How Come I Never Thought of That? (chickens, hamburgers, sugar)

[jtur88]

A thread where you can post simple things that you can to do improve a recipe, a dish or a meal, or to simplify its preparation.

For starters:

Keep an open pack of Jello, and sprinkle a teaspoon onto a cup of plain yogurt. Stirring it in is optional.. It adds a nice fruity flavor to the Yogurt, and gives you some gelatin (for your nails) without the inconvenience of making a whole bowl of Jello and storing it in the fridge and eating it up. It's also cane sugar, not HFCS or artificial sweetener. Store-brand gelatin desserts are half the price of Jello, and perfectly satisfactory for this purpose.

[Jesse44]

I'm not sure if this isn't common knowledge, but the easiest way to peel garlic is to smash a heavy sideways knife against the garlic on the cutting board. The peel,comes right off and you can immediately cut it up.

[J Andb]

Originally Posted by Jesse44

I'm not sure if this isn't common knowledge, but the easiest way to peel garlic is to smash a heavy sideways knife against the garlic on the cutting board. The peel,comes right off and you can immediately cut it up.

That is seen on every cooking show on TV.

[Happy in Wyoming]

I add a bit of anchovy paste or anchovy oil to deviled eggs, scrambled eggs, and many pasta dishes as well as meat loaf, Steak Tartare, and hamburgers. You'll never taste the anchovy, just the yumminess.

Adding mayo to scrambled eggs just before serving adds an extra zing.

Pricking a pinhole in the large end of an egg permits transferring an egg directly from the refrigerator to boiling water. Amazon sells egg prickers, often combined with slicers. Do not allow eggs to come to room temperature if you live outside of Europe. European chickens are inoculated against Salmonella. In North America we rely on refrigeration.

For the best sunny side up eggs, separate the eggs, then add the whites to the skillet. When they're about a minute from cooked place the yolks on top. A ring made from a small can keeps the yolk in place.

[magicshark]

An old time tip that my husband actually taught me is to add old fashioned, not the quick cook stuff, tapioca to beef stew. It helps thicken it up.

[CSD610]

I use tomato juice in my meatloaf instead of tomato paste or sauce, it still gives it the tomato flavor but you can add more oats (if you use them) for a more solid meatloaf which I like because I make meatloaf specifically for sandwiches.

[missik999]

I always cook rice in vegetable broth instead of water.

[Dirt Grinder]

I have a trick for peeling shrimp...

• First, twist-off the tail fans (not the entire tail - it contains meat)
• Then, peel-off the upper shell (the part with the tiny legs)
• Finally, slip-off the lower part of the shell (it comes-off easily because you removed the tail fans).

"Remove the shoes, take-off the jacket, slip-off the pants." I can prep a pound of shrimp in no time.

[Honolulu21]

Originally Posted by Dirt Grinder

I have a trick for peeling shrimp...

• First, twist-off the tail fans (not the entire tail - it contains meat)
• Then, peel-off the upper shell (the part with the tiny legs)
• Finally, slip-off the lower part of the shell (it comes-off easily because you removed the tail fans).

"Remove the shoes, take-off the jacket, slip-off the pants." I can prep a pound of shrimp in no time.

Clever! I wanted to rep you, but I have to spread it around! LOL...

Be creative when making cookie crust for pies. Instead of always defaulting to the graham cracker crust, try using other types of cookies.

Once when I was making a chocolate pie recipe that called for a graham cracker crust, I used instead a "crunchy" textured peanut butter cookie processed into crumbs in my food processor with some coarsely chopped roasted peanuts. I used the same amount of butter to bind it together and slightly less sugar since peanut butter cookies are sweeter than graham crackers.

The texture contrast as well as the flavors that complimented each other really transformed this pie into just great to "out of this world" delicious!!!

[burdell]

Originally Posted by Jesse44

I'm not sure if this isn't common knowledge, but the easiest way to peel garlic is to smash a heavy sideways knife against the garlic on the cutting board. The peel,comes right off and you can immediately cut it up.

Somewhere I watched recently someone putting a few cloves in a jar and shaking it like you were mixing a cocktail, the skin came right off. Maybe a good idea if for some reason you don't want the cloves to be crushed.