpose Cleaning
It also takes permanent marker off of white boards without harming the whiteboard!
Making Your Own Brown Sugar
The store brand brown sugar is almost always granulated sugar mixed with molasses. . So, in short, you can use your home made variety of sugar successfully in pretty much any recipe that calls for brown sugar. For all practical purposes, it is the same thing...
Saving Money on Textbooks
I home school my children, and text books can be so expensive! I have gotten my best deals from thrift stores. Also, ebay is great for finding used homeschool texts. I will use older texts even from the 1960s because the information is still just as good now...
Testing The Reliability Of Remote Cooking Thermometers?
Well, in my college foods classes, I learned that at different altitudes, water boils at different temps. The higher the altitude, the lower temp. at which the water boils. If you are at a higher altitude, that may be why your thermometers didnt read 212 degrees...
Good Quality Fabric Scissors?
Here is a tip for helping out your old not so sharp scissors...I was told in my college clothing construction courses to cut through aluminum foil to sharpen the scissors. It has worked for me in the past, but the edge dulls kind of quickly. I bought a scissors...
Hand Sanitizer for Glass Cleaner
I suggest you test hand cleaner on a small area before using it on wood or plastic. I used waterless hand cleaner on a white board that had been damaged by permanent marker, and the marker came off, the white board was very clean, and undamaged. [I did make...
Substitute for Powdered Sugar
You add corn starch to keep the sugar from clumping and caking. Commercial manufacturers of powedered sugar do this, which I learned of when in college Food Prep. courses.
No-Fat White Sauce?
Making a no fat white sauce is easy in the microwave. Depending on the thickness of the white sauce, whisk flour (thin sauce is 1 tablespoon, medium is 2 tablespoons, and thick is 3 tablespoons) into one cup of cold milk. Put it into a microsafe bowl, or I...
Old Fashioned Hard Boiled Eggs
It is true that perfect hard boiled eggs can be cooked while saving on your power bill. The method where you bring the eggs to a boil does work. When I cook hard boiled eggs this way, I start by gently placing eggs in the pot, adding cold water to cover and...
Soda Cracker Bars
oH MY GOODNESS! These are just sooo good. I am happy to see that the recipe is posted here, and it is so easy too.
Cut Butter In Flour?
I really like to use a wire pastry blender. They are shaped kind of like a huge letter D. and have a wooden or plastic handle.
Inexpensive Birthday Gift Ideas For Children?
Draw a picture on heavy paper, or light weight cardboard, the size depends on you. Use tape loops to incorporate coins of differing values onto the picture. My children loved making this gift, and the little boy who received it loved taking the money off. I...
Regal Breadmaker Model 6750 Manual?
Did you try calling the 1-800 number for Regal? I have had much better success in getting results when talking to an actual person. The number is 1-800-998-8809. I have the manual for the Regal model R99012436. Do you think it will help you? If so, I will be...
Smoothie Stain on Carpet?
Oh my! In college chemistry, I learned that vinegar is a mordent, which is something that fixes a dye into a fabric. I recommend that you NEVER use vinegar of any kind to remove stains. It will really just set them in further. I think that the oxyclean is a...
Manual for a Regal Kitchen Pro Breadmaker k6769c?
Try calling Regals hotline. It is 1-800-998-8809. Their website is www.regalware.com. This was the information in my regal breadmaker book, so I hope it is current.
Substitute for Orange Liqueur?
Maybe use coffee syrup flavor, like the Toriani syrup in orange flavor.
How do you make chocolate pudding?
Use the above recipe, but cook in a microwave safe dish in the microwave, stirring every 30-60 seconds. It is smooth, and lovely, and done in half the time.
Homemade Chocolate Cake
I love these crazy cakes! They are moist, and inexpensive and super easy to make. The frosting looks delicious and I will have to try it. I tweaked the cake recipe a while back by using raspberry vinegar and doubled the amount of cocoa. Oh my, was it GOOD! I...
Cookie Sheet Instead of Jelly Roll Pan?
Jelly roll pans are supposed to measure 10 1/2 by 15 1/2 by 1/2 inch, and they always have sides. Cookie sheets sometimes have sides and sometimes dont, it just depends on what you are using them for. A large cookie sheet with sides will probably work, but...
Dry Ranch Dressing Recipe?
This is what I figured out when I got tired of spending over $1.00 for one package of ranch dressing mix. I think that I got pretty close, but the measurements are a guesstimation. You can change the amounts of herbs, or add some, like dill, fresh ground black...
Liquid Evaporative Air Freshener?
Try looking at www.make-stuff.com. They have a lot of fun recipes and interesting things to make, including air freshener.
What Can I Use to Write on a Mirror?
Crayola makes window markers now, and they clean off fairly easily. My children used these, and they were bright enough to see from quite a distance.
Dry Erase Marker on a Chalk Board?
Use waterless hand cleaner, like Purel. It works wonders, and doesnt harm the board. But to be sure there is not going to be any damage, try it on a small corner first.
Recipes Using Powdered Milk?
Go to the USDA web site. They have a whole cook book with powdered milk recipes, including how to make your own margarine!
Keeping Rotary Rules from Slipping?
When I took a beginners quilting class, I was told to keep the middle three fingertips (of my left hand, since I cut with my right hand) firmly on the ruler, and the pinkie finger and tumb of the same hand on the fabric, on the opposite side that you are cutting...
Cleaning Burnt Oil Stains from a Sauté Pan?
Even less is to use baking soda. Sprinkle some in the pan, get it damp and scrub. It wont scratch, is bio friendly, and is soooo inexpensive. I use it on porcelain sinks too. Works great.
Decorating My Carport?
How about painting a rug onto the cement floor? Pioneer housewives used to paint rugs onto their floors, with beautiful results. I dont see why it wouldnt work in a carport, and it will be waterproof, in case of rain or flood!
Recipes Using Peaches?
allrecipes.com has a really good recipe for peach barbecue sauce. Just do a search and you can find any recipe you want.
Recipes Using Bulk Chocolate Cake Mix?
I bought bulk chocolate cake mix a few years ago, and to be able to use it, I had to figure out how much it took to make one cake. I looked at the nutrition information and the directions for making 5 cakes at a time and figured out how much it took to make...
Oatmeal Cookie Bars Recipe?
Maybe you are looking for Scotch Teas. It is a very simple recipe, but they are good, as well as quick. Scotch Teas 1 cup packed brown sugar 1/2 cup butter or margarine 2 cups quick cooking rolled oats 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt In saucepan...
Permanent Marker on White Leather Furniture?
Try waterless hand cleaner, like Purell. I got the permanent marker off a classroom white board that way. Try a small area first, to be sure that it doesnt damage the leather. Also, remember that leather is porous and will absorb just about everything, including...
Pasta Pronta Reviews?
You can do the same thing that this pasta pronto is supposed to do by bringing water to a boil in a regular kettle that has a lid. When the water boils, put your pasta in, let come to a boil again, then turn off the heat and put on the lid. You should have...
Burnt Rice in a Pan?
This works for me every time, and it uses no harsh chemicals. Pour a little water in the bottom of the pan, just enough to barely cover the bottom. Then liberally sprinkle baking soda over the entire area, and on the sides if the rice is on there too. Let this...
