I had gotten into the habit of using an antibacterial spray and paper towels every time I wiped down the kitchen counters.  At over three dollars per (small) bottle, plus paper towels, this was costing a decent amount of money.

A few months ago, I picked up a plastic spray bottle at Walmart and filled it with water and a squirt of dish soap.  Give it a little shake, and you're good to go!  I still get the convenience of a spray cleaner, but much cheaper.  I also stopped using paper towels and started using rags instead.

Now, the only time I use antibacterial cleaner is when I've been working with raw meat.

I don't think there's anything special about the way I make it, but it doesn't cost me anything because I use what I already have.  Whenever I make roast chicken, I save the carcass.  The next day, I'll throw it in a pot with some vegetables, garlic, and a little salt and pepper.  I'll fill the pot with water and let it simmer all day.  Once I strain it, it's ready to freeze.  Which leads me to my tip:

Freeze stock in muffin tins.  I take my huge pot of broth and measure 1/2c into each tin, and then freeze.  Once they're frozen, I pop them out of the muffin tin and dump them all in a big ziploc bag, then put them back in the freezer.  Homemade broth tastes a whole lot better than store-bought, and I can pull out the exact amount I need.

A tip for the tip:  I use a silicone muffin tin, so I can just peel it off the frozen stock.  If you use a regular metal muffin tin, you can remove the frozen stock by twisting the tin a little bit, as if it were an ice cube tray.

So that's my kitchen tip of the day.  You can check out more tips at Tammy's Recipes.

I like to bake bread, but it's hard for the three of us to get through an entire loaf before it goes stale, especially since homemade bread doesn't last as long as store-bought.  But that's okay, because bread freezes incredibly well!

After the loaf of bread is completely cool, wrap it in plastic wrap and then in aluminum foil.  You can pre-slice the bread, too, as long as you wrap it up well.  Then pop it in the freezer.  When you're ready to use it, let it thaw on the counter.  If you want to defrost it faster, remove the plastic wrap and put it in a slow oven for a while.  (For half a loaf, I usually have good luck with putting it in the oven and then preheating it to 350, then immediately turning it off.  Then just leave it in there until it's thawed.)

Then it's just a matter of not eating it all myself before dinner.

~Kate