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Always one to re-use and re-cycle, I finally figured out how to use those wax paper bags from the boxes of cereal, crackers, etc. They are great to roll crackers into crumbs, flatten chicken breasts or pound nuts into small pieces - and they"re free!
Spoken like a true boss! I can't wait to pound some nuts into small pieces!Seriously--an excellent tip! Thanks for it!!!
Back in those days folks cooked their food, not built a shrine to it.
I have 2 cats, and sift their litter box everyday, and instead of putting the waste in those thin plastic bags, I have been putting the waste in empty cereal bags for years now. They work so good. When I wrap the top of the bag, the smell doesn't "leak out" like other thin plastic bags, so my trash can doesn't get "smelly" from that.
Keep Smilin'! A good laugh- for any reason- will do anyone good!
I also open them up flat, cut them into strips and use them to separate hamburger patties, pork chops etc. before freezing. Insert a knife between the hamburger patties and they pop apart without having to thaw the whole package.
I wrap the produce in paper towels and put them in the bags and then in the veggie drawer.. Since I am a widow I don't waste so much because the produce has a longer "shelf" life.
Way back in the 50s, my mom always saved the cereal wax paper liners and used them to send cookies home with family and friends. Anywhere you might use waxed paper, mom used these. She lived through the depression.
The very best use of the cereal bags is to store fresh fruits and vegetables. They are absolutely great for storing lettuce, cukes, carrots, etc. The vegetables and fruits stay fresh and do not wilt or spoil. I wouldn't store veggies or fruit in anything else anymore.
My mom used them those ways too, it works! She also used them to roll out pie crusts so they wouldn't stick to the board or rolling pin. They're like waxed paper.
Whenever I have items to freeze and not want them to stick together so I can retrieve one or two of items, I place the wax paper from cereal boxes between eg: hamburger patties, bread slices, pork chops, etc. Saves thawing out items to remove just one or two. Cut wax paper to size.
When I buy cereal, it's usually in a supersized bag from a warehouse store. The bags are great for your bread machine bread or baked frozen bread dough loaves. The crust of the loaves get nice and soft.
I like to use them especially during the holidays, I open them up, Wipe down then use for cooling cookies. They last a lot longer than standard wax paper,
Wow, such good tips. I almost want to run out and buy some boxes of cereal just so I can use the bags.
♥ Life is a song, sing it. Life is a game, play it. Life is a challenge, meet it. Life is a dream, realize it, Life is a sacrifice, offer it. Life is love, enjoy it. And, life is cooking, eat it. (Sai Baba & Judy)♥
♥ Judy Batson, Field Editor, Taste of Home, 2009 ♥ Reader Council, Simple & Delicious, 2011♥ Contest Winner, Country Woman, 2011♥ Meet me at Cooking for Two.
It is a good idea but I hate to say this : NOTHING is free. You do pay for the often fancy packaging of the dry cereas. If it were not for the packaging, transporting and profit the dry cereal should be dirt cheap. It only takes a hand full of grain worth a few pennies to make into a box full of dry cereal and it is one of the most profitable products for the manufacturers.That is why there are so many kinds and all the advertising the companies can afford.
We never had dry cereal when I was growing up (in Germany) and I still don't use it; I eat only cooked cereaI and eat much healthier. I also flatten chicken breasts but all I use is a large cutting board and the flat blade of a very large meat cleaver; works good for me.One good whack is all it takes. I have used bread bags to roll crumbs in, same principle but have also done it without any bags on my 2 ft X 4 ft wooden baking board.Since I bake 90% of the bread I use I don't often get a bread bag.
The fact is that I save too darn many things I think I can re-use, some I do get to use and others not and as much as I hate to do it,every so often I have to throw some things out.
I use a 4 gal square bucket as a kitchen trash container and use plastic shopping baggies as liners. The small, clear bags that come from rolls in produce departments I save and use to line the bathroom waste basket because it is small and those bags fr it just right.I was born in 1927 and was taught recycling in early life.