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You can easily core a head of iceburg lettuce by holding it stem side down and slamming it (the stem) into your counter top. The core will pop right out. This DOES NOT WORK with cabbage! Don't try it! You'll break your counter or your hand 
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Use a pointed chopstick to de-vein shrimp. Just slide the chopstick down the digestive tract, pull up through the flesh and remove the 'vein'. Works just as well, or easier than the de-veining tools and is a lot cheaper.
To cut a little velveeta use dental floss. To cut the whole loaf for easier melting, set a draining grate (like a cake cooling rack, but with wire going in both directions) over a big bowl, then push the velveeta through it.
Save the excess chicken fat you remove before cooking your chickens and freeze it. Then the next time you make chicken & dumplings or chicken & noodles, throw the fat into the water you use to boil the chickens. Remove the chickens when cooked, and strain the water twice through cheesecloth. Skim off most of the fat (then use the liquid to keep making your dinner), place the fat in the fridge until solid, remove any remaining liquid and freeze in an airtight container. Your schmaltz (rendered chicken fat) will keep in the freezer forever. You can use it to make chopped liver, or substitute it for any oil/fat in recipes where chicken flavor would be good. It's also tasty spread on toast (instead of butter).
My kitchenaid stand mixer has been my biggest cost-saving purchase ever. I think I have almost every attachment! I make my own bread every week or two, grind my own hamburger and make my own sausages. I will tell you, hamburger tastes so much better when you make your own (especially if you grind some bacon into it). I usually wait until one of the supermarkets has a good sale on roasts and buy 15-20 lbs. After grinding most of it goes into the seal-a-meal and then into the freezer. And a visit to my local restaurant supply house gets me the 50lb bag of flour and a 3lb bag of yeast. I have a little tightly covered bin I store the flour in, and 50lbs lasts quite a while. The yeast lives just fine in the freezer too!
You can still pick up the old crank meat grinders (eBay, flea markets, antique stores) if you don't feel like investing in the kitchanaid + attachment.
You can also obtain a whole bunch of sturdy (restaurant quality) kitchen items from 'The Webstaurant Store'. I'm particularly fond of the heat resistant spatulas, the scoops, tongs, cutting gloves, and the 1/4 sheet pans with draining grates (racks).
!Use a pointed chopstick to de-vein shrimp. Just slide the chopstick down the digestive tract, pull up through the flesh and remove the 'vein'. Works just as well, or easier than the de-veining tools and is a lot cheaper.
To cut a little velveeta use dental floss. To cut the whole loaf for easier melting, set a draining grate (like a cake cooling rack, but with wire going in both directions) over a big bowl, then push the velveeta through it.
Save the excess chicken fat you remove before cooking your chickens and freeze it. Then the next time you make chicken & dumplings or chicken & noodles, throw the fat into the water you use to boil the chickens. Remove the chickens when cooked, and strain the water twice through cheesecloth. Skim off most of the fat (then use the liquid to keep making your dinner), place the fat in the fridge until solid, remove any remaining liquid and freeze in an airtight container. Your schmaltz (rendered chicken fat) will keep in the freezer forever. You can use it to make chopped liver, or substitute it for any oil/fat in recipes where chicken flavor would be good. It's also tasty spread on toast (instead of butter).
My kitchenaid stand mixer has been my biggest cost-saving purchase ever. I think I have almost every attachment! I make my own bread every week or two, grind my own hamburger and make my own sausages. I will tell you, hamburger tastes so much better when you make your own (especially if you grind some bacon into it). I usually wait until one of the supermarkets has a good sale on roasts and buy 15-20 lbs. After grinding most of it goes into the seal-a-meal and then into the freezer. And a visit to my local restaurant supply house gets me the 50lb bag of flour and a 3lb bag of yeast. I have a little tightly covered bin I store the flour in, and 50lbs lasts quite a while. The yeast lives just fine in the freezer too!
You can still pick up the old crank meat grinders (eBay, flea markets, antique stores) if you don't feel like investing in the kitchanaid + attachment.
You can also obtain a whole bunch of sturdy (restaurant quality) kitchen items from 'The Webstaurant Store'. I'm particularly fond of the heat resistant spatulas, the scoops, tongs, cutting gloves, and the 1/4 sheet pans with draining grates (racks).
Lord only knows I slice mushrooms much more often than I slice eggs.
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