Celery - to keep celery crisp for weeks, wrap it completely in foil. (This works!)

Beaten egg whites - add a pinch (1/8 tsp) of cream of tartar to your egg whites when you beat them. This will prevent your beaten egg whites from flattening/collapsing when you fold them into your batter. (Haven't tried it but heard it from Giada on Everyday Italian.)

Cakes - to prevent your cake from sinking in the middle while it's baking, make sure you cream your butter and sugars well. Also make sure your batter is mixed well. (This I just learned recently from experience. I was too afraid of overmixing my batter that I wasn't mixing it long enough. Don't know what I was thinking! LOL)

That's all that I can think of right now.

What are some of your tips (tried or rumor)?

The best food tip I was given recently was to buy really nice small plates to help keep portion sizes under control. DW and I have been eating our entrées on salad plates for several months and it works.

My daughter's been eating her meals on salad plates too. She say's that a big plate doesn't appeal to her anymore and it makes her feel overwhelmed!

Peel a banana from the bottom and you won't have to pick the little 'stringy things' off of it. That's how the primates do it.

Take your bananas apart when you get home from the store. If you leave them connected at the stem, they ripen faster.

Store your opened chunks of cheese in aluminum foil. It will stay fresh much longer and not mold!

Peppers with 3 bumps on the bottom are sweeter and better for eating. Peppers with 4 bumps on the bottom are firmer and better for cooking.

Add a teaspoon of water when frying ground beef. It will help pull the grease away from the meat while cooking.

To really make scrambled eggs or omelets rich add a couple of spoonfuls of sour cream, cream cheese, or heavy cream in and then beat them up.

Heat up leftover pizza in a nonstick skillet on top of the stove, set seat to med-low and heat till warm. This keeps the crust crispy. No soggy micro pizza. I saw this on the cooking channel and it really works.

Before you pour sticky substances into a measuring cup, fill with hot water. Dump out the hot water, but don't dry cup. Next, add your ingredient, such as peanut butter, and watch how easily it comes right out.

To get rid of pesky fruit flies, take a small glass fill it 1/2' with Apple Cider Vinegar and 2 drops of dish washing liquid, mix well. You will find those flies drawn to the cup and gone forever!

Linda

Freeze flour and pasta to keep the bugs out. Bring to room temperature before using flours for baking.

Put a bay leaf in your flour canister. It also helps keep the bugs out.

If you buy your brown sugar by the box, transfer it to a zippered storage bag. It helps keep it safe.

Got an ant trail? Fill a clean empty cat food or tuna can with water, add a 1/2 tsp of sugar and stir. Place OUTSIDE along the ant trail. Most ants will crawl right in....and drown.

DonnaR/CA

I think this was on the dessert forum, add two tablespoons of Hellmann's mayonnaise in a cakemix along with other ingredients listed and it tastes homemade and I think it does.