P.S. After you’ve used the cheese packet for popcorn, dump the uncooked macaroni into a big covered Tupperware somewhere. After you have about 3 boxes worth, use it to make pasta salad.
… and guys,
If you’re not hungry, don’t leave your (finely cooked) bolognaise sauce simmering while you eat and play Age of Empires II with your room mate because it tends to go all crusty crunchy embedded into the saucepan.
http://www.luke-for-god.itgo.com
change is coming
I find it’s helpful to keep to a disciplined routine in matters domestic.
In relation to the kitchen:
Wash all the dishes on the first Tuesday of every month.
If you smoke, try to empty the ashtray occasionally as stub out’s in the leftovers of previous meals tend to accumulate.
Add the dish washing liquid stuff to your grocery list- believe me, I found this helped.
Don’t buy vegetables only because they humorously remind you of body parts.
There are people who come around and take away the rubbish (trash) so if you leave that stuff outside once in a while, it just disappears. Seems to keep the fly’s down as well.
And a new thing I’ve just discovered. During a hot spell keep a reasonable supply of socks in the fridge (underwear is a question of preference) and use any extra fridge space as a shoe rack.
And most importantly, keep Gin and Vodka ONLY in the freezer compartment (spirit doesn’t freeze, it just gets very, very cold)
Hope that helps.
Hamburger Helper is good, trust me.
Microwaves are your friend. But a toaster oven is good for cooking things that you don’t want to fire up a big oven for. 350 degrees during a hot day is a cheap sauna.
If it’s in the fridge, and protesting for rights, chuck it.
Good knives are worth it, but you don’t need to finance a good set.
You can cook Ramen in the microwave.
Most of my tips come from living in houses without central/any AC. Cooler is better.
A good crock pot is a godsend. Makes chili nicely.
Don’t pour grease down the drain, you might get away with it for a little while, but it will bite you eventually.
Olive Oil is of the gods, it is the versitile oil for flavoring and searing…Just don’t use it for deep frying.
Stale bread can be made into croutons really easily with a little italian vinegrette dressing and an oven set to low heat.
Clean your cast iron pans quickly, don’t let them sit around a few days.
My answer to the dirty dishes problem for bachelors/college people/etc.: (This worked for me and has worked for all friends who’ve tried it. It’s a simple concept, and sorta fits in with guy psyche’s)
Take all of your dishes, glasses, cuttlery (buy a second cuttlery holder, they’re cheap.), utensils (you only need a few), coffee mugs, etc. and PUT THEM UP IN THAT UNUSED CABINET OVER THE REFRIGERATOR(or other such place that you can get to when needed, but is generally out of the way)! Keep for your use 1 of everything for every person, OR go buy a cool looking single service (translation: 1 of each thing you need) for every person (I got an oriental bowl because they’re bigger, a funky painted plate, a coffee mug with a joke on it and a nice steak knife) living there. JUST USE THESE NOW. When you have company over (a date) pull out what you need from above the refrigerator. When she is done cleaning them after dinner (she will, you just cooked her a great meal, right? 
) PUT THEM BACK. This solves the problem of piles of dishes. You can always clean one setting in about 2 minutes, so don’t worry about it, leave them in the sink until you use them. Its not messy, there’s only one setting there drying in the rack. The only problem is your pots and pans- sorry, I can’t solve ALL of your problems.
In college I went from a constantly messy kitchen to a clean one overnight. This worked for the whole year. We never had piles of dishes, and we even found that we were cleaning everything we used right after the meal- it only took a few minutes.
Another tip, not just for bachelors: Buy a good ceramic knife sharpener and a steeler (that metal rod with a handle). Sharpen your knives once every few months, but use that steel rod everytime you use a knife. A steeler doesn’t sharpen your knife (important concept) it is the same hardness as your steel knife (thus, it doesn’t take off any metal which is what a sharpener does). A steeler straightens the edge on your blade. Read that last sentence again. When you use a knife, the edge folds over on the very-very thin edge (look at your hand sideways with straight fingers, that is the sharp edge. Now bend your fingers, that is a folded edge which feels dull on a knife. A steeler straightens out your fingers (the edge) again, thus making a sharp knife). You can even run the knife backwards on the steeler, you don’t need to ‘cut’ into the steeler, you are just straightening out the edge. ‘cutting’ into the steeler just does it more abruptly.
I have more, but gotta run-
-Tomcat
Don’t use the formica counter like a cutting board. The minor cuts turn black with mildew and gross everyone out.
When cooking anything on the stove other than just boiling, don’t leave the stove. I managed to completely cremate the bacon for Easter dinner this way.
When baking bread, make sure you don’t let it overrise. About once every month or two, I forget it overnight, and awaken to find the Attack of the Killer Yeast-monster.
Fried eggs: Don’t flip them. Grease or spray the pan and set to medium heat; when it’s hot enough to sizzle droplets of water, add the eggs. Cover the pan, and after three minutes, they’ll be done to perfection on both sides.
Never buy the most expensive brand of anything: The second most is just as good. For most foods, in fact, the cheapest is just as good, too. Exception: Never buy the cheapest bread. Buy the second-cheapest, or buy frozen loaves and bake it yourself.
Always keep something on hand that you can have ready to eat in five minutes and which doesn’t require dishes.
Never boil vegetables unless you’re going to eat the water you cooked them in, too, like in a soup-- All the flavor and most of the nutrients leech away. Steam them or eat them raw instead.
