Using fresh garlic

Now, really, this is the time to confront your scaredy-cat self. Using fresh garlic is NOT hard. In fact, it can be the easiest thing to teach your little one about cooking in the kitchen. Peeling garlic should be one of the first jobs your kids or grandkids do for you in the kitchen....because, truthfully, they're good at it and you don't really want to do it if THEY can! :)

Have a trash bowl on your counter surface, next to the cutting board(thank you, Rachel Ray). You will use it the whole time you're prepping the meal, and it's great to have it RIGHT THERE where you are chopping, opening cans, cleaning meat, snapping beans, etc. Separate the head by slicing through it with a big knife, or prying it apart by brute force.

Using the side of a very wide, big knife(I have a great cleaver I use exclusively for all chopping) press down HARD on a clove or two of garlic at a time, until you hear and feel a "POP." This is very satisfying if you are frustrated or in a mood to kill something. Since your husband is probably the one killing the meat around your house, this is your chance to be rough with the food. Repeat until every clove has been whacked!

Crushing the individual cloves will make them literally FALL out of their respective, crackly skins. This is the part the kids love. Give them a clean little prep bowl for their freshly-peeled garlic, or just point a spot out to them on the cutting board for their peeled pile.

Use a garlic press to add garlic to your recipe without too much fuss and trouble; remember, with garlic, more is better!