How to use a toaster to make a Grilled Cheese Sandwich?

Yes! A toaster can make grilled cheese sandwich.

Things to do before you start this recipe:

1.  Clean out your toaster.
2.  Flip your toaster sideways
3.  Do a test run.
4.  Do not leave your toaster unattended while making this recipe.

Set you toaster to low setting, tilt it sideways. Place cheese slice on each bread and place them in the toaster. Grill it for about 2 minutes and don’t let the toasts pop but gently remove the toasts. Now this is the part when you need to work quickly. After the cheese has melted, take your toast out and start piling on the good stuff.

Your sandwich is ready!

How to grate cheese the mess free way??

Blocks of cheese can be tricky to shred as they start sticking to your grater, leaving you with a mess and little annoying chunks at the end that break off. The main reason for this is that the friction of grating causes the cheese to start to melt which makes it stick and fall apart.

There are easy ways to make shredding cheese really easy and mess-free:

• Place the block of cheese in the freezer for 15 minutes before shredding. Freezing the cheese for a short amount of time makes it more solid and easier to grate. You don’t want it to be rock-hard so keep an eye on it but for an average size block of cheddar cheese, 15 minutes should be just right.
• Apply some vegetable oil to the grater before you grate cheese so the cheese does not stick to the grater.

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How to clean your clogged shower head?

If your shower head is clogged with years of mineral deposit build-up, it may need a thorough cleansing. Instead of reaching for harsh chemicals which may not only damage your shower head, but may also be harmful to your health, here is a pretty good alternative.

One way to clean your shower head is by taking it off the pipe and soaking it in vinegar. If you are unable to remove your shower head, or if you simply do not want to, Here is what you will need for this method:

• Pot, bucket, or other container large enough to fit the shower head
• Distilled white vinegar
• Wrench and old rag (optional)
• An old toothbrush
• Soft cloth to wipe the shower head.

This is how you do it:

• Remove the shower head by twisting it counterclockwise. If you are having difficulties twisting it, try wrapping an old rag around the connecting nut, and then twisting it with a wrench. The rag will help protect the surface of your shower head.
• Put the shower head into a pot. Consider using a smaller container that just about fits the shower head; this way, you will use less vinegar. You can also use a small bucket or plastic bin. Fill the pot with enough white vinegar to cover the shower head. The acids in the vinegar will help dissolve the white mineral deposits on the shower head. Let the shower head soak in the vinegar for 30 minutes to overnight. The more soiled the shower head is, the longer you will have to leave it in the vinegar.
• If you are in a hurry, and if the shower head is made from metal, you can place the pot on the stove and simmer the vinegar for 15 minutes.
• If the shower head is made from brass, or has a gold or nickel finish, take it out after 30 minutes. You can always give it another vinegar bath once you have rinsed it off.
• Take the shower head out of the pot and rinse it. You should see the mineral deposits flaking off.
• Scrub away any residue using an old toothbrush. Focus on the base where the holes are; this is where the most mineral buildup will be. Gently scrub the brush over any residue and rinse with cool water. Keep doing this until the entire residue is gone.
• Put the shower head back onto the wall pipe. Wrap some plumbing tape counterclockwise around the threaded part of the wall pipe, and then screw the shower head back on.
• Turn the water on in your shower for a few moments. This will flush out any residue that the toothbrush did not get. Use a soft cloth to polish the shower head. Gently wipe the shower head with the cloth until it is completely dry and there are no water spots.

If you cannot remove your shower head, you can still soak it using vinegar and a plastic bag. Here is what you will need:A plastic bag large enough to fit over your shower head

• A piece of string or a twist tie
• Distilled white vinegar
• An old toothbrush
• Soft cloth to wipe the shower head.

Pots and pans can be your friends in the kitchen. How?

Yes. Invest in good quality pots and pans and spatulas to use with them. They can actually be your friends in the kitchen. I always prefer good quality non-stick pots and pans.

