Try this easy technique to get ready for holiday baking! With just a little planning ahead, you can make it easy on yourself this holiday season!
Simple Kitchen Tips
Simple Kitchen Tip: The Trick To Perfectly Sliced Brownies
This simple kitchen tip will help you make perfectly sliced brownies or bar cookies! So easy and pretty!
Simple Kitchen Tip: How To Prep Lettuce The Easy Way
If you ever have to work with iceberg lettuce, you will be amazed at how simple this kitchen tip is! You’ll never prep lettuce the same way again!
Simple Kitchen Tip: What The Heck Is A Chiffonade?
Simple Kitchen Tip To Keep Veggie Trays Fresh!
When I have a party, I like to prepare some elements ahead of time to save myself time the day of the event! Try this simple tip to keep those veggie trays you prepare the day before fresh!
Simple Tip: Stop Fighting Tin Foil & Plastic Wrap Rolls
I have spent years fighting with plastic wrap rolls & tin foil rolls. They pop out of the box, get tangled, and are just sometimes frustrating to deal with! Then someone told about this little tip and I was floored! It really does help!
The Simple Way To Peel Garlic
I could not believe how easy this little tip was for peeling garlic! Especially if you have a lot of cloves to peel! Best part? No garlic smell on my hands!
Simple Tip: Simple Way To Pit Cherries
I love fresh cherries! This little video shows you the simple way to pit a cherry without having to buy a cherry pitter! Enjoy! And go make a fresh cherry pie!
Simple Tip & Recipe: Avocado Tips and Guacamole Recipe
I love guacamole, and my favorite is from the restaurant, Cantina Laredo. They make it table side for you and adjust the seasonings to fit your taste. Here is a pretty close version of their recipe – Many people don’t care for the taste of cilantro, so feel free to adjust this recipe based on your likes!
Fresh Guacamole
- 2 Haas avocado (review my tips in video above to find the perfectly ripe avocado)
- 1 plum tomato, chopped
- 1/4 cup of a small purple onion, chopped very fine
- 1/2 fresh jalapeno pepper (I use 1/4 or even less). If you don’t want to deal with chopping a jalepeno pepper, use canned, pre-chopped version – about 1/2 to one whole teaspoon.
- 2 T. fresh Lime juice (I recommend fresh lime juice over packaged lime juice. Some things are worth the work!)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt (I tend to not use salt, but I do when working with avocados and eggs!)
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 2 T. fresh cilantro chopped (Omit if you don’t like the flavor!)
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Simple Summertime Kitchen Hacks from Simple Solutions Diva!
I am always looking for simple ways to do things in the kitchen, hopefully saving time and energy! These simple kitchen hacks are just a few of my favorites for the summer:
Don’t Lose Hot Dogs In The Grill: For perfectly grilled hot dogs that don’t curl, use 2 wooden skewers, soaked in water so they don’t burn, and thread hot dogs between two skewers. Grill the hot dogs, then turn them over by using the skewers.
Banish The Fruit Flies: Summer time equals fresh fruit – which also means fruit flies in the house! Ugh! This is my favorite way to get rid of the flies easily! Click here to see my video, Get Rid Of Pesky Fruit Flies!
The Perfect Sliced Onion: Perfect slices of onion for hamburgers or other recipes are easier if you use a vegetable peeler to get perfectly thin slices of onion!
Grilled Cut Veggies: For perfect sliced veggies for the grill, like zucchini, squash, or potatoes, use an apple slicer to slice them!
Got A Recipe That Calls For Lots Of Tomatoes (or grapes)? Slice cherry tomatoes or grapes in large quantities by using this tip – place the tomatoes between two dishes; using a sharp serrated knife, slice through the tomatoes. Voila! And, I just happen to have a link to one of my favorite summertime appetizers using grape tomatoes – Caroline’s Tomato Feta Dip
Easy Way to Slice Zucchini or Potatoes Hasselback Style –
Hasselback potatoes (or zucchini) are a great way to serve stuffed potatoes, but sometimes it is hard to keep from slicing all the way through the potato! If you place chopsticks on either side of the potato and then slice, the chopsticks prevent you from completely cutting through the potato! Like this:
Keep Your Iced Coffee Strong, Not Watery – Extra coffee in the coffee pot? Pour leftover coffee into ice cube trays and freeze. Perfect way to make the iced coffee without watering it down!
Keep Wine Chilled In Your Glass – Add frozen grapes to your wine glass to keep your wine chilled, without watering it down!
Thank you to WTLV-TV’s First Coast Living for inviting me on the show to share these simple summertime kitchen hacks!