Did you know? Microwave ovens use about 66% less energy than a conventional oven. Perfect for cooking smaller portions.
Did you know? Slow cookers are also very efficient. Perfect for soups, stews, roasts, and more. Feel free to email me for some great recipes!
Did you know? Pressure cookers save you much more money than regular ovens. Cooking for one? Plug in an electric grill, like the Foreman, rather than heating up the large gas grill outside. Use the toaster oven to roast veggies and other smaller portions.
Did you know? Every time you open your oven door you are losing 25-75 degrees! Do what I do, turn the oven light on, and check through the oven window until I actually need to do a toothpick check. Also, using a digital thermometer sensor attached to a reader that sits on the counter is inexpensive and easy to use. Most even have alarms that go off when temp is met to the type of meat and wellness you have selected. Talk about set it and forget it!
More ways to save:
- Test the thermostat in your oven, you can buy one that sits inside the oven for about $5.
- Clean the reflectors under burners, they reflect heat back up to the pan. If they are dirty, they aren’t reflecting.
- Check for cracks or tears in the oven door seal, the smallest of tears can make heat escape.
- Using glass baking dishes means you can lower the cooking temperature by ~25 degrees.
- Don’t preheat too long, 10 minutes is usually adequate. No need to preheat when broiling.
- Replace electric stove top coils that aren’t working properly, they drain power!
- Keep a lid on pots and pans, keeping the heat in makes things cook faster.
On a hot summer day, I like to make salads and sandwiches for dinner, or fire up the outdoor grill. This way it keeps the heating load lower in the house so the air conditioner doesn’t have to work as hard, or even be turned on. Keeping the oven and stove off not only saves the energy from being on, but keeps the air conditioner off as well.
These tips courtesy of PG&E’s 30 Simple Energy Things YOU Can Do To Save The Earth with some extra interjection by me!
-Jennifer
www.hotcold.com