Tuesday Tips!

                                           

Good morning!  Welcome to Tuesday Tips!

You probably don't know this, but I'm a bit obsessive about cleaning. I really hate dirt and grime, grease and gunk. I really can't stand getting my hands dirty. It's safe to say I never made mud pies when I was little.

One of my very favorite cleaning concoctions is hot water, Dawn dish detergent, and Oxy Clean. That murky brew works on everything; from fingerprints on walls, sticky cabinets and shelves, and the inside of the fridge. I've also used it on fabrics (be sure to test colors first), and engine parts. I swear, this has worked to clean up motor oil and gasoline. I've also washed muddy trucks with this diluted formula. I should mention that I don't measure things. Obviously, the mix is going to vary depending on the job at hand. You don't want to use the same strength on your walls that you'd use to soak a carburetor.

I love hamburgers but I hate handling ground beef. I do as little of that as possible. I like to put a sheet of parchment paper on the counter and make my patties right on that. As soon as I'm done, I rush to the sink to wash my hands like any other OCD sufferer. Here's where the beauty of parchment paper comes into play. I don't have to physically touch the patties again. I just grab a scissors and cut them apart and pick them up individually by the clean corners to stack or flip them onto the cooking surface. I know, don't try to understand my insanity.

Bacon is another thing I used to hate cooking. Not a fan of the splatters or the mess of grease it leaves behind. Then I discovered that covering a jellyroll pan in foil and baking it in the oven is the way to go. The bacon stays flat, cooks evenly, and afterwards, all you have to do is fold the foil corners up around the cooled bacon grease and throw it away. No fuss, no muss. I can put my pan right back into the cabinet because it's still clean. Even better. I usually buy thick cut bacon.

I guess three tips is probably enough. Feel free to share ideas of your own. I'd love to hear them.

- Tara Mills