Tammy's Recipes

Originally published in September, 2007

Are any of you still using food from your gardens? (Or food gifted to you from a friend's garden!) :) We have lots of bell peppers, tomatoes, and squash still -- and the red raspberries are producing fruit again! (They bear twice a year.)

I made Raspberry Crumble Muffins yesterday... what a treat! I found that recipe last year when I was searching for a good use for fresh red raspberries (besides jam!). These muffins are one of my favorites... almost like a dessert, with the crumb topping!

The dozen I made didn't last long at all (less than 24 hours!). :)

And since this is about kitchen tips, here are a couple tips for making muffins, in case your recipe doesn't specify:

1. Use a wire whisk to combine the dry ingredients for your muffins. This helps remove lumps easily. Combine wet ingredients before adding to the dry, and stir just until moistened.

2. Grease only the bottoms of the muffin tins. This helps the muffins rise better, or so I've read. :)

3. Wait about 5 minutes before removing muffins from their pans, because hot muffins are very fragile! :)

To Participate in Kitchen Tip Tuesdays:

Post a kitchen tip in your blog. Link to this post, and then leave your link here, so we know where to find YOU! :) No giveaways or non-tip posts, please!

In order to keep the kitchen tips more easily accessible, posts not adhering to these guidelines will be removed. We need to be able to easily find/see what your kitchen/cooking tip is. :) Thanks for your participation! :)

Leave your tip links in a comment. I'll manually add them to this post!

1. Mandy (preparing for cooking when tired)
2. AmyG (baking tips)
3. Mrs. Brigham (Storing Fresh Herbs)
4. Save time prepping coffee (Heather)
5. Less waste when cooking with wine (Alison)
6. Keeping recipes handy (Donna)
7. Using greens that are past their prime (Shannon)
8. Grill safety tips
9. Tips for using lots of various CSA veggies (Christy)
10. How to "bake" without using the oven (Laura)
11. Making dry muffins mixes (Amanda)
12. Steaming veggies in the microwave
13. Chip dip tip (Kolfinna)
14. Preparing oatmeal for toddlers (Lenetta)
15. Frozen casserole on the grill (Lenetta)
16. Making breadcrumbs (Jessica)
17. Tuna melt tips, kitchen helper tips (Melinda)
18. Alternative to breadcrumbs
19. Half-feedings for Friendship Bread (Jane)
20. Using the last dregs of salsa (Alea)
21. Keeping pre-made foods for last-minute dinners (Tara)
22. Reading PLU labels on fruit (Jan)
23. Topping pizza with hot dogs
24. Leftover food storage (Melissa)
25. Cutting pretty brownies (Tracey)
26. Pitting cherries without a cherry pitter (Tiffany)
27. Re-packaging milk to freeze (and more) (Shari)

Here's a handy time-saving sandwich-making tip for those of you who (like me!) make cold-cut sandwiches for lunches!

At least several times each week, I make a cold-cut sandwich for in my husband's lunchbox. I always make the sandwich fresh, shortly before he leaves for work, so it doesn't get soggy.

My husband likes salad dressing (Miracle Whip or equivalent), mustard, and horseradish on his cold-cut sandwiches, and it always took extra time to get all 3 things from the fridge, as well as at least 2 separate utensils to spread them on the bread.

So, I make a mixture of all three ingredients! First I combine the mustard and horseradish, using equal amounts of each. Then I add Miracle Whip until the spread is the right strength in relation to the horseradish. ;)

I store it in a lidded container in the refrigerator, and then when I need to make a sandwich, I just have to spread one thing on the bread! Much simpler. :) We use this on our burgers, too!

To Participate in Kitchen Tip Tuesdays:

Post a kitchen tip in your blog. Link to this post, and then leave your link here, so we know where to find YOU! :) No giveaways or non-tip posts, please!

In order to keep the kitchen tips more easily accessible, posts not adhering to these guidelines will be removed. We need to be able to easily find/see what your kitchen/cooking tip is. :) Thanks for your participation! :)

Leave your tip links in a comment. I'll manually add them to this post!

