Grilled Philly Cheese Steak Sandwiches

This week's kitchen tip is for thin-sliced meats.

For a hot sandwich, fajitas, or a stir fry, it's best to use meat that's sliced really thin, making it tender, quick to prepare, and easy to blend with the other ingredients.

But if you've ever tried to thinly slice an uncooked roast or a chicken breast, you'll know how difficult it can be! The meat just doesn't want to lay there and be sliced thin. ;)

However, it's much easier to get paper-thin slices when the meat is partially frozen! You can even toss partially-frozen sliced meat into your pan when stir-frying. Since it's so thin, it'll still cook quickly.

Spicy Grilled Steak Stir Fry recipe

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I know of a couple great ways for thickening soups, sauces, etc.

One method is to make a roux, which is melted fat (butter) stirred with flour and then added to a sauce/soup. This is easy and makes a delicious start for a soup or sauce, especially when onions, garlic, or celery is added as the butter sizzles! Yum!

Another method is to whisk (or shake in a sealed cup) flour and cold milk or water together until there are no lumps, and then pour that mixture into a hot soup or sauce and bring to a boil, stirring until thick.

However, neither of these methods are extremely convenient for when you have a soup or sauce that is basically finished, but you want to thicken it just a little more. Here are a couple ways to thicken soup last-minute without lumps:

Sprinkle in some instant potato flakes and stir.

Use a sifter to gently disperse a few sprinkles of flour over the hot soup, and stir or whisk rapidly to incorporate. Using a sifter (or fine mesh strainer) helps prevent lumps by spreading the flour very finely.

Anyone else have last-minute thickening tips?? :)

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1. Keeping track of freezer stock (Becky)
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Paprika seems to be a more pricey spice, even at bulk food stores (where I get the majority of my spices and dried herbs).

However, I've been able to find paprika much more affordably at stores like Dollar General or Big Lots. Sounds odd, but the paprika tastes fresh and was less than half the price of the bulk foods stores I had checked recently, so it works for us! :)

The delicious chili we had for dinner tonight!

Do you have any tips for affordable herbs and spices? I'd love to hear! :)

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1. Baking tip (Rachel)
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It's that time of year again... when fruit flies just love to congregate in our kitchen. They love it when I buy bananas, or leave out a few dirty dishes overnight. We can't stand gnats (who really likes, them, anyway?!), so here's our quick, cheap, and effective recipe for exterminating them!

1. In a small bowl, combine about 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar and about 1/2 teaspoon dishwashing liquid.* Mix very gently to avoid creating lots of bubbles.

2. Set bowl in gnat-prone area, and watch them die!!

In fact, just a couple hours ago, I made one of these traps because I noticed a few gnats in the kitchen. About ten minutes later, I saw three fruit flies in my trap. This trap will seriously attract and kill every gnat in my kitchen. Joshua invented the recipe after ill-success using regular vinegar. Now we have this new-and-improved gnat trap recipe, and it sure works for us!

And, of course, if you really want to do away with fruit flies, it's best to make sure you're not leaving anything else around for them to eat. Wash every last dish, dump your garbage, and wipe down the counters really well, especially before bed. I like to store my bananas out on the enclosed porch if possible, since those seem to be one of the biggest attractions for bringing fruit flies into the house. 

*I use a clear Dawn dishwashing liquid, but others will work also.

Those of you who use alternative homemade fruit fly traps, feel free to add your tips in a comment! :)

This tip was originally published in October, 2006

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1. Recipe book tabs (Vanessa)
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Homemade spinach tortillas, one of my favorites! :)

When we use store-bought flour tortillas (which has been frequent this year) I like to warm them before serving.

