Begin with the Right Tools
Having the right kitchen tools can make cooking easier and more fun! However, you don't need every tool in the store. Before you buy that next piece of kitchen equipment, check the following tips and suggestions.
Prepare
- Save Money by Cutting Your Own Pork Loin
- Save Money by Buying Ground Beef in Bulk
- Use "Mise en Place" to Make Meal Preparation Easier
Learn how practicing "mise en place"- prepping foods and measuring out first - can help you assemble meals more quickly and effortlessly. - 9 Bites for Better-Tasting Fruits and Vegetables
Use these preparation and storage "bites" to enjoy the abundant summer produce at its peak of flavor, appearance and safety!
2 or More Cooks Can be Better than 1 - How to Use a Chef's Knife
- Tray Pack Frozen Foods for Easy Pouring
Add Flavor with Herbs, Spices
- Add a Little Spice and Herbs to Your Life Handout pdf
- Recipes Handout using Herb and Spices pdf
- Healthy Cooking with Fresh Herbs (includes herb / food combination chart and ideas for garnishing with herbs) pdf
Cooking Techniques
Using the Oven or Stovetop
- Baking (external link to Home Baking Association)
- Oven Roasting Guidelines for Beef
- Oven-Roasted Root Vegetables
- Sauteing Tips for Foods (Includes Beef Stew with Vegetable "Gravy" recipe)
Meat, Poultry, Seafood and Eggs Basics
- Meat Preparation & Safety
- Helpful Thanksgiving Holiday Cooking Links - (includes cooking ahead)
- How to Avoid a Green Ring Around Hard Boiled Egg Yolks
Fruits & Vegetables
- Washing and Preparing Fresh Fruits and Vegetables
- Cooking with Onions without Crying
- Grilling Fruits and Vegetables on a Double-sided Grill
- What to Do with Zucchini!
- How to Store Tomatoes: Refrigerator or Counter? Shoulders Up or Down?
- 9 Bites to Better Tasting Fruits and Vegetables
- Growing and Preparing Loose Leaf Lettuce
- Peel and Pitting an Avocado
- Prolonging the Life of Bananas
- How to Store Potatoes, Garlic and Onions
- Fruits that Continue to Ripen after They're Picked
- How to Prevent Cut Fruit from Turning Brown
- Make Quick Work of Mashing Sweet Potatoes with a Potato Ricer
- How to Keep Guacamole from Turning Brown
Dairy
Rice, Beans and Pasta
Conversions and Recipe Size Reductions
- Reducing the Size of Recipes
Directions for cutting recipes in half or thirds, plus equivalent measures. - Temperature Conversions for Fahrenheit to Celsius; Convert Metric and Standard Measurements
- How to Interpret Can Sizes
Some favorite older recipes may call for can sizes such as a Number 2 or a Number 303 can. Here's a chart to help you determine how these correspond to current can measurements. - Standard Measurement Equivalent Chart
Need a pint instead of 2 Cups? Find equivalent measurements in this PDF chart.
Ingredient Substitutions
Often for lack of an ingredient, a recipe is ruined, an extra trip to the store is required, or you must buy a large container of an ingredient for just a teaspoon or two needed in a recipe.
- Use these Tips to Substitute Another Ingredient
- Take a Can of Tomato Sauce and... (How to substitute tomato sauce for various tomato products)
- How to Bake Gluten-Free with Sorghum Flour
Preventing Food Waste
- How to Make a Casserole from What's on Hand
- Make a Meal from What's on Hand
- How to Use Up Perishable Food in the Fridge before Leaving Town
- 14 Ways Consumers Can Reduce Food Waste
- Free Makeover Your Leftovers PowerPoint, Handout and Online Slide Show (Includes 26 page handout of tips and recipes.
- Meat Preparation Tips
- Going Green with Grocery Shopping