1. Hulling strawberries with a straw
2. Freezing fresh fish (Lori)
3. How to read a bread bag (Katie)
4. Using sauerkraut as a condiment (Donna)
5. Growing green onions from bulbs (Beth)
6. Tips for a cooler kitchen on hot days
7. Cleaning and storing fresh garden lettuce (Stephanie)
8. How to keep hard-boiled eggs from cracking (Becky)
9. Food substitutions chart (Lenetta)
10. Making tea with Mr. Coffee
11. How to prepare dried beans
12. Easier strawberry stemming (Kirstin)
13. What to do with strawberries (Laura)
14. Reusing Ziplock bags (Susan)
15. Baking with a limited number of cookie sheets (Alea)
16. Baking two chickens at once (Melinda)
17. Proofing pie crusts before baking

We love making real whipped cream -- you know, the heavy whipping cream kind? Soooo delicious!! Costco carries half-gallons of Darigold 40% whipping cream for $5-something, and that lasts us quite a while even though we love whipped cream on just about anything! (Fruit, ice cream, smoothies, etc.)

I used to use a large mixing bowl to whip the cream, but last week I discovered an easier way when making whipped cream that will need to be stored before use.

I got out a fairly tall plastic container with a lid, that I could store the whipped cream in -- and then just whipped it right in that container! When it was done, I put the lid on and popped it straight into the fridge! :)

By the way, if you've never made homemade whipped cream but want to try, usually the cartons of whipping cream from the store include directions on the side.

My basic method: Whip cream on high for a minute; add sugar if desired (a tablespoon or two per cup of cream, but I don't usually measure!) and whip until cream is stiff. I stop as soon as it gets stiff, to avoid over-beating. We sometimes add vanilla extract to the cream, as well, but it's delicious even without. :)

To Participate in Kitchen Tip Tuesdays:

Post a kitchen tip in your blog. Link to this post, and then leave your link here, so we know where to find YOU! :) No giveaways or non-tip posts, please!

In order to keep the kitchen tips more easily accessible, posts not adhering to these guidelines will be removed. We need to be able to easily find/see what your kitchen/cooking tip is. :) Thanks for your participation! :)

Mr. Linky is on sick leave, so leave your tip links in a comment. I'll manually add them to this post!

1. Tips for baking with kids (Danelle)
2. Milk substitutions (Mary Ann)
3. Is it still fresh?
4. Temporary side board for entertaining (AmyG)
5. Cut cookies with parchment paper (Amy)
6. Varieties of homemade ice cream (Tara)
7. Freezing (Angela)
8. Freezing cookie dough (Erika)
9. Cross-contamination prevention (Melinda)
10. Minced garlic (Shannon)
11. Crispy homemade potato chips in minutes
12. Using bacon grease (Lenetta)
13. Repurposed leftovers
14. Getting rid of fruit flies in the kitchen
15. "Doctoring up" processed foods (Amanda)
16. Ice cube trays
17. Taking the strings out of celery
18. Using oil dispenser for dish soap (Alea)
19. Dry mix for cream sauce (Diann)
20.

This week, I have a couple of grill-related tips to share! :) As Joshua mentioned in his Weber Q grill review last week, we love our grill and make good use of it year-round!

A grill that gets constantly used does end up getting dirty. Our grill has a cast iron grill grate, and while the metal grill-cleaning brushes work okay, sometimes charred food is just stuck... and the worn, matted brush isn't enough.

Tip #1:

Joshua's solution for a charred grill grate was to get a wire wheel that fits into a cordless drill. You can see what a wire wheel brush looks like at this Amazon.com link, but we didn't buy ours online. A simple wire wheel brush should only cost about a dollar or so at your local hardware store.

Check your grill's manual to determine what kinds of wire bristles (stainless steel, brass, etc.) are safe for your grill, and apply light pressure. :) Joshua is thrilled with this easy and inexpensive way to brush the grill grate! :)

Tip #2:

The element in the bottom of our gas grill is a metal tube with small holes for the flame to come out of. If these holes get plugged, the flame won't come out, resulting in only a partially-lit element.

Joshua uses a small Dremel tip or a 1/32-inch size drill bit in the cordless drill to re-open the holes when necessary (maybe once a year or so). The element returns to like-new performance! :)

We did get our 1/32-inch drill bits on Amazon.com, since the hardware stores we had checked at the time didn't carry that size. The 1/32-inch drill bits are so tiny that Joshua very carefully wrapped some electrical tape around the bottom of the bit to make it fit our cordless drill.

Grilled Asparagus,
one of the recipes waiting to be typed
and posted this week... :)

To Participate in Kitchen Tip Tuesdays:

Post a kitchen tip in your blog. Link to this post, and then leave your link here, so we know where to find YOU! :) No giveaways or non-tip posts, please!

