2 things your grandmother never taught you, but MINE DID!  

Why are there still so many recipes saying to flour your surface when rolling out dough?  Adding more flour to dough will make it tough (not to mention making a mess).  I have a silpat mat, with circles for pie crusts on it ~ along with inches along the top.  But my grandmother taught me to use 2 sheets of waxed paper!  On the underside of the bottom sheet, you can mark off the size you want to roll whatever it is you're making ..... put the dough in between the 2 sheets of waxed paper and roll.  Your shape is already marked off, and no floury mess! 

If you're making cinnamon rolls, the added bonus is that you can take off the top sheet of waxed paper (when you're at the right size) ~ add your filling ~ and then use the bottom sheet of waxed paper to help you roll up your log for the cinnamon rolls.

You can even wipe off those sheets of waxed paper and use them again, if you want.

TIP #2 ~ and I've never, ever made a frosted or glazed cake without doing this (in the 50+ years that I've been baking) ~ yet I've never heard anyone speak of or do this on any cooking show on TV.  Gram told me to put pieces of waxed paper under my cake and on the plate (or surface) that I want to serve the cake from.  Then frost (or drizzle glaze) your cake.  Wait for the frosting / glaze to set and gently pull the waxed paper strips out.  EASY! 

If you spend enough time in the kitchen, you will end up familiarizing yourself with cooking on the stovetop. Stovetop cooking can be a great way to throw together a quick meal. Unfortunately, if you get distracted while boiling your water you can end up with a mess on your hands!


To limit your exposure to messy spills from water boiling over, get in the habit of keeping a wooden spoon handy! When you step away from your boiling water, merely lay the spoon across the top of the pot. The spoon will prevent the water from overflowing while you work on other parts of your meal!

​from lifehackguru.com

For those who don’t have the convenience of a garage to shield their cars from winter’s chill, there’s a clever hack to keep Jack Frost at bay: simply use Ziplock bags. Open a Ziplock bag and slip it over each of your car's side mirrors. These makeshift plastic covers will act as a barrier against ice and snow accumulation, making your frosty mornings significantly more manageable.
Winter’s harshness often brings about the challenge of dealing with ice-encrusted windscreens and mirrors, turning the start of your day into a frigid task. This simple yet effective method can save you time and effort, ensuring a smoother departure on those cold mornings.
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from lifehackguru.com

Salt serves as an effective anti-clogging solution for your kitchen sink. To enhance its efficacy, blend half a cup of salt with one cup of baking soda. Allow it to sit for 4-6 hours, making it convenient to pour the mixture down the sink before bedtime.
After letting it sit for several hours, or overnight, flush the sink with hot water to remove the mixture. Repeat as necessary.

​from lifehackguru

Clothing hangers can be extremely flexible accessories for a variety of household projects. Outside of holding your pants up in the closet, pants hangers can work to perform a number of tasks around the kitchen. One of our favorite inventions for pants hangers is this DIY Recipe Holding rig!
By using your pants hanger, you can prop up a recipe book for easy reading while you work around the kitchen. The hanger will allow you to simply hang the recipe wherever it is that you are working, thus leaving your hands free to focus on the meal before you. Who said cooking was hard?

​from lifehackguru

If you need to transport a 8", 9" or 10" cake to somewhere ~ and it's on a cake board ~ the best way is in a LARGE priority flat rate box from the Post Office.  (You can order these boxes free on their website, and your postman will deliver them to your house.)  It's 12x12" but when you fold the sides down inside, it will securely hold a cake that's on a 10" cakeboard! 

To KEEP YOUR CAKES FROM SLIDING ~ put a big dollop of CANNED FROSTING in the center of the cakeboard (if you're using a doily, put a dollop under the doily and also on top).  Canned frosting dries quickly and works like "glue"

HOW to SOFTEN BROWN SUGAR that's gotten hard.

