Kristi's Kitchen Hacks #6 Spray Bottle with Water!

This is one of my best kitchen hack ideas I had a few years ago! So simple but so useful! 😊 I literally use it multiple times a day! Everytime I heat up something in the microwave I just give it a couple sprays: rice, bread, pasta, leftover dinner entrees, etc. When a batter is a little dry, give it a few sprays! Roasting veggies in the oven or sauteing in a frying pan, give them a few sprays to help steam them and speed the cooking process without burning. 

I use this thing ALL. THE. TIME. and I get super angry when I can't find it because my kids stole it and are somewhere in the house spraying each other with it.... 😡😂 Anywhooo .... go pick a cheap one up at Walmart or the dollar store this week and you won't regret it!! 

Hand Pulled or Shredded Chicken from Baked Split Chicken Breasts (Cooking Tip, Meal Prep Method)

Easy technique for making tender, juicy pulled chicken for soups, enchiladas, Hawaiian haystack sauce, curries, chicken pot pies, and other recipes. Portions freeze well for easy meal prep. 3 options for cooking!

 

Oven Option:

Preheat oven to 350. Rub each split chicken breast with a teaspoon of olive oil. Place in baking dish (lined with parchment paper or foil for easy clean up). Sprinkle salt and pepper on top and cover dish with foil or lid. Bake at 350 for 35-45 minutes or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees. Remove from oven and let cool. Once chicken breasts are cool enough to handle pull the chicken off the bone and shred or chop to desired size pieces. Freeze in freezer zip top bags or containers for quick use in soups and other recipes.

Slow Cooker Option: 

Cook in slow cooker on low in 2 cups water, season with salt and pepper, until internal temperature reaches 165. 

Electric Pressure Cooker Option:

Spray pot with nonstick cooking spray. Add 2-4 split chicken breasts. Add salt and pepper and 1 cup of water. Cook on high pressure for 20-25 minutes. Quick release. Check temperature of chicken, should be 165. If not, just cook again for 3-5 more minutes. When it's cool enough to handle, hand shred and store in fridge or freeze for later use if needed. 

My Secrets to Great Mashed Potatoes

There are two points at which you can stop if you want to do some preparations in advance of your dinner. You can stop after you peel and cut them and keep the potatoes in a bowl covered with cold water in the fridge until you are ready to cook them (up to 24 hours) or you can stop after you drain the cooked potatoes and keep them in a covered bowl in the fridge until you are ready to return them to a pot to heat them up again and add the butter.

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5 pounds potatoes

1 stick butter

milk

sour cream (optional)

salt and pepper

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Bring large pot of salted water to full rolling boil. You want the potatoes to have lots of room and water to boil in. While waiting for the water to boil, peel the potatoes. Then cut small potatoes into 4 pieces, medium potatoes into 6 pieces, and large potatoes into 8 pieces. Transfer to colander and rinse with cold water to remove any dirt.

Boil potatoes, in a rolling boil, for approximately 10-20 minutes. Start checking them at 10 minutes and every 2-5 minutes after to prevent overcooking. Potatoes are done when very easily pierced with a fork but not mushy or completely falling apart. Drain water off potatoes.

Return potatoes to dry pot and return to burner on low heat. Add butter (I usually use about 1 stick of butter for 5 pounds of potatoes) and continue stirring to melt butter and to evaporate excess water from the potatoes. You want the moisture to come from the butter and milk, not from the water. When potatoes start falling apart and getting a little dry and powdery you can turn off the heat and start adding milk and continue stirring and mashing. Continue adding small amounts of milk (and or sour cream) while stirring and mashing until desired consistency is reached. Salt and pepper to taste.

Use a hand masher for 80-90% of the mashing. Then transfer potatoes to a large plastic bowl and use a hand mixer (on medium to high) and whip them for about 30 second to fluff them up and remove any big lumps. Overmixing with the electric mixer will result in a glue like texture. Transfer to serving dish and enjoy! 

