HINTS & TIPS

HINTS TO HELP THE COLLEGE STUDENT WITH COOKING

1.   Purchase one or two slices of lunch meat at the deli counter.  You don't have 
      buy a whole package.

2.  Acquire fresh vegetables, in small portions, at the salad bar in the grocery
     store.  (Broccoli, cut up onions, carrots, cauliflower, mushrooms etc.)  You
     can also get fresh fruit, olives, tomatoes, peas, cut up carrots, diced hard
     boiled eggs and much more.

3.  Shells and cheese (macaroni and cheese) ---use the shells for soup or
     goulash and use the cheese packet for cheese sauce or any other recipe
     that calls for cheese sauce.

4.  When you fry bacon, save the grease in a small container (those little
     jars that beef cubes come in) and store in the refrigerator.  The bacon
     grease is great to fry potatoes.  Add a tablespoon to baked beans for
     for a homemade flavor.  Added to green beans make them taste like you
    have been cooking them all day.

5.  Buy boxed cake mix when they are on sale, you can make cookies with them later.

6.  If you don't have icing, make some with 10X (confection) sugar and water, it tastes like the glaze on donuts.  You can also add flavoring to the icing such as vanilla, maple, Carmel.  I buy the six pack of Carmel (non fat, it really tastes better).  They use it for dipping apples in and is usually found close to where the grocery sells apples.



HINTS

1.   Fry foods on low to medium to reduce stove clean-up.

2.  FRY  without a lid.

3.  Season food as you prepare it.

4.  Buy 1 large onion, dice it and freeze what you don't use.

5.  Store leftovers in a covered plastic food container in refrigerator.

6.  Add leftover meats and vegetables to soup or an omelet.

7.  Small amounts of vegetables can be purchased at the salad bar of your
     grocery store.  (mushrooms, shredded cheese, green peppers, olives, etc)

8.  Don't have time to cook chicken?  Buy it in a can, next to the tuna.

9.  Sausage comes in patties, links and bulk and can be used instead of
     hamburger.  (Take the sausage out of the casings.)

10.  Cheese is good in a lot of different recipes.  Try different cheeses and
       utilize the new shredded 3 or 4 blends.

11.  EXPERIMENT with your recipes, if  you don't like a certain ingredient, omit it.
       You can also add to a recipe.  Make it yours.

12.  Spaghetti leftovers can be stored in water in a covered container in the
       refrigerator.  Put the sauce in a different container.  The spaghetti can
       be warmed up under running hot water.

13.  You can buy mashed potatoes ready to heat, they come plain or flavored.

14.  When I use the term "butter" in the recipes it is interchangeable with
       margarine.


DOUBLE DUTY FOODS

Canned tomatoes (15 oz.)                       The tomatoes come plain, seasoned, whole,
                                                                      diced etc.
                                                                    Use for:  Chile, spaghetti, salsa, casseroles,
                                                                       roasts.

Dried noodles (small pkg.)                    They come in different widths, I use
                                                                       medium.  Use what you need and
                                                                       store the rest in a zippered bag.

Canned Mixed Vegetables (15 oz.)      Use for:  Soups, Sheppard pie, hamburger
                                                                      surprise, stew, seasoned side dish.

Boxed pancake mix                                Use for:  Pizza dough, dumplings,
                                                                        pancakes, crusts, waffles.
                             
Individual fruit cups                              They come four to a package.
                                                                   Use for:  Desserts, with gelatin, fruit sauce,
                                                                        drained for fruit pizza.

Crackers                                                 Use the round buttery ones.
                                                                   Use for:  Snacks, crumbled up for bread
                                                                            crumbs.

Orange marmalade                                  Use for:   Toast, meat glaze, stuffed in a
                                                                            biscuit,  crumbled for bread crumbs.

I use certain name brands and it does make a difference.  I can not name them here,
 but you can e-mail me with any questions.  Canned goods I buy generic.


ABBREVIATIONS            

 
oz         ounce
tsp.      teaspoon
tbsp.    tablespoon
gal.      gallon
pkg.     package
lg.        large
sm.      small
hr.        hour
min.     minute


TERMINOLOGY


CRUMBLED:  break into smaller pieces.

DICED:  cut up into small squares.

DREDGE:  take a food item and coat it with a dry ingredient.

FRY:  cook something in a small amount of oil (in skillet)

KNEAD:  work dough with your hands.

OPTIONAL:  add or omit something from your recipe, it is up to you.

MINCED:  dice item up very fine.

PRE HEAT:  turn on oven or heat pan before putting in the food.

SIMMER:  cook something on low heat.

TO TASTE:  add an ingredient to your taste, add more or less.

TOSS:  to mix several ingredients together lightly, you can use two spoons,
              like a salad


ESSENTIAL KITCHEN EQUIPMENT


Vacuum sealer, divide hamburger or sausage into 3 or 4 portions and freeze.  You can also fry the hamburger or sausage with onions and then divide and freeze.