Welcome To Tipnut's Food Library: Recipes / Tutorials
The home kitchen in today's world is on a whole 'nother level. Only until recently has the average person had easy access to thousands of different ingredients (assorted spices, herbs, seafood, fresh produce)...even if it's impossible to grow locally, you'll find it at your corner grocery store or have it delivered within days from online shopping. That's not something previous generations enjoyed, this is something new.
Our grandmothers passed down wonderful, traditional family recipes that we definitely want to keep and continue serving to our families (especially the dishes for big holidays)...but we're also now expanding our collective food knowledge and cookery methods. We're inventing new appliances and tools, exposing ourselves to new flavors, using different seasoning blends, experimenting with new techniques...we're delivering on flavor like never before.
This section on Tipnut is currently archiving general cooking, baking, recipes, tutorials and tips. We may be advancing in our skills, but the basics will never go out of style and it's important to master them before moving on to more advanced culinary adventures.
You'll find neat-to-know information passed on by busy homemakers in the 1930's, 40's, 50's and on as well as plenty of good stuff applicable to today's current food interests too. Lots here from my own notes but I've also compiled many, many good ideas from other bloggers and websites found around the net. I hope you enjoy spending time browsing through all the information, plenty here to keep you busy!
Topics
In This Archive
- Baking
- Cooking
- General Tips
- Preserving
- Recipes
The best kitchen gadget purchase I have made in several years, really! With so many Instant Pot models & sizes it's hard to know which one to buy. I researched like crazy & determined this was the one to get.
This is the cookbook I use the most for my Instant Pot. If you enjoy Indian food, you definitely want this book...the butter chicken dish is restaurant quality!
Recipes
100+ Recipes For Homemade Mixes & Seasonings
Fun With Jello & Unflavored Gelatin: 25+ Creative Dishes
14 Mouth Watering Ways To Make Pulled Pork
15 Sweet & Sour Recipes For Assorted Meats & Poultry
How To Cook Lentils & Pack ‘Em With Flavor! {20+ Dishes}
Homemade Munchies That Are Tasty: Baked Veggie Chips
18 Trifle Desserts: Oh So Many To Try!
Cooking Help
How To Make Quesadillas: {Quick & Easy Meal Idea}
Retro Housewives Share Their Cookery Tips {1940s – 1950s}
20 Kitchen Secrets For Those That Love ‘Em
Making Bruschetta Is Easy-Peasy & So Delicious Too!
How To Prepare, Serve & Eat Crab Legs
Success With Bamboo Steamers: Use & Care
How To Cook Mustard, Collard & Beet Greens
Top 10 In This Category
- 10 Ways To Soften Hard Brown Sugar
- 40+ Cake Baking Tips & Tricks {Happy Homemaker Notes}
- A Baker’s Dream! How To Make Homemade Vanilla Extract
- 35+ Camping Tips, Tricks & Treats
- Over 30 Tempting Meatloaf Recipes To Try: {Plus Tips}
- 11 Meat Tenderizers & Why They Work
- Popcorn Mania: {20+ Seasonings, Toppings & Tasty Twists}
- 15+ Ways To Make Cube Steak: {Recipes}
- Homemade Breads: {Both Oven Baked & Machine}
- Getting The Best Out Of Your Crockpot Adventures
Start your pork roast in a very small amount of apple juice instead of water; it improves the flavor greatly and gives it a sweet taste.
Save the cooking water, which contains minerals and vitamins, and use to flavor soups, gravies or for part of the liquid to mash potatoes.
Meringue will always stand up high and perfect if you use a generous pinch of baking soda while beating whites.
Preserving
80+ Recipes For Home Canning: {Fruits & Vegetables}
Thick & Delicious: An Assortment Of Apple Butter Recipes
15 Ways To Make Homemade Relish
More Homemade Preserves Please: Recipes For Pear Butter
Traditional Method For Making Sauerkraut: {& More}
Baking Tips
How To Make Cookie Cutters + More
Creative Cake Cutting Ideas: {How-To}
40+ Cake Baking Tips & Tricks {Happy Homemaker Notes}
Holiday Helper: Managing A Cookie Assembly Line
Kitchen Q&A: {Holiday Edition}
How To Test Baking Powder For Freshness
Save time chopping herbs & green onions by using a small pair of scissors set aside just for kitchen use (not for meat or poultry)...simply snip off amount needed.
