These "Bright Ideas" can make your life a little more simple in the kitchen, so you have time left to enjoy What Really Matters!

Dry and Fluffy - After rice is cooked, cover the pan with a clean dish towel then the lid and allow to site for 10 minutes or so.  The towel absorbs the moisture and helps produce dry and fluffy rice.

Stop Buying Ice! Fill up your muffin, mini loaf, and cupcake pans with water and let freeze. Pop them into a plastic storage bag and you’re ready for your next picnic or party.

Temporary Labels: Mark the contents of plastic food-storage containers with a dry-erase pen. The “labels” will come off when you wash the items.

Baby Bib Order - Keep baby bibs uncluttered by storing them in a cloth grocery bag holder. Pull one out when you need one, use it, wash it, stuff it back into the top of the bag.

Repurpose Old Placemats: Turn them into coasters! Take pinking shears and cut the placemats into squares.

Coast on By . . . Use coasters to catch drips of sticky stuff from bottles in pantries, cupboards and countertops. Your shelves will no longer require a full wipe-down after every spoonful of honey, jam, or use of olive oil.

Easy Decorating: Quickly decorate a frosted cake using a cookie cutter, Place it on top of the frosting and pour sprinkles inside the cookie cutter. When you lift the cutter off, you will have a perfect sprinkle design.

Deodorize it! Stuff a balled-up piece of newspaper into a plastic container, seal it, and let sit overnight. By morning the paper will have absorbed lingering food smells.

Cheap Pastry Brush: A one-inch nylon paintbrush works just as well as a pastry brush for less than half the cost. Clean by hand or put it in the dishwasher (top rack only). Find them in hardware stores or the dollar store.

Think Outside the Waffle. Waffle irons can double as a quesadilla maker and sandwich press. Prepare food (i.e., grilled cheese) as if you were going to fix it in a traditional skillet, lay it on the waffle iron and close the lid. Voila!

Dryer Sheet Double-Duties: Remove static from clothing and hair. Clean pet hair from the floor or furniture. Replace a sachet in a dresser drawer. Dust venetian blinds. Close the blinds, then wipe up and down with a dryer sheet. Freshen up shoes, suitcases closets, cars, and gym-bags.

Creative Uses for Coffee Filters: Filters can double as disposable bowls for popcorn or other snacks. Use a filter as the protective covering as you heat up leftovers in the microwave. Use flattened coffee filters as spacers when you stack your fine China to prevent scuffs and scratches. Clean windows and glass with filters when you’re out of paper towels. They leave no lint behind.

One Egg Short? If you are one egg short for a recipe, substitute one teaspoon of
cornstarch.

Oops! Dropped a Shell! You know how hard it is to grab that little piece of egg shell that sometimes ends up in the bowl? Use another bigger piece of egg shell to scoop it out. It seems to cling to it like magic.

If Lumpy Makes You Grumpy . . . keep granulated sugar from lumping by placing a couple of salt crackers in the container and cover tightly.


Reheating Refrigerated Bread: To warm biscuits, pancakes, or muffins that were refrigerated, place them in a microwave with a cup of water. The increased moisture will keep the food moist and help it reheat faster.


Cleaning Appliances: (Microwave) Pour two cups of water into a microwave-safe bowl. Place in the middle of the microwave and cook on high for 5 minutes. Remove the bowl and wipe down the interior with a cloth or sponge. The steam will soften the cooked-on food and can be easily removed. (Oven) Clean your oven the easy way! Pour 1/2 cup of ammonia into a glass dish and sit it inside your oven. Close the door and let sit overnight. Remove the dish. Using a damp sponge or cloth, easily wipe away grime from the interior of the oven.

Mmmm! Frosting! When you buy a container of cake frosting from the store, whip it with your mixer for a few minutes. You can double it in size. You get to frost more cupcakes with the same amount and eat less sugar/calories per serving.


Fun with funnels. The fastest way to separate an egg is to use a kitchen funnel. The white will go through the funnel, but the yolk will stay in the funnel's bell. When cooking and measuring spices your spoon may not fit into the opening of the spice container. Pour some spice in a small bowl and then measure. To get the spice back into the jar make a funnel out of paper and just pour the unused spice back into the jar!


Kid-size cups! Keep a supply of biodegradable, cone-shaped coffee filters on hand—even if you don't have a coffee maker! These handy paper cups save you the need for washing snack plates and are perfect for carrying popcorn, pretzels, ice cream cones, popsicles, and more.


