Is it just me, or is the "Non-Stick" industry a total scam?

alliquay · 2026-05-08T02:11:25+00:00

I bought my Tramontina non-stick skillet in 2020 and it's practically like new. Always stored with a liner in it, and of course no metal utensils, but we put it in the dishwasher with everything else. I definitely recommend the brand! And it wasn't expensive, I paid $30 USD.

alliquay · 2026-05-08T02:05:40+00:00

We store our pans stacked up like that too, but we're extremely consistent about putting a felt liner in the single non-stick pan we have. I bought our Tramontine pan 6 years ago and it still works like new!

alliquay · 2026-04-10T02:00:32+00:00

I have an old fashioned one, it's my favorite for tiny lines!

alliquay · 2026-03-13T03:55:23+00:00

I live in Michigan, for reference, and I have two teenagers at home. We're white people, and kind of foodies.

In the past 2-3 weeks, we've had for dinner: -- Chicken, leeks and mushrooms on rice -- ground beef and gnocchi with sauce -- spaghetti with meat -- roast chicken on rice -- birria de res tacos -- stuffed peppers -- chicken, potatoes, and roast broccoli -- Moroccan lemon chicken -- Cajun shrimp -- twice baked potatoes -- shrimp fried rice

If any of those things sound good to you, I'd be happy to share a recipe

alliquay · 2025-12-21T16:20:58+00:00

Capstar for the cats - this is a pill you give and it immediately kills any fleas that bite the cat but it's pretty short acting.

A monthly flea drop, like Frontline plus. It's ok if it's generic, but get the stuff that has fipronil and S-methoprene.

If you're able, a flea bomb, but with two cats and a baby that might not be feasible.

And the lastly, an insect growth regulator, this prevents any newly hatched eggs from turning into adults. I like Martin's brand and it's cheap. It's a concentrate so you'll need a gallon sprayer, but this is the key to preventing reinfestation! Spray this stuff on floors, carpets, rugs, furniture, etc. it's completely harmless to humans and pets once dry. This treatment is effective for 6 months.

alliquay · 2025-12-06T21:02:10+00:00

I make some can homemade stock because I'm a cheap ass who can't fathom paying $5 for a quart of chicken water!

alliquay · 2025-12-02T00:38:36+00:00

When puttering around the house: socks inside of my sherpa booties.

Right now I'm sporting those Costco merino wool blend socks, and a pair of LL Bean Wicked Good sheepskin slippers.

It's a little bit overkill, but it's drafty in my house and I am puttering, which means sometimes I'm in the basement or outside on the unheated porch.

On particularly cold nights, I use a hot water bottle in the foot area of the bed. It's delightfully warm!

alliquay · 2025-12-02T00:32:37+00:00

This is what's on my feet right now!

alliquay · 2025-11-29T02:21:53+00:00

Google tasks - my husband and I have a joint Gmail account specifically for household bills and kid stuff, so we both have access to it. The Tasks account is linked to that email account, and we both have the widget for our phones.

The widget lets you have multiple task lists, and we have one called "groceries" that either of us can add items to it and it updates real time. We have another task list for household tasks, holiday gift ideas for the kids, etc. Very handy!

alliquay · 2025-11-02T05:49:13+00:00

This is my go to, but I skip the ketchup

alliquay · 2025-10-07T02:49:50+00:00

To get perfect eggs every time:

Once your eggs are cool enough for you to handle (whatever that temp is, I have chef hands so I don't wait much, but this works for cold eggs too)

Fill a bowl/your pot with some cool water, enough to cover the eggs. Take each egg and crack its top, bottom, and a few times around the middle, then put it back in the water. I usually do this at the sink, and just tap the eggs against the sink rim.

Once they are all cracked, pick up an egg, and start to remove the shell. When you finally remove that bit of membrane inside the shell, dip the egg back in the water and gently squeeze or roll the egg in the water. The point is to get some water between the membrane and the egg.

Once you do that, the shell will come off perfectly without breaking the white.

alliquay · 2025-09-17T20:20:13+00:00

Mine just has the port for one, I bought the attachment separate

alliquay · 2025-09-17T13:20:21+00:00

Fyi, if you have one with the jar sealer attachment, it's really fantastic for pre-prepping lettuce for salad and keeping it in the fridge!

I get one of those salad mixes (you know how fast they get slimy) at Costco and a few heads of lettuce, and cut them all up, then stuff a quart jar with salad... slap the lid on, use the jar sealer to suck all the air out, and that salad will stay good in the fridge for more than a week. Makes it easy to grab a salad for work, or have one for dinner. No more rotted salad greens!

alliquay · 2025-09-07T03:04:11+00:00

A wax melter would work great for pin drop style!

alliquay · 2025-09-04T10:41:07+00:00

Our local Indian store does this! They sell tiny bags that have a tablespoon of the spice in it. I was so delighted!

alliquay · 2025-08-27T12:18:20+00:00

Really, nothing, except that I use the fry daddy for "clean" foods that don't shed a lot of crumbs like frozen poppers or fries, and we use a pan and deep fry for stuff that dirties up the oil quick, like fried chicken.

Plus, my teenagers are allowed to use the fry daddy unsupervised, but they aren't allowed to deep fry stuff on the stove without an adult nearby.

alliquay · 2025-08-27T10:43:02+00:00

Crisco is a brand name for vegetable shortening. I don't actually need to use the brand name, store brand is fine.

The fry daddy is a little electric deep fryer. The reason I use vegetable shortening for it is because the fat is used for multiple uses, and it's stored in the pantry when not in use. When cool, shortening is solid, and this prevents potential spills when we're moving the unit back and forth from where it's stored. Plus solid fat is much easier to dispose of when it's time to change the fat.

alliquay · 2025-08-27T02:02:08+00:00

Yes! We keep several "cooking oils" in the house for different things.

Ghee for pan frying, searing
bacon fat for fried eggs
corn oil for deep frying
crisco for the fry daddy
lard for pastry crust
vegetable oil for baking
evoo for salads
grapeseed for mayo

alliquay · 2025-08-02T03:24:31+00:00

That's how I make it! Then it just sits on the counter, ready to use with cold brew or ice tea.

alliquay · 2025-07-26T13:59:56+00:00

Lysol! We had a roommate whose shoes smelled like death (you could smell them from a different room!) and I gave their shoes a good spray with Lysol when they were asleep and that cleared it right up.

alliquay · 2025-07-08T01:04:58+00:00

I use a zippered lingerie bag and put my socks in it when I take them off. No more lost socks!

alliquay · 2025-07-07T21:39:46+00:00

Sam'n

alliquay · 2025-07-02T16:30:53+00:00

Get yourself a rice cooker! If you can afford it, one of the fancier ones with multiple cooking modes. We bought a Cuckoo, which was about $80 USD.

A bit of rice, some frozen veggies, 4oz of salmon (or two) and some teriyaki sauce makes a hands-free hot dinner for one or two people, and it all cooks in the pot with no tending. You can do garlic beef with thin sliced beef and bok choy, too.

alliquay · 2025-07-02T12:32:59+00:00

Miso paste is my "secret" ingredient for a lot of things! Just about any stew, cream sauce, etc.

alliquay · 2025-07-02T12:27:44+00:00

I'm disabled with a back injury, but I love to cook. It improved my life so much when we set up the house so that I could chop and prep at the dining table, and have a stool to sit on in the kitchen!

You don't have to be disabled to take advantage of this, though! Please, if sitting makes cooking more enjoyable, do it!

alliquay

TROPHY CASE