Homemade Pizza (Including Regular AirBake Pan and Baking Steel Directions)

Homemade Pizza (Including Regular AirBake Pan and Baking Steel Directions)

Inspired by America's Test Kitchen, Your Homebased Mom, and Pioneer Woman pizza dough recipes.

This recipe requires some advanced planning but it is well worth it! It needs to be made at least one day in advance. Makes two medium sized pizzas. The unique thing about this recipe is that you add water to the flour instead of flour to water, which reduces the risk of adding too much flour. Also, you use cold water and let the dough rise in the fridge. The slow rise results in a more flavorful crust and the process is more repeatable and less prone to variables in your environment such as humidity and room temperature. 

Dough Recipe

3 cups white flour (minus 3 Tablespoons) (*sub one cup whole white wheat)
3 tablespoons wheat gluten
1 teaspoon active dry yeast (or ½ teaspoon rapid rise)
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 tablespoon olive oil (or canola oil)
1 1/3 cup ice cold water
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons melted butter
garlic salt (optional)

Pizza Sauce and Toppings

8 oz tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes
½ tablespoon Italian seasoning
2 teaspoons oregano
⅛-¼ teaspoon garlic salt

8 ounces mozzarella, or Italian blend shredded cheese (good quality)
toppings
dried Parmesan cheese

Directions

Combine flour, gluten, yeast, and sugar in stand mixer. Mix with a whisk or wooden spoon. With dough hook attachment going (I set my kitchen aid at speed #2) add oil then slowly start adding water. Add water very slowly until the dough is just combined and a tiny bit of flour remains (you probably won't need the entire amount listed). You must watch carefully so that you don't add to much water, making the dough gooey. Cover and let dough rest for 10 minutes. Add salt and knead with dough hook for 5 minutes (I use speed #2 on my Kitchen Aid). Shape dough into ball and transfer to lightly greased large bowl. when you are done with the 5-minute need the dough should be Tacky but shouldn't stick to your hands when you're transferring it to the Bowl if it sticks to your hands then you added too much wate. rIf the dough is sticking to your hands at this point then you added too much water and I would consider remaking it. Cover with plastic wrap or a lid and let rise in fridge for 24-72 hours.

*Whole Wheat Variation: You can also substitute one cup of all-purpose flour with 1 cup of whole white wheat flour this will turn out almost just as well especially when cooked on the pizza steel but it's important that you add gluten specially when you are using some wheat flour

Approximately 1.5 hours before you are wanting to bake the pizza, remove dough from fridge, divide in half, shape into two round balls, cover, and let set on counter to reach room temperature (at least 1 hour). You should need very little flour. If the dough is sticking to your hands or the counter then you added too much water when you initially made it.  

Roll out each half into circle (work from the center out). I like to roll out my dough on a lightly floured piece of parchment paper. If the dough is not very elastic let it rest for 10 more minutes. Stretch dough to to desired thickness, tossing if necessary. For this recipe I roll each half into a 9-12 inch circle. 9 inches gives me a thicker crust and 12 a thin crust.

Brush edges of crust with melted butter (about 1 teaspoon per pizza) and sprinkle with garlic salt. Top with sauce, cheese (I like the shredded mozzarella from Sam's Club, it is very good quality), or the finely shredded Italian blend from Aldi. and toppings. I use 4oz of cheese per pizza. 

P.S. Some of my favorite topping combinations include:

pepperoni and zuchinni

pepperoni and fresh pineapple

pepperoni, fresh pineapple, and jalapeno

kale, zucchini, and tomatoes

barbecue sauce (instead of tomato pizza sauce), bacon, chicken, and kale

If you are using a traditional air bake pizza pan:

Transfer dough to pizza pan. I use this non stick air bake pan and I love it. Poke holes with fork all over crust. Don't be shy about this, you want a lot of "pokes" to prevent big air pockets from forming. Bake for 4 minutes and remove from oven. Relieve any remaining air pockets with fork or toothpick and push them down with your finger.

Bake at 475 at 3/4 height in oven for approximately 8 minutes or until cheese in center of pizza is just beginning to brown. Sprinkle with dried parmesan cheese and serve.