The benefits of using good pots and pans are:

·        They can save you some money as they will need less heat to cook. Non-stick pans help uniform distribution of heat which is extremely important to cook food faster and hence save fuel (gas). Non-stick cookware evenly distributes heat so that food is cooked faster than regular cookware.

·        Due to the non-stick property, they make your life easier as they clean up easily.

·        They can help you to cook with less oil as compared to regular pots and pans. Thus, help you live a healthy life.

Care to be taken:

·        Although, most pots and pans are scratch resistant. The solid non-stick coating makes cookware scratch resistant. However, it is extremely important to use the right spoons for cooking in non-stick. Using steel or any other regular cooking spoon with your non-stick pans could spoil its non-stick coating. Hence, you must always use non-stick spoons and spatulas to maintain its coating. You can use some wooden ladles and spatulas.

·        If at all you burn food (which you should be more careful about), just soak the vessel in soapy water for few hours and wash. You need to take proper care to wash them so they don’t chip. You can make use of some kitchen sponge to clean them. Some of the pans come with their own cleaning sponges.

What is the most important tip for cooking??

Read recipes thoroughly ahead of time. Twice.

Admit it. You’re thinking this is the dumbest cooking tip of all time. You’re like “DUH! Of course you’re supposed to read the recipe!” But when you find a good recipe, you skim it quickly and start cooking.

Me, too. I’ve done it. Skimmed that baby and thought good enough. Because I’m no amateur. I know what I’m doing by now, right?

Wrong. The result? Epic fail. Mistakes get made.

It’s not just important to read the recipe before you start cooking, it’s also just as important to read the recipe when you decide to make the dish. 

Why is it so important?

Even recipes from published cookbooks can leave out information (or ingredients!) in the list but there it is, hidden further down in the instructions. It’s also possible that you’ll miss that “marinate overnight” instruction or “pour batter into Spring form pan” and…ooops…you don’t have a Spring form pan.

Be a cool cook. Read, reread, and then cook.

How to cut thin crust pizza into perfect slices?

Imagine you just baked a thin crust pizza and don’t want to cut it using a pizza cutter or worse you don’t have a pizza cutter. Here’s a hack for you!

Just use a pair of scissors to cut the pizza into perfect slices. The best part is the topping will not fall off when you cut with a scissor.

How to peel ginger? - The easy way! The efficient way!

Peeling ginger is essential but some chefs do not, but I prefer to peel it. Ginger is already pretty difficult to peel with its irregular shape. Trying to remove the skin without taking any excess ginger with it is even harder. Fortunately, ginger skin comes off relatively cleanly with just a spoon.

Scraping ginger with the edge of a spoon can provide enough pressure to pull the skin right off. This not only makes more efficient use of your ginger, but it's safer than using something with a blade to peel it.

How to check if oil is hot enough for deep frying?

When you're frying at home, how do you know when your oil is hot enough and ready to go? If you don’t have a clip-on thermometer to tell when the temperature is just right or can't measure the temperature exactly. 

No problem. Your wooden spoon can clue you in on when it's time to add your food.

If you insert a wooden spoon/skewer into the oil, the oil will bubble around the stick when it's ready for frying. Like this:

Or you can just use a grain of rice.

Yes! You just have to drop a grain of rice into your oil to see if it's ready for frying. If the rice pops right back up and starts to cook, you're at the right temperature (which is 360 degrees, by the way). Pretty simple!

How to tell if the eggs are good or bad?

Have you kept the eggs in your refrigerator and forgotten? Not sure if they are still edible? Here’s what you need to do!

Fresh eggs are delicious and nutritious foods, rich in vitamins,proteins, minerals and antioxidants. Our nose and eyes are the best tools for determining freshness with meats, produce and herbs, but we can’t really use our senses to test an egg before we crack it.

If you want to be sure whether the eggs you have in your fridge are fresh enough or not, here are three simple methods that can answer your question within a few seconds.

