Wash your veggies as soon as you get them home

A tip I learned from watching 30 Minute Meals with Rachel Ray on the Food Network: Always wash and properly store your veggies AS SOON AS you get them home from the grocery. That way they'll be ready to eat when it comes time to cook dinner. I always try to do this. I like to buy romaine lettuce by the head. It takes a little prep work to get it ready for a salad, so when I get it home from the store, I cut of the stems, chop it in bite-size pieces, wash it, drain it, spin it - in my handy dandy salad spinner (if you don't have one, I highly recommend getting one - they're less than $10 at Wal-Mart), and I put it in gallon-size plastic bags with a couple of paper towels to soak up any excess moisture. And voila, it's ready the next time I want to make a salad. Same goes for asparagus. We love to roast asparagus, and after throwing away too many bunches (because we stuck it in the fridge, forgot about it and let it go bad), we finally figured out the best way to keep it fresh. We wash it, cut off the ends, dry it, put it in freezer bags and freeze it. Even if you're planning to use it in a few days, I recommend freezing it to keep it fresh. Asparagus only lasts a couple of days in the fridge before it starts to go bad. And that's my tip of the day this beautiful Friday afternoon. Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!