Household Tips

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The Right Way To Empty A Dishwasher

Always empty the bottom rack of the dishwasher first; then the top rack. That way any water that may have gathered in the cups, glasses or dishes on the top rack won't spill onto the clean dishes below.

Black Marks On Stoneware

Stainless-steel utensils may leave these ugly marks on light-colored stoneware. But they can usually be removed by making a thick paste of baking soda and water. Apply with a sponge to the marks and allow the mixture to stay on the stoneware for several minutes; then wash as usual. You may have to repeat this.

Don't Stress on Meal Day; Plan Ahead: Tupperware

If you're hosting a holiday party or meal for guests -- and all the cooking is up to you -- don't stress out! Develop a hosting strategy so that you have plenty of energy left to enjoy your guests and be a pleasant hostess.

The trick to doing so is getting as much as possible of your meal preparation out of the way in the days leading up to the gathering. Tupperware is a great help for storing foods and ingredients that you take care of during this lead-time prep.

First, determine what you can prepare ahead of time: If you have dips, condiments, or side dishes? Get them ready, then store them in Tupperware until time to wrap up cooking and serve. If a dish has various ingredients to be processed separately before mixing and serving, prepare those ingredients and store separately in Tupperware until it's time to combine.

And right now is a great time to buy Tupperware: For a limited time, if you buy $50 in Tupperware products, you can pick among a number of Tupperware sets to receive for free!

Click here to check out the bargains at Tupperware. click.emazing.com/ads/tup...estic.html

- Louis King Glass

Know the rules

Have you ever tried to teach your child a game you knew as a kid, like Kick the Can or 500 Rum or Killer (the winking game)? As you may have discovered, it can be hard to remember details of a game you haven't played for 25 years. Fear not -- the World Wide Web can save the day! At Everyrule.com, you can find rules for a plethora of kids games, card games, board games, sports, game shows, and even rules of etiquette. The site goes beyond most printed rulebooks in that you can search and successfully find a game by nearly any name by which it has ever been known. Browsing through the list of games can rekindle fond memories of youth, and inspire you to share these games with the next generation.

Click here to for the Everyrule site. You'll find some fun stuff! www.everyrule.com

- Peggy Clements Planning Your Weekends

Keep a special event folder just for weekend activities. Put newspaper articles on events or activities that you and your family might enjoy doing. Gather everybody together on Friday night and decide what might be fun!

Purchase text books online

The next time your family needs to purchase high school or college textbooks, try shopping online for used books. Online prices are more competitive than ever and you can avoid paying the traditionally high prices at campus bookstores.

- Peggy Clements

Meat roasting secrets

When roasting meats, always preheat the oven and get the meat from the refrigerator to the oven as quickly as possible, avoiding any delays at room temperature. Once the roast is in the oven, the challenge is to roast it thoroughly without overcooking it. The key is to remove the roast from the oven when it is approximately 5 degrees from the desired final temperature. Measure the temperature quickly and precisely with an instant-read digital thermometer (about $10) inserted in the thickest part of the roast.

After removing the roast from the oven, cover with foil and let it stand for about 10 minutes. The temperature will continue to rise during this time so the roast gets done even out of the oven, and the juices in the meat have a chance to stabilize.

Paying close attention to the internal temperature of the meat is the only way to ensure a tender and juicy roast. Roasting by the clock usually produces either an underdone roast or a tough dry one.

- Peggy Clements Clean Coffeemaker Often

After making coffee, don't just rinse out the water reservoir with water. Oils can build up and coffee will not taste good. Periodically pour white vinegar into the water reservoir and run it through the machine several times. Rinse machine well and run a couple of pots of fresh water through to clean vinegar away before making coffee.

Need Cracker Crumbs?

If a recipe calls for cracker crumbs, grab a handful of crackers and put them into a plastic bag. Use a potato masher to crush them. They'll be ready to add crunch for any dish.

Easiest entrees

Cooking in batches is one of the most efficient uses of your time. You gather ingredients once, dirty one set of pans and utensils and clean up once. That said, marinating meat and freezing it is one of the easiest ways to prepare food in batches, not to mention one of the tastiest. Somehow the process of freezing and thawing helps the meat absorb the flavor of the marinade.

You simply prepare the marinade, place it along with the meat in a freezer bag, and pop it in the freezer. For easy cleanup, mix up the marinade right in the freezer bag. (Steady the bag by putting it in a small mixing bowl.) Then add the meat make sure the marinade comes in contact with all the meat surfaces.

Looking good for Christmas morning photos

When your kids take their baths/showers on Christmas Eve, place a brand new pair of pajamas outside the door of the bathroom. This "first present" makes it more enticing to get cozy in bed on Christmas Eve, and everyone will look great for early morning pictures.

- Peggy Clements



-- Anonymous, December 06, 2002


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