Useful Tips and Information

It has been awhile since we published any "Did you know?" articles with useful tips and information.

It has been awhile since we published any “Did you know?” articles with useful tips and information, but this one just came in and though I have heard a couple of these suggestions before, the one about reheating pizza is great!

Take your bananas apart when you get home from the store. If you leave them connected at the stem, they ripen faster.

Store your opened chunks of cheese in aluminum foil. It will stay fresh much longer and not mold!

Peppers with 3 bumps on the bottom are sweeter and better for eating. Peppers with 4 bumps on the bottom are firmer and better for cooking.

Adding a teaspoon of water when frying ground beef will help pull the grease away from the meat while cooking.

To make scrambled eggs or omelets more rich and fattening, add a couple of spoonfuls of sour cream, cream cheese, or heavy cream; then beat them.

Add garlic immediately to a recipe if you want a light taste of garlic and at the end of the recipe’s cooking directions if your want a stronger taste of garlic. (This is true of most herbs and spices.)

Heat leftover pizza in a nonstick skillet on top of the stove; set heat to med-low and heat till warm. This keeps the crust crispy. No soggy microwave pizza. (Supposedly, this on the food channel.)

Easy Deviled Eggs: Put cooked egg yolks in a zip lock bag. Seal and mash until they are all broken up. Add the remaining ingredients, reseal, mix it all up thoroughly. Cut the tip of the baggy and squeeze mixture into egg white halves. Just throw the bag away when you are done.

To reheat refrigerated breads such as biscuits, pancakes, or muffins that were refrigerated, place them in the microwave next to a cup of water. The increased moisture will keep the food moist and help it reheat faster.

Start putting torn newspaper in your plants and gardens and work the nutrients in your soil. Wet newspapers, cover with mulch. This will help reduce weeds and it is good for the environment.

Use a wet cotton ball or Q-tip to pick up the small shards of glass you can’t see easily.

To get something out of a heat register or under the fridge add an empty paper towel roll or empty gift wrap roll to your vacuum. It can be bent or flattened to get in narrow openings.

If you want to reduce static cling, pin a small safety pin to the seam of your slip and you will not have a clingy skirt or dress. Same thing works with slacks that cling when wearing panty hose. Place pin in seam of slacks and…Ta Da! Static is gone!

Before you pour sticky substances into a measuring cup, fill with hot water. Dump out the hot water, but don’t dry cup. Next, add your ingredient (peanut butter, honey, etc.) and watch how easily it comes right out.

Hate foggy windshields? Buy a chalkboard eraser and keep it in the glove box of your car When the windows fog, rub with the eraser!

Use your hair conditioner to shave your legs. It’s cheaper than shaving cream and leaves your legs really smooth. It is also a great way to use up the conditioner you bought but didn’t like when you tried it in your hair.

To get rid of pesky fruit flies, take a small glass, fill it 1/2 with Apple Cider Vinegar and two drops of dish washing liquid; mix well. You will find those flies drawn to the cup and gone forever!

Put small piles of cornmeal where you see ants. They eat it, take it “home,” can’t digest it, so it kills them. It may take a week or so, especially if it rains, but it works and you don’t have the worry about pets or small children being harmed!