1. Cooking frozen foods that need to be thawed
If you think cooking frozen chicken breasts without thawing them is a good idea, you may be putting your family at risk of food poisoning. According to Frank Proto, chef and instructor at the Institute of Culinary Education, "if you put food that is frozen or partially frozen in the oven, the timing will be off because it will need to defrost before it cooks.”
2. Assume the temperature reading is accurate
Since your oven only measures temperature in a single spot, the reading it shows can often be far from accurate, often missing the mark by as much as 50°F. Thankfully, there's an easy solution which you can get your hands on for under $10 - an oven thermometer. Chef Veronica Dailey, founder of daileyfoods.com says that this is " the best kitchen investment you’ll ever make,” since "an oven thermometer will help you ensure your oven is properly heated and cooking your food at the temperature you need it to be set at.”
3. Leave a mess for days at a time
When cleaning your kitchen, you probably pay a lot more attention to the dishes than on your oven, but a few touchups will actually go quite a long way. According to John Cohen, vice president of Molly Maid, "not cleaning spills after each oven use can quickly add up and can smoke during preheating the next time around." He also says that "if you use a drip tray, don’t forget to remove it and dispose of the grease and drippings after each use.”
4. Let food spill onto the oven floor
To make those annoying everyday spills easier to clean, Cohen recommends that you endeavor to catch splatters and crumbs before they reach the bottom of your oven. An empty cookie sheet or a drip tray at the bottom of your oven will make cleaning it a breeze! You could also use disposable oven liners, too.
5. Leave racks in when self-cleaning
When making use of your oven's self-cleaning feature, make sure that you don't leave any racks in. While you think it might be saving you time and effort, self-cleaning can actually cause damage by discoloring them and eroding their protective coating. We'd recommend scrubbing them by hand instead.
6. Use the convection setting on the wrong types of food
If your oven has a convection (fan) setting, you shouldn't just automatically assume that you can use it for everything you put into the oven. This is because circulated air makes food cook much faster, which could result in your food getting burned if you're following a recipe that doesn't call for its use.
7. Cook with wax paper
While wax paper and parchment paper look almost identical, wax actually makes a massive difference. Even though wax is good at wicking away moisture, it isn’t very strong when it comes up against heat. Putting it inside a hot oven may cause it to melt or even catch on fire if you're unlucky enough.
8. Leave the knobs dirty
If you've been touching your oven's knobs after handling food, there's a pretty good chance that you've left a lot of nasty germs behind. This is why it's essential to clean your oven's knobs as often as possible. To ensure you hit every part of the knobs when cleaning them, we'd recommend popping them off the stove before scrubbing. You might want to try soaking them in a bucket of warm water mixed a quarter of a cup of all-purpose cleaner in it to properly disinfect them.
Your Home Decor Could be Physically Stressing You Out
These home interior decorating tips will create a calming space in your home.
Wow! Check Out These 12 Unexpected Uses of Home Appliances
From steaming towels in a rice cooker to cooking salmon in a dishwasher, these alternative functions are bound to amaze you!
Host the Best Dinner Parties With These Tips
A handful of tips for hosting a dinner party, stress-free.
15 Uses For WINDEX You Didn't Know About!
First invented in the 1930s, Windex is a potent solution that can be used for so much more than what it was originally intended for, as this list proves.
4 Yummy New Ways To Enjoy Tomatoes
From stir-fried tomatoes with eggs to tomato kimchi, these delicious and simple recipes ensure you'll never have too many leftover tomatoes again.
Chef Reveals Her Great-Grandma’s Cooking Tips
Pastry chef Ann Reardon reveals some of the hacks used by her great-grandmother almost 100 years ago. Some of them are quite surprising...
NEVER Pop These 7 Types of Bumps and Blemishes
When it comes to bumps and blemishes, keep your hands off. Keep your complexion fresh and flawless with these handy tips.
WATCH: Keep These Tips in Mind to Protect Your Art At Home
As everyone does, I'm sure you have pieces of art in your home that are precious to you. Here's how you can protect them for your prolonged enjoyment.
Make Your Garden As Beautiful as Can be With Epsom Salts
Epsom salts are highly rich in nutrients, and this means that they're great for helping flowers and trees to grow beautifully and healthily. Read these 15 tips.
Lemons in the Oven? Read This Article to Find Out Why
Sick of mosquitoes and flies visiting your house? This surprising method will help you get rid of them effortlessly using lemons and an oven!
These 10 Rocks May Be Pretty, But They're Also Deadly!
They look pretty but they're deadly. These surprising crystals and rocks look beautiful from afar but are deadly up close.
Exploring the Fascinating History of Popcorn!
exploring the history and evolution of this irresistible snack - popcorn!
The Easiest Way to Clean and Freshen Your Mattress
There are thousands of small reasons to clean your mattress, and one simple way to do so!
11 Mistakes Any DIY-er Should Avoid
Before you begin your long awaited project, take a look at these common DIY mistakes and make sure you’re not making any of them along the way.
Alka Seltzer Makes a Surprisingly Helpful Cleaning Tool
Read on to find out how you can clean with this medicine cabinet staple.