Sweet idea: Store your brown sugar in the freezer. Believe it or not, it will never get hard. Just retrieve it about 30 minutes before you'll need it and replace the unused portion.


Keep sponges fresh. Every time you run your dishwasher, throw your kitchen sponges in the silverware tray or top rack. The heat of the washer sanitizes your sponges, making them smell fresher and last longer.


Preserving Fresh Herbs! Extend the freshness of herbs during the summer season by freezing them. Herbs such as mint, basil and cilantro work best. Remove the leaves from the stems, chop finely and place into a liquid measuring glass. Add just enough olive oil to cover then pour the mixture into an ice cube tray and freeze. Once solid, place the cubes in a resealable plastic bag. Store up to 3 months in the freezer. Perfect for simmering soups, sauces and stews.


Shelf Life of Canned Goods? One of the most frequently asked questions about canned food is its shelf life and "use-by" dates. The codes that are stamped on canned food are manufacturers' codes that usually designate the date the product was packaged. The codes vary from manufacturer to manufacturer and usually include coding for time and place of canning. For a sampling of how to read product codes, click here.


Eggs-tra Special Tip: To shell hard-cooked eggs, crack the shell and roll the egg between the palms of the hands to free the thin tough skin from the egg and make shelling easier. If eggs are very fresh, (less than 3 days old), they are more difficult to shell. Quickly cooling hard-boiled eggs and then chilling them before peeling helps, as does holding eggs in the refrigerator for 7 to 10 days before hard-boiling. Hold the egg under a stream of cool water as you peel to remove any bits of broken shell.


Good-Bye Fruit Flies! To get rid of pesky fruit flies, take a small glass fill it 1/2" with Apple Cider Vinegar and 2 drops of dishwashing liquid, mix well. You will find those flies drawn to the cup and gone forever.

Fresh Veggies - Wanna know how to keep sliced vegetables from discoloring so quickly when you are preparing dinner? A few vegetables, notably potatoes, artichokes, and celery root, can darken when their flesh is exposed to air. Darkened flesh is harmless, but to prevent susceptible flesh from discoloring, drop the pared vegetable into cold water mixed with lemon or lime juice or vinegar (1 tablespoon to 4 cups of water.) It is best not to keep them in water for more than 20 minutes, lest nutrients and flavor start leaching out.


Measuring Cup Magic: Before you pour sticky substances into a measuring cup, fill it with hot water. Dump out the hot water, but don't dry the cup. Next, add your ingredient, such as peanut butter, and watch how easily it comes right out. Another idea is to spray the cup with cooking spray.


Slow Cooking . . . To adapt standard recipes for the slow cooker: Estimate 2 hours on low or 1 hour on high in a slow cooker for every 30 minutes of cooking time in the original recipe. To compensate for the steam that will collect, decrease the liquid called for in the oven or stovetop recipe by 1/2 cup. Add dairy-based ingredients (such as milk, cream, or cheese) during the last 30 minutes of cooking, as they will curdle if cooked too long.


Hint of Garlic - For salads where only a hint of garlic is desired (and where the dressing contains no garlic), rub the inside of the salad bowl with a peeled and halved clove of garlic. The oils released from the clove of garlic add a subtle hint of garlic as the salad is tossed.


Quick Thawing: Forgot to take your main ingredient out of the freezer in time to defrost? There are 3 ways to thaw foods in a jiffy: 1. Meat, Fish, Poultry: Place food in a resealable plastic bag. Put the bag in a bowl of cold water and place a heavy plate on top to keep it submerged. Count on one half hour per pound of meat. Change the water every 30 minutes. 2. For shrimp, submerge raw frozen shrimp in cold water for 10-15 minutes (shelled or unshelled). Drain thoroughly and pat dry. 3. Vegetables: Remove the vegetable from their package (corn, peas, or spinach for example). Place in a colander, run cool water over the vegetables until thawed. Drain well (or squeeze water from spinach). You can also follow the directions for #1 above using a resealable bag.

Easy Prep! Chicken Shred: Hold cooked chicken with a fork in each hand, prongs down and facing each other. Gently pull the forks away from each other breaking the meat apart into long, thin strands. Asparagus Snap: The tough woody part of the asparagus breaks off in just the right place if you hold the spear the right way. Hold halfway down the stalk with one hand; with the other hand, hold the cut end an inch or so from the bottom. Bend the stalk until it snaps. Lettuce Core: An easy way to core and wash iceberg lettuce is to rap the bottom of the head sharply on the counter to loosen the core. Turn over and pull out the core. Fill the hole left by the core with water to rinse soil from the leaves. Separate and rinse again if necessary.

Pancakes in a Pinch: To Freeze, stack cooled pancakes between squares of wax paper; place in a resealable bag or airtight. Freeze up to 3 months. Reheat on a baking sheet in preheated 350 oven or toaster oven. For perfect pancakes every time: Avoid over mixing the batter to keep pancakes tender. Use as little oil as possible in the skillet; a quick wipe with an oiled paper towel is plenty. To add extras, such as blueberries, chocolate chips, bananas or nuts, sprinkle on pancakes before flipping rather than mixing in the batter. The right tool is key to flipping and removing pancakes. Use a very thin spatula.


The Right Measuring Tools! Liquid-measuring cups are needed for measuring liquids. You shouldn’t use dry-measuring cups (which come nested inone another) for liquids because they might spill over nor should you measure dry ingredients in aliquid measure because you can’t level them alongthe top. After you’ve poured in a liquid in a liquid-measuring cup, check it at eye level to make sure it meets but doesn’t go above or below the mark. Most recipes need the right amount of liquid to work!


Storing Meat: Most refrigerators have no-spill shelves now, but if they don’t, try this. Store all meat products on a rimmed baking sheet. This keeps shelves sanitary and saves from cross contamination with other foods, such as fruits and veggies.




Crisp Lettuce: To keep greens fresh, store your washed and dried greens in a salad spinner with a little water in the bottom. The water should nottouch the greens.




Hello Honey: Honey, one of the oldest foods known to man, can be used to stir into tea, spread on toast, or spooned into oatmeal. Tips for buying honey: Generally, the darker the color, the more intense the flavor. Look for clear and golden, not cloudy and granular. Children under age 12 months should not have honey. Once opened, store at room temperature for up to a year, in a tightly sealed container. If it becomes crystalized place the jar or bottle in a pan of hot water (not boiling) off the stove, and stir until liquified. Or transfer into a microwave-safe container, and microwave, uncovered in 10-second increments, until liquefied.


Warm Your Dishes: Place your serving bowl or platter over your pot when heating things on the stove to have a warm serving bowl. Fill your coffee mug with very hot tap water to warm it up before pouring your morning cup of joe.


Big Cookie Sheets: Too many cookie sheets and not enough counter space? Roll 3” balls of aluminum foil and place in the corners of the sheet. This gives enough lift to “stack” the sheets and make a lot more cookies!


Break the spaghetti! To keep little pieces of uncooked pasta from flying around the kitchen, roll it into a kitchen towel and hang it over the edge of the counter. Push down on both ends and it’s all contained in the towel. Hold the towel over the pot and release the bottom end. Ta dah!


Cooling Racks: This invaluable kitchen tool is not just for cooling baked goods. Use it to drain bacon and other fried foods. It is perfect for air-drying candied apples and other sticky sweets, And it can serve as a stoveside trivet for hot pots. Some cooling racks are ovenproof; placed over a baking sheet, they make fine roasting racks.


Icecream Scoops: Besides dishing out ice cream and other frozen desserts, a scoop can shape cookie dough into equal-size balls or portion cupcake and muffin batter evenly into baking tins. You can even use them to form meatballs. At your next large family gathering, scoop out large globes of butter or margarine to serve to your guests. A smaller scoop, or melon baller, can create individual-size balls of butter. Use it for Portion control. The typical scoop holds 1/4 cup, souse one to dish out two scoops (or 1/2 cup, the standard portion size) of your favorite foods, including mashed potatoes, pasta, vegetables, rice, and cereal. Test your scoop by filling it with water and pouring it into a glass measuring cup.


Kitchen Scissors: Unlike regular scissors, these shears are specifically designed for kitchen tasks andcan often be used instead of aknife. You can use them to snip herbs, trim green beans and other vegetables, even slice a pizza. They are particularly good for cutting up chicken. You don’t even need a cutting board which is one less thing to wash during clean up!



Clean Cutting Boards: Here’s an easy, all-natural way to freshen wooden work surfaces with household ingredients. You’ll need a big handful of salt, which can be coarse orfine, and one lemon, cut in half. Sprinkle surface with salt, and scrub it with the cut side of a lemon half. Repeat if necessary. The salt is an abrasive that scours the wood, and the lemon dissolves grease.


Good Tasting Coffee: A periodic cleaning of your coffee maker will help ensure a great tasting cup of coffee. Oily residue from brewing, along with hard-water deposits and other impurities, build up in coffee makers over time. Once a month, fill the water reservoir with a solution that's half distilled white vinegar, half water. Turn on the coffeemaker. Let several cups run through, then turn it off, and let sit for an hour. Start the machine again to complete the cycle, discarding the vinegar mixture afterward. Run plain water through the coffee maker a few times until the vinegar odor disappears. To clean the carafe and filter basket, place in the top rack of the dishwasher.



Parchment Paper: It has many great uses besides lining baking sheets and cake pans. This inexpensive paper can be used for a variety of tasks, from pouring ingredients to steaming fish. Parchment paper is treated with silicone, so it is nonstick; it is also heatproof and grease-resistant. It’s available bleached (white) or unbleached (brown) and can be found in the baking section of most supermarkets. It protects pans, aids cleanup, and prevents food from sticking. You can bake fish or chicken in it for a low-fat cooking method. It also makes a handy funnel for transferring dry ingredients.


Italian Seasoning: This familiar mix of dried oregano, basil, rosemary, sage, and thyme (sometimes marjoram or savory) adds a rich, deep fragrance to many dishes. How it’s used: This blend of Mediterranean dried herbs is often mixed in tomato-based dishes. But it works well with fish and vegetables, stuffings and soups, and egg dishes such as frittatas. Crush it lightly to intensify its flavor before adding to a recipe. Herbes de Provence, an almost similar blend of dried herbs, is milder and slightly sweet. How to store it: Italian seasoning is available on the spice shelf of supermarkets, or you can make some at home, using equal amounts of the dried herbs mentioned above. Either way, it will stay fresh, stored in an airtight container in a cool, dry place up tot 3 months.



Wine Basics: Wine Basics. Here are a few guidelines that will help keep unopened or opened bottles at their best. Unopened Bottles: You don’t need a cellar to store wine. Any cool, dark place, such as a closet, will do. Keeping the wine out of the sunlight and at a consistent temperature (between 55 and 65 degrees) is key. It’s also a good practice to use a wine rack so the bottle lay flat; this keeps the cork wet so air can’t get in through the cracks and promote spoiling (wine bottles with screw tops, which are becoming popular, don’t need to lay flat.) Wine refrigerators, which come in a variety of sizes, provide all of these ideal conditions. Opened Bottles: Once a bottle of wine has been opened, limiting its exposure to air is the main concern. Recorking and refrigerating a bottle shortly after use will keep it fresh for a day or two. A hand-pumped vacuum sealer is inexpensive and can keep wine drinkable up to one week. To reduce contact with air, try pouring the remains of a large bottle into a small one.


Storing Mushrooms: Choose mushrooms that are firm and unblemished, and see how easy it is to keep them fresh and flavorful. What to do: Place loose mushrooms unwashed and uncut, in a paper bag; fold over the top, and place on a refrigerator shelf (not in the crisper). Refrigerate pre-packaged mushrooms in their original container and wrapping until opened. Mushrooms taste best when used within a few days of purchase.


It's soup season! Keep your stock from making a splash by placing meat and veggies in a large pot with a pasta insert. When it is time to strain, remove the insert easily and neatly from the large pot.



Easy clean your blender: Squirt in a bit of dish liquid and add some water. Put on the lid and blend.


Cutting Potatoes: Cover cut raw potatoes with water to keep them from turning brown. You can prepare them the night before and still have creamy white potatoes the next day. Refrigerate them if keeping over night.


Multi-Tasked Muffin Tins! Besides muffins and cupcakes, you can use the mini muffin tins to make tiny quiches, pastry cups to fill for appetizers, or bite-sized desserts such as mini cheesecakes. You can also bake individual fruit pies or meat loaves in the jumbo muffin tins.


Slippery Cutting Board: To keep your cutting board from slipping on the counter, place a damp paper towel under it while chopping. This trick works for both plastic and wood boards. Thick-ply paper towels provide more stability.