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Handy Tips to Make Life Easier
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Leclair home page
(Thanks to Yves for providing the info to start this page.)
1) Stuff a miniature marshmallow in the bottom of a sugar cone to prevent
ice cream drips.
2) Use a meat baster to "squeeze" your pancake batter onto the hot griddle
- perfect shaped pancakes every time
3) To keep potatoes from budding, place an apple in the bag with the
potatoes
4) To prevent egg shells from cracking, add a pinch of salt to the water
before hard-boiling.
5) Run your hands under cold water before pressing Rice Krispies treats in
the pan - the marshmallow won't stick to your fingers.
6) To get the most juice out of fresh lemons, bring them to room temperature
and roll them under your palm against the kitchen counter before squeezing.
7) To easily remove burnt-on food from your skillet, simply add a drop or
two of dish soap and enough water to cover bottom of pan, and bring to a
boil on stove-top - skillet will be much easier to clean.
8) Spray your Tupperware with nonstick cooking spray before pouring in
tomato-based sauces - no more stains.
9) When a cake recipe calls for flouring the baking pan, use a bit of the
dry cake mix instead - no white mess on the outside of the cake.
10) If you accidentally over-salt a dish while it's still cooking, drop in
a peeled potato - it absorbs the excess salt for an instant "fix me up".
11) Wrap celery in aluminum foil when putting in the refrigerator - it will
keep for weeks.
12) Brush beaten egg white over pie crust before baking to yield a beautiful
glossy finish.
13) Place a slice of apple in hardened brown sugar to soften it back up.
14) When boiling corn on the cob, add a pinch of sugar to help bring out
the corn's natural sweetness.
15) To determine whether an egg is fresh, immerse it in a pan of cool, salted
water. If it sinks, it is fresh - if it rises to the surface, throw it
away.
16) Cure for headaches: Take a lime, cut it in half and rub it on your forehead
The throbbing will go away.
17) Don't throw out all that leftover wine: Freeze into ice cubes
for future use in casseroles and sauces.
18) If you have a problem opening jars: Try using latex dishwashing gloves.
They give a non-slip grip that makes opening jars easy.
19) Potatoes will take food stains off your fingers. Just slice and rub raw
potato on the stains and rinse with water.
20) To get rid of itch from mosquito bite: try applying soap on the area,
instant relief.
21) Ants, ants, ants everywhere ... Well, they are said to never cross a
chalk line. So get your chalk out and draw a line on the floor or wherever
ants tend to march - see for yourself.
22) Use air-freshener to clean mirrors: It does a good job and better still,
leaves a lovely smell to the shine.
23) When you get a splinter, reach for the scotch tape before resorting to
tweezers or a needle. Simply put the scotch tape over the splinter, then
pull it off. Scotch tape removes most splinters painlessly and easily.
24) NOW Look what you can do with Alka-Seltzer:
-Clean a toilet - drop in two Alka-Seltzer tablets, wait twenty minutes,
brush, and flush. The citric acid and effervescent action clean vitreous
china.
-Clean a vase - to remove a stain from the bottom of a glass
vase or cruet, fill with water and drop in two Alka-Seltzer tablets.
-Polish jewelry - drop two Alka-Seltzer tablets into a glass
of water and immerse the jewelry for two minutes.
-Clean a thermos bottle - fill the bottle with water, drop in
four Alka-Seltzer tablets, and let soak for an hour (or longer, if
necessary).
-Unclog a drain - clear the sink drain by dropping three
Alka-Seltzer tablets down the drain followed by a cup of Heinz White Vinegar.
Wait a few minutes, then run the hot water.
25) If your VCR has a year setting on it, which most do, you may not be able
to use the programmed recording feature after 12/31/99. Don't throw it away,
instead, set it for the year 1972 as the days are the same as the year 2000.
The manufacturers won't tell you. They want you to buy a new Y2K VCR.
26) To remove the smell of fresh cut onions from your hands, rub them against
your stainless steel sink
27) To avoid tears when cutting onions, bite on a wooden match or toothpick.
This will make you breathe through your mouth, and the nasty vapours won't
affect your sensitive nasal tissues.
28) to easily start a campfire, fireplace fire, or charcoal barbeque, use
a cotton ball soaked in vaseline.(They don't call it "petrolium jelly" for
nothing!) When camping, keep a supply in a used film canister.
29) There's a bunch of canoe-camping tricks & tips in my canoe pages
(including my not yet world famous camping oven)- here's a
shortcut.
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