I got these from Jamie at Perr Bear. I didn’t fact check them, so don’t shoot the messenger if any don’t work…
Peel a banana from the bottom and you won’t have to pick off the little “stringy things”. That’s how primates do it. And take your bananas apart when you get home from the store. If you leave them connected at the stem, they ripen faster.Store opened chunks of cheese in aluminum foil. It will stay fresh much longer and won’t mold!
Peppers with three bumps on the bottom are sweeter and better for eating. Peppers with four bumps on the bottom are firmer and better for cooking.
Add a teaspoon of water when cooking ground beef in the skillet. It will help pull the grease away from the meat.
For richer scrambled eggs or omelets, add a couple spoonfuls of sour cream, cream cheese, or heavy cream before beating.
For a cool brownie treat, make brownies as directed, then melt Andes mints in a double boiler and pour over warm brownies. Let set for a wonderful minty frosting.
Add garlic immediately to a recipe for a light flavor and at the end of the recipe for a stronger garlic flavor.
Leftover Snickers bars from Halloween make a delicious dessert. Chop them up with the food chopper, then peel, core and slice a few apples. Place the apples in a baking dish and sprinkle the chopped candy bars on top. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Serve alone or with vanilla ice cream. Yum!
To make light work of deviled eggs, put the cooked egg yolks in a zip lock bag, seal and mash untill broken up. Add remainder of ingredients, reseal and continue mashing until thoroughly mixed. Cut the tip of the baggy and squeeze the mixture into egg, then toss the bag for easy clean up.
To double the volume of packaged cake frosting, whip with an electric mixer for a few minutes before spreading. You’ll frost more cupcakes or cake with the same amount of frosting but with less sugar and fewer calories per serving.
To warm refrigerated biscuits, pancakes, or muffins, microwave them with a cup of water. The increased moisture will keep the food moist and help it reheat faster.
Place wet newspapers in layers around your new outdoor plantings, overlapping as you go. Cover with mulch and forget about weeds. Works better than most gardening plastics!
Use a wet cotton ball or Q-tip to pick up small shards of glass you can’t easily see.
Place a dryer sheet in your pocket. It will keep the mosquitoes away!
To prevent squirrels from eating your plants, sprinkle them with cayenne pepper. It won’t hurt the plants and the squirrels won’t come near it.
To get something out of a heat register or from under the fridge, attach an empty paper towel roll or empty gift wrap roll to the end of your vacuum hose. It can be bent or flattened to fit into narrow openings.
Pin a small safety pin to the seam of your slip to prevent a clingy skirt or dress. Same thing works with slacks that cling when wearing panty hose. Place the pin in the seam and — ta da! — static is gone.
Before pouring sticky substances into a measuring cup, fill it with hot water, empty, but don’t dry. Add your ingredient, such as peanut butter, and watch how easily it comes out!
Hate foggy windshields? Buy a chalkboard eraser and keep it in the glove box of your car. When the windows fog, rub with the eraser! Works better than a cloth!
If you seal an envelope and then realize you forgot to enclose something, place the sealed envelope in the freezer for an hour or two. Voila! It unseals easily!Use hair conditioner to shave your legs. It’s cheaper than shaving cream and leaves your legs smooth. It’s a great way to use that conditioner you bought but didn’t like on your hair.
To get rid of pesky fruit flies, pour a half inch of apple cider vinegar into a small glass, add two drops of dish washing liquid and mix well. The flies will be drawn to the cup and gone forever!
Put small piles of corn meal where you see ants. They’ll eat it, take it “home” and, because they’re unable to digest it, die. It may take a week or so, especially if it rains, but it works and won’t harm pets or small children!
Washing your clothes dryer lint screen every six months with a nylon brush in hot, soapy water removes the invisible film left by dryer sheets. It will reduce your utility bills, improve the drying efficiency and life of your dryer, and reduce the risk of a dryer-caused house fire!
Feel smarter? Bet you can’t wait to try the thing with the bananas!