Be alert for new spices or sauces.  Ask your hostess how she flavored a dish that you enjoyed.  Read blogs that feature healthy recipes and try a new spice.  It surprises me how much a new spice spices up my life!  Ha!  I recently found the spice Smoked Paprika while reading a favorite foodist’s blog-Darya Rose’s Summer Tomato.  I am going crazy  with it right now, it’s so useful for imparting a smoky flavor to eggs (think mild bacon flavor),  pork, and asparagus.  Recently we were enjoying a delicious meal at a friend’s house (thanks, dear Sharon!).  The flavor of the chicken was outstanding and I asked how she made it.  Turns out she used a Costco spice that I have since adopted for my own-Kirkland Organic No-salt Seasoning.  For many years, my  go-to seasoning has been Mrs. Dash which I use on practically everything.  If someone in your family has a sensitive stomach, use white pepper, instead of black pepper.

To wash vegetables and fruits to remove bacteria and pesticide residues:  soak for 10 minutes in 3 parts water to one part white vinegar, rinse with water and air dry.  Best to wash room temperature fruit and room temperature water/vinegar.  If you just need to wash a few things, keep a spray bottle handy with 3 parts water to one part vinegar.  Spritz to cover, massage for 30 seconds and rinse with water.

Store your natural peanut butter upside down after stirring to minimize oil separation.

Soak cotton dish towels that have fruit stains in water and white vinegar overnight.  In the morning, the stains will be gone.

Anti-bacterial wipes inhibit mold growth on vinyl window frames in the moist environment of kitchens.

Magic erasers help clean the baked on grease inside oven windows.

Crack eggs one by one into a ramekin before adding to other ingredients.  If an egg shell shard accidentally falls into the egg, it can be  retrieved without contaminating the other ingredients.

Never measure salt above a bowl containing other ingredients.  If the measuring spoon overflows, it will ruin the other ingredients.  Measure with the spoon over the counter or sink.  If some salt spills, nothing is harmed.

Sharpen your knives frequently.  It takes less force to use a sharp knife.

Children can chop safely when they use a metal scraper instead of a knife.  Buy a safe chopper here:  http://www.montessoriservices.com

Don’t repeatedly reheat cooked chicken.  Can lead to intestinal distress.  Here are the rules:  cook chicken thoroughly- no pink at bones; don’t leave cooked chicken at room temperature more than one hour because the lukewarm temperature danger zone is where bacteria multiply; chill all the way through as quickly as possible; reheat only the chicken you will consume at once, don’t reheat more than you can eat in one sitting because multiple reheats increase chances of bacteria; reheat to piping hot all the way through.  The main takeaway is; don’t let chicken sit at room temperature; do chill completely and quickly; do reheat what you will eat in one meal to very hot.

The secret to peel-able hardboiled eggs;  Bring water to the boil .  Then gently lower room temperature eggs into boiling water that covers them.  Allow to gently boil for exactly 12 minutes.  Remove from heat and pour off the water.  Immediately put eggs in cold water and keep replacing water with cold water until eggs are cool.  Ice cubes help.  This works!  I have a young adult friend who worked at an egg processing plant as a teenager.  This is how it’s done commercially.  (You improved my life, Brittney, in more ways than just cooking eggs!)

If you print out recipes from the internet, place them in plastic sleeves in a three-ring binder.  You can remove just the page you want to use and the plastic sleeve protects from spills.

For the extreme miser:  re-use pickle juice.  Yep.  All you have to do is heat to boiling the liquid left after you eat your pickles.  Add sliced cucumbers to the boiling liquid and put the lid on tightly.  Allow to cool, then refrigerate.  Ready in about a week.  I re-used once, then twice.  The third time the flavor was gone.  The second re-use I had to add vinegar.  I figure two more uses after the original purchase justifies paying for my favorite expensive pickles.

For more kitchen tips see this blog  https://heartmindsoulandstrength.com/2016/02/kitchen-tool-tips/