Tips for Your Kitchen

Submitted by: Colleen Moeller

Easy Way to Wash Green Beans

Do you have green beans gallore? Wash them in the clothes washing machine on the gentle cycle, with cold water (no soap please!), and you are ready to prepare them.

Cutting Corn off the Cob

When cutting sweet corn off the ear, use an angel food cake pan and an electric knife. Place heel of cob on cake pan tube, hold the ear in place and cut off corn. Tube holds cob securely, and the cake pan catches the corn neatly. (For a yummy frozen corn recipe with no hot cobs or burned fingers, look under Freezing and Canning Recipes.)

Canning Lids and Seals

To keep canning lids and seals hot during canning process, put in a crock pot, on low, with water. Check the temperature of the water with a meat thermometer to make sure your crock pot is the correct temperature (no higher than 180 degrees). If your crock gets too hot, simply turn it off and the heated stone crock will keep the lids warm for a long time.

More Hours in Your Day Thanksgiving Turkey (unless you desire a table presentation)

Cook your turkey the day before you are serving it. Carve your turkey as usual. Refrigerate. The morning you are serving the turkey: place meat in crock pot with one regular can of chicken broth (or 2 c. of homemade stock). Cook on high for 1 hour and then on low until ready to serve (about three to four hours). Always moist and tender. Don't forget to boil the remaining turkey bones with about a gallon of water. The extra cooking makes removing the remaining meat very easy, and also provides you with a rich stock that you can use for turkey soup.

Neat Salad Eggs

Prepare eggs as usual. Place egg filling in a small sandwich bag. Cut off one corner of the bag and squeeze filling into egg halves like a pastry bag. Throw the bag away! No clean-up.

Hard boiled Eggs with No Green Yolks

Place eggs in cold water. Bring to a full boil. Cover and remove from heat. Let stand 10 minutes, drain water off and cover with cold water.

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