Cheaper, Better, Faster (11 page)

Onions—substitute

Out of onions for gravy or stock? A few teaspoons of dried-onion soup mix make a tasty substitute.

Onions—too soft

Boiled onions that have become too soft can be firmed up again by dipping them briefly in ice water.

Organizers

Plastic berry baskets make terrific holders for powdered soups, drink mixes, and envelopes of seasonings that seem to collect around the pantry.

Oven—when to preheat

Preheat your oven only if the recipe tells you to. Casseroles and roasts don't suffer from starting out in a cold oven, but breads, cakes, and pies do.

Pantry
shelving

Create more pantry shelving by laying a narrow board across two tall soup cans.

Pasta—and Parmesan

Drain pasta noodles after cooking, then add a little grated Parmesan cheese. The cheese creates a bumpy texture for the sauce to cling to. Add the noodles to sauce in the saucepan, then toss until the pasta is coated.

Pasta—boiling with
vegetables

When cooking pasta, add cut-up vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, or carrots to the boiling water. They can cook together even if they will not be served in the same dish.

Pasta—draining, coat the colander

Coat your colander with cooking spray before using it to drain pasta. This will keep the pasta from sticking.

Pasta—
draining, skip the colander

To skip the step of transferring pasta from the pot to the colander to rinse, cook pasta in a pot with a removable inner basket, or use a metal colander or large strainer inside a pot of boiling water. Lift out and drain.

Pasta—fresh

Fresh pasta can be wrapped airtight in a plastic bag and refrigerated for up to 5 days or double wrapped and frozen for up to 4 months.

Pasta—shapes

Match the pasta shape to the sauce you will be serving. Serve long, thin pasta such as spaghetti or vermicelli with smooth sauces that will cling to the long strands. Serve long, flat pasta such as fettuccini and linguini with rich sauces based on butter, cheese, or cream. Serve short pasta such as fussili or rigatoni with chunky vegetable, meat, or cream sauces (good choice for baked pasta dishes). Serve fun-shaped pasta such as bow ties or shells with cream, seafood, or tomato sauce.

Pasta—stretch prepackaged dishes

To receive more value from prepackaged pasta dishes such as Kraft Macaroni and Cheese or Hamburger Helper, add up to a cup of extra macaroni or pasta to extend the dish without losing flavor. To save on calories and fat, use skim milk and half the recommended amount of butter.

Pasta—unsticking

If cooked pasta sticks together, spritz it gently with hot running water for just a few seconds. Drain.

Pastry blender—for
chopping and slicing

Use a pastry blender to chop hard-cooked eggs or canned tomatoes and to slice sticks of cold butter into parts.

Pie—cover for meringue or custard

Before refrigerating leftover meringue or custard pies, cover with plastic wrap treated with vegetable oil or cooking spray so it won't stick to the pie's surface.

Pie—pumpkin

When making a pumpkin pie, mix the filling in a 1-quart or larger liquid measuring cup
or a large pitcher instead of a mixing bowl. To add the filling, pull the oven rack partway out, place the pie plate on the rack, and pour the filling into the crust. Gently push the rack back in place, then bake the pie. No spills, no fuss!

Piecrust—extra flaky

Substitute ice-cold sour cream or whipping cream for water for an extra-flaky piecrust.

Piecrust—firm up

Place your unfilled piecrust in the freezer for 10 minutes before baking to reduce shrinkage and to hold fluted edges in place.

Piecrust—hands
off!

Body heat will melt the fat and toughen piecrust, so touch the dough with your hands as little as possible.

Piecrust—prevent overbrowning edges

To prevent piecrust edges from overbrowning, cut the bottom and sides from a disposable aluminum foil pie pan, leaving the rim intact. When the crust is golden brown and the filling isn't quite done, place the foil ring on top to slow the browning process. It can be used again and again.

Piecrust—use
cold ingredients

Piecrust ingredients, even the flour, should be cold to produce the best results.

