Tuesday's Kitchen Tip {how to cut a pineapple}

Good evening everyone! Tonight I am going to show you step by step on how to cut a pineapple! This fruit is one of my favorite summer treats and it is especially wonderful grilled. If you pass by this exotic fruit because you fear of not knowing how to cut it properly, fear no more!
When picking a pineapple you want a golden yellow pineapple with a little green. Also, use your sense of smell. If you pick up a pineapple and can smell the sweet fragrance then you have picked a winner! Stay away from bruised or mushy pineapples.

First cut the crown of the pineapple.

Then cut the bottom.

Now, set your pineapple upright and slice the skin from top to bottom. Try to remove only the skin and minimal pineapple flesh.

Next, carefully remove all the eye spots with a paring knife.

Now you are ready to slice your pineapple. Slice your pineapple to your desired thickness. If you like, core the pineapple carefully with a paring knife.

I love grilling my pineapple. You can grill it plain or marinade your slices. There are many marinades you can create with a combination of honey, lemon or lime juice, cinnamon and other spices. I like mine just as is and placed on a greased grill. The natural sweet juice is enough for me to indulge in this delicious treat. Grill until these divine grill marks are apparent. As you can see I left the core in my grilled pineapple slices. Next time you are at the grocery store do not pass up a fresh, ripe pineapple, there is no comparison!

Thank you for stopping by!

Tuesday's Kitchen Tip {how to make homemade bread crumbs}

Hello everyone! I hope you are having a fantastic day! Today I am going to let you in on a little secret on how to make homemade bread crumbs! If you do not already know this trick, you will be amazed. I am thankful my grandparents let me in on this secret at an early age! It is so simple and easy,
I promise you will never buy store bought again.

Here we go...

All you need is 4 slices of toasted bread! That's right toasted bread :) You may use any bread of your choice, it just has to be toasted! You can cut the crust off if you like, but I leave mine on.



Then, tear your toast into small pieces, put into a blender. Only put in a few pieces at a time and blend, with the top on! If you use a food processer, pulse until you have...

My 4 slices made about a cup and went into these lovely basil and turkey meatballs for dinner last week!

Recipe coming soon!

Thank you for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

Tuesday's Kitchen Tip {Must Have Seasonings}

Hi everyone! I hope you are having a fabulous day :) Today I am sharing two seasonings I must have in my pantry at all times. If you follow my recipes you know that I am a huge fan of garlic and herb seasoning. Well, there is a specific brand I am particular fond of and here it is dun dun dun...

I buy this at my local Sam's, but if you cannot find this brand you can buy it from Amazon. I know there are many varieties of garlic and herb seasoning, but hands down this is the best, or at least that is my opinion.

Another seasoning that is a must...

If you want to spice things up, this is the seasoning for you!

What seasoning is a must in your pantry?

Tuesday's Kitchen Tip {Is it done yet?}

I cannot express how obsessed I am about my meat being at a safe temperature! I have a hidden fear of serving my family undercooked meat and because of this secret anxiety I have overcooked my fair share of meat. Now I fear no more! I have a Digital Instant Read Probe Thermometer on hand at all times when cooking meat to ensure I do not under or overcook meat. I highly recommend an instant read over a dial thermometer. Not only does a instant read give you an accurate, fast, and visible read; it is all in a press of a button.

There are many thermometers to choose from, all ranging in price. I purchased a Taylor TruTemp Instant Read Digital Thermometer for about $10. It is everything you would expect out of a thermometer!
Never ask yourself, "Is it done yet?" again!

 

USDA Recommended Safe Minimum Internal Temperatures
source

Did you know?
According to USDA research, 1 out of every 4 hamburgers turns brown before it reaches a safe internal temperature.
The only safe way to know if meat, poultry, and egg dishes are "done" is to use a food thermometer. When a hamburger is cooked to 160 °F as measured with a food thermometer, it is both safe and delicious!

Cook all raw beef, pork, lamb and veal steaks, chops, and roasts to a minimum internal temperature of 145 °F as measured with a food thermometer before removing meat from the heat source. For safety and quality, allow meat to rest for at least three minutes before carving or consuming. For reasons of personal preference, consumers may choose to cook meat to higher temperatures.

Cook all raw ground beef, pork, lamb, and veal to an internal temperature of 160 °F as measured with a food thermometer.

Cook all poultry to a safe minimum internal temperature of 165 °F as measured with a food thermometer.

Thank you for stopping by and have a wonderful day :)

Tuesday’s Kitchen Tip {room temp butter fast}

Have you ever started baking and to your surprise the recipe calls for a stick of butter at room temperature? Yikes! Then you realize I don’t have enough time to wait, I need to start baking now! You automatically reach for the microwave door! Wait, do not put your butter in the microwave, but instead pull out the cheese grater.

Placing the butter in the microwave will change the chemistry of the butter and by using microwave butter you may not get the results you are looking for. By grating the butter, you allow it to stay in a similar state as if the butter was sitting out at room temperature. This tip also works well for frozen butter.
Another tip for butter- when a recipe calls for butter it is always understood that you use unsalted butter. Never use salted butter unless the recipe states to use salted butter.

 

Hope this tip helps you out in the kitchen next time you forget to leave the butter out :) If you use other quick methods for softening butter I would love to hear them! Have a wonderful day and thank you for stopping by :)

Tuesday's Kitchen Tip {Clean Green}

This recipe has moved to CherishedBliss.com, click here for the full post!

Tuesday's Kitchen Tip {Conversion}

Always have a conversion chart near by in the kitchen.
I have 3 different conversion charts inside my cabinet door for quick reference.
After seeing all these cute printable conversion charts I am thinking laminate and magnets so I can display these cuties on the fridge!

