It’s the last installment of kitchen tips!  Although I know I could go on and on about ways to save time or make things easier in the kitchen.  I’ve learned a few new tricks over the last few weeks that I know I’m going to be trying out!!

Today’s tips are all about new uses for tools you probably already had in your kitchen.  I have to admit that I learned all three of these from Rachael Ray, and I use all three in the kitchen regularly!

1st - a dough scraper.  Yes, I use it when I’m making bread or pastries, but I use it on an everyday basis for moving food from the cutting board to the stove.  Just scoop and dump.  So easy!

2nd - a potato masher.  Not just for potatoes!  Use the masher to break up ground meats.  I don’t know about you, but whenever I used ground pork or sausage, I have the hardest time breaking it apart as it cooks in the pan.  But no more!  Just get in there with the potato masher and mash away - your meat will be broken up into a wonderful consistency in no time!

3rd - a microplane zester.  I use this all the time for citrus zest, but it also is great for garlic.  I prefer fresh garlic over the jarred kind, but sometimes it’s a pain to sit and chop it.  And when you chop, sometimes you still end up with little chunks.  Not so when you use a zester!  In only seconds, you can grate your garlic and it becomes a nice paste.  No more chopping!

Thanks for sticking with me through these kitchen tips.  And if you have anymore, please feel free to share in the comments for everyone to see!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 10th, 2010 at 8:55 am and is filed under Deborah, FYI. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.