Microwave popcorn is a quick and easy snack, but too much of it is wasted as unpopped kernels. Luckily, the popcorn bag's own design can help you filter out the kernels, and even reuse them.

Once the popcorn is nearly finished cooking, take it out of the microwave and turn the bag upside down over a bowl. Though you may need to open it slightly, the small vent at the top of the bag should be big enough for kernels to fit through, but won't allow any finished popcorn to escape. A few seconds of vigorous shaking should get most of the kernels out.

If you really want to maximize the value of your popcorn, you could throw the spare kernels in a paper bag and put them back in the microwave for a few seconds. Most of them should pop, and you won't have to burn the rest of your popcorn to do it.

Photo by Wallula Junction

Get the unpopped kernels out of microwave popcorn by opening the bag slightly, then just shaking them out | Reddit

It's tempting to buy the big bag of celery at Costco but you'll seldom use it all by the time it starts to fade. If you wrap the celery in a plastic bag and then wrap that bag in aluminum foil you can get a much longer refrigerated shelf life.

Prepper weblog Preparing One Day at a Time claims they've kept celery fresh using this technique for more than a month. I can't verify that as of right now, but next time I go to Costco I'm going to give it a try.

What methods do you use to preserve produce in your fridge? Let us know in the comments below.

Day 15 Preserving Produce | Preparing - One Day at a Time via Prepare Today

If you're like me you want your treats to be economical, easy to make, and somewhat healthy. A great way to hit all three of those targets is to buy a multipack of yogurt and push a popsicle stick through the foil lid. Freeze for a few hours and you'll have a dead simple treat.

This common-sense tip comes from household weblog One Good Thing by Jillee who recommends using a spoon if you don't have popsicle sticks handy. The only tricky part can be removing the frozen yogurt pops from the containers. All you need do is dip the yogurt cup in warm water for a few seconds and the pop will easily release from the plastic cup.

Better yet, these pops are cheaper than commercial frozen yogurt pops and there are a lot more flavor choices.

The Easiest Yogurt Pops Ever! | One Good Thing by Jillee

Memorial Day marks the start of the serious grilling season, and there's no better weekend to try your hand at outdoor cooking, or bolster your established grill-master game. Luckily, honing your outdoor culinary skills is a lot more simple than it seems, given the right tools, a little preparation, and a few tips on technique. Here's a look at some pointers on getting the right gear, turning out great meals, and even preparing for uncooperative weather.

Photo by Another Pint Please.

Get the right tools

• Lump charcoal or briquettes?: This is one of those endless, both-sides-are-right-and-wrong debates (kind of like Mac vs. PC), but there is some fairly common ground. As The Virtual Weber Bullet puts it:

  The general consensus is that lump tends to burn hotter than briquettes, but not as long or as consistently. Some lack of consistency is to be expected, given that the content and piece size varies within an individual bag and between bags.

  Personally, I recommend briquettes for anyone just starting out with their grill, as lump can be finicky in lighting. Of course, you can save yourself a lot of effort and frustration by investing in a chimney starter, which you can also use for flash-cooking. Photo by Joshua Thompson via WikiMedia.

• Choosing a gas grill: Ignore the BTUs and heat for the most part—unless you really need to cook a whole bird or roast this weekend, most grills have got your steaks and burgers covered. Consumer Reports' blog recommends bringing a magnet with you to gauge the quality of steel used to contain the heat. If the magnet sticks, it's likely a cheaper grade that will rust more easily. Feel free to give a test model a few shoves and shakes, as an unstable grill is a recipe for serious problems.
• Multi-use utensils: The three-tool grilling sets you see at big-box stores have all you'll need for basic grill work, with long-handled versions of a spatula, tongs, and a carving-type poker. A long-handle brush would be your next purchase, and then a grilling basket and skewers when you start branching out. Make sure your tools feel heavy and firm in your hands, as clumsy handling creates the kind of BBQ stories you don't want repeated. Photo by rick.

Getting ready

• Clean that grill: If there's black crust on the grill bars, you need to get it off to ensure no-stick cooking and easy food flipping. If you're feeling strong, wad up some aluminum foil and go to town on that stuff. For seriously stuck grime, you could also try popping the grill in the oven to bake off the stubborn bits.
• Make your own sauce: Most of the pre-bottled sauces you see on grocery shelves are over-sweetened, and none match the taste of homemade. Making your own isn't that difficult, either. Use one of BBQ Recipe Secret's three sauce bases as a starting point, and build your own flavor ideas into them. It'll give you something to talk about while you're waiting for the ribs to finish. Photo by Jason McArthur.

Hone your technique

• Use a cheat sheet: Experience is the best indicator for knowing the precise moment to yank your food off the rack, but Real Simple offers a super-helpful cheat sheet you can print and bring to this culinary test (original post). Here's a sample that covers the basics of red meat and sausages:

  While you're at it, don't forget about the palm test for determining the doneness of a steak, which we first learned about from Men's Health.

• BBQ chicken: As my fellow editor Adam can attest, eHow's technique for grilling whole or partial chicken results in some juicy bird. The basics: Oil the grill, cook the chicken uncovered slightly off the heat center, and, for Pete's sake, don't put your sauce on until the last few minutes.
• Perfect burgers: Our commenters don't necessarily agree on cooking great burgers, but they do have some common wisdom to share. Use meat that's as close to room temperature as possible for even cooking. Don't press them on the grill, unless you like your meat dry. And the best "secret" to great burgers is buying good meat, preferably ground by a butcher while you watch.
• Seriously salt your steak: Got filet mignon dreams for the weekend, but only a Quarter-Pounder budget? Buy a cheap cut of "choice" meat, then salt, salt, salt the heck out of that thing—for only one hour before grilling, and then pat it dry. By doing so, your salt is breaking in your meat and loosening some of its protein strands, making it hold flavor better and cut like the steakhouse commercials of your dreams (original post).
• Let it rest: You'll be eager to slice open your tender steak or succulent chicken, but you'll lose a lot of juicy flavor if you do so. As the food techies at Cook's Illustrated point out, cutting into your food right off the grill releases a significant amount of juice, which would be re-absorbed for better succulence if you let it sit a few minutes.

Recover from a rain-out

All that planning, cleaning, and purchasing, and Mother Nature calls an audible on your perfect grill day? You're not finished yet. As the New York Times' food guru and cookbook author Mark Bittman points out, your oven broiler can sub in for your grill with a little prep-work, with results almost as satisfying. Brown your meat in the pan, roast or braise it slowly, then use the broiler to give it that grill-like finish. Check out his oven-based pork ribs or brisket recipes if you need convincing.

Document your success

When you've put all this effort into creating a great fire-cooked feast, you'll want more than just compliments to remember it by. Break out your digital camera (or pass it off to a trusted friend) and try the following tips to take some great grilling shots. (Photo by ctaloi):

• Tell a story: A BBQ-friendly shooter named Nika notes that a lot of grilled food might look good to the human eye, but smoky crusts and perfect charring can look like unappealing dark nothingness without good framing. Try to capture moments of "drama," such as when the meat's being pulled, or focus on the tools used to make the meal to get shots you'll remember.
• Get in close: At the same time, Flickr user Another Pint Please..., also known as Mike and who shot the steak picture you saw at the top of this post, recommends being brave and getting up-close and personal with your heat source—while being safe with your lens, of course. You'll have time to take wider-angle shots when the cooking's done, but those sudden flare-ups and perfect glistening angles only happen once.

Got some great resources for first-timers or experienced grill gurus? Planning on trying a new technique this weekend? Let's hear about great food, and solid tips, in the comments.