Onions, held under water while being peeled, will not make you weep because the fumes are thus prevented from rising.
New cake tins should be greased and put in a moderate oven for fifteen minutes to prevent burned cake bottoms.
If boiling vegetables that are slightly over mature, add a little sugar to the water to improve the flavor.
Open canned asparagus at the bottom so that they can be removed by the ends without breaking the soft tips.
Cabbage odor can be avoided by dropping two English walnuts (uncracked) into the kettle while boiling.
Cauliflower will remain white & give off no odor while cooking in half milk and half water. Use liquid to enhance flavor in soup or cream sauce.
Celery: To ensure crispness, place in a pan of water with half a lemon for an hour or two before serving.
Head lettuce leaves may be removed without breaking by first cutting around the core with a knife and then holding the head under running water.
Improve the flavor of old potatoes: add a little sugar to the pot of water.
To keep frosting from sticking to waxed paper, rub a small amount of butter over part of paper that covers the frosting.
Clean a coffee grinder by grinding up a handful of uncooked white rice.
Keep expired store reward cards handy, they make excellent pot scrapers and dried splatter removers.
Food - General
11 Meat Tenderizers & Why They Work
Sunday Afternoon Simmering Stock: {Budget Friendly}
25+ Snack Mixes & Munchies For Casual Entertaining
Tart, Tangy or Sweet: {Flavored Sugar Instructions}
DIY Flavor Bombs: Assorted Homemade Syrups & Extracts
Crystallized Honey: Why It Happens & Reviving It
Extra Cherry Tomatoes? Wash, pat dry, remove stems & leaves then spread out on a cookie tray & place in freezer. When frozen solid, pack them into bags. These can be popped into soups and sauces as desired.
Never plan to bake moist, steamy foods with roasting meat; they take the crispness out of your roast.
Stale cookies can be crushed with a rolling pin (put them in a plastic bag and you won't have a mess) then used in graham cracker crusts.
Place a quarter of an apple in a tight container with sugar that has become hard. It will soften the hardest lumps.
Kitchen greens are made quickly available by planting an onion or two in a small pot & parsley in another pot then placing in the kitchen window. These plants will add a pretty touch to the kitchen & are at hand when making salads & other dishes.
Onions, Turnips or Carrots should never be split, but sliced in rings. Cut across the fiber and they will cook more quickly and be more tender.
Swift chocolate frosting can be made by melting chocolate candy (or chips) on the cupcake. Put in a warm oven. When chocolate is soft, spread with a knife.
First coat potatoes with olive oil or butter before placing in the oven to bake (skins on). This will help prevent them from becoming hard and crusty.
To help rid the house of cooking odors, put a little vinegar in an open saucepan on the stove.
Add a few drops of vinegar to your icing while beating and you will find it will stay soft and not grainy.
Sweet potatoes and apples will not turn black if placed in salt water immediately after peeling.
Keep an old Ketchup squeeze bottle, fill with pancake batter & use as a dispenser. Seal cap tight & leftover batter can be kept in fridge for a few days.
Different Egg Sizes: Peewee: Less than 42g; Small: at least 42g; Medium: Minimum 49g; Large: Min. 56g; Extra Large: Min. 63g; Jumbo: 70g or more. Unless instructions indicate otherwise, always use Large eggs in recipes.
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Homemade Eggnog + A Few Flavor Tweaks To Try
My husband is happy to drink purchased eggnog by the carton…me? I’m a little more fussy and only homemade will do, yum! Here’s the recipe we tried last year and it was a big hit with everyone, it’s one from…
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Making Liqueurs: {Cranberry, Lavender & More}
You can make your own flavored liqueurs using assorted fruits, herbs, citrus peels and flowers (as long as they are edible) and it’s so easy to do too! If you want to prepare them for gift-giving, keep in mind they’ll…
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Famous Mocktail Delights: The Shirley Temple & Roy Rogers
Looking for a fun, refreshing drink to offer youngsters at an upcoming special event? These two classic recipes are just the ticket, one version that the lil cowboys will rally around…and another pretty, fizzy pink one for the starlets. These…
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Test & Tweak: DIY Flavored Coffee {Creamer, Syrup, Beans}
I was browsing around the net researching something when I came across this interesting tip on Chow.com for an intriguing way to jazz up your favorite cuppa java: Not a cocktail, but if you like creamer: 1 cup heavy whipping…
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15+ Holiday Beverages For Festive Flavors
This Recipe Hit List rounds out the holidays with a selection of festive beverages, both with alcohol and non-alcohol options. You’ll also find a collection of Hot Apple Cider Recipes here that features 20 different recipes and resources. *Note: Descriptions…
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A Mug Of Comfort On Chilly Nights: Hot Apple Cider
Chilly Fall evenings are a nice break after the long, hot summer days behind us and there’s one thing that makes them even better: sipping on a delicious mug of hot apple cider. This old-fashioned favorite is made by slow…
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Steeping Tea Outdoors In The Sun? Yes & It’s Delightful!
