Tips in the Kitchen 3

by Mary Ann Romans | More from this Blogger

23 Apr 2009 01:13 PM

Don't you just love it when you find a tip that makes your time in the kitchen so much better? I've been sharing some of my best kitchen-related tips and strategies.

While melting chocolate in a microwave can be more convenient than using a double boiler, it can quickly become a disaster. Chocolate burns easily. To help reduce the chances of this happening to your chocolate, use a clear glass bowl that will allow you to see the progress of the chocolate in the microwave. Heat it in 30-second intervals, and always stir it between heating times. Sometimes what looks like a solid chunk of chocolate is melted enough to turn into liquid when stirred.

Here is a tip I spotted in Woman's Day Magazine. If you don't have time or the skill to create designer cupcakes, but if you still want to create something upscale, simply frost your cupcakes and then roll the edges in a topping, such as sprinkles, chopped nuts or colored sugar.

To avoid crumbs in your icing when you frost a cake, first make sure that the cake is completely cooled. Then add a thin layer of frosting (called the crumb layer) and allow it to set for 30 minutes. The frost your cake. Or you can do what I did for my son's castle birthday cake. Add enough crumbs to the frosting to make it resemble castle walls. Ha.

Keep a cordless handheld vacuum (we like the dust buster) in the kitchen to vacuum up crumbs and even small bits of flour from the countertops.

Produce is notorious for leaving big soggy messes in the refrigerator, especially when you forget about the produce leaving it to rot. Line the bin wit a piece of foil, wax paper, parchment paper or a thick layer of paper towels to reduce the clean up time.

Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, creating a home in the Home Blog, caring for little ones in the Baby Blog and now relationships in the Marriage Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here or subscribe to the blog using the subscription box on the right.

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Learn more about Mary Ann Romans

Mary Ann Romans is a freelance writer, wife and mother of three children. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, the kids and a 16-pound cat.

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