Kitchen Tip Tuesday

My tip for this week is to really make use of your timer.

I have a fairly old stove (1984), but it still works ok, except the oven heats hotter than the temperature you set it at. It has a timer on it that Buzzes very annoyingly (is that a word?) until you come and turn it off. I remember the days when I would forget to turn off tea that was simmering or burn biscuits that had stayed in the oven 5 minutes too long.

For years now I have set the timer for almost every thing I cook, even if its for 2 minutes. Why... because I will forget it every time if I don't stand right there and look at it. I am always multi-tasking, especially when cooking a meal and this helps me to get it all done at the same time, well almost.

Its also a safety measure. If I am cooking while cleaning the house or sewing, this insures that I won't forget it. Also I can leave something cooking for my husband to finish and he knows that when the buzzer goes off he is to take action. I know that the buzzer will keep him from forgetting to take something out of the oven or off the stove.

There are also many other uses for the timer. I use it to time myself when I want to spend 30 minutes cleaning and then 30 minutes doing something fun like sewing. I have used it to try to do a "Flylady Home Blessing Hour". You know, spend 15 minutes doing 4 different things, or ten minutes doing 6 different things and when the hour is up you stop!!!

My 20 year old son can tell you how I used the timer for his time outs when he was younger. 1 minute for each year of his age. He broke the portable timer I had, but the stove timer survived those years!!! LOL

For more Kitchen Tips go to Tammy's Recipes!