General Cooking Tips
When preparing pancake or waffle batter, mix it in the blender to get all the lumps out.  Then just pour your batter directly from the blender into the pan.  No messy scoop, no lumpy pancakes.

For fluffier, whiter rice, add one teaspoon of lemon juice per quart of water. To add extra flavor and nutrition to rice, cook it in liquid reserved from cooking vegetables

For a healthier pasta - Add a drop of lemon juice to the water you cook pasta in and leave out the salt and oil.

If you like the firmer skin of an oven-baked potato, shorten the baking time by piercing the potato with a fork and microwaving them for 10 minutes before finishing them off in the oven

Grate some potato into your stew or sauce to thicken the broth.
                     
If you accidentally add too much salt to a dish while it's still cooking, drop in a peeled potato.  It absorbs the excess salt for an instant fix.

Wondering if an egg is still fresh?  Immerse it in a pan of cool salted water.  If it sinks, it is fresh; if it rises to the surface, throw it away.
                      
If you store both raw and cooked eggs, here's how to tell a boiled one from an uncooked one:  Give them a spin.  If the egg spins it's boiled (or cooked), if it doesn't spin, it's not.

To soften rock-hard brown sugar, simply add a slice of soft bread to the package and close the bag tightly. In a few hours the sugar will be soft again.

Garlic cloves peel easily when you first remove the ends, then lay flat and press with the side of a knife.

Need to peel fresh ginger? A spoon works better than a knife and you can mince it quickly by forcing the ginger through a garlic press. If you store fresh ginger in the freezer, it grates easily and will keep forever.     
              
Save your egg shells to start seedlings for your garden.  Plant seeds in egg shell halves.  Simply crack the shells around the roots of your plants and transplant them outdoors.  The shell is a natural fertilizer.
                      
To avoid staining your Tupperware, spray first with nonstick cooking spray before pouring in tomato-based sauces

Too much salt in what you’re cooking? – add a few drops of vinegar.. or teaspoons of sugar – or cut up potato

Remove fat from soups and stews by dropping ice cubes into the pot. The fat will cling to the cubes as you stir. Take out the cubes before they melt. Or you can also wrap the ice cubes in cheesecloth or paper towel and skim over the top of the pot. Fat also cling to lettuce leaves.

Marshmallows won't dry out when frozen.

The best way to thaw fish is in milk. The milk draws out the frozen taste and gives the fish a fresh flavor

Brownies are cooked properly when the edges look hard, the top has cracked slightly, and the surface has a glassy appearance. The center should not jiggle when you shake the pan. Also remember to use top quality bakeware for best results.

If a recipe calls for sifting several dry ingredients, use this useful cooking tip. It´s much simpler to put everything in a bowl and stir with a whisk. Sifters are great, but there are more versatile cooking utensils you can use!

When whipping heavy cream always whip in a stainless steel bowl. Aluminum bowls will cause the cream to turn grayish in color and the cream will taste metallic.

For drip-less ice cream cones simply pop a mini marshmallow in the bottom of the cone before adding the ice cream...no more drips!