Now that I'm able to spend a little more time in my kitchen cooking I really rely on two of my favorite kitchen cheats. They are two cheats that use what you already have to save you money.
1~ Dishsoap turned Foaming Handsoap.
Since it can be expensive to keep nice handsoap at the sink and I wash my hands a LOT I noticed I had a new expense. I really like the foam hand soap and always wondered how it went from liquid in the bottle to foam in your hands. Well I didn't investigate how it made the foam but instead what soapy liquid I could put in the bottle to "refill" my foam soap dispenser. It was as easy as refilling my container with water, leaving 2 inches at the top them squirting at least 2 tablespoons of my fav dishsoap in and shaking. Viola! It works just as well as the store bought and lasts just as long. So I bought a $2-3 foam soap dispensing pump for each of my bathrooms and the kitchen sink.
When I refill my dispensers each month I also wash them to get rid of germs that are still there. You can buy nicer foam soap dispensers than I have but I just picked a nice looking plastic bottle from the store.
Kitchen Cheat 2 ~ The heel slice of bread turned Moisture Equalizer
Almost everyone I know buys the mainstream boring bag of white bread (or wheat or whole grain). And at the begining and end of every loaf is the boring overly crusty ends or heels of the loaf, that either get eaten unhappily or wasted. Two things I have read to do with soft or dry bread can resolve a pretty big kitchen problem... mositure! Some foods hold too much and some loose theirs quickly. And itll probably (ok maybe) amaze you how easily a slice of bread can fix this:
A ~ Chopped Lettuce ~ which in most cases gets wet to fast and wilts or turns before you can use it all. You could use a paper towl, kitchen towl OR use that lonely dry slice of white bread to soak up the excess moisture. Just place it on top of the chopped lettuce and by the next day you'll still have crisp lettuce.
B ~ Hard Brown Sugar ~ which is a shame to waste this mapley- sweetness. Next time, place a soft slice of white bread on top of your sugar and in a few days you're brown sugar will be moist again. If you need to use that hard brown sugar sooner than a few days you can also microwave it until it softened up. *Note ~ Don't leave the bread in the sugar too long or it can mold as well. Its an easy fix just sweet enough to try!