Warming tortillas in foil

Generally I wrap the tortillas in foil and place in a preheated 350 degree oven for 10-15 minutes. The tortillas come out hot and soft, and this is Joshua's favorite way for me to warm them. :)

Warming tortillas on the oven rack

At my friend Jamie's house I saw her warming flour tortillas, and I took note of her method. :) After pulling a hot dish from the oven, she laid the tortillas in a single layer (some edges overlapping is fine though) directly on the wire oven rack. She closed the oven door for a couple minutes before then pulling out the (hot) tortillas and placing them in a stack on a plate and covering with a clean towel. I like this method, although I have to remember to set the timer for 2 minutes so I don't forget to pull them out before they get dry! ;)

Warming tortillas over a gas burner

Another method for warming tortillas is over a gas stovetop flame. My mom has a gas range and to warm one or two tortillas quickly, they turn on a burner and hold the tortilla over the flame, turning it several times just until warm. This method isn't ideal for larger amounts of tortillas though, and obviously if you do this be sure to be careful not to get burned! ;)

I'm sure others have even more ideas for warming tortillas, especially if you have a microwave (we don't). I'd love to hear your tips in the comments section! :)

Jalapeno Cheddar tortillas, a yummy homemade variety :)

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1. Powdered milk for evaporated milk (Alea)
2. Re-freezing meats (Alison)
3. Salad prep tips (Katie)
4. Taking the top off fresh pineapple
5. Easy apple freezing (Becky)
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When I was visiting at my parents' house earlier this month, I noticed my sister warming syrup for pancakes as she cooked the pancakes.

My mom uses a heavy glass bottle for syrup, and sets the bottle on the cast iron griddle before it's pre-heated. I think, however, that it would be safer to use a metal cup/dish... like the metal creamer or syrup cups sold at restaurant supply stores (or garage sales). ;)

If you're making pancakes for quite a few people, you can keep a dish of cooked pancakes in the oven (set to "warm") as you continue to cook pancakes and your syrup heats up. It saves an extra dish and burner space (especially if you're making eggs or other things at the same time!). :)

How do you warm your syrup? Or do you use cold syrup? We most often make fruit-based syrups fresh (Joshua makes the syrup while I make the pancakes, French toast, or whatever!). :)

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1. Cooking smells/morning sickness (Alison)
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Hand mixer tips:

Make sure the mixer is turned off! Then put the beaters into the mixer before plugging it in. :)

If mixing something extra powdery (like brownies with cocoa powder!), gently "stir" the mixture with the beaters turned off before starting up the mixer. This helps prevent a big cloud of dust (like cocoa powder!) in your kitchen and in your mixer's motor! :)

Anyone else have hand mixer tips to share? :)

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1. Labeling leftovers (Danelle)
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11. Baking powder and brown sugar substitutes (Shila)
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13. Grease-free meatball tip (Katie)

Note: There will be no Kitchen Tip Tuesday posts Sept. 8 and Sept. 15, as I will be on vacation and "unplugged" for 2 weeks. :)

During the really hot weather, I take my slow cooker outside to cook. (I've also done this with a toaster oven in the past.)

When we lived in Missouri, I put it on the porch and ran the extension cord under the door (it wasn't a tight door!). In Ohio, we had an enclosed back porch and I plugged it in out there. Here, I take it out to the apartment balcony.

This really helps keep the house cooler! :) Anyone else have hot-weather cooking tips to share?! :)

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This week's tip is for when you're making something like soup, spaghetti, gravy, etc. and you opened cans or jars of food.

If the recipe calls for any water (or, in the case of spaghetti for example, the recipe is fine with an extra tablespoon or two of water added) you can put a small amount of water into your empty cans/jars, swish it around, and pour the water into your soup (etc.).

This is especially handy for cans/jars that held tomato products, since it can be difficult to get every last bit out of the can. :)

If you're recycling the cans, you'd need to rinse them anyway, so you're just doing the same task at a different time... and if it's glass canning jars, having them rinsed makes them easier to wash later, too! :)

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1. Use microwave for snack mix (Lenetta)
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Here's a tip for cleaning a dirty cheese grater: Use a vegetable brush and scrub under cold water.

If you do this as soon as you're finished with the cheese grater, the cheese won't have a chance to dry and get really stuck. Using cold water helps easily remove the cheese, since under hot water it just gets gooey and sticky! :)

When it's time to wash dishes later, you can easily wash the cheese grater in hot soapy water without having to soak or scrub at the cheese remnants. :)

My current cheese grater (pictured above) is dishwasher safe so I actually don't use this tip right now, but my mom came up with this cold water/brush method and uses it regularly. :)

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1. Baked potatoes without aluminum foil (Katie)
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