In order to keep the kitchen tips more easily accessible, posts not adhering to these guidelines will be removed. We need to be able to easily find/see what your kitchen/cooking tip is. :) Thanks for your participation! :)

Mr. Linky is on sick leave, so leave your tip links in a comment. I'll manually add them to this post at the end of the the day (if not sooner... depending on computer time availability). ;) Thanks so much for your patience! :)

1. Homemade vanilla extract (Mub)
2. Keeping mashed potatoes warm (Jane)
3. Getting dinner on the table on time (Stephanie)
4. Using whisks (Sharon)
5. Quick frugal defrosting tip (Jill)
6. Easier garlic peeling
7. Using flax seeds/oil (Katie)
8. Smells in plastic ware (Becky)
9. Making sunbutter (Laura)
10. Chopping veggies (Lenetta)
11. Decreasing sugar in fruit recipes (Lenetta)
12. Koolaid to clean dishwasher (Lisa)
13. Using tomatoes (Angie)
14. Draining spinach (Karen)
15. Grilling Frozen Pizza
16. Using food past its prime (Heather)
17. Puree and freeze veggies (Emily)
18. Easier pie crust (Lynn)
19. Making your own floats (Sandy)
20. Re-using butter wrappers (Alea)
21. Adding garlic butter to pizza (Tiffany)
22.
23.

I am still learning how to best use a dishwasher, now that we've lived here for 6 months. I finally figured out how to keep little things, like measuring cups, from flipping over in the wash and ending upside down with food and water in them.

I hook the little holes around the spokes that stick up. 

Another trick, which I personally do but can't recommend, is to put the small sippy cup parts in the silverware holder, at the bottom underneath lots of silverware. The silverware keeps the little pieces from flying away!

I do this because I usually only have 1-2 little pieces, which is not enough to bother with a big plastic basket for holding small stuff. But I can't recommend it since most plastics say they are for the top rack only!

Any more dishwasher tips to share with this novice user? :)

To Participate in Kitchen Tip Tuesdays:

Post a kitchen tip in your blog. Link to this post, and then leave your link here, so we know where to find YOU! :) No giveaways or non-tip posts, please!

In order to keep the kitchen tips more easily accessible, posts not adhering to these guidelines will be removed. We need to be able to easily find/see what your kitchen/cooking tip is. :) Thanks for your participation! :)

Mr. Linky is on sick leave, so leave your tip links in comments and I'll manually add them to this post every couple hours during the day. Thanks so much for your patience! :)

1. Storing Fruit (Stephanie)
2. Dish space (Sam)
3. Identifying trans fats (Katie)
4. Freezing sugar cookie dough (Lori)
5. Peeling hard boiled eggs (Amanda)
6. Storing 25lbs of rice
7. Not washing measuring cups
8. Cutting bacon in half (Kara)
9. Grating chocolate (Becky)
10. Freshening garbage disposal
11. Freezing burgers (Sara)
12. Adding potato flakes to bread (Sherry)
13. 14 Time-Saving kitchen tips (Amanda)
14. No-mess meat thawing (Jane)
15. Recipe binder (Phoebe)
16. More moist cake/cupcakes (MJ)
17. Cleaning with peroxide (Heather)
18. Easy way to cook bacon
19. Greasing pans tip (JessieLeigh)
20. Wear an apron (Cindy)
21. Summer kitchen survival (Donna)
22. Oil pan spray substitutes (Mary Ann)
23. Tracking grocery spending (Jennifer)
24. Storing homemade ice cream
25. Unintentional air freshener (Jamie)
26. Freezing strawberries (Allyson)
27. Meatball tip (Kirstin)
28. Deals on fresh produce (Danelle)
29.

We love waffles! Waffles freeze well, and make a yummy breakfast or dessert (with whipped cream and strawberries! Yum!).

We've found that when we're making waffles, it's much easier to use a timer.

To start, we time how long it takes for our waffle maker to cook a waffle to perfection. Then we just set the timer for that many minutes. We always know when the waffle is done, without having to check or forgetting and burning them!

For our waffle maker, the "golden" time is 3 minutes!

My waffles recipes for quick reference:

Classic (no-sugar) homemade waffles -- a really great recipe handed down from my grandmother!

Belgian Waffles -- very sweet but make a fabulous dessert and are the BEST re-warmed waffles I've ever had!

Best Waffle Batter -- not as good as the above two, but a whole lot faster to mix up!

What's on top? Brown sugar syrup (my mom's recipe) or strawberry sauce (Joshua's recipe)

To Participate in Kitchen Tip Tuesdays:

Post a kitchen tip in your blog. Link to this post, and then leave your link here, so we know where to find YOU! :) No giveaways or non-tip posts, please!

