Kitchen

[froggy]

I like to make casseroles but there is almost always way too much for two people. So rather than cook the whole recipe and then freeze the other half, I have been dividing it up into two baking dishes to start with, then labeling an freezing the other half. This makes it much fresher the second time around.

I have found some 8 x 8 Pyrex baking dishes at Walmart that have plastic snap on covers. They also have easy grab handles.

[PA Mom-mom]

@Epicurean I keep a sharpie in the kitchen to label my opened chicken and beef stock with the date I opened it. It works for things like salsa too. That stuff gets stuck in the back in the fridge and may or may not be fresh.

[jlkz]

@chickenbutt 

I make marinara sauce twice a year at home and once during our snowbird time in FL.    It handles pasta and weekly dinners....sometimes tomato soup for lunch !

Batches run 25 - 35 pint size Zip Lock bags for the freezer.

( Whenever my best friend and I spend the day doing lunch and shopping, I send her home with a frozen pint and meatballs.  We are usually fairly tired by then ! )

[Ladybug724]

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@KingstonsMom wrote:

When cracking eggs in a bowl for a recipe, if a small piece of shell ends up in the bowl, dip a larger piece of the eggshell into the bowl and the smaller piece of eggshell will migrate to the the bigger one for disposal.

Did that even make sense, sorry..... I tried, LOL! 

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It makes total sense! It works! 

[alicedee]

I used to save empty cottage cheese or sour cream tubs to put drained grease in when cooking hamburger.  But I got sick of all those tubs taking up space in my cupboards.

My friend shared this...take a square of aluminum foil and make a small "bowl" with it, lining the sink drain.  Drain the grease into that foil "well".  When it cools and hardens, it can be easily tossed in the trash.

[alicedee]

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@jlkz wrote:

@chickenbutt 

I make marinara sauce twice a year at home and once during our snowbird time in FL.    It handles pasta and weekly dinners....sometimes tomato soup for lunch !

Batches run 25 - 35 pint size Zip Lock bags for the freezer.

( Whenever my best friend and I spend the day doing lunch and shopping, I send her home with a frozen pint and meatballs.  We are usually fairly tired by then ! )

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@jlkz Would you please share how you fill the Zip Lock bags?  Whenever I try putting liquid-type stuff in bags, I end up with it running down the side and all over the "ziplock" part!

[Epicurean]

pa Mom-mom,I got a cheap plastic ice cube tray to pour my, leftover broth,stock,etc. after there frozen I put them in a bag then take whatever I out and thaw in microwave.

Great ideas ladies.Keep Em' coming!

[Glittergal]

I use garlic in everything.  To save time and keep it fresh I peel it all at once and store it in a mason jar in the freezer.  To peel it, I put a handful of cloves in a medium sized mason jar and shake vigorously.  The cloves peel themselves--such a time saver!

[jlkz]

@alicedee

I have two ways of doing the freezer bag filling.  I write the date on the bags with a Sharpie.  I let the sauce cool over night in a tightly-lidded pot in the garage or lanai.

Using a small pot, I fill a tall plastic pitcher with the sauce. 
It is very helpful to have a wet cloth to wipe up any drips.

At home:  I lineup 6 glasses on the kitchen Island and fill to           
                the appropriate height.  Use the wet cloth to 

                keep the outside of the glasses clean.

                Sit the opened freezer bag on the counter and 

                pour in the contents of the glass...try to get the 

                glass deep into the bag.  
                Shake the glass to get everything out.

                Wipe outside of the glass and return to lineup.

                Wipe any drip from inside seal of bag.

                Carefully make sure the seal is locked after ex-

                pelling air.

At condo:
               I cut off the top portion of a plastic water jug:

               making sure you keep its handle intact.

               Insert the jug opening into the freezer bag and

               fill with the sauce.  Use the wet cleanup cloth as

               needed.

This may sound complicated, but once you start the process you will be surprised at how quickly it goes.  I can empty a 20-quart pot in 30 minutes by myself.

HTH

 Sorry for the font size change....it did it after I spell checked.        

[shoptilyadropagain]

I don't eat a lot of celery but I had no idea that you can take a sharp knife to one end of a piece of celery and remove those long fibrous strands that are hard to chew and get caught in your teeth.  Over the past year, I started watching three southern women who now have a cooking channel on facebook and all three of them have shown how to remove those tough strands.  HOW DID I NOT KNOW THIS??????   LOL!