Chocolate bowls are the perfect way to serve up all kinds of delicious treats.
Yes, you can make chocolate bowls at home! Just melt (in the microwave or a double boiler) chocolate–white, milk or dark chocolate will do, and you can even melt candy bars with almonds and other bits of goodness already in them. Dip a balloon into the melted chocolate, and dip again into a bowl of candy sprinkles. Once the chocolate cools and hardens, carefully deflate the balloon with a pin prick and toss it.
Remove cherry pits before you serve a bowl of cherries and you won’t have to worry about your kids chocking on the pits–or spitting them out at their siblings. First, wash the cherries. Use a narrow-necked bottle, like a wine bottle or an old-fashioned soda bottle. If the cherry has […]
Keep ice cream soft and ready for the whole family to enjoy with one simple trick: a freezer bag. No one likes to wait for ice cream to soften–especially kids! When you bring your favorite frozen confection home from the store, put it in a Ziploc bag before you put it […]
Keep basil fresh for up to a week with a simple cup of water. This method is similar to keeping a bouquet of cut flowers fresh. First, trim the stems of the basil with a sharp knife. Then, place the bunch into a glass of water. Cover with a plastic […]
Portion snacks before you indulge yourself so you’ll never have to say, “I can’t believe I ate that whole bag of cookies!” It’s easy to keep reaching into a bag of chips or a package of chocolate chip cookies until there’s nothing left. And then you feel bad. Enjoy your snacks […]
Cook pasta with less water and less mess. Most packaged pasta advises you to boil something like six quarts of water before adding the dry pasta. Then, once the pasta is cooked, you end up pouring all that water down the drain (and sometimes getting burned by the steam while […]
Pastry puff bacon treats are the easiest way to please all your guests the next time you’re serving brunch (or even a late-night snack!). Get a pound of sliced bacon out of your refrigerator–you know you’ve got it stored in case of a bacon emergency. Cook up the bacon in […]
Frost a cake the simple way: put it on a lazy susan and slowly, gently turn the cake as you frost it! Cake is so important in our lives that it’s made it into the lexicon: “Let them eat cake” and “That’s the frosting on the cake” are two examples. If […]
Microwave bacon the next time you need some crispy goodness in a flash. Start with a (microwave-safe, of course) bowl, turned upside down onto a plate. Lay the bacon over the bowl (it’s okay to criss-cross it). Then heat on high for one minute per slice of bacon. The excess […]
Pringles containers come in handy for a lot more than stacked-up potato chips. They make excellent containers for dry spaghetti (and no more pieces of pasta falling out of those flimsy bags!). You can cover the container with washi tape in all sorts of colors and patterns. Start by measuring […]
Bacon fried Oreos combine the best of so many taste sensations: sweet, salty, juicy, crispy and smoky. What more could there be to LOVE? Here’s how to make them at home. Start with a pack of Oreos (we recommend the new thin version), a pound of sliced bacon and some toothpicks. […]
Peel garlic with no tools, no knife and no special gadget. All you need is a container with a lid–an empty glass or plastic jar works perfectly. First, separate the cloves. Then put them in the container and shake vigorously. You can watch the peels separate from the cloves as […]
Cocoa is always a favorite, and the peppermint version is especially delicious. You can add a few marshmallows for the little ones, or some vodka for that uncle who is looking for something “festive.” When you’ve got a house full of guests, a stovetop brimming over with holiday food, and […]
Ground beef… it’s what’s for dinner–once it’s thawed, that is. When you’re hungry for tacos or meatballs, the last thing you want to do is wait forever while the ground beef (or ground turkey or pork) thaws out. You can thaw the main course in a jiffy using this cooking hack: […]
Campfire bacon brings bacon to new heights, and it’s a whole lot more satisfying than marshmallows and graham crackers. When you’re out camping with the guys, do you really want to make something your little sister made to get a badge in melted chocolate? Didn’t think so. All you need […]
Crimp pie crust the simple way and you can serve a pie that looks like it was made by a professional baker. When making pie from scratch (or making store-bought crust look homemade), you could use a specialized crimper to crimp the edges of your pie crust. If you can’t seem to […]
