Tip: Non-Slip Trick for Cutting Boards

I love kitchen safety tips!  Safety first, that's my family's motto. Maybe it is because my mom had to stress safety, to keep all my fingers attached when I helped her in the kitchen.  I use today's tip almost everyday.

Safety Tip: To keep your cutting board from moving around on you while you slice and dice, place a damp paper towel underneath it.  Then you can slice away until your heart's content without the danger of the board moving all over the place.

Tip: Salt to the Rescue!

I was so klutzy growing up that my mom put me in dance classes hoping to cure the problem.  I took tap, jazz, ballet, even Hawaiian dance classes (I had a beautiful hot pink metallic hula skirt.  Totally made the stumbling around worth it!).  It didn't help.  I am still klutzy and to top it off I can't dance!  All that money down the drain.  With a klutzy kid like me, my poor mom had to be on top of easy clean up tips.

Here is one of those tips: To clean cooking spills in your oven, sprinkle salt on it immediately and finish baking.  The spillover will turn to ash when the oven cools and can be removed easily.

Apple Chicken

Apple Chicken

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 apple, sliced thin

1/4 cup honey

1/2 cup orange juice

Salt and pepper chicken to taste. In large skillet sprayed with cooking spray, brown chicken over medium high heat until cooked through.  Remove chicken from pan.  Reduce heat to low.  In same skillet, add apple. Cook until softened. Add honey and orange juice. Cook 3 minutes. Pour apple mixture over chicken.  Makes 4 servings.

Recipe can be found on page 190 in 

MY KIND OF COOKING COOKBOOK.

If your family is like mine, you eat a lot of chicken!  We are always experimenting with new ways to prepare it.  On the grill, in the oven, and the slow cooker, the possibilities are endless!  This sweet and tangy chicken recipe has become a favorite at our house.

Here Is A Tip Straight From My Great Grandmother

Like all grandmothers, my great grandma loved to spoil us!  She was always making special treats.  Everything from snicker-doodle cookies to homemade cakes, we ate it all.  As she was cooking up these treats for us, she would talk about the ingredients and pass along her tried and true tips.

One of my favorite great grandmother tips is: Use a tablespoon when frosting a cake.  The frosting goes on quickly and smoothly.  There is also less chance you will tear the cake.  Try it, you'll like it!

Slow Cooker Recipe: Mexi Dinner

Mexi Dinner

1 pound 85% ground beef, browned, drained

2 (15 ounce) cans Mexican style corn

1 (14 1/2 ounce) can enchilada sauce (you can use mild, medium or hot)

1 (6 ounce) can tomato sauce

1 cup shredded  Colby Jack cheese

In slow cooker, combine beef, corn, enchilada sauce, tomato sauce, and 1/2 cup cheese. Mix well. Cover. Cook on low 2 hours. Top with remaining cheese. Serve with corn chips, shredded lettuce, and sour cream if desired. Makes 6 servings.

Recipe can be found on page 147 in
MY KIND OF COOKING COOKBOOK.

Between sports practice, meetings, and activities, that our families are involved in, it is hard to sit down at the table and eat dinner together.  With this recipe your family can come and go and still get a delicious hot meal.  You feel good because they are not reheating a frozen microwave meal. And you don't have to continually be in the kitchen making dinner all night long as your family gets home at different times.

My New Cookbook

Now Available!

BUSY WOMAN'S SLOW COOKER COOKBOOK by Linda Burgett and the Better Homes & Gardens Test Kitchen. Meals Ready & Waiting! Over 500 delicious slow cooker recipes with few ingredients.  Let your slow cooker do the work, turning common ingredients into an amazing meal. Spending only minutes in the kitchen will result in yummy entrees, soups, sides, desserts, snacks, drinks and more!

Tip: Drying Fresh Herbs

I love cooking with fresh herbs!  But like everyone else, life gets busy and the herbs go to waste before I can use them.  Now, before they go bad, I dry them in the microwave.  It is very easy to do.

1. Wash and dry your herbs.
2. Line a microwave safe plate with a paper towel.
3. Arrange your herbs in a single layer on the paper towel.
4. Microwave on high 1 to 3 minutes, turning the herbs over every 30 seconds until you can crumble them.

 Store the herbs whole.  Place herbs in a storage container. Store in a cool, dry place. Crush the herbs when you use them.

When cooking: 1 teaspoon of crushed dried herbs equals one tablespoon fresh herbs.

Recipe: Meatball Stroganoff

"Kid Friendly Recipe"

Meatball Stroganoff

1 (12 ounce ) jar brown gravy

1/2 cup sour cream

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

12 fully cooked frozen meatballs

1 (8 ounce) package egg noodles, cooked

In large skillet, over medium heat, combine gravy, sour cream, and Worcestershire sauce.  Mix well. Add meatballs. Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low.  Cover.  Cook 10 minutes or until meatballs are heated through.  Serve over noodles. Makes 4 servings.

Recipe can be found on page 150 in  

MY KIND OF COOKING COOKBOOK.

 

"Where are the mushrooms?"

I am sure they exist, but I have yet to meet a kid who will eat anything with mushrooms in it, so I left them out.  If you would like mushrooms in your Meatball Stroganoff, add them when you reduce the heat to low.  

My sister Shelley's girls love this recipe!  And she loves it because she can have dinner on the table in less than 20 minutes.

Tip: Clean As You Go

 

"Clean as you go" is the first tip my mom taught me.  If cleaning the kitchen were an Olympic sport, my mom would take home the gold!  She has the kitchen completely spotless before we sit down to eat.  She is amazing!

Here are the tips my mom taught me to follow when I cook:

1. Before you start cooking, fill the sink with warm soapy water.  As you dirty dishes, wash them immediately.

2. Keep a dish cloth handy, so you can wipe up spills as you make them.

3. Put away ingredients after you are finished using them.

Following these simple steps will make cooking even more enjoyable!