First Method:

Take a deep glass bowl or cup and fill it with water. Gently place the egg inside and observe what happens.

Fresh egg will sink completely and will be “stuck” on the bottom.

Not so fresh eggs will be at the bottom with one part and the other part will be raised to the surface.

Eggs that float on the water are pretty old and risky for consumption so do not eat them.

Second Method:

Take the egg in your hand and hold it against your ear. Shake it gently and hear the sound coming from inside the egg.

If you hear no sound, the egg should be fresh and good for consumption.

If you hear unusual noise coming from inside the egg, it is probably old.

Third Method:

Take an egg, break down the shell from the edge of the bowl and open it. Pour it into bowl and observe its looks.

If bile is standing firm and raised and the white remains gathered around it, the egg is fresh.

If the yolk is firm but slightly spread and little bit pressed and the white is completely transparent and has not spilled, the egg is older, but still good for consumption.

If the yolk is soft, completely flat or has diffused immediately, and the white is watery and fully diluted, the egg is probably old, so do not eat it.

How to get rid of Garlicky Hands?

Do you hate peeling garlic because of the stench it leaves on your fingers? Here’s a tip for you.

After working with garlic, rub your hands vigorously on your stainless steel sink or a steel spoon for 30 seconds before washing them. It will remove the odor. Voilà!

“A stitch in time saves the nine” I say “A dab in time save a stitch”. How to keep buttons from falling off?

From time to time the buttons on a shirt keep falling off. Finding the matching thread and securing it is a hassle. Sometimes we don’t find the button itself. Like they say “A stitch in time saves the nine” I say “A dab in time save a stitch”. 

Just cut any lose threads and dab with two coats of clear nail polish on both the sides of the button (as shown in the image).

You can also use the Fabric glue to do the same. At first when you apply the glue it looks shabby but it will be clear when it dries. Make sure to apply a very thin coat of glue.

How to heat two bowls at once in a microwave?

Do you always wonder if only you could fit in two bowls in the microwave at once? Here’s an easy way!

This is useful tip for men and women equally!! How?

Share the Microwave & Be More Efficient

Is there a line at your work's microwave oven during lunch time? Become an office hero by teaching everyone how to heat up two dishes at once. Use something that's narrow and stable (like a coffee mug or heavy drinking glass) to elevate one bowl while leaving room for the other on the turntable below.

Bonus: This will prevent either of your dishes from drying out or overcooking, but you'll probably have to check and stir the contents a couple of times (or even switch the bowls' positions) to make sure everything heats up evenly.

Leftover Sauces?? Here is a cool tip to preserve and reuse those yummy sauces!!

Do you have lot of sauce left after a dinner party, but you don’t want to throw it away? Here is a tip to store them for future use.

Just put your sauce in ice cube tray and freeze it. Once it is frozen remove and store in a ziplock bag with sauce name and date on it. Presto!!

There are two advantages of this tip:

• You can store the yummy sauce for future use.
•  Since the sauce is in cube form you can defrost and use as many cubes as required. And you don’t have to defrost all of it at once.

This tip can be used for preserving leftover coconut milk, cream, tomato puree, pesto, or any kind of sauce.

Clues to check cake for doneness

Testing a baked good for doneness can be confusing, and it's easy to overbake a recipe in just a few minutes or even seconds. 

A dry, crumbly cake when you've been anticipating a wedge of tender perfection is a very sad thing. It can take practice (and a good recipe!) to know exactly when you've reached cake nirvana and should take it out of the oven, but here are four little clues to help you out.

·        When the Sides Pull Away: The cake is usually done when you see the sides of the cake just start to pull away from the pan. The outer edges will look dry and you'll see a gap forming between the edge of the cake and the side of the pan.

·        When the Cake is Pillowy: The middle of the cake should feel springy and pillowy if you gently press your finger against it. 

