Tired of just a red tomato sauce?  Add one can of alfredo sauce to the tomato sauce you usually use.  It cuts down on the acidity and it is a great addition to most Italian dishes!  Try it in lasagna, ziti, eggplant parmesan or spagetti and meatballs.

Don’t have time to make homemade frosting?  Mix together one 8oz container whipped topping with 1 container store bought frosting of your choice.  Frost cake or cupcakes accordingly, and enjoy!!  It is delicious, and much lighter tasting than the thick store bought frosting!

Are your kitchen sponges getting a little smelly?  Throw them in the dishwasher with your next cycle of dishes and they will smell good as new.

If you have a lemon or a lime that seems tough to get the juices flowing.  Put it in the microwave for a few seconds, roll it on the counter and squeeze.

Pesto is one of those foods that screams summer to me.  It is great in just about anything.  Pesto is great frozen!  Make a big batch of pesto and spoon into an ice cube tray or muffin tin.  When frozen solid, pop out the pesto “pucks” into a large ziplock bag or plastic container.  Store in the freezer and pull out as many “pucks” as you need whenever you are needing some summer flavor.  Add to sauce, lasagna, or anything Italian!

How do you get rid of those nasty sun burns? Aloe is one option, but vinegar can also take the heat out of a sun burn. Pour apple cider vinegar into a bowl, add some ice cubes to make it cold. Take a wash cloth and soak it in the vinegar. Press the wash cloth on the sun burn and it will soak up the heat and sooth your skin. It doesn’t hurt at all, but it does take the heat out!

Vinegar has many uses, one of them is that it relieves a sore throat is no time. Sip either straight or watered down vinegar and your sore throat will be soothed. Sipping is important because you don’t want to gulp it down, it’s to strong for that. As a kid my mom would make us drink this when we were sick and it definitely works. You may smell like a pickle in the mean time, but it’s worth it.

When measuring honey for a recipe always measure the oil first. This will let the honey slip right out instead of sticking on all sides. If the recipe doesn’t call for oil, coat measuring cup in oil then measure honey.

This tip came in handy when I spilt an entire jar candle on my carpet and bedding in my dorm room. Using some (many) paper towels and an iron the wax came come off in no time at all.
With the iron on a medium setting place the paper towels over the wax and iron on top of it. The spilt wax will melt and come up onto the paper towels. Use as many paper towels as needed to remove all the wax. This works best on carpets, clothing, or anything material. If it is safe to iron on it, then it will work!!

When using a small cutting board they often slip while you are cutting on the counter. Place a damp dish cloth or paper towel under the cutting board and you will avoid the slipping all together…and it makes it much safer too!!