General Cooking Tips

After stewing a chicken and before dicing the meat for casseroles, etc, let cool in broth before cutting into chunks. It will have twice the flavor this way.

General cooking tips slicing raw meat.
To slice uncooked meat into thin strips, partially freeze and it will slice easily.
(remembering to always cut meats across the grain)

A roast with the bone in will cook faster than a boneless roast. The bone carries the heat to the inside of the roast quicker.

General cooking tips for cooking a tender roast.
Never cook a roast cold. Let stand for at least an hour at room temperature. Brush with oil before and during roasting. The oil will seal in the juices.

For a juicier hamburger, add a bit of cold water to the beef before grilling. (1/2 cup to 1 pound of meat)

To freeze foods that you wish to keep separated such as meatballs, place them on a cookie sheet until frozen. Place frozen meatballs into a plastic bag and they will stay separated so that you may remove as many as you want.


To keep cauliflower white while cooking, add a little milk to the water.

When boiling corn, add sugar to the water instead of salt. Salt will toughen the corn.

To ripen tomatoes, put them in a brown paper bag in a dark pantry and they will ripen overnight.

Do not use soda to keep vegetables green, it destroys Vitamin C.

Potatoes soaked in salt water for 20 minutes before baking will bake more rapidly.

In general a great cooking tip to make crispy french fries.
Let raw potatoes stand in cold water for at least 30 minutes before frying to improve the crispness of French fried potatoes.

Use greased muffin tins as molds when baking stuffed green peppers.

A few drops of lemon juice in the water will whiten the color of boiled potatoes.

Buy mushrooms before they “open”. When the mushroom stems and caps are attached snugly, mushrooms are truly fresh.

Do not use metal bowls when mixing salads. Instead use wooden, glass or china bowls.

Lettuce Storage Cooking Tip

General cooking tip to properly store lettuce.
Lettuce keeps better if you store in a refrigerator without washing first. Keep lettuce leaves so they are dry.

To keep celery crisp, stand it up in a pitcher of cold salted water and refrigerate.

Don’t despair if you've over salted the gravy, stir in some instant mashed potatoes and you will repair the damage. Just add a little more liquid to offset the thickening.

Substitute, substitute, substitute. Recipes were made to be messed with. Use alternative ingredients to make your recipes healthier. Cook with broth (low-sodium vegetable, low-fat chicken or beef) instead of with oils. Use vinaigrettes or citrus-juice-based dressings instead of creamy ones, which are often full of saturated fat. Try olive oil, skim milk, or yogurt instead of butter or cream. Re-work dessert recipes that require heavy cream with evaporated skim milk or yogurt. For cakes and other desserts, substitute fresh-fruit puree as a topping instead of frosting. And one of my favorites: pancakes with applesauce, not maple syrup. These changes will give your favorite recipes great new flavor, and your food will be healthier!