Be adventuresome: Almost any two items in your fridge can be combined. Possibilitiesthat I’ve tried include salad dressing on hot dogs, peanut butter and saurkraut sandwiches, and mustard in baked beans.
Cut onions under running water, it washes away the stuff that burns your eyes.
Anyone got any more?
Bleach cleans mildew & mold stains really fast. Bleach cleans just about any stain on anything. It’s cheap too.
Use the oven to dry your shoes.
If cold, turn on the oven, it warms the house.
Hmmmm… your one of them “fancy lads” arnt ya?
Emphatic agreement on the grease down the drain thing. If you [i/have* to run grease down a disposal, use cold water, a squirt of dishwashing goop and let the water run for at least 2 minutes.
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cast iron cookware rocks: buy a skillet at a flea market, scrub the hell out of it w/ a Brillo pad, wipe it with a some oil on a paper towel and put it in a 350 oven for an hour. Presto: it’s seasoned.
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keep food from sticking: hot pan, cold oil; preheat cast iron until it’s almost white-hot, THEN add the oil.
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clean it by dumping in some salt, squooshing it around, rinse (or you can even wash w/ detergent if you want), then lightly brush w/ oil on a papertowel and put it over a burner for a few minutes. Presto: it’s reseasoned.
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crockpots: they are a godsend. Dump stuff in, turn it on low, great food later.
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oven baking bags: dump in your slab of derma, pour on the marinade of choice (beer, bottled or whatever) put it in the fridge and fergetaboudhit. Next day or so, dump it in a dish, poke some holes in the bag and bake for a while.
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use good convenience foods; there are excellent pasta sauces, etc. on the market. Use 'em! Buy some french bread, moosh some garlic powder and Italian seasoning in some olive oil, smear it on the bread (cut it in half lengthwise first) and pop into the oven for 10 minutes. Sprinkle on some parmesan or whatever if you want, too.
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buy a good, basic cookbook, one that’s clearly written. Hey, it’s all science, really, and you can eat the results!
Veb
A barbecue, a microwave, a coffee maker, a plate, a spoon, two forks, and a steak knife can get you through most of life. Well, you’ll also want a church key, a corkscrew and various beverage containers. And keep another knife, fork, spoon and plate around in case you need to entertain.
Oh yeah, condiments and spices.
Never use the oven; you don’t have to clean it when you move and it offers storage space.
I prefer to keep it simple.
If you have really hot water, you don’t need a stove.
Fill the bathroom-size sink with hot water, drop in a can of hash, and in ten minutes, you’ve got a hot meal.
Works in washrooms on the highway.
From experience:
The Karo Syrup bottle looks a lot like a vegetable oil bottle. They aren’t interchangeable.
Don’t try to clean stuff off the stove burners while they are turned on.
Cooking spray. Some of it tastes kinda funky, but you can get those sprayers and use any oil. If you don’t mind the taste of canned cooking spray, get the big commercial cans. They’ll last forever.
Spray some on foil if you’re going to cook in it. Foil sticks to some foods really bad.
Go to Smart & Final or some other store where they have really big everything. Except for perishables, of course.
You don’t really need any perishables. That’s why they make canned and frozen food.
Peace,
mangeorge
Wipe up all spills immediately. Keeps things from
getting crusted on. And clean all pots and pans
immediately. Things come off easier when they
are still warm.
If you can’t open a jar, turn it upside down and
smack the top on a hard surface. Works every
time.
pLt, how did you know??? :searching for the bugs and cameras:
with all this advice, we won’t be real bachelors living in bachelor pads any more, we will become domesticated. :rolleyes: is that what you really want???
yeah, i do want to eat food that doesn’t need to be scraped off the stove top and melted in the micorwave first, no, i don’t like always having to just grab whatever canned vegetables i find in my cupboard and mixing it all in with the whatever i have left of pasta to boil and then dumping marinara and parmesan cheese on it all the time. but it’s the principle right? guys? huh?
From my own experience: Powdered sugar can be substituted for granulated (table) sugar, but not the other way around.
From a friend’s experience: Do not assume you can substitute water for milk in a recipe. If you try this with some recipes, like pancakes for instance, you will be able to hang wallpaper with the result. Do not assume that “non-stick” means “you can fry in this pan without adding fat”. This is particularly important if you’re trying to make pancakes out of homemade wallpaper paste.
Good Things:
Hire ex-wife as cleaning lady (She wouldn’t do when she lived there but she will do it for money)
Buy dog (great for cleaning up after m…you when cleaning lady is pis…has a few days off)
Get a gas grill and learn to use it (forget the charcoal purists, 5 minutes or less and you are good to go)
Have enough dishes, glasses, etc to last between visits from said cleaning lady
Fresh Garlic, Olive Oil and good bottle of wine (great for cooking w/potential SO, almost always scores points)
Directory of good take-out numbers (in case you happen to suck at scoring)
Rubber Gloves
Bad Things:
Meals left out until unreconizable (cleaning lady will threaten to become ex-cleaning lady)
Toaster Ovens (miserable excuse for an appliance)
Missing Garbage day
Milk (does a body good, but if you’re never home to drink it…)
Seafood (no matter how well you cook or how much you like it, it will go bad)
That’s all for now
[Moderator’s note, please excuse the interruption.]
Could anyone receiving e-mail notification of responses to this thread drop me a message at rseaney@teamsigma.com showing when notification started/stopped and the number of notifications you received? Thanks much. ~UncleBeer~
By the way, have any of you read The Bachelor’s Home Companion by P.J. O’Rourke? There are many great tips in that little volume. That is, if you think washing the dog in the toilet is a good idea.