A reader once shared that she made omelets, hash browns and even brownies in her waffle maker. I thought it was an interesting idea and one that I hadn’t yet tried, so when I read the first tip, I was excited to see another waffle-maker tip. Have you made anything in your waffle iron besides waffles? Cake batter?
CORNBREAD WAFFLES: I made chili for dinner last night and wanted some cornbread to go with it. But I didn’t want to turn on the oven for a half hour to cook just one thing. I had made waffles for breakfast yesterday, and the maker was still on the counter. I decided that since my cornbread recipe and my waffle recipe are pretty similar, it might just work. It did! We had cornbread waffles with our chili. — Constance, New Jersey
HOMEMADE MAKEUP REMOVER: I make my own facial wipes, and my daughters use them to remove makeup. I use about 1 to 2 tablespoons baby shampoo or baby wash, 1 to 2 tablespoons baby oil and 2 cups of water. Use an old diaper-wipe container or any container that will seal and hold them, such as a plastic zip-enclosure baggie. I buy Bounty paper towels (select a size), as they hold up great when wet. Cheap paper towels seem to fall apart too fast. These work great to remove makeup or as a fast clean up in the car for dirty hands or face. — Patty A., Utah
POTTY TRAINING TIPS: Carry a pad of Post-its with you. If you have to use a public restroom, you can put one over the sensors in the automatic flusher. My son was afraid of them. We bought a potty chair to keep in the bathroom. However, I also bought a potty ring to take with us to use in public restrooms. But this is not needed! If you sit your child sideways across the potty, they are able to go and not be scared of falling in. — Nichole, Iowa
KEEP COOKIES SOFT: I made a batch of cookies last weekend, and my dad mentioned a great tip to me. If your cookies start going a bit hard, or, to prevent them from getting hard, put a piece of bread (or two) with them when you store them and they will stay soft. — KB, e-mail
JOB JAR: Write down chores that you keep meaning to do but don’t for one reason or another, such as clean out a junk drawer, go through old magazines, etc., and put them in a jar. When you have some down time and don’t know what to do with it, randomly draw out a quick chore and do that. This can work great for kids when they claim they’re bored, too. — Kathryn, Tennessee
SHAVING TIP: Instead of using foaming shaving lotions, try cheap hair conditioner. — Lisa C., Texas
EASY CLEAN FOOD PROCESSOR: Stretch plastic wrap over the top before you put the lid on. Now put the lid on and blitz the ingredients. Flour, bits of veggies or whatever ingredients will stay neatly on the plastic wrap, protecting the lid from splatter. Think of it: No flour cloud all around the kitchen for you to breathe in or make the lid all messy. Afterward, add a bit of dish detergent and water inside, and hit pulse to clean it. Rinse clean. — Margery, Canada
译文:
让你的华夫铁板多工化
曾经有个读者跟我说，在做奶蛋格子饼（华夫饼）时，她把煎蛋，剁碎的马铃薯煎饼和核仁巧克力饼都加到里面。我觉得这是个非常有趣的主意，我之前从没试过这么干，所以当看到第一条步骤时，我非常兴奋自己知道了制作奶蛋格子饼的另外一种方法。除了做奶蛋饼外，你用过烤奶蛋饼的夹板铁模（又称“华夫铁板”）做过别的东西吗？例如蛋糕糊？
玉米华夫饼：昨晚晚餐时我做了些辣椒酱用来给玉米面包当调料，但我又不想只是为了烤个东西一直开着烤箱半个小时。昨天我就做好了早餐要吃的华夫饼，而且那个华夫铁板还在柜子上放着，于是我想既然做玉米面包的方法和做华夫饼的方法如此的相似，说不定用来做华夫饼的那个铁板也可以用来做玉米面包呢。真的行得通！那天我们吃到了涂有辣椒酱的玉米华夫饼—康士坦次湖，新泽西州。
家庭自制的卸妆水：我的女儿们全都是用我自制的面部化妆刷来卸妆的。我倒出大概1到2汤勺的婴儿洗发水或洗澡液，1到2汤勺的婴儿油和两杯水，用一个旧的涂有菱形花纹的容器或随便一种容器来盛放并密封起来，比如一个有拉链的塑料袋。我买了大量的纸毛巾（选同样大小的），因为它们湿后仍可保持得很好，便宜的纸毛巾则很快就烂掉啦。这些东西对卸妆很有效，或者在乘车时也可用它快速清理弄脏的手和脸。——帕提 A，犹他州
洗手间的训练小贴士：随身带着一团便纸，在你不得已要去公共的厕所时，垫一块在感应式冲洗的马桶圈上。我儿子很害怕那些东西，我们就买了个孩童用的马桶放在浴室里。不过我还买了个儿童用的马桶圈是随身带着，一边去公共厕所的时候用。但这根本不需要！如果你让你的孩子从边上慢慢移到马桶上，他们是可以办到的，也不会在害怕会掉进厕所里。——尼克尔，衣阿华州
保持点心松软:上周我制作了一炉小甜点，父亲向我提了一个很好的建议。如果你的甜点开始有点变硬了，或者为了防止它们变硬，在储存它们时加放一片面包（或两片），它们就会保持松软。——KB，电子邮件
任务匣：把你一直想做但是因为种种原因没能完成的家务事写下来，放进一个匣子里，例如清理一个废弃的抽屉，整理旧杂志，等等。当你情绪低落不知道怎么办好时，任意地写出个快速家务清单并去实施。当孩子们说他们很无聊的时候，这个方法对他们也是很有效的。——凯瑟琳，田纳西州
剃须小贴士：尝试用便宜的护发素代替泡沫剃须乳。——丽莎C., 德克萨斯州
干净便捷的食物处理器：在盖上盖子之前先用扯些保鲜膜封住开口，现在你可以盖上盖子，清理食物了。面粉，几棵蔬菜，亦或是别的什么都可以用保鲜膜保存的很卫生，记得不要让盖子受潮。想想看：你不用再吸进四处漂浮的面粉粒或是把盖子弄得一团糟。随后，加进一些洗洁精和适量的水，有节奏的摇动以便清洗，然后用清水洗净即可。——马格丽，加拿大