·        When a Cake Tester Comes Out Clean: Any thin skewer can be used as a cake tester, but many bakers just use a simple toothpick. If you insert it into the center of the cake, it should come out clean, with no streaks of batter. A few small crumbs are ok! If you really want your cake to be moist in the center don’t bake till the toothpick comes out clean.

Many recipes say to bake a cake till a toothpick tests clean. I personally suggest that you bake a cake until a toothpick shows a few moist crumbs still clinging. This is because pans hold residual heat and the cake will continue to “bake” after it is removed from the oven.

·        Take the Internal Temperature: If you're in any doubt, you can always take the internal temperature with an instant-read thermometer. The cake is done when the temperature in the middle is about 210°F/98-99°C ( internal temperature could vary largely from 160°F to 210°F or 93°C to 99° or even 100°C depending on the recipe.)

If you err on either side, err toward under-baking. Personally, I always prefer an overly moist cake to one that falls apart on the plate! (Then again, crumbly cake is a great excuse to make cake pops...)

Hulling Strawberries!!

Once you’ve tried this clever trick for hulling strawberries, you’ll never look back!

As the strawberry season is approaching, I thought this tip might be handy. The first step in many strawberry-based recipes call for you to hull (or remove the tough stem) the fruit before using. The easiest way to do it is using a straw.

All you have to do is poke them with a straw!  You start at the bottom of the strawberry, push the straw up, and the stem and white bit just pop right up!  

Newspaper- Best Glass Cleaner?

Get a bang for your buck with this unusual newspaper use.

Newspapers are an effective way to wipe glass windows or car windscreens.

It’s true! The 5 rupees daily can double as a glass cleaner. 

The science- Newspapers are made of dense fibers that contain no solid, scratching materials like silica or calcium carbonate. Compared to paper towels, newspaper fibers are more rigid and will not separate and cause lint. Hence, no streaking.

Fried Papad- Not!!

I always wondered how they roast papads in the restaurants without charring the sides. I experimented and found a way. Moreover, the papad tastes like oil fried, but it’s roasted. This technique will also help you to make shapes like cones, rolls etc.

So for this you will need:

• A tawa
• Few drops of oil(optional)
• Papads
• Few tall tumbler to place rolled papads.

Heat the skillet on heat, once hot place the papad on it and press using a clean, thick kitchen towel as shown in the picture. Add oil (optional). Flip and fry on the other side. Voilà! You have a rosted papad which tastes like a fried one!

To make rolls just roll the papad when hot and place in a tall tumbler to hold shape. Once cool it will retain the shape.

To make cones cut the papad into half as shown in the picture fry and roll into a cone. 

If you have a small papad unlike the one in the picture. You could still make cones. Just cut the papad from one side (as shown in last picture) till the centre and fry and roll into a cone.

Chopping nuts made easy!!

Do you always struggle with chopping nuts? I have a perfect trick for you!

Slightly roast the nuts in a dry pan and when they warm chop them to the size you need. Voilà!

You can dry roast them or add some oil/ghee depending on how you want them.

This trick has two benefits it is easy to chop them and roasting intensify their flavor. 

Burnt tongue?? Here’s a quick remedy!

Everybody has done it at some point - taken a sip of piping hot coffee, or took a sip of hot soup, resulting in a nasty burnt tongue. Luckily, we have a quick remedy. Sprinkle a pinch of white sugar onto the burnt area and let it dissolve. Let it sit in the mouth for at least a minute for the pain to go away. Any pain should quickly subside.

Sugar can cure burnt tongue

 This also works on the roof of your mouth, but you will need to use your tongue to hold the sugar in place while it dissolves, and you may need to repeat the process since some of the sugar will be dissolving into your tongue instead of the roof of your mouth.

Double Your Closet Space

Every time I clean my closet, I think if only there was a way to increase my closet space. Then I came across this cool trick. Use tabs from soda cans as shown in the picture to almost double your closet space. Presto!!