The packaged or bottled iced tea that is available to buy is typically filled with loads of sugar and artificial colors, did you know you can make your own home brew that skips all that junk without turning on the…
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Interested In Brewing Green Tea? Here’s How It’s Done
Since I began enjoying green teas, I learned there’s an art to making it and the process is a bit different than brewing a regular batch using bags. Once you start dabbling with good quality loose teas, you become very…
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Try It & Tweak It: Iced Cappuccino & Mochacchino
Hot summer days require cold refreshing drinks. Growing up I was happy with a “slush/slurpee” or a cold glass of soda. Nowadays? It’s just gotta be something with coffee ;). These slushy iced drinks can cost a pretty penny in…
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20+ Cheese Balls To Make: {Both Basic & Gourmet-Style}
Here’s another appetizer that’s easy to make and a sure hit at parties and holiday gatherings. Serve with assorted crackers and toasted baquettes…Tip: leftovers are delicious the next day as a bagel spread. Most can be prepared a day ahead…
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16 Festive Candy Cane Treats For The Holidays
Here are over a dozen different ideas for incorporating candy canes and peppermint sticks into gift-worthy food treats (both whole and crushed). Most of these are super-easy to make yet they provide an impressive display on the holiday dessert table…
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12+ Gingerbread House Designs: {Great Ideas}
You’ll find plenty of sweet ideas for making gingerbread houses in this collection that includes decorating tips, free templates to download and even a few recipes. Before you start building, you’ll need some gingerbread to work with. Here’s a vintage…
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Oh My Sweetness! Candy Making: Recipes & Chart
Any room on your holiday to-do list for whipping up a few batches of candy? These are sure to please and a great gift idea, many are easy to make too! I’ve handpicked a nice assortment of goodies from around…
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45+ Squares, Slices & Tarts For Holiday Baking
Getting ready to do some holiday baking? You’ll want to check out these ideas! Here’s a big batch of recipes for squares, slices and tarts–perfect for gift giving and baking trays. This Hit List compliments 30 Holiday Cookies, 15 Pumpkin…
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25+ Recipes For Festive Cookie Trays
Here’s Tipnut’s big list featuring cookie that will fill festive trays nicely (and make great homemade gifts too). Many traditional favorites included but lots of new ideas to try too. Recipes *Note: Descriptions below are quotes from the websites Lime…
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Free Gifts In A Jar Recipes, Tags & Tips
Gifts in a jar typically include all the dry ingredients to make or bake something that are stored in jars and presented as gifts. They can be mixes for cookies, cakes, bath & beauty products (like bath salts and foot…
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8 Ways To Make Festive Peppermint Bark
This is a very easy treat and it’s especially popular during the holidays since it looks so pretty and festive. If you’re interested in learning how to make it, here’s the recipe I use (probably the most common, basic method)…
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100+ Homemade Fudge Recipes: {A Variety Of Flavors}
[Updated for 2012] This Hit List features a whopping list of ideas for making different types of fudge. If you love this sweet, creamy candy that’s a sure favorite on the holiday baking tray, every type that you could be…
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Sweet & Salty Chocolate Covered Pretzels
These are a great idea for a homemade Valentine’s Day treat or Christmas package and they’re so quick and easy to make. Prepare them ahead of time and package right before gift giving for best results. Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups…
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How To Make Chocolate Covered Strawberries
Here’s a handy guide showing different types of chocolate covered strawberries. These are not only an impressive (and romantic) treat, they are so easy to make. Don’t miss the big list of tips shared at the bottom (underneath the recipes).…