Pizza crust—not so soggy

If you need a pan with sides to hold your pizza, prebake the crust on a pizza stone or in a perforated pan, and then transfer it to a deep dish before filling. The crust will be sealed and less likely to become soggy.

Portions—single-size

Here's how to freeze single-size portions if you don't have lots of small containers or you have limited freezer space: Spoon a single serving of food, such as chili or stew, into a
large container; freeze it briefly until hard; cover with two pieces of waxed paper; then add another serving. Repeat layers with remaining food. When ready to use, just grab the edges of the waxed paper, lift out what you need, and return the rest to the freezer.

Potato—brightener

A teaspoon or two of lemon juice in the cooking water will keep potatoes white after cooking.

Potato—
peeler uses

Uses for a potato peeler: (1) Grate cheese, and save time on cleanup; (2) shave off small pieces of butter or margarine from a frozen or hard stick with a potato peeler; (3) pit cherries.

Potato—salad

For more flavorful potato salads, add a vinaigrette dressing while drained potatoes are still hot so they'll absorb some of the dressing.

Potatoes—buttermilk or skim milk with seasoning

Make mashed potatoes with buttermilk or skim milk and butter-flavored seasoning instead of using butter and whole milk.

Potatoes—mashed,
ahead of time

Mashed potatoes can be made ahead of time. Make a batch, then spoon the prepared whipped potatoes into a buttered casserole dish. Dot with pats of butter and cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. To warm before serving, bake in a 350ºF oven for about 25 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out hot. Or cook in the microwave until hot.

Potatoes—mashed,
with mayo

Add a good-quality mayonnaise along with the butter, salt, and pepper to your mashed potatoes. Prepare as you would for whipped potatoes.

Potatoes—saltwater soak before baking

Soak potatoes in saltwater for 20 minutes before baking so they will bake more rapidly.

Potatoes—scooping tool

Use a curved grapefruit knife to scoop out baked-potato halves when making twice-baked potatoes or when preparing a halved eggplant for stuffing.

Potatoes—washed in the dishwasher

When you have to wash a lot of potatoes, just put them in your dishwasher—but don't add soap! Set it on a short wash cycle. The clean potatoes can go right into the oven or pot.

Potluck surprise

Get a group of friends or relatives and pick a day or week of the month when everyone's cupboards are lean. Everyone brings an item to share for dinner together. Saves money on going out and you can have fun with all the surprises on the menu.

Poultry—baked chicken coating

Ingredients: 1 cup bread crumbs, 2 teaspoons celery salt, 1 teaspoon garlic powder,
½
teaspoon salt,
½
cup flour, 2 teaspoons poultry seasoning, 1 teaspoon paprika,
½
teaspoon pepper, 5 teaspoons onion powder, and
½
teaspoon cayenne pepper. Mix all ingredients, and store in a tightly closed container. Will keep for up to 4 months in the pantry. To use, dip chicken pieces in mixture of
½
cup milk and one beaten egg. Pour 1 cup coating mix into a resealable plastic bag, add chicken one piece at a time, and shake. Bake at 375°F for 1 hour or until juices run clear.

Poultry—basting with margarine or butter

For crisper skin on your turkey, prebaste it with margarine or butter. Avoid a mess by
using a plastic sandwich bag as a mitt.

Poultry—basting with cheesecloth and butter

Turkey or chicken will almost baste itself if you cover it with a double layer of cheesecloth that's been soaked with butter. When the cheesecloth is removed at the end of the roasting time, the bird will be moist and golden brown. For a crisp, brown skin, remove the cheesecloth 30 minutes before the bird is done.

Poultry—chicken yield

How many chickens in a cup? A 3- to 4-pound broiler-fryer will yield about 3 to 4 cups of cooked chicken, after deboning. A
¾
-pound skinned, deboned chicken breast will yield about 2 cups of cooked chicken.

Poultry—cutting with scissors

It is easier to cut cooked or raw poultry with scissors than with a knife, and it doesn't shred the meat as much as a knife does.