My mother and grandmother always keep a slice of bread in their canister of brown sugar, and when I started baking, I realized why.  It will keep your brown sugar soft and stop it from getting rock hard and clumping up in your canister.  So, just stick the heel of a loaf of bread in there (I replace it occasionally with another heel of a loaf).

To be doubly sure that my brown sugar stays soft, I also have one of those special brown sugar terra cotta discs in my brown sugar canister.  I dampen it occasionally, and set it in an old 1/4-cup measure (so it isn't resting directly on the sugar).  You can find them on-line @ eBay, Etsy, or any store that has baking supplies.  

BUT ~ what do you do when you need your brown sugar NOW and haven't done either of the above precautions ~ and your brown sugar is rock-hard?  You can soften it in the microwave! 

1. Put the amount of brown sugar in a microwavable bowl.
2. Put a couple of damp paper towels on top of the brown sugar.
3. Tightly cover the bowl with plastic wrap or microwave safe lid.
4. Heat the bowl in the microwave for 30 seconds. (If not yet softened, continue to heat for 10- second intervals.)
5. Fluff the sugar with a fork or whisk and use it immediately
​6. Put that piece of bread in your canister to soften what's in there for next time!! 

I've been making COLD BREW COFFEE in my "Toddy Maker" for over 40 years ~ and it's the only way my husband will drink coffee.  This system (using the filters provided) will take out 90% of the acid (and that's what bothers most people) and about 90% of the caffeine ~ even using a pound of your favorite ground coffee (not decaf ~ I actually buy dark roast for him).  

You get 2 filters, 2 black stoppers, plus the big white filter thingy ~ the glass container, handle and lid.  I just wash out the filters, and they'll last for years!  (The instructions may say that they last for 10 uses, and a pound of coffee will last 2 weeks ~ HAHA ~ a pound of coffee will only last my husband about 3 days!)  You can buy more stoppers and/or filters separately (very inexpensive) on eBay, if necessary.

Forget what the instructions say ~ this is what I do:

Wet the thick white filter and stick it into the round indentation in the bottom of the white thingy.  Put the rubber stopper underneath (and make sure it's in really well).  Then put about 2 cups of water in the white thingy (TIP:  If it "bubbles", then gently smash the filter down better into the indentation).  Next put about 12 oz. ground coffee into the water and stir ~ start pouring more water in (and stirring) until it's about 4" from the top of the white thingy.  Let it sit for about 5 minutes (the coffee will harden up a little) ~ then go back and stir with a spoon to loosen up the coffee, and pour more water in, stirring (until about 3" from top of white thingy).  TIP:  Put the whole thing into a bowl, in case it leaks! 

Instructions say to let it sit 10-12 hours, and that's best.  But sometimes I've waited too long to make it, so I've let it filter through after 6 or 8 hours instead (and it's fine).  (I have a mini-espresso machine, and Hubby will have a cup from there in an emergency, but he's not used to the "oil/acid" or caffeine). 

NOW, the TRICKY PART!  Lift the white thingy up (I use the handle by stabilize with my other hand) and center it over the glass jar.  Pull out the rubber stopper on the bottom and set the white thingy over the glass jar ~ and let the coffee concentrate drain into the glass jar.  In theory, if you turn the lid of the glass jar over, that measurement is supposed to be the amount of concentrate to use in 8 oz. of water (but you can use more or less, to your liking).  

You can heat up 8 oz. of water in the microwave for hot coffee ~ or use the concentrate (and remember that it IS a concentrate!) to make iced coffee.

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If you're going camping ~ renting a condo ~ or anywhere else that you can heat water ~ just take your own concentrate in a mason jar! 

EXTRA BONUS:  Put those "used" coffee grounds on your acid-loving plants!  gardenias, jasmine, camellias all love it!  (I'll toss about 1/2 cup under them)  If you have hydrangeas, the acid in the coffee grounds will turn the blossoms BLUE (if you do that before they start budding)