More Nifty Kitchen Tips

One of my favorite posts was writing about cool tips in the kitchen, things like using dental floss to slice boiled eggs or kitchen shears to cut herbs into the pan. Because I tend to minimize kitchen tools and don’t have a lot of space, finding dual use for things and creating substitutes is still a favorite. Here are some additional ideas:

Can of chipotle chiles — puree an entire can of chipotle chiles in adobo sauce in a blender or hand blender until relatively smooth.  Place tablespoonful amounts in an ice cube tray (one for smaller ice cubes), pop out and store in a ziploc bag.  Each cube is great for seasoning pans of mashed sweet potatoes, hummus, or stirring into a stew or chili.  It can be your secret ingredient.

Make a 5 minute dessert – I recently tried this when I had nothing planned and we had a guest drop by.  Pumpkin custard, poured into small ramekins and microwaved until set (about 3 minutes on medium-high). Or make chocolate custard by melting chocolate chips with a bit of cream or coconut milk, mixing with an egg, and pouring into the ramekins.  Everyone loved them.

Smoked pork necks — one of the reasons that chefs make such tasty food is there use of stocks, chicken stock, roasted beef bone stock and other stocks that have such a great flavor.  When I have chicken bones, I of course make chicken stock.  But if I’m out of chicken bones, I take one or two small pieces of pork neck and simmer those and make a quick smoky, flavorful stock.

I’d love to hear of your time-saving kitchen tips.

shared at Food Renegade and Works for Me Wednesday