Poultry—fried chicken crunchy coating

Crushed cereals like cornflakes, Rice Chex, Wheat Chex, or Corn Chex can be used as a coating for fried chicken instead of flour or as part of the flour mixture.

Poultry—fried chicken
in cornstarch

For super crispy fried chicken, use half flour and half cornstarch instead of flour only. Season as usual and add
½
teaspoon baking powder.

Poultry—game hen stuffing

When stuffing a game hen, count on about 1 cup dressing per bird.

Poultry—mayo rubdown

Rubbing mayonnaise all over the skin produces a crisp, deep golden-brown roasted chicken or turkey. Note: Low-fat or
nonfat mayonnaise will not produce satisfactory results.

Poultry—roasting chicken without the skin

To keep skinless chicken moist and ensure even browning during roasting, spray pieces with cooking spray, then season.

Poultry—skinning

To remove skin from uncooked poultry, grasp it with a paper towel and pull.

Poultry—turkey and fresh herbs

For a delicious and festive roast turkey, insert sprigs of fresh herbs in a single layer between the skin and breast meat, arranging them in a decorative pattern. Then roast the turkey as usual. The herbs will flavor the meat and show through the skin in an attractive design.

Poultry—turkey broth
to moisten

To keep turkey moist and tender after it has been sliced, drizzle turkey broth mixed with apple juice or cider over the meat.

Poultry—turkey soak

Cooked poultry, especially turkey, can dry out very quickly. To save your guests the ordeal of a dry meal, slice the turkey and arrange on a heat-proof platter. Prepare a sauce of half butter and half chicken broth. Pour it on the sliced bird, and let it stand in a 250ºF oven for 10 minutes to soak up the juices.

Poultry—
turkey sling

Before roasting your turkey, place a 3-inch strip of folded cheesecloth crosswise on the rack in the roasting pan. (Wash the cheesecloth first, to remove sizing.) Place the turkey on the cheesecloth in the pan, pulling the ends of the cloth up between the wings and the body. Roast as usual. To remove the turkey from the pan, lift it with the cloth, steadying the bird with a big spoon if necessary.

Poultry—turkey trussing

Out of string to truss the turkey? Dental floss works well. Use unflavored because minty-fresh and turkey don't go together very well.

Range top reflectors

Make sure the reflector pans beneath your stove's burners are bright and clean. Shiny reflector pans help focus heat rays on the bottoms of pots.

Recipes—clothes hanger holder

To keep recipe cards clean, clip them to a clothes hanger, the kind you use for skirts, and hang it from a cupboard doorknob.

Recipes—
in photo albums

Keep recipes clean and easy to use by storing them in small photo albums. They stay open and lie flat, and the pages can be wiped off easily. They're especially great for recipes printed on thin paper from magazines and newspapers.

Recipes—on coated cards

A recipe written in ink on a card won't smear if you rub a piece of white paraffin (a candle will do) over the card to coat the surface.

Refrigerator
access

A lazy Susan on a refrigerator shelf ensures easy access to items often forgotten in the back.

Rice—whitener

A teaspoon or two of lemon juice in the cooking water will make cooked rice whiter.

Rice—storage

Store white rice in an airtight container in a cool, dark place for up to 1 year; store brown rice for up to 6 months. In warm climates, or for longer storage, refrigerate or freeze rice.

Rice—using broth

When cooking rice, you can substitute chicken broth or
beef broth for part of the cooking water.

Ripening—faster

Tomatoes, avocados, peaches, and nectarines ripen faster when enclosed in a brown paper bag and kept at room temperature in a dark place for 2 to 3 days.

Roast—faster with the bone

A roast with the bone in will cook faster than a boneless roast. The bone carries the heat to the inside of the roast, so it cooks more quickly.

Roast—no
sticking

To keep a rib roast or pot roast from sticking to the pot, place celery sticks on the bottom. This works like a rack to keep the meat up and out of the fat and the celery flavors the roast at the same time.