If you are using a baking steel:

When you first get out your dough from the fridge preheat your steel at 500 degrees for at least 45 minutes. (This temperature works best in my oven but you may need to play around with temperatures in your oven, 450-550). 

Prepare pizza on a wooden pizza paddle with cornmeal on the bottom to ease the transfer and prevent the dough from sticking. Be sure to poke many holes in the dough before adding the sauce and toppings. This will prevent any large bubbles from forming. You can use a long fork or a dough docker. Quickly transfer to steel and bake for approximately 5 minutes or until crust is golden brown and cheese is just beginning to brown in the middle of the pizza. You will need a large metal pizza “shovel/spatula” to remove the pizza from the oven. 

Link to my pizza making tools:

Wooden Pizza Peel (for building pizza and transferring to steel in oven)

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Update-International-WPP-1222-12-x-14-Wooden-Pizza-Peel/25526672?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=907&adid=22222222227017923256&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=101932778674&wl4=pla-252949437394&wl5=1024126&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=112562677&wl11=online&wl12=25526672&wl13=&veh=sem

Metal Aluminum Pizza Peel (for removing pizza from oven on baking steel)

https://www.amazon.com/Kitchen-Supply-14-Inch-16-Inch-Aluminum/dp/B002JPJ0QY/ref=sr_1_4?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1533611811&sr=1-4&keywords=metal+pizza+peel

Nerd Chef Baking Steel

https://www.amazon.com/NerdChef-Steel-Stone-High-Performance-Standard/dp/B00JXVNUHW/ref=asc_df_B00JXVNUHW/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=194965293534&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=7299350162569344764&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9026485&hvtargid=pla-314712214528&psc=1

Dough Docker

https://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/store/product/pizzacraft-trade-pizza-dough-docker/1043769865?skuId=43769865&mcid=PS_googlepla_brand_googleplascatchall_online&product_id=43769865&adtype=pla&product_channel=online&adpos=1o1&creative=45758750869&device=c&matchtype=&network=g&mrkgadid=2974383472&mrkgcl=609&rkg_id=0&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIk_L6vP7Z3AIVjcDACh3_-QiNEAQYASABEgJonfD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

DIY Edible Cake Paint

I love decorating cakes but I don't love making many different colors of frosting because one it is a pain, and two, it's hard to get the colors correct and dark enough without using the expensive dyes made specifically for frosting. I also do not like fondant. So I invented my own cake paint and it's super easy and costs almost nothing. You only need three ingredients - powdered sugar, food coloring, and water.

I just put about 1-3 teaspoons of powdered sugar in a little glass cup, added a few drops of food coloring and stirred with a paint brush. Then I added a drop or two of water to thin it out. You want it thin enough to paint but not too thin or it will run, basically about the consistency of acrylic paint, but maybe just a touch thinner. If it is too thin just add a pinch or two of powdered sugar. Then just paint it onto your frosting with paintbrushes.

How I Freeze Various Foods - bulk food and things I don't use frequently

Buying things in bulk can be a lot cheaper but obviously you need to freeze some of it. Also, somethings you don't use up all at once, like sliced cheese and deli meat, but it doesn't last forever. I freeze a lot of things and it saves tons of time and money and keeps things from going bad. Besides ziplock freezer bags, old cottage cheese/sour cream containers work great for freezing. I just bought some cheap sticky labels to put on them so that I know what they are. Also, if you have space get a deep freezer. It saves a lot of money. We found a great one on Craig's List for around 50 bucks. If you start looking you don't have to pay a fortune.

Here is a list of some things I freeze and how to freeze them.

Meat
I wrap individual pieces in plastic wrap or fold over bags and then put those pieces in a large freezer ziplock bag which you can reuse. That way I don't waste expensive freezer bags and each piece can be pulled out and thawed separately. I put a few slices of deli meat in back in its original package if it is resealable.

Cheese
I put shredded cheese in fold over bags and then put those in a large freezer bag. For presliced cheese I put wax paper between slices so that I can just take one piece out at a time. I put those back into the original bag if it is resealable.


