One of our favorite kitchen utensils is a grapefruit spoon. It's the best strawberry huller invented! We also use it to clean the seeds out of squash, pumpkins and melons.
When using small pastry shells or individual graham cracker shells to make tarts, we use an ice cream scoop to fill them quickly. A heaping scoopful of pie filling is just the right amount we need for each one.
We used this quick fix when we didn't have prepared frosting on hand for a 13 x 9-inch chocolate cake. When we took the cake out of the oven, we immediately sprinkled it with 4 cups of miniature marshmallows and 1/4 cup of flaked coconut. The melted marshmallow and coconut topping reminded us of the snowball cakes we used to eat when we were kids.
We store brown sugar in the freezer. Whenever have to worry about it getting hard. We just take it out of the freezer a half hour before using it, then return the unused portion until we need it again.
One of the handiest tools in Alice’s kitchen drawer is a roll of masking tape. When putting away leftovers from a meal, she tears off some tape, writes the name of the food and the date, then places the tape on the lid of the storage container. This makes it easy to see at a glance what's in the fridge and how fresh it is. She says she wastes less food this way.
When cooking kabobs on the grill, leave a 1/4 inch space between each piece of food. Not only does this allow the items to cook more quickly, it's easier to baste them thoroughly.
Aluminum foil—it’s not just for wrapping. To make sure rice or meats cook more effectively, cover the pot with a piece of aluminum; it creates a seal much “like a pressure cooker”. Then add the pan lid and let it do its thing in half the time!
Having a children’s birthday party? The day before, scoop ice cream into a muffin pan lined with paper liners. Keep in the freezer till serving time.
If you spill cooking oil on the floor or counter, sprinkle flour over it; wait a few minutes for it to absorb and wipe or sweep up.
Don’t fry your bacon, cook it in the oven! Just lay the slices on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees until crisp and done. Easy cleanup, too.
An easier, quicker way to shred carrots for carrot cake: place pieces of carrot in blender, add eggs that the recipe calls for and blend until you have the desired consistency.
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