You like to BBQ with briquettes, but you always tend to have issues. Here are a few tips to help your next BBQ turn out a success.

Open your grill and lay out the amount of briquettes that cover the bottom of the grill and extend out about an inch past your food.

Mound them all in the center of your grill and light with a long match if they are self-lighting.

If they are not self lighting, sprinkle with some lighter fluid. Use no more than one or two squirts from the can. Let them sit for about a minute before lighting.

Let the briquettes remain in the mound until they are light gray in color. Once they are all uniform in color spread over the bottom of the grill.

You can test the coals with your hands. Hold your hand over the coals, approximately where the food will be placed. Count out the seconds using the thousand method, (one thousand one) If you are unable to keep your hand over the coals for the following times, here are the approximate temperatures:

2 seconds - Hot
3 seconds - Medium Hot
4 seconds - Medium

Here is another helpful hint to keep your cake from cracking when you are making your cheesecake.

When you are preparing the batter, do not over mix it.

Mix the cream cheese and sugar together well to remove any lumps.

Once the eggs are added, only mix enough to blend the eggs into the mixture.

When you get your coffee to go, it usually comes with a nice cardboard sleeve that keeps your hands cool while holding the hot cup. At home when you are having a hot drink in a mug, your hands get hot from holding the mug.

You can create a sleeve at home with a simple cloth napkin. Take a napkin and roll it up just enough so that it will fit through the handle of your mug.

Now just tie a knot and you can hold your mug comfortably.

When you are making your barbecue, you pull out the trusty bottle of barbecue sauce to pour over.

This time, surprise your family by mixing a bottle of the sauce with 1/2 cup of apricot preserves or honey.

They will thank you for the sweet surprise.

You dread having to clean the refrigerator. It usually takes most of the day and it only lasts a few hours before it is all mussed up again.

To help make the task easier, clean it in stages. When you are running low on supplies, take a minute to wipe down a shelf and rearrange items.

If you do this to a shelf a week, your refrigerator will stay consistently clean.

