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8 Fredericksburg Parent and Family • June 2020 WRITTEN BY DEBRA CAFFREY practical pantry practical pantry As a lover of cooking and kitchen stuff, I get excited thinking about all the kitchen gadgets, appliances and acces- sories on the market. But as fun as it is to fantasize, I refrain from buying a lot of culinary gadgets. A minimalist at heart, I know that often certain devices in the kitchen can serve double duty, and it can also be fun to experiment with how you can "hack" the items you own to perform multiple functions. Easy Kitchen Easy Kitchen TOOL HACKS TOOL HACKS to Save Money and Space to Save Money and Space A SUPER HEAVY SKILLET JUICE GLASS You don't need anything special to cut your biscuit dough. All you need to do is turn a small juice glass upside down, flour the rim a bit and cut away! This can also work for rounded cookies. A super heavy skillet serves double duty as a panini press. You don't need an expensive panini press or similar appliance to make special sandwiches at home. Place your (clean) heaviest- bottomed deep skillet on top of what- ever you'd like to press. The weight of it will press your sandwiches the same way. Done! REGULAR SANDWICH BAGS Regular sandwich bags can double as piping bags. You don't need to buy spe- cial piping bags for frosting when a regu- lar sandwich bag will do the trick. Use scissors to cut a tiny hole in one side of the bottom of the bag, spoon your frost- ing into the bag using a spatula and then squeeze away! A CAN OF BEANS If you need to tenderize meat, you don't need a separate gadget—a can of beans works just as well. Make sure the bot- tom of the can is clean, place a sheet of wax paper over the meat and whack the meat a bit! You can also use the can of beans to thin out too-thick chicken cut- lets and crush up nuts, Oreos to make crumbles or even herbs! Here are a few of my favorite kitchen hacks to minimize the number of fancy gadgets in your drawers and cabinets: A bit of improvisation and creativity in the kitchen can save you money on unnecessary gadgets and save you a ton on precious kitchen space!