In order to keep the kitchen tips more easily accessible, posts not adhering to these guidelines will be removed at my discretion. We need to be able to easily find/see what your kitchen/cooking tip is. :) Thanks for your participation! :)

Edited to add: Mr Linky isn't letting my pages load right now. I'm pretty much done with that service. :| I hope to get the problem off my site soon (later this morning). Links can be left in comments and I'll add them here. Thanks! :)

1. Cutting a canteloupe (Sara)
2. Homemade creamer (Becky)
3. Converting a standard recipe to slow cooker (Lenetta)
4. Getting a good rise from muffins (Sharon)
5. Drying muffin cups (Kate)
6. Maximize grill use (Cindy)
7. Remembering all ingredients (Mary Ann)
8. Homemade "soft scrub" (Kolfinna)
9. Getting peanut butter out of measuring cup
10. Using up fresh produce
11. Defrosting meats for menus (Carrie)
12. Using Foreman grill for summer (Annie)
13. Creamier mashed potatoes (Alea)
14.

I've had quite the time with keeping my dish cloths smelling good. I've tried:

Being really strict about wringing out the day's rag at night, letting it dry, and getting a fresh cloth out each morning. (More work than it sounds like!)

And when that wasn't completely 100% followed/successful:

• Bleach in the washer.  (Works okay, but then every white load was needing bleach.)
• Vinegar in the washer. (Didn't work well enough.)
• Starting over with new dish rags.
• Baking soda in the washer. (Didn't work on the dish rags.)
• Leaving the clean, washed rags in the sun. (More work, especially in western WA!)

I've even begged for help here on my blog! Not just once, but twice!

And would you believe, I just finally found a healthy, easy, and effective way to treat those dish rags that somehow still end up stinky on occasion. (I think it has to do with little helpers who don't rinse the rag, wring it out, and hang it nicely on the sink when they're done...) ;)

Here's what I've been doing for the past few months, and it really WORKS!

Instead of putting a cup of vinegar in the washer load, put any stinky dish cloths in a small bucket or container and put enough vinegar in the container to saturate the cloths.

Leave them in the vinegar for at least 5-10 minutes. Then throw the contents of the container into the washer and wash with other whites on warm or hot (or however you wash your dish rags).

This method concentrates the vinegar and is an easy healthy way to freshen dish cloths! :)

To Participate in Kitchen Tip Tuesdays:

Post a kitchen tip in your blog. Link to this post, and then add your page's link here, so we know where to find YOU! :) No giveaways or non-tip posts, please!

In order to keep the kitchen tips more easily accessible, posts not adhering to these guidelines will be removed at my discretion. :) We need to be able to easily find/see what your kitchen/cooking tip is. :) Thanks for your participation! :)

Kitchen Tip Tuesdays Participants

My husband makes some top-notch grilled chicken, salmon fillets, and strip steak! One of the seasonings he uses is liquid smoke flavoring. (For those interested in how liquid smoke flavoring is obtained, comment #8 in this thread has more info!

Grilled NY Strip Steak and Asparagus & Onions

Liquid smoke flavoring usually comes in a bottle like soy sauce does, but it can be difficult to apply in a thin even coat.

Joshua's solution for many years now has been to use a spray bottle to apply the liquid smoke flavoring to foods. Really any clean, food-safe (unscented!) spray bottle will work. We've used various ones, and our current favorite is an old salad dressing spray bottle passed on to us when it was empty:

This makes it so much easier to use the liquid smoke flavoring! :) The bottle/nozzle doesn't get clogged, but you will want something that does seal up pretty tightly around the top, since liquid smoke is really strong if it leaks! ;)

You can also pretty much forget about ever using the bottle for anything else after having liquid smoke in it. ;)

To Participate in Kitchen Tip Tuesdays:

Post a kitchen tip in your blog (no recipes please; come back tomorrow for the In-Season Recipe Swap with recipes for asparagus!). Link to this post, and then add your page's link here, so we know where to find YOU! :) No giveaways or non-tip posts, please!

