Kitchen Hints and Tips

Frozen Food Hints and Tips

Frost-proof frozen foods. Put food in a plastic bag. Before you seal the plastic bag, insert a drinking straw. Hold the bag's opening snugly around the straw, and gently suck as much air as possible out of the bag. The remove the straw and quickly seal the bag.

Ice Cream
To make birthday party treats ahead of time, scoop ice cream into muffin pan liners. Decorate with sprinkles, nuts or chocolate chips. Keep in the freezer on a baking sheet until ready to serve.

Place a marshmallow in the bottom of an ice cream cone before you add the ice cream. You'll stop a drip before it starts. If you're out of marshmallows, try using a dab of peanut butter instead.

To prevent wax-like film on top of opened ice cream, press a piece of wax paper against the surface and reseal the carton, then put into freezer.

Soften hard ice cream by microwaving at 30% power. One pint will take 15 to 30 seconds; one quart, 30 to 45 seconds; and one-half gallon 45 seconds to one minute.

Ice Cubes
To prevent them from sticking together, dump them into a brown paper bag before putting them back into the freezer.

Save plastic foam egg cartons. By cutting off the top cover and placing it under the bottom half of the carton, you can completely fill the egg cups without worrying about spillage in the freezer. A slight upward push on the bottom of each cup ensures easy removal of the cubes. These disposable trays can be used two or three times before becoming floppy.

Popsicles
Make a drip stop holder from a margarine lid with a slit cut for the stick.

Whipped Topping
Thaw whipped topping in the microwave. A 4 1/2 ounce carton will thaw in 1 minute on the defrost setting. It should be slightly firm in the center but it will blend well when stirred. Do not over-thaw!