Steam Hot Dog Buns on the Stove Using Splatter Screen

Guest Writer:  Ruth Morse

I lead a simple life. Whenever I find some new, off the wall use for a kitchen gadget, I get all excited. To me, that is like saving money. You don't buy a new gadget, you just use the one you already have!

Exciting, huh?

Well, OK, maybe not that exciting. But these two ideas are ones I came up with in my very own senior citizen brain and THAT is the probably exciting part.

I bought myself a splatter screen a couple of years ago. I am a messy cook! And since we have a glass top stove, the slop is out there for all the world to see. I've been using the screen for----TADA---keeping the splatters in the pan. Does a great job and goes in the dishwasher, so clean up is easy.

BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE!!

Do you have some hot dog buns that are a bit stale? You can use.....
 this tip for any kind of bun, come to think of it. Whip out your splatter screen. Put it over a pan of simmering water. Open up the bun and lay it on the screen. In no time at all, your bun will be steamed nice and soft!

If you are fixing hot dogs in the simmering water, all the better. Double duty, double the fun. One warning! The buns will steam up quickly so check back often. Too much steaming and the bun will start melting right on to the screen and no more easy clean up.

 BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE!!

Tried a new recipe last week. Jim and I are not zucchini lovers. We can tolerate the stuff if the recipe has enough other ingredients so you don't actually taste the zucchini. I always try to keep some in the freezer, sliced and cut into chunks. That works great for soups. But wanted something new.

Saw directions for ZUCCHINI PARM. OK, me thinks: cheese/zucchini......sauce/zucchini. This might work! First step in the directions said to slice the zucchini, salt it, put in one layer in large colander, weight it with a plate and let drain. My colander is not big enough for a plate inside it. Being lazy, I didn't want to do it in batches. AHA, says the senior citizen brain! Try the screen.

I sliced the zucchinis, arranged them on the screen, salted them, put it over a pan and plopped a heavy plate on top and let it sit for an hour or two. Worked like a charm!

By the way, I have a beef with zucchini recipes. I get real frustrated with directions that start out with: slice 2 medium zucchini. That's not very helpful. Do they mean the size like shown in the picture? I've seen zucchini go all the way up to baseball bat size. My mom came into my house one afternoon, dragging a zucchini behind her. It literally was hitting the ground. Wish you all could have seen the disgusted look on her face! I mean, she was out in the garden every day---more than once. In case you didn't know, zucchini are great at hiding under leaves and, give them more than a teaspoon of rain, they can explode in size. Thus, mom's giant zucchini.

Well, the recipe for Zucchini Parm started out with having you slice up 3 medium zucchini. I think my zukes were too small. There was way too much sauce and cheese [cannot believe I am saying that] and not enough zucchini.

So I'm on the lookout for tasty, healthy recipes for zucchini we will like. They are so plentiful and cheap this time of year. Keep posted and if I find some stupendous way to eat to wretched stuff, I'll let you know. If you have any suggestions, let me know. I promise to read each and every recipe.

Didn't say I'd fix them...............but I'll read them.

-

-

...and one more thing......
uh, I'll get back to you when I remember it.
-
-
-
The Cheap Senior Citizen is a Guest Writer who occasionally shares helpful hints she has learned through her experience.