Hi everyone. I thought it would be nice to start a household tip and recipie thread. Share any household or cooking tips that you know actually work and please post any recipes you would like to share. You can also post any kind of questions concerning cooking or household stuff. As many people as we have here someone is sure to know the answer.

Ok, here are some from me.

Keeping celery. I use celery a lot for cooking and I also eat it as a snack. But after a couple of days my celery always went limp and rubbery. Ok, as soon as you get it home from the store remove it from the plastic. Wrap a couple of damp paper towels around it and wrap it tightly in aluminum foil. Make sure you use enough to cover all the celery and then put it in the fridge. It stays crisp much longer.

When you use celery for cooking or snacking the threads are totally annoying. They also make it hard to chop the celery. Use your vegetable peeler and peel the stalk before you eat it or chop it. It's much easier to chop or eat without the threads.

To keep lettuce fresh longer wrap a couple of dry paper towels around it and then wrap it tightly in foil. You want to keep lettuce dry. If you buy the pre cut salad mix after you open it place a paper towel in the bag with it and close it tightly. It will last longer and stay crisp. Lettuce needs to be kept dry before you use it.

Carrots need to stay moist. You can leave them in the plastic they came in but after you open the plastic put a damp paper towel in with them and seal the plastic well.

To keep onions longer don't keep them in the fridge. Use a brown paper bag such as a lunch bag. Use a hole punch to make holes in the bag, like four rows of holes from the top down. Then put your onions in it and fold the top closed. Onions last a long time storing them like that.

And a warning about baking soda. I used to use baking soda to freshen the carpets and I put it on my mattress before vacuuming it. Our vacuum cleaner stopped picking up lime it used to and started getting a weird odor when I used it. Like an over heating smell. I found that strange since the vacuum is only 3 years old. I took it to the service center and they guy took it apart and there was white dust all over the motor. It was baking soda residue. The service guy told me baking soda is the kiss of death for a vacuum. He said when you keep vacuuming it off the carpet baking soda dust builds up on the motor over time and can cause over heating. It cost $120.00 for the guy to clean out the motor. Needless to say I use fabreeze spray to freshen things now.

Here is a Mac n cheese recipie. I've tried different recipes for Mac n cheese. My brother is a Mac n cheese snob and he really likes this recipie as does everyone else. It's not difficult but it is time consuming. But it's totally worth it.

1 box of elbow macaroni.
1 8 oz block of extra sharp cheddar cheese.
1 8 oz block of mild cheddar cheese
1 8 oz block of Colby/Jack cheese.
4 oz /1/2 block of cream cheese.
Grated parmesan cheese.
3 tbsp of flour.
3 tbsp of butter.
2 cups of half n half.
1 cup whole milk.
1 cup of bread crumbs.

Cook your pasta. Don't add oil to the water when you cook it. After you drain the pasta don't rinse it and pour it back into the pot and put a lid on it and set it aside. You want it to stay warm.   In a large saucepan melt the butter over medium low heat and whisk in the flour and cook it 2-3 minutes to cook out the flour taste. Lower the heat to low and slowly add the half n half
and milk. Use a whisk and whisk it until there are no lumps. Keep the burner on low and let the milk and half n half get hot. It's tempting to turn up the heat but don't do it. Milk and cream can scorch in a heartbeat. Once the milk is hot add the cheese. Add it one handful of cheese at a time and whisk it in. Make sure each addition of cheese is fully melted before adding more. Pull your whisk up and look at it. If there are clumps of cheese hanging on it the cheese isn't fully melted. After you add all the cheese take it off the heat. Stir the macaroni to make sure none of it is stuck together and then pour in the cheese sauce and mix it really well. Pour it into a casserole dish and spread it evenly. Mix the bread crumbs with some parmesan cheese. I use the parmesan cheese in the can. I just add a couple of shakes to the bread crumbs. Then mix in 2-3 tbsp of melted butter. Sprinkle it on top of the Mac n cheese evenly. Bake it for 20 minutes at 350. Put a ramekin dish with water in the oven with it. It keeps it from drying out.

This is sooo good! This recipie makes a lot but it freezes very well. Just wrap it well in foil and put it in the freezer. I don't have to worry about leftovers at my house with 3 guys that love Mac n cheese.

About the cheese, don't use the pre shredded cheese. They add a stabilizor to it or something because it doesn't melt smoothly. Get the blocks and grate it yourself.  I use a box grater. You could use a food processor but for me it's more trouble than it's worth. When the shredding disk on my food processor spins it creates friction heat and the cheese heats up and gets stuck all between the feed tube and the cover which is tedious to try and dig out.

You can use any kind of cheese you like as long as it melts well. I know some people use velveta cheese but I don't see the point in making homemade Mack and cheese when you can get velveta Mac n cheese in a box.

You mentioned peeling celery.  A friend taught me to peel asparagus so that you can eat the whole stock.  Otherwise its tough near the ends.  It grills or roasts faster and any seasoning is absorbed well.   Tasty.

my GF has a ton of these types of things, we mostly make our own supplies for household cleaning, so lots of all natural things or nearly all natural.

example: Laundry detergent
3 tbsp boraax
3 tbsp washing sods
2 tbsp dawn
1/2 gallon of warm water

Dish washer powder
1 cup borax
1 cup washing soda
2 unsweeted lemon koolaid packets or 2 tbsp citric acid. (unsweeted lemon koolaid packets are essentially citric acid lite)

Quote from: JudiBlueEyes on July 29, 2018, 12:49:47 PM
You mentioned peeling celery.  A friend taught me to peel asparagus so that you can eat the whole stock.  Otherwise its tough near the ends.  It grills or roasts faster and any seasoning is absorbed well.   Tasty.

