Lizardo - Real Clever Ideas and Solutions: Hints and Tips to Save You Effort, Time and Money

Whether topped with ascoop sour cream or a simple pat of butter, baked potatoes are a favorite no-fussmeal. However, many find that baking potatoes just takes too long. Theres aeasy way to cut the baking time in half. Wash the potatoes and poke a fewholes in them with a fork. Put the potatoes in hot water and let them stand for10 minutes. They will require about half the time to bake.

For delicious tastingcorn on the cob, add a tablespoon of sugar to the boiling water. The sugar willhelp bring out the corn's natural sweetness.

Instead of ice cubes to chill your iced tea orlemonade, which can dilute your drink, try frozen fruit instead. The frozenfruit will keep the drink cold without adding excess water and will add a nicesubtle flavor to your drink.

If your lettuce got a little wilted, dont throw itout. You can crisp wilted lettuce by submerging it in a bowl of ice cold waterand adding a couple of spoonful of cider vinegar. Let it stand for 10 to 15minutes.

Cut and dish out cakequickly and easily. Unscented dental floss will cut a cake easier and fasterthan a knife. Hold a long piece of floss between your fingers, press it downacross the cake to slice it through.

When making hard-boiledeggs, add a little bit of vinegar to the water. The vinegar will soften theeggshells and make peeling the eggs much easier.

Pour leftover wine intoan ice tray and freeze. This way you will always have easy-to-use, singleserving wine flavoring on hand for soups, stews, sauces and other cooking uses.

To prevent unappealing frosty crystals from formingon your favorite ice cream, store the container in a large Ziploc bag. Thiswill keep the ice cream as smooth and soft as when you first bought it.

Preserve the fresh tasteof your herbs by freezing them in oil. Rinseyour herbs thoroughly, cut off the long stems on herbs like cilantro or parsley.Finely chop your fresh herbs and mix cup of olive oil to 1 cup of choppedherbs. Put mixture in a zip-lock freezer bag. Flatten and distribute themixture evenly to get a thin layer. Freeze flat. Once frozen, youll be ableto break off pieces as needed. For the freshest taste, be sure to use within 6months.

Before cutting the lemon, place it in pan with waterand bring to a boil. You will be surprised; youll be able to get almostdouble the juice from it when you warm it up.

Cooking a dozen or more perfect hard boiled at oncecouldnt be easier with this hands-off method. Preheat your oven to 325-350(depending on your oven). Place the eggs in a muffin pan to prevent them fromrolling around and bake them for 30 minutes. Remove the eggs and place them incold water to stop the cooking process. Let them sit in the cold water for afew minutes and then peel. The baked eggs will easier to peel and have acreamier texture. Enjoy!

You can make your cannedor bottled drinks ice cold in just a few short minutes. Place your bottles orcans in a container (preferably an ice chest). Cover them with plenty of ice,add sufficient water to cover them completely, and top off the ice with plentyof salt (half a cup for 6 beers). In 10 to 15 minutes you will have ice colddrinks.

When salt is added towater it lowers the temperature at which that water will freeze. The more saltthe water contains, the lower its freezing point will be. When you add salt,the water is cooling to temperatures below zero while still staying liquid.That is why it chills the bottles much faster than regular ice and water.

Store sealed yogurt,sour cream, and cottage cheese upside down; this will make them last up to oneweek longer!

Line your vegetable drawer with paper towels so yourvegetables will stay fresher longer. The paper towels absorb the moisture thatcauses your vegetables to rot. It will also make cleaning the much bins easier.

Instead of buying dumpling dough or having to makethem from scratch, you can easily make dumpling wrappers with soft white breadinstead. Start by cutting off the crusts, flatten the bread with a rolling pin,then stuff, fold, pinch, and cook them same way you would regular dumplingwrappers.

Berries are quite delicate and can get moldy veryquickly. It can be quite disappointing to bring home fresh tasty berries onlyto find them covered in mold just a few days later. If you want your berries tolast a week or more, rinse them with vinegar to keep them from getting moldyand mushy. Prepare a mixture of one part vinegar and ten parts water. Place theberries in the mixture and swirl them around. Drain, rinse, and store them inthe fridge. The vinegar destroys the mold spores and bacteria that might be onthe surface of the fruit.

Layer two paper towels on a flat plate. Lay slices ofbacon side by side on the paper towels. Cover with two more paper towels. Placein the microwave and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Check for crispiness at oneminute intervals. When ready, toss the towels for easy clean-up.