All right, before we tackle all that holiday cooking let’s jump on that oven!  Get out your mitts and help lower your energy usage with these handy tips:

• Use glass and ceramic dishes.  They hold heat better and you can lower the temperature of your oven by 25 degrees.

• Save energy by cooking entire meals in the oven at the same time.

• A microwave is best for thawing and cooking small portions – use the oven for the big items or multiple items at the same time.

• Small appliances are often a good choice for cooking and saving energy.  Crock Pots are terrific and offer great winter comfort food.

• Preheat only if the recipe calls for it and don’t preheat if you are using the broiler.

• Use the window on the oven to check the food; yes you may need to clean it.  You lose 25 to 75 degrees of heat every time you open the oven while cooking.  Food takes longer to cook and uses more energy- so, no peeking!

• If you have a self-cleaning oven and use this feature – clean it immediately after you’ve cooked.  The oven will already be hot and take less energy to get to the heat needed for the cleaning stage.

Next week will be the Green Christmas blog – don’t miss it!