Kitchen Chew

Copyright 2011 Christine's Pantry. All rights reserved.

Have you ever started a dish, and find that you have run out of an ingredient? I have. It's alright. Here is a list of substitutions and food tips.

I am out of self rising flour:

1 cup flour, 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Mix well. There's you self rising flour.

I have no sour cream:

Use plain yogurt.

I have no yogurt:

Use sour cream

I have no confectioner's or powder sugar:

1 cup granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon cornstarch, process in a blender until powdery.

I have no light brown sugar:

Mix together, 1 cup granulated sugar and 1 tablespoon molasses.

I have no molasses:

Mix together, 3/4 cup dark brown suger and 1/4 cup water.

Chocolate chips, nuts, dried fruit settling to the bottom of your pan during baking:

If you have ever had this problem it was probably because your batter was not thick enough to suspend the ingredients during baking. For thin batters, toss these ingredients in a little flour, it may help to prevent them from sinking to the bottom of the pan during baking.

Baking muffins:

For easy clean up, line muffin cups with paper muffin liners. Use ice cream scoop to place muffin batter into muffin cups.

My brown sugar is hard:

Brown sugar should be store in a thick plastic bag in a cool, dry place. From time to time, brown sugar does become hard. If this happens, place a slice of apple in the plastic bag with brown sugar. Seal bag and leave for 2 days, brown sugar softens. Remove apple.

My burgers are dry:

When cooking burger, don't flatten the patties with a spatula. Pressing the patties squeezes out the flavor.

Chicken safety:

Safety first in the kitchen. Always wash your hands with hot soapy water after handling raw chicken.

What is the best way to cool cookies:

Unless a recipe otherwise directs, cool cookies briefly on the cookie sheet, to firm slightly, then transfer to wire racks and cool completely.

My celery looks bad:

Your celery is starting to look droopy, cut off the root end, and stand celery in a large glass of water. Celery will absorbed some of the water and will be good and crunchy again.

Potatoes and onions:

Never store potatoes and onions together, they will spoil faster.

Salad greens:

Salad greens should not be stored near fruits that produce ethylene gases (like apples) as this will increase brown spots on the lettuce leaves and increase spoilage.

I saw this article on freezer basics. Great article. I thought I would pass it along, http://www.pauladeen.com/kitchenbasics/article_view/freezer_basics/

Source: Google

Now you have some tips, be sure to try out some of Christine's recipes:

http://christinespantry.blogspot.com/2011/06/fried-pork-chops.html

http://christinespantry.blogspot.com/2011/08/skillet-mexican-pasta.html

http://christinespantry.blogspot.com/2011/07/after-work-bolognese.html