Helpful Hints for the Kitchen
By OURDEW
@OURDEW (4809)
United States
January 20, 2008 8:26pm CST
When browing groud beef, add water to the pan. Instead of the grease frying into the meat it comes out into the water and can be poured out.
Wrap a rubber band around the handle of your mixing spoon if you have trouble with it falling into whatever you're cooking. The rubber band will keep the spoon from sliding into the pan.
When mashing potatoes, use hot milk. If you have been in the habit of using cold milk, you'll be surprised at the difference in lightness of the potatoes.
If you're making a cream-style soup, add a cubed potato to the mixture as it cooks. You will love the extra body it gives the soup.
To stop boil-overs from getting on your stove burners, just grease the top 2 inches of the inside of the pan, and the water stays just where it should.
8 people like this
13 responses
@leeesa (884)
• United States
21 Jan 08
Good tips. Here's an add on to the ground beef one. Don't waste your money on the lower% fat hamburger if you're only going to use it for sauces (spaghetti, sloppy joes, etc.) Buy the higher fat content because it costs less and then rinse your beef in a strainer after cooking it with hot water. All the fat will go down the drain and you'll end up with lean meat anyway!
3 people like this
@mcc371 (918)
• United States
21 Jan 08
All these tips are great, I hadn't heard about buying the higher fat content one though. I always cook mine in water but bought the lean meat. I will do this and see what the difference is after rinsing. Thanks for sharing.
@Modestah (11179)
• United States
28 Jan 08
while I cook in the water I do buy the 97% lean as my son has a disease in which he can not tolerate much fat at all - it gets him very sick and even can send him to the hospital, my friend always poured the boiling water through her beef too -While I believe it reduces the amount of fat I am just not certain that it will eliminate enough of it to make it safe for my son to consume.
1 person likes this
@carmelanirel (20942)
• United States
22 Jan 08
These are good tips, especially the one to prevent spill overs since I just got a new range and would like to keep it looking good..:)
3 people like this
@byfaithonly (10698)
• United States
21 Jan 08
Wow these are great and I've never heard of any of them - I'm always looking for tips to help around the kitchen as cooking and cleaning are not my favorite chores these days.
@vicki2876 (5636)
• Canada
21 Jan 08
To stop boil-overs from getting on your stove burners, just grease the top 2 inches of the inside of the pan, and the water stays just where it should.
I like that one. With three children around I can get forgetful. Also time is valuable and every gets cooked on high heat. LOL
Thanks
3 people like this
@luvstochat (6907)
• United States
21 Jan 08
Thank you for the little helpful hints. My husband has stomache problems and all the grease that cooks into meat really casues him problems I will have to try the adding water trick.
I also like the grease the top of the pan to keep stuff from boiling over as I am getting tired of cleaning up messes!
3 people like this
@kimberlylynn (978)
• United States
21 Jan 08
I am definitely going to try these tips - thanks!
3 people like this
@crazynurse (7482)
• United States
27 Jan 08
These are some great tips, and some that I have never heard before. We routinely buy the low fat ground beef AND I then rinse it in a colander! I will have to try your method to see how the fat content seems. If it works just as well, it can be a huge moneysaver!
1 person likes this
@sunshinelady (7609)
• United States
25 Jan 08
Those are sure some excellent hints for the kitchen. I am always looking for ways to improve things I do. I like your ideas and will start using them. Thanks for posting these here.
1 person likes this
@lightningMD (5931)
• United States
12 Feb 08
Thanks for the great tips. The rubber band idea is great,I'm always losing my spoon into the cake or pancake batter.
1 person likes this
