Holiday Energy Saving Tips

The following tips can come in handy when cooking with your oven in the kitchen over the holiday season.

• When baking cookies (or anything in batches), make sure the next batch is ready to put into the oven when you pull a batch out so you're not wasting energy with a hot, empty oven. The same thought goes for preheating your oven; make sure your food is ready to go in when the oven is ready so it's not sitting there hot with nothing in it.

• Many foods that need a long time to cook can go into the oven before it is fully preheated, such as a casserole or roasting vegetables. This saves a little time and energy.

• Use the oven light to see how your food is doing rather than repeatedly opening the door. Every time you open the oven door the temperature goes down and the oven needs to turn on to maintain the set temperature.