Tutorial: Improving Your Soil's Health Made Easy!
This tutorial will take you on a journey to transform the very foundation of your garden - the soil - without touching your wallet.
Thriving After 50: A Guide to Making Friends in Later Life
Making friends in your 50s can be an uphill task for many. These simple tips will make it easy.
If Your Leather Items Are Dirty, Here's What to Do
If you want to clean your leather items yourself, you'd better read this...
How to Polish 12 Old Items So They Look as Good as New
If you want to clean and restore the luster to objects, furniture, and items throughout your home, just follow these 12 simple tips...
This Military Trick Will Have You Asleep in No Time!
Everyone can experience sleeping problems, especially soldiers and thanks to this military technique, you can now fall asleep quickly...
7 Items You Might Be Disinfecting the Wrong Way
With the Covid-19 outbreak, disinfecting has become a daily necessity. But some items can be damaged by the chemicals & need a gentler approach
How Many Times You Can Wear Clothes Before Washing Them
Are you re-wearing your clothes more often than you should? Follow this guide.
Learn to Solve 7 Common Appliance Problems All By Yourself
The washing machine, the fridge, the dishwasher - these are the home appliances that make our lives that much easier. Here are 7 common problems we have with our home appliances that we can easily fix ourselves.
Hate Cough Syrup? This Home Remedy Works Even Better!
This natural home remedy for a bad cough is just as effective as cough syrup!
12 Myths We've Been Told About Intercourse that Aren't True
It's time to expose some of the myths we've all been told but are actually boldfaced lies.
Discover How to Use Turmeric to Remove Unwanted Hair
Turmeric is a wonderful spice from India that has a whole myriad of different applications. Here's how to make 5 turmeric-based masks for unwanted hair removal.
This is How You Should Be Storing Your Groceries!
This fantastic guide will help you store all your groceries in the smartest way possible.
DIY: Make Your Own Chemical Free Gel Air Freshener
Gel air fresheners smell wonderful, but they're often filled with chemicals. Make your own chemical-free air freshener with this DIY.
10 Essential Tips to Revamp Your Home on a Budget
Looking to renovate your home? Here's how to do so on a budget.
FINALLY I Get to Use My Leftover Butter!
The butter you have left in your fridge finally has some great uses for you.
This Ice Cube Hack Will Keep Your Burger Juicy
Check out these essential tips to ensure a juicy burger.
The Smart Weight-Loss Tips No One Ever Told You
These simple daily changes can bring an avalanche of goodness to your body. I'm sure you've never heard at least half of these tips, but each and every one of them will have a small and meaningful effect on your weight loss.
This Bizarre Soap Trick Can Alleviate Leg Pain
Did you know that placing a bar of soap under a bed sheet can help reduce restless legs syndrome symptoms? Learn more about this odd trick.
COLLECTION: Growing Tips for Outdoor and Indoor Plants
Dive into the world of indoor and outdoor plants with these 10 great guides to show you the way.
These Remedies That Get Rid of Facial Hair Actually Work
Got excess facial hair? Here are 7 natural remedies to remove it.
These 7 Cheat Sheets Will Make You a Master in the Kitchen
When it comes to our culinary skills, there's always more to learn, and this is evidenced by the 7 kitchen cheat sheets you're about to see.
16 Survival Gadgets for Any Emergency Situation
These cool gadgets can be extremely useful in any emergency situation.
I Never Imagined You Can Use Coca-Cola to Do These Things!
A bottle of Coca-Cola goes a loong way, it turns out! From tenderizing meat, to cleaning jewelry & repelling bugs, the magic drink can do it all!
Did You Know? Your Pillow Might Be Ruining Your Sleep
Your pillow could affecting your sleep. This article will give advice on when to change your pillow, the best sized pillow and tips for buying a new pillow.
These 2 Solutions Will Help You Say Goodbye to Plaque!
If you have some plaque on your teeth that you need to get rid of, we recommend that you try out this brilliant home remedy!
20 Common Misconceptions That Took Me by Surprise!
We hear and are taught so many things, yet sometimes, wrong concepts get mixed with right ones and we end up with false misconceptions...
13 Mistakes You’re Making in the Shower!
Do you take a shower every day? If so, you're already making one of the 13 shower mistakes most people aren't aware of. Discover them all in the next article.
These Powerful Questions Can Lead You to a Happy Life
Harness the power of questions to transform your life for the better!
9 Facts You Didn’t Know About In-Flight Food And Drinks
Airplane food is notorious, but since we don't have any other options, the following 9 tips will make the culinary experience that much more enjoyable.
The Way We Were - Shocking Ads from the 1950s
This series of advertisements from the 1950s is more than just your regular nostalgia. Look at these ads and be amazed with all the progress women have made!
All 11 of These Ordinary Items Have Clever Hidden Features
Not only is it fun to find out the purpose of these secret features, but it’s also quite useful to know them!
Tips For a Happier Life: How Much Free Time Is Optimal?
People love fantasizing about a world with unlimited free time. But is having a lot of free time always the best option for one's well-being and happiness?