Saving time and trouble in the kitchen conserves a cook’s energy. Seasoned cooks know many of these tips and basics, but if you’re new to the culinary world, you’ll appreciate learning these.
Tips & Tricks (totally random)
• Add 1/2 cup of water or beef broth to 1 lb ground beef (or chicken broth to ground turkey or chicken) for the juiciest burgers ever.
• Cookie and ice cream scoops make life easy. How have I lived without them all these years! Use them to make uniform size cookies and meatballs, dip batter into muffin cups, the list is endless.
• For sky-high muffins, let batter sit in tins for about a half-hour before baking.
• If using coarse or kosher salt, double the amount called for in recipes calling for regular table salt. The opposite also applies.
• Freeze ground meat packed in 1-qt zipper freezer bags, and flatten to about 1/2 to 3/4 thick, distributing evenly. Freeze flat. This takes only a half-hour or so to defrost.
• Wrap chicken or pork chops separately (I use cheap sandwich bags), freeze 2 hours; place in a larger freezer bag. Pull out only pieces you need. No defrosting huge blocks of meat for hours!
• Never buy scallions for $1 a bunch again! Cut off the white root ends. Put them in a glass jar with an inch of water, place on a sunny windowsill, and they will re-grow! Keep trimming off when you need green tops, and they’ll shoot up again! Trimming encourages growth. Mine shot up 8 inches in a week. You can also plant them in a pot after a while.
Freezing veggies
Most vegetables like peas and green beans should be blanched before freezing. Blanching means boiling for three minutes or so (varies by vegetable), plunging into icewater to “shock,” draining very well, and wrapping securely before freezing. Blanching ensures your veggies will maintain their color and won’t get freezer burn if used within a reasonable period.
I always blanch my bell pepper halves before making stuffed peppers because they bake up so much more colorfully. Fresh sliced, halved, or whole bell peppers, however, can be placed in plastic bags and frozen dry without any need for blanching. So can sliced apples and berries.
Basic recipes I can’t live without
Homemade Ranch Dressing is so good, and it is SO much healthier than the bottled kind, which is loaded with sugar (Really! Have you read the ingredients?) This mixes up quick and easy.
3/4 cup buttermilk (Shake well!)
3/4 cup real mayonnaise (Do not substitute with Miracle Whip!)
2 tsp white vinegar
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp each dried tarragon and basil (Essential!)
Fresh cracked pepper to taste
Whisk together and refrigerate for a couple of hours if you have time. Make it on the fly, and it still tastes better than that stuff hiding in the valley advertised on TV. Add some fresh chopped chives just before serving. (Mine are coming up! So stoked!)
Crumb Topping can always be found in my ’fridge. I make it in triple batches and never have an excuse not to whip up an awesome pie. This topping bakes up golden-buttery and sweet and makes that second crust unnecessary. I’ve used it on apple, berry, peach, and rhubarb pies with great success.
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 stick soft butter
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Mix with your fingers till crumbly. Pile an inch or more deep on top of your pie and bake as usual. Double or triple so you always have it on hand. Store in the refrigerator in a tightly closed container. Makes a great topping for coffee cake, too!
Basic Quiche is a springboard for endless variations you can whip up in record time, amazing your friends and family! Well, maybe not quite that fab, but it’s a handy, delicious, and filling meal and makes great leftovers. I love my homemade crust, but I use the prepared rolled crust for my quiche. Add grated cheese (any kind), ham, cooked mushrooms, or whatever.
2 cups shredded cheese (Swiss is traditional but not required)
2 cups whole milk
4 eggs
1/4 tsp salt
Dash of nutmeg
Preheat oven to 375°. Beat eggs. Add milk and salt. Pour into unbaked pie shell. Spread cheese (or any other stuff) evenly over top. Sprinkle with nutmeg. Bake 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let sit 15 minutes before cutting. Great cold the next day!
If you have a great tip to share or a basic recipe you can’t live without, please post a comment on my blog, which is updated the weekend after this column is published.
Connie Tucker has been creating in the kitchen and at the typewriter for over 40 years. Connie lives with her husband, Jerry, and their cats, Pinky and Elvis, on Madawaska Lake.
