Archives for May 2010

These tips aren’t really to teach you anything.  You probably already know them.  I’ve recently thought about OBVIOUS tricks that took me FOREVER to learn around the house and kitchen.  You know, the kind where you think, “Why did it take me so incredibly long to do this?”

1. Throw fresh ginger in the freezer and it can be used forever.  (Well, maybe not forever, but a lot longer than the moldy green stuff it turns into in the refrigerator.)

2. Throw lemon peel in the freezer and user it for zest later or first make the zest then put it in the freezer (though I’m too lazy for option#2.)

3. I recently started keeping blow dryer plugged in next to my bed.  After showering I go lay back in bed and blow-dry my hair.  Why did I not think of this eons ago?  It’s fabulous.

4.  I’m sure 99.9% of people in the world do this.  BUT I didn’t think of it until about 3 years after I was married!!!  Cold water can be run over pasta to speed up the cooling process.  I feel so dumb to admit this one. *tucks head in shame.*

5. I got tired of cooling HOT baby food by blowing on it.  I now stir it with an ice cube for just a couple of seconds!

6. Label the tops of spices and throw them in a basket.  BEST spice organization EVER because the ease of use sure beats the typical knock-over-every-single-other-spice-to-get-the-one-you-want method!!!!!

7. If a recipe calls for super fine/caster sugar, don’t buy it.  Just pulse it in the blender for a few seconds.

8. If your gravy is lumpy, throw it in a blender.  But make sure to avoid a blender explosion by blending in small batches and using a towel to cover the blender when blending anything hot.  Been there Done That–Got the T-shirt and the burn; Thanksgiving 2007.

8. Aspirin is great for diminishing unsightly acne on one’s face (I may or may have used this remedy this weekend for a couple of ugly blemishes that made my mouth look like the Joker’s!).  Right before bed, just crush a tablet up, mix with a tiny bit of water, and apply  a very small amount to the gargantuan embarrassment.  In the morning, it will look a ton better, I promise!  Helps take away the redness and works like a charm.  If only I had know about this one in high school when my whole face was a zit.

9.  Use a behind the door shoe rack to store miscellaneous baby items.

I am embarrassed about how messy this is…but it is very handy for baby medicines, baby hats, baby socks, lotions, etc. etc.

10. Freeze chicken breasts in individual baggies so you don’t have to cook the entire package of meat. I know, I know…Another DUH one…this took me several years for me to figure out. I went to visit my friend in Massachusetts, saw how she did it, and had my chicken-freezing-AHA-moment. Also, I’d always get irritated about how THICK the chicken was. It took me about 7 years into marriage for me to realize that was the purpose of a meat tenderizer.

Do you have any DUH-AHA tips that took you a while to figure out…And that you’re not to ashamed to admit?