I have found 3 styles of cute and free printable conversion charts just for you!
Happy Printing ;)

Plucky Momo

Lovely Little Snippets

 

Chasing Delicious

Have a wonderful day!

Tuesday's Kitchen Tip {how to get the most juice from your lemons}

 

Today I am going to let you know how I get the most juice out of my lemons. I love cooking with fresh lemon juice and adore a fresh glass of lemonade on a hot summer day!

First, let your lemons reach room temperature.

Then roll the lemon with the palm of your hand several times back and forth to help release the juice inside.

Next, cut in half and use a lemon squeezer of your choice and squeeze :)

When deciding how to pick your lemons from the grocery store stay away from rock hard lemons. You want your lemons to be firm, but give a little. Also, pick nice yellow lemons and stay away from ones that are still green or light in color. Avoid ones with marking, bruises, and open cuts.

Hope you found this kitchen tip useful!
Thank you for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

Tuesday’s Kitchen Tip {how to sharpen your knifes}

 

Did you know the most dangerous thing in your kitchen is a
dull knife?!
I found a quick 60 sec video on how to test your knife’s sharpness and how to correctly sharpen your knives.

You have to be sharp in the kitchen, and that goes for your knives too!

Hope everyone learned something new today!
Thank you for stopping by and have a wonderful day :)

Tuesday’s Kitchen Tip {Chop with a Smile}

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Today I miraculously had spare time so I decided to chop up several onions, garlic cloves, and bell peppers. This will save me oodles of minutes in the kitchen later on this week. Most of the recipes I cook require sauté onions and garlic. Having prepared ahead means less stress and frustration, which equals a happier Momma!

Store in air tight containers and use within 3 days or less.

Tips for cutting onions -

Quarter and soak onions in ice cold, salted water for up to an hour. Soaking the onions may relieve the strong taste and odor.
(My grandmother always used this method)

Another suggestion is to cut a fresh lemon in half and rub the lemon on your cutting board. The lemon should help tame the fumes of the onion while chopping.
(Advice from a military man, my husband)

You can always use the tip from The Help and place a matchstick between your teeth; the fumes will be caught in the match head and there will be no crying.

One more tip is to use a small fan if you've got one; it will help circulate the air and remove the fumes from your eyes.

Make sure you always use a sharp knife!

Hope you found today’s tip helpful because
I want everyone to be able to
chop an onion with a smile!
Thank you for stopping by and have a wonderful, blessed day!
-Audra

Tuesday’s Kitchen Tip {how to remove those nasty water deposits off your fridge water dispenser tray}

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Hello All! I know I am a day late on this post, but things have been hectic around here.
Today’s kitchen tip is how to remove those nasty water deposits off your fridge water dispenser tray! I live in the Houston area and we have extremely hard water and because of this we have to battle hard water mineral deposits.

I have actually tried to scrub, dishwash, and bleach this tray and nothing seemed to remove these mineral deposits.

Well the answer was in my kitchen the whole time. White Vinegar!

Who knew?

I love cleaning with vinegar. I make my own glass and all purpose cleaner with a vinegar mixture and I use vinegar as a fabric softener in the laundry, but I never knew it tackled hard water mineral deposits until now!
I know this may not be news to some of you, but I was pretty happy I found a “green” solution to this battle!

Directions:

Soak water dispenser tray in white vinegar overnight and in the morning give it a soft scrub and rinse!

You will be amazed! I know I was :)

-This also works for shower heads
&
the kitchen sink sprayer!

Tuesday's Kitchen Tip {how to disinfect kitchen sponges}

Hello All!

I hope you are having a wonderful day.

 

Today's tip is quick and simple :)

Need to disinfect your kitchen sponges and brushes?

 

Throw them in the top rack or utensil compartment of your dishwasher next time you start a

load of dishes.

 

Not only will this kill all the germs and odors, it will extend the life of your sponges and brushes.

Thank you for stopping by and have a fabulous week :)

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Tuesday's Kitchen Tip {how to prevent your cutting board from slipping}

Hello All! I hope everyone is having a fabulous day :)

I am starting something new today;
every Tuesday I will be posting helpful tips for you to stay more peaceful in the kitchen!

Here is today's tip :)

Do you have a cutting board that slides while in use?

If so, here are a few tips to keep your cutting board in place!

 

1. Place a damp paper towel or a thin dish towel under the cutting board. This will allow the cutting board to stay in place while you finish preparing your meal. When wetting your towel  ring out as much water as possible.

2. Non-slip shelf/drawer liners also work well and allow your cutting board to stay put.

Hope these tips help you in the kitchen this week!

Here is a look at a few cutting boards I would really enjoy in my kitchen!

Bamboo Crumb Board
Totally Bamboo's Crumb Board is ideal for cutting and serving breads of any type. The Crumb Board has an open pattern that allows crumbs to fall into tray underneath, keeping your workspace crumb free!

 

 

Dexas Popware Over-the-Sink Collapsible Strainer Cutting Board

I love how this cutting board frees up and cleans up valuable counter space with this versatile over-the-sink strainer and cutting board combo. Rinse fruits, veggies and more in the collapsible and removable two-and-a-half-quart silicone strainer on one end and then chop them on the other end. The durable poly board is nonporous and will not dull knives. And since it rests over your sink all the mess just falls right into the basin and it is dishwasher safe.

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 K. Adams Artisan Cutting Board - Mirror

This maple wood cutting board is treated with food safe antique stain so you can use it for serving, cutting or simply collecting. Convenient cut out hole and elongated handle let you carry or hang the cutting board with ease. Lightly distressed to add character .

Have a wonderful day!

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