Sauces
I freeze homemade salsa, salad dressing, etc. in yogurt containers. Then I pop them out and wrap in saran wrap and then put those in a freezer ziplock. Then you can just pull out small amounts when you need it. Or I will freeze large amounts in a recycled sour cream container.

Curry Paste and Canned Chipotle
I puree or chop my canned chipotles before freezing. Measure out tablespoons of curry paste or chipotles onto a big piece of plastic wrap set on a cutting board. Cover them with another piece of plastic wrap and lay it all in the freezer. Cut each tablespoon out and put them into a ziplock bag. Then you can just pull out what you need.


Peppers and Onions
Just chop and freeze in small amounts in fold over bags, and put the fold over bags into a bigger ziplock bag. That way you don't have to burn your cuticles or cry every time you need peppers or onions. They freeze very well. See previous post about this topic.

Green Onions
You usually only need a few green onions in a recipe but when you buy them you gets tons. I chop up the white part and chop up some chives and freeze in yogurt containers or small plastic containers that I got from Aldi. They are a little bigger than an ice cube. I found that an ice cube tray was too small. Put the green onions in your container with just a little bit of water (they will float) and freeze. Then top with more water to completely cover and freeze again. Wrap each frozen aliquot in plastic wrap and store those in a bigger ziplock. Green onions will be a little wilted once thawed but are just fine when put into recipes.

Cream

I have frozen leftover whipping cream in a recycled cottage cheese or sour cream container. I just thawed it in the fridge and it whipped up just like it was fresh. 

Berries
When raspberries or blackberries are on sale I buy a ton but I have to freeze them. Wash berries and lay out in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Freeze and then put into ziplock bags. This way the berries won't stick together and you can easily pull out a few.

Homemade Baby Food
Puree your food and put it into clean recycled glass baby food jars. That way you can just pop out a jar when you need it and pop it in the fridge or microwave to thaw and serve straight from the jar. Texture from thawing won't matter because it will be pureed anyway.

Perfectly Rich and Moist Any Flavor Cake Mix Recipe

This is the recipe I use to make my cakes and cupcakes. I got it from a lady names Sally who made our wedding cake and it is amazing every time. It's always very rich and moist without falling apart and you can enhance the flavor of the cake mix or make a white cake any flavor you want just by altering the pudding flavor. I prefer to use Duncan Hines brand for this recipe

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1 cake mix, any flavor (I prefer Duncan Hines)
1 small box pudding, any flavor that coordinates with the cake
1 cup sour cream or plain yogurt
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup water
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

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Combine all ingredients in a medium to large mixing bowl. Beat for 2 minutes with hand mixer. The batter will be very rich and smooth. Bake at 325 if you want your cake to be flatter, like for a layered cake. Otherwise bake cupcakes and other cakes at 350  until inserted toothpick comes out clean. It may take longer than the time listed on the box.

Freezing Chopped Onions

I HATE chopping onions every time I need them for a recipe.  Also, onions are usually cheaper in bulk so if you buy a bag and don't use them right away, you usually have a few go rotten. Fortunately I've realized that onions freeze very well.

I recently started chopping my entire bag of onions and freezing them in small quantities. I like my onions practically pureed for most recipes so I put them in my food processor and put varying amounts in those cheap fold over bags. Then I stuff all those fold over bags into a bigger ziplock bag. You can chop them into whatever size(s) you think you will need and then whenever you need onions for a recipe you just pull the baggie out and thaw it under running water in a strainer. Believe me, this will save you tons of TIME and TEARS. Try it out the next time you buy a bag of onions.

Let Your Dough Rise in the Kitchen Sink

Living in Northern Indiana I've always had a problem finding a warm place in my house for dough to rise. I've tried using my oven but it's usually too hot and then you can't preheat the oven while the dough is rising. My mother-in-law shared a trick with me that works perfectly every time - the kitchen sink!

Fill your sink with the hot water from your faucet. Place your bowl of dough in the water and cover with a cutting board to weigh it down. If rising a pan of rolls just set the pan over the sink and let the sides rest on the counter and cover the tray with a towel.