Oh cool. I will have to try that. I love asparagus.

Just have to post this one as I have seen way too many people who can not even cook an egg properly.

You do not need to have the heat on high on a stove in order to cook...especially not eggs.

Also only add salt to eggs or fresh veggies (when sauteing) towards the very end unless you want to draw the moisture out.

speaking of drawing moisture out.

raw fish: salt lightly, let sit, and then press with a cloth or paper towel to get the moisture out before cooking, that includes for batter frying (Your Welcome for that one.)

Quote from: LexieDragon on July 29, 2018, 02:24:24 PM
Just have to post this one as I have seen way too many people who can not even cook an egg properly.

You do not need to have the heat on high on a stove in order to cook...especially not eggs.

Also only add salt to eggs or fresh veggies (when sauteing) towards the very end unless you want to draw the moisture out.

speaking of drawing moisture out.

raw fish: salt lightly, let sit, and then press with a cloth or paper towel to get the moisture out before cooking, that includes for batter frying (Your Welcome for that one.)

You're so right about the high heat. My brother has burned so many things using the stove because he puts the burner on high for everything when he tries to cook. He reasons that high heat will make whatever it is cook faster. You haven't lived until you've had scrambled eggs with scorch marks that have the consistency of dust.

Quote from: Julia1996 on July 29, 2018, 02:30:03 PM
You're so right about the high heat. My brother has burned so many things using the stove because he puts the burner on high for everything when he tries to cook. He reasons that high heat will make whatever it is cook faster. You haven't lived until you've had scrambled eggs with scorch marks that have the consistency of dust.

So about that huh?

although, I have to say...my GF does not care for my french style scrambled eggs...the secret ingredient is pretentiousness...

Quote from: LexieDragon on July 29, 2018, 02:36:02 PM


So about that huh?

Lol, if anyone could burn water my brother could.

umm...don't use the sudsy dishwashing soap in a dishwasher. It gets messy.

Quote from: DustKitten on July 29, 2018, 03:03:37 PM
umm...don't use the sudsy dishwashing soap in a dishwasher. It gets messy.

Lol good one.


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Oh.  Do not put prep knives in the dishwasher.


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Stir the water before dropping an egg in to poach.


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Quote from: Julia1996 on July 29, 2018, 10:34:14 AM

About the cheese, don't use the pre shredded cheese. They add a stabilizor to it or something because it doesn't melt smoothly. Get the blocks and grate it yourself.  I use a box grater. You could use a food processor but for me it's more trouble than it's worth. When the shredding disk on my food processor spins it creates friction heat and the cheese heats up and gets stuck all between the feed tube and the cover which is tedious to try and dig out.

Agree with you on the food processor. I got one as a gift I tried it a couple of times didn't do anything I could not do better with something else, and such a pain to clean also took more storage space than it was worth.

Yea food processors are all but useless. A mandolin is faster and easier to clean for me.


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Quote from: LexieDragon on July 29, 2018, 03:31:01 PM
Yea food processors are all but useless. A mandolin is faster and easier to clean for me.


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I have a really good food processor and I love it for certain things but for cheese I find a box grater much easier. And for slicing I LOVE my mandolin. And I also love my spirolizer.

Quote from: Julia1996 on July 29, 2018, 04:12:10 PM
I have a really good food processor and I love it for certain things but for cheese I find a box grater much easier. And for slicing I LOVE my mandolin. And I also love my spirolizer.

Heh. I honestly find that anything my multifunction multi attachment processor can do I can typically do faster without it when you factor in set up and cleaning 

I love it for those things I can not do. But I have been told that I am fast with knives tbh.


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I have found that the Dawn brand dish soap helps get out grease and oil stains.
It takes it out of clothes, aprons, towels, and carpet.  I also put it down where I spilled motor oil on concrete and it breaks the oil spill down.  Yes, it works well on dishes and pots and pans!

Chrissy

Here are some tips on making better drip coffee. This isn't for the coffee snobs. If you're the type of coffee snob who would row the amazon for a bag of gourmet coffee beans that some animal has eaten and then shat out or you have a coffee machine as complicated as a nuclear reactor that cost more than your stove,  you can skip this post.

If your coffee maker is dirty the coffee won't taste good. To clean it run 4 cups of vinegar through it. After it finishes the cycle pour the vinegar back in and do another cycle. Then run a whole coffee pot of water through it. I clean my coffee maker once a month.

Salt and egg shells take the bitterness out of less expensive coffee. Add a small pinch of salt and some eggshells to the coffee before you brew it. I got this tip from my grandma. I know it sounds weird but it works. Just rinse out the eggshells and let them dry. Then crush them into small pieces. Sprinkle a spoonful of them over the coffee before you brew it.

Two problems with drip coffee makers are that they don't get hot enough when they brew and then then the coffee gets bitter from the coffee pot sitting on the heating element. Run a pot of water through the coffee maker before you put the coffee in it. Then pour the pot full of hot water back in to brew the coffee. As soon as the coffee is done brewing pour it into a thermal carafe instead of leaving it in the coffee pot on the heating element.

These tips are for less expensive brands of coffee. We drink a lot of coffee at my house so I get the big container of Maxwell house. It would cost a lot to use those small bags of dunkin donut coffee or Starbucks. The expensive coffee is for after everyone leaves. Lol