February 07, 2019

Hey Everyone!

Have you ever tried the kitchen towel cutting board trick?

I have seen my mom use this trick countless times when I was younger as she prepped dinner for us.

Before chopping or dicing whatever was needed for dinner, she would wet a kitchen towel with a little bit of water, wring it out, and place it underneath the cutting board.

This helped keep the cutting board from moving around the counter while she cut up the veggies.

Handy Hints Holly
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Hint 1: Freeze as Flat as Possible

Freeze things flat and stack them, it doesn't matter whether it's soups, stews, or ground meat. The flatter and wider you can get them, the faster they'll freeze and defrost.

When freezing raw meat, soups, and stews, if you have a vacuum sealer, use it! Otherwise, place foods in heavy-duty freezer bags, squeeze out all the air, lay the bag flat, and use your hands to work the contents into as flat and even a shape as possible.

When freezing vegetables, cut them into pieces 1-inch or less and blanch any green vegetables. Place them on a large plate or sheet tray spaced apart from each other and freeze them solid before transferring to a plastic freezer bag and storing flat.


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Hint 2: Defrost Meat on Aluminum Trays

The fastest way to defrost meat is under a cold running tap.

But if you want to save water and speed things up a bit, place your meat on an aluminum sheet tray or skillet. Aluminum is a great conductor of heat and will draw energy from the surrounding environment into your frozen meat much faster than a wooden cutting board or wood or stone countertop.

You can cut defrosting times down by about 30 percent this way. It also works on soups, stews, and anything frozen flat.

'Go Green' Hint:

Simultaneously preparing more than one food in the same pot is another easy way to save time and energy.

For example, while you're boiling pasta you can easily steam some fresh vegetables over the top of the pan.