cake pan tip

you can double a recipe for a loaf of banana bread. pour enough batter to fill half a 10 inch bundt pan. pour the rest in a muffin tin. bundt is 325 degrees for 65 minutes. muffin is 350 for 20 minutes.

notebook tip

here's how to make your own simple, unlined notebook:

get 20 pages of 8.5 X 11 inch printer paper and fold them in half "hamburger style." open up a regular stapler and line the staple up to the notebook spine. put something underneath the notebook so you don't staple into your desk. you can use an old hardcover book, for example.

press on the stapler slightly so that the staple touches the paper. staple down. use something hard to push the staple down around the pages.

also you can use a colored page as the notebook cover.

yum tip

this is good and very easy to prepare:

bottom layer is tortilla chips.

2nd layer is scrambled eggs (about 2 per person)

3rd layer is annie's salsa.

eat with a fork.

more bacon tips

you can use leftover bacon grease to cook popcorn. it doesn't really taste like bacon but it tastes different than using olive oil.

bacon baking tip

oven 400 degrees. put bacon in. no need to wait for oven to heat up. i cooked it for about 17 minutes. bake until the bacon is brown. put bacon on a couple layers of paper towel to soak up the grease.

sardines in oil

you know those canned sardines in olive oil? don't just throw the oil away! you can put it on noodles and it is super delicious!

ice cream tip

one part vanilla ice cream and one part fage original yogurt, with nonpareil sprinkles on top. delicious! it reminds me of tart frozen yogurt. 

turkey burger tip

here's how i cooked jennie-o frozen turkey burger (1/3 pound).

1. put turkey burgers on greased tray. broil 4 inches from heat at top for 4 minutes. 

2. flip burgers. broil 4 more minutes.

3. flip burgers. broil 4 more minutes. wash your raw turkey spatula.

4. eat burger.

total cook time was 12 minutes. i cut it in the middle and it was cooked through.

sizzler tip

sizzler has this weird pricing structure. the price of a small bacon
cheeseburger and unlimited salad is cheaper than . . . an unlimited
salad. you save a penny and get a burger. isn't that crazy?

basically i just ate salad and took the burger to go.

pinyin tip

to type the character for girl in chinese use nv.

nalgene mold tip

there's a white stopper in the nalgene on the fly lid. it gets moldy.
today i pulled out the white stopper and put it in bleach for 12
hours. the mold went away.

be sure to rinse all the bleach away.

faux cream tip

fage yogurt and condensed milk mixed together is very good.  it's like a dense cream.  mix in blueberries for a yummy dessert.  

not sure about the ratios.  maybe 1 cup yogurt, 1 tablespoon condensed milk.  you can also mix in crushed ice if you want.

overnight oats

here's how i recently made overnight oats.  pour in some rolled oats.  mix with maple yogurt.  refrigerate overnight.  i didn't really worry about the ratio.  just make sure all the oats are coated in yogurt.  

other recipes i've seen say you can use almond milk or regular milk instead of yogurt.  

when ready to eat, i put shredded coconut and sunflower seeds.  

it's hearty and keeps you full for a long time.  plus no cooking!

thrift store tips

st. vincent de paul:  

lots of furniture--tables, dining sets, etc.  

no changing room

no refunds

tri-valley volunteers:

small selection of children's shoes

only 2-3 straight racks of children's clothes

clothes are $1

hope station:

clothes are pretty expensive--$4.98 for a shirt

lots of plates and kitchen-y things

filet mignon tips

turn on george foreman grill and heat for 5 minutes.

salt and pepper filet mignon.

cook for 6 minutes.

eat

draeger's tip

draeger's turkey pot pie in the buffet is really really good.  

soup tip

for chicken noodle soup, pulverize a whole onion and stick it in the crockpot with the soup.  the floating onion grounds thicken up the soup.  

rolling pin tip

here are two tips i learned about rolling pins.  if you don't have a rolling pin, use a bottle with a large cylindrical surface such as a wine bottle.  the other tip is if you're rolling out cookie dough, sandwich the dough between parchment paper, then roll.  that way you don't have to worry about adding flour to the rolling pin or surface.

answering the phone tip

When people answer the phone and speak really quickly, it makes them sound really rude.

chutes and ladders tip

play chutes and ladders with two dice.  it helps teach simple addition and it makes game play move faster.