Kitchen Tips Tuesday- Vinyl Gloves!

Disposable gloves, either vinyl or latex. An absolute lifesaver. When I was working in a restaurant kitchen many moons ago I had issues with raw chicken: the feel of it made me gag. Not a good thing when you work in a kitchen. To solve the problem I picked up a $5 box of vinyl gloves so I could easily work with the chicken and I wouldn't get wigged out by the sensation.

It turned out to work for more than just that situation. I was in the back deboning some chickens when a customer came in (it was a small deli style restaurant with an open kitchen). The waitress was helping someone at a table and I was the only other one there so I slipped off the gloves and served the woman. Easy as pie! No hand washing required.

When I had my son two years ago I bought a box of vinyl gloves to keep in the kitchen because, inevitably, as soon as my hands touched raw meat of any kind he'd wake up/fall down/need my attention immediately and him screaming for whatever reason while I paused to wash my hands was not something I wanted to deal with. By using gloves all I had to do was take them off and I could touch him without worry and there was no stopping to wash my hands. I still do it because, as with any child, as soon as I'm unavailable he'll need me or my attention immediately.

Share your Kitchen Tips with us in our Recipe Forum on Mothers' Hideaway!

Thanks to Tammy's Recipes for hosting Kitchen Tips Tuesday!

Kitchen Tips Tuesday- Perfect Cheesecake

Thanks Jo for today's Kitchen Tip!!

I love making cheesecake and eating it! Who doesn't? Okay maybe 1% of the population. BUT you know what I hate the most? When my cheesecake cracks just as I take it out of the oven. Luckily, I've never had to give a cheesecake as a gift so people overlook the mishap and dig in.

What I found through trial and error to fix this problem is to make sure that all my ingredients are at room temperature and to slowly bring down the heat in the oven once it's done baking. If you bring it from hot to cold too quickly that is where the mishap starts.

I always bake my cheesecake (new york style--no other like it!) on 325 for about 1.5 hours (depending) and then put the oven to 225 and crack the door open until it deflates.

80% of the time my cake comes out PERFECT. The other 20%-- well, just dig in.

Come share your Kitchen Tips with us in MH's Recipe forum!

Thanks to Tammy's Recipes for hosting Kitchen Tips Tuesday!

Kitchen Tips Tuesday- Easy Meal Solution!

Thanks Jo for this great tip!

When I am lazy and tired but still have to make dinner, I turn to a tried and true recipe—Chicken Soup! You can basically use anything you have in your pantry. I never have all the staples—celery, carrots, onion, etc. So I usually just throw in whatever I have.

Today I threw in some chicken legs, vegetable stock, water, carrots and onion. I also put in some cracked pepper and some Turkey seasoning—hey I said it’s whatever you have on hand!

When it seems just about ready I’ll throw in some rice and whatever frozen vegetables I happen to have and dinner will be served—even for my 8 month old! Throwing together whatever items I have on hand and throwing those recipes out the window usually works for me every day, and allows me to put together a complete meal from my family. Because sometimes, it's just easier not to follow a recipe..

Come share your Kitchen tips with us in MH's Recipe Forum!! And, be sure to submit your links to MH's Baking Challenge , with blog features each Friday, Saturday, and Sunday during December!

Thanks to Tammy's Recipes for hosting Kitchen Tips Tuesday!

Kitchen Tips Tuesday- Slow Cooker to the Rescue!

Thanks Jojo for today's blog!

What mom doesn't need some help in the kitchen? Well, as I'm waiting for my sous chef to arrive, I have been picking up a few tips. My new found cooking tool is my slow cooker! It is amazing. I have the new calphalon 7 quart slow cooker and I absolutely love it.

I am not always able to stand in the kitchen and cook especially with a 6 month old bellowing for his mommy to hold him so I usually just dump all of my ingredients in there and let it cook. I recently made some chili, chicken with vegetable, vegetables with rice and chicken cacciatore in it and it all comes out quite delicious and warm. All you need is a little bit of creativity and whatever ingredients are on hand for a great meal. I am sure this is going to be used more often as the winter months start coming in. It really is a time saver and a sanity saver!


What Kitchen Tips help you out in your busy day? Share with us at www.mothershideaway.com!

Thanks to Tammy's Recipes for hosting Kitchen Tips Tuesday!

Tackle It Tuesday: Renovation Continues

Thanks to Elaine for today's blog!

This weekend marked the beginning of the basement demo. We started with the simple move of a switch. Building code dictates that the power switch for the furnace must be in the same room as the furnace. Our switch wasn't and to save the $100 to have it moved by the furnace guys we did it ourselves.




Next came the tear down of the horrid, ugly ceiling tiles. Great if you're 6 feet tall but it sucks if you're 5 feet tall. My husband walked through the room with a crowbar pulling down the tiles while I had to stand on my tip-toes to barely reach them or stand on a stool, pry the tile down, get off the stool, move the stool and start the prying process over again. I gave up after 3 tiles and moved on to pulling off trim from around the ceiling.



You know, there's nothing like smashing a hammer through a wall and not getting in trouble for it. We took turns smacking the wall until we were able to pull most of one sheet off. This was just an brief initiation to the actual demolition that we'll be doing in the next few weeks. This week I'll be removing all the power outlet covers, light switch covers and phone jack covers so we can get down to business next weekend.



I'll give previous owner credit for doing his own home reno's but he could have at least done them right. We're going to have to hire an electrician to check all the wiring down there because MacGyver didn't have a clue what he was doing when he added light fixtures and outlets and the place looks like a fire trap. When we moved in he had the dryer hot wired directly to the wire from the breaker box. We had to put in the special outlet ourselves. We also discovered that one of the light switches is much the same (no electrical box, the wires go directly to the switch).



We also found a light box hidden behind the ceiling tiles full of a bazillion wires and we're not sure what they're for.



There's some really scary stuff down there. Yup, time to call in a professional...

What are you able to tackle while dealing with mommyhood? Come share with us at www.mothershideaway.com!

Thanks to www.5minutesformom.com for hosting Tackle It Tuesday!!