A year ago our family lived with my in laws while we were trying to get our housing situation figured out. We had a wonderful time there and I wanted to reflect on some of the kitchen hacks my mother in law taught me (outside of all the delicious recipes she shared).
1. I used to pull the banana away from the rest in the bunch, but that lead to the bananas spoiling quickly. My mother in law suggested I cut the bananas off instead. I will admit they last a lot longer.
2. If you’re using a container to put left over food in the freezer, put some plastic wrap under the lid and keep it down with a rubber band. Then place it in a zip lock bag. It helps lessen freezer burn.
3. If you have leftovers from meals, freeze them in single or family portions to easily pull out and warm up when you need food quickly.
4. You can actually freeze desserts! Y’all I always made it a goal to eat my desserts before they got stale. But! Many desserts freeze great! In fact, if you freeze the desert once it’s cooled down after being made, it thaws almost as fresh. Wrapping the dessert in foil or plastic wrap and then putting it in a zip lock bag helps cut down freezer burn.
5. Apparently canned vegetables aren’t that healthy for you. Instead, buy frozen vegetables. This was great advice for my toddler! Just steam it in the microwave and wah-la! Quick and easy.
6. Got fruits and veggies that need to be used? Make a shake or popsicle! The little one loves these! And they are healthy. Mangos? Blueberries? Kale? Yogurt? Etc. All these things can be made and freeze later for a healthy treat.
7. Ah yes…. yeast. OK. All I can say with this one is my mother in law tried to teach me how to use yeast. I don’t think I have any advice because I’m still learning. But she tried!
8. Fresh grown tomatoes from the garden can be frozen whole! Take the seeds and center out and you can freeze them to use for soups and sauce later.
9. Create recipes through trial and error, but once you perfect it, don’t change it. I tend to change the recipes based on what’s in my house and that drives her crazy đŸ¤ª But it’s a good lesson to go by.
10. Sharing knowledge, cooking and baking moments in the kitchen with family and friends becomes the best memories that cannot be replaced.
Rory, Tea & Me 