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Microwave Cooking - Tips For Using, Cooking, and Cleaning Your Microwave

My teenage daughter thinks that means we started fire by rubbing sticks together!

The microwave oven has certainly made life easier, especially for households like mine where both parents work outside the home. We want our meal times to be fast and easy, while remaining healthy and affordable. Our microwave oven is one of the appliances that help us spend less time in the kitchen.

We use ours all year long, but it really helps in the heat of summer to not use the oven as often and heat up the kitchen at the same time.

It sounds simple, but needs repeating - read and follow your microwave oven manufacturer's instructions. Here's some other safety tips:

· Remember, the food will be hot! Be careful when removing from the appliance
· Never use your microwave if the door does not close completely or there are any other defects
· If you cover the food being cooked, be sure to leave it vented so steam can come out naturally
· Don't use any metal utensils
· Use only "microwave safe" dishes
· Follow recommended cooking times. If the time is a range (5-7 minutes for example), start with the lower time

Now some general cooking tips:

· Cut food in uniform sizes for more even cooking
· Arrange evenly sized food in a circle
· Follow the recipe or manufacturer's cooking directions! Stir at stated times, turn food over when required, and let food stand as directed after cooking
· Margarine can be softened by using half power for 45-60 seconds
· Wrap left over pizza slices in damp (slightly damp) paper towels and cook for 35-45 seconds. The damp paper towels help to keep the crust crispy. Otherwise, you may have a crust that you cannot bite!
· Baked potatoes are a microwave favorite. Just remember to pierce them with a knife to release steam.
· If you are defrosting meat in your microwave (which is a great idea!), be sure to cook the meat as soon as defrosted. The meat may be partially cooked and become a home for bacteria.
· Add salt after cooking. The microwaves are attracted to the salt and can cause your food to dry out.
· Use a dish larger than your food so it won't spill over while heating.

Gotta clean it!

· Place ¼-cup lemon juice and one cup water in a two-cup container. Heat until it boils (about 2 minutes on high). Leave the lemon water in the microwave another 5-7 minutes, then wipe clean with paper towels or a clean dishtowel.
· You can also use a mixture of ½ water and ½ vinegar and do the same thing as above.

Janet B Pearson is the editor of http://www.thrifty411.com She is married and a mother of 2 with a grand-daughter, and a new grandson! She recently completed an ebook "Thrifty Living: Be Thrifty, Make A Budget, and Save Money!"

Her website, http://www.thrifty411.com, offers thrifty living tips, money saving ideas, and help on how to create a personal budget.

 

About the Author

Several Ways That Will Help You Make Dry Hair Healthy Again

Not taking account of your hair and not taking care of it might consequently end to dry and damaged hair. What’s more, it may lead to the thinning out of your hair. There are individuals coming to a decision to just cut their hair and expect that they will have new hair that will be healthy and hydrated and well-preserved. If you disregard doing this and you continue the lifestyle that you presently follow which led to this problem nonetheless, then you’re just going to make the problem recur.

Having dry and damage hair can eventually lead to hair loss quandary. Lots of individuals suffer from dry hair because their hair follicles are not in the best form, and this suggests that the hair follicles could be in its poorest condition. During the time it will crop up, you might call for a doctor to help you on that, and optimistically hope that it is not a case of long-lasting hair loss. First thing you need to know is the factthat your hair follicles are the ones that generate hair and oil in you scalp to keep it moist so paying enough attention to them means taking care of your hair.

Your follicles have the big responsibility of keeping your hair healthy as well as producing a new hair. Too much meat is bad for your hair follicles and your general health. Your crowning glory needs a lot of nutrients, and meat does not have a lot to give; on the contrary it possibly increases a person’s testosterone levels which aggravates hair loss. You don’t need to completely give up on eating meat just to have healthy hair, but what you need to do is balance for it by regulating your meat intake, adding more vegetables and fruits in your diet and taking supplements like Provillus. Provillus is a very effective product that stops DHT or dihydrotestosterone which interrupts the normal hair growth process.

Many usual things people use on their hair in this time and age play a part to the damage their hair receives on a daily basis. In addition to your diet, you also need to take into account the utilization of blow dryers or curling iron, or any product that directly applies heat on your hair to dry them or style them. If you want to do this on a daily basis, you need to compensate for the damage by moisturizing your hair naturally. You should also stay away from hair colors as it has chemicals that can harm your hair, hair follicles and scalp.

Ensuring you use the correct hair care product is also an important thing. You ought to be aware that not all hair care products that are appropriate for others, can automatically work for you. It may take several attempts to get the right hair care product for you but it is all worth it when you find it. Stumbling upon the appropriate shampoo and conditioner can be upsetting sometimes but it is worth your time, and will benefit your hair greatly.

The ideas pointed out which you need to avoid and those things mentioned that you need to do are just general and useful things in order to live a healthy lifestyle. You simply have to be strict on some things and change a few things in your lifestyle to better take care of your hair. Never forget as well the things that will take you to the kind of hair quality that you hope for. You also need to exercise so you can have uncomplicated circulation of blood in the body so your blood can get through and deliver nutrients to your hair follicles.

 

Cut off tip of finger, I've lost the feeling. What to do?

I cut my finger tip off, and I've lost feeling. This happened because of my switchblade while I was opening it. Most importantly why should I do?
Should I worry?

Go to the doctor because they can probably fix it or atleast do more for your finger than you will be able to do. Obviously you shouldnt worry.. i mean your online asking us on here instead of going to the hospital. Im guessing your not too worried about it. Don't worry though, a doctor can probably fix your finger.

Eye-Opening Info-graphic Illustrates How Much We Waste Each Holiday Season (Inhabitat)

While it's fine to indulge in holiday food and festivities, we should also be
conscious of the impact our activities have on the planet. Studies reveal that
waste is increased by a shocking 25% between Thanksgiving and New Years, in
turn adding 1 million tons of trash to our landfills per week! This fab info-
graphic by Jay Jay Pow [...]

Inhabitat

HOT TIP: Cutting a Fringe for a Round Shaped Face