Tightwad Tuesday: New Life to Old Pans

Are your baking sheets and stainless steel pots and pans starting to look well worn? Instead of throwing them out, put a little elbow grease into making them look new again. Make a paste with baking soda and a little water. Scrub on all of the discolored and sticky areas and before you know it, your pans will look like new again. This is a great way to get rid of some frustration too as some stains can cause a good workout. I cleaned several cookie sheets this weekend and when I was done, I wondered why I waited so long to do it. I knew they would look nice when finished but just didn't take the time to get the job done.

In the future, the best way to keep pans from getting gross is to clean them right away after using them. Once grease dries on, it gets sticky and can be a pain to clean up. Also, be careful of over spraying cooking spray. I try to wipe up the excess and it saves a lot of cleaning time later on.