In order to keep the kitchen tips more easily accessible, posts not adhering to these guidelines will be removed at my discretion. :) Thanks for your participation! :)

Note: Mr. Linky hasn't been functioning well, so please leave a link to your tip in the comment section. I will add them to this post as they come in! :)

1. Jane -- Ice Cream Buckets
2. Tereza -- Helping babies take medicine
3. Kate -- Transporting cakes
4. Katie -- 10 tips for avoiding the microwave
5. Snow White -- Easy way to cut sweet potato fries
6. Sonshine -- Mini cheesecakes tip
7. Lenetta -- Dishwasher detergent
8. Sara -- How to cut a pineapple
9. Stephanie -- Ice cream in food processor
10. Amanda -- Use hands to mix biscuits
11. Rachel -- Rustic tarts tips/tutorial
12. Shopannies -- Produce storage tips
13. Jennifer -- Egg substitutes
14. Motherhen -- Keeping kitchen cool in summer
15. Jessica -- Different methods for chimichangas
16. Kim -- Pre-mixing omelets
17. DarcyLee -- Getting help in the kitchen
18. Becky -- DIY vacuum seal
19. Michelle -- Freezer containers
20. Rose -- Keeping celery fresh
21. Elizabeth Sue -- Stockpiling tips
22. Melinda -- Oven safety tip for kids
23. Donna -- notes/tips about wheat
24. BookLady -- Keeping lettuce fresh
25. Kolfinna -- 3 quick tips
26. Cindy -- use the right tools
27.

(Chili with chips, cheese, and sour cream)

After reading my price breakdown for homemade pizza, a reader asked if I'd be willing to share more about how to figure out the cost of food.

Really, it's all in the math. (Why does one of my least favorite things have to be such a part of everyday life?) ;)

1. Figure out the price per ounce/pound/cup/etc.

This is done by dividing the cost of the item by the units in the package/item.

Example: Package of 3 romaine lettuce hearts costs $1.99. Divide by 3 to figure the unit cost of one romaine heart, which would be $0.66.

2. Figure out the price of the amount used in your recipe.

This is done by multiplying the unit cost by the number of units your recipe calls for.

Example: If your recipe calls for one romaine heart, then the cost of the lettuce in your recipe will be $0.66.

Let's do another example:

(Read more...)

Here are a few tips for cooking dried beans that are easier to digest (=less gas!).

1. Soak beans overnight or 8+ hours. Yes, you'll have to plan ahead for this one. Cook extras and freeze the rest, so next time all you have to do is thaw! :)

2. Soak beans in plenty of water. At least 10 cups of water per pound of beans is recommended. If it's not too much bother, you can also change the soaking water during the soak. I wouldn't set my alarm clock to do this in the middle of the night though. ;)

3. Cook beans in plenty of water. Use a large pot, and try to keep the water level at least double the level of the soaked beans.

Cooked pinto beans topped with mozzarella and sour cream

4. Cook beans slowly. Resist the temptation to turn the heat on HIGH! I usually bring my beans to a boil at medium heat and then cook on low (just enough heat to simmer) until tender.

5. Cook beans long enough. I find that a lot of the estimates aren't long enough for my climate/beans. Throw out the book -- just cook until tender!

If the skins start falling off, that's okay. Keep going. Your tender, easily digested beans might not look picture perfect. Mine are usually falling apart a little by the time they're completely soft. You can keep the stirring to a minimum, though, to avoid unnecessary mush. ;)

6. Wait until beans are fully cooked before adding sweet or acidic ingredients to them. Tomatoes, vinegar, sugar, molasses, and lemon juice will prevent your beans from cooking and becoming soft and tender and easy to digest. :)

7. Don't use old beans, or beans that haven't been stored properly (away from heat and light and air). They won't cook up right no matter how long you cook them!

8. I don't usually do this one since it seems rather wasteful (in energy) to me, but another way to de-gas your dried beans is to discard the cooking water half-way through and start again with fresh water for the rest of the cooking.

More reading on the topic of beans:

Cost break-down for my favorite baked beans recipe

My mom's chili, our staple all-purpose chili recipe :)

Crystal has a week-long bean-focused menu on her blog :)

"Beans in a pot": Yummy Pintos! :)

To Participate in Kitchen Tip Tuesdays:

Post a kitchen tip in your blog (no recipes please; come back tomorrow for the In-Season Recipe Swap of recipes featuring milk!). Link to this post, and then add your page's link here, so we know where to find YOU! :) No giveaways or non-tip posts, please!

In order to keep the kitchen tips more easily accessible, posts not adhering to these guidelines will be removed at my discretion. :) Thanks for your participation! :)

Edited to add: Mr. Linky is just not working this morning. Please leave your link in a comment instead! Let's see if this works better. :)

Never mind: It's back up: