It’s the weekend! And USUALLY that means I share a new recipe. Not this week though, because my plan didn’t become perfect, and I’m not going to give you guys anything less than great. So, you’ll hopefully get that in a few weeks. Next week’s recipe is ready but it’s pretty time-specific…soooooooo there you go! Nothing new this week, but I do want to post for consistency, and I think this is a fun post to make every few months.
Here are six tips I’ve dug up for the kitchen recently!
ONE
If you are going to make a meringue make sure the bowl you’re using is CLEAN. Seems like a no-brainer but, you have to go the extra mile for meringue. Besides doing your basic wash it is a great idea to take some kitchen roll soaked in a little vinegar (any variety) and wipe the inside of the bowl clean. This gets rid of any residual grease in your bowl, making for better meringue aeration.
TWO
A few months ago, I posted a story on Instagram asking if anyone had tips for chopping onions without crying. I received so many tips but the best one was definitely chewing gum. If you chew mint gum (not sure about other flavors of gum) while chopping an onion you will not cry! You may shed one tear, but you will not feel as if a waterfall is coming from your eyes! HALELUJAH!!! I also found that sucking hard candy will work, but not 100% of the time.
THREE
For homemade ice cream (without an ice cream maker) all you need is heavy whipping cream, sweetened condensed milk, whatever you want as your flavoring, a pan of some sort, cling film and your freezer. An electric mixer would be handy too, but it’s not essential. THAT’S IT! I will get people saying “The ice cream you made looks so good! Maybe I’ll try it eventually.” Then they’ll say things about how they don’t have time to make it etc. I’m here to say you do have the time! It can take as little as ten minutes to put together!
FOUR
Prepping dinner at a less busy time of your day, or week, will be a life-saver! This isn’t a new concept, but I’ve really noticed it the past few months. If I make the effort to prep up a sheet pan of pot stickers, pre-make tortilla dough, cook meat for the next few days etc. I’m 95% less likely to eat out. (That 5% is because if someone offers to get pizza, I’m 100% there! haha!) Prepping little things throughout the week sets you up for a healthier lifestyle, saving money and having more self-confidence in the kitchen.
FIVE
If you use margarine try switching to butter. It is better for you and it tastes better. We ran out of butter the other day and one of our friends had given us some margarine when they moved so I used it and instantly saw a huge difference in taste and texture. I used to use margarine all the time before properly getting into baking and I can honestly say I’m never going back. Do yourself a favor and just try real butter.
SIX
PLEASE look at the sell by dates/expiration dates on food items when you’re at the store. Two big reasons why;
1.This will help you plan out your meals better. When it’s a fresh item like meat or a bagged salad, for example, you want to make sure there will be enough time to cook whatever it is. “Is this beef stew meat going to last until Valentine’s Day when I need it?” No? “Okay, then I can freeze it. I need to remember to do that when I get home!”, “Is this stir fry going to be good until next Friday when I want to make it?” No? “Then I need to either not buy this one, or I need to move my stir fry to a different day.”
2. It saves you money. I recently bought a jar of preserves from my local grocery store, used about half of it, and then a few days later found out it was off. It was off by SEVEN MONTHS! Needless to say, I was so annoyed. But lesson learned, I will not be trusting grocery stores to have in-date items.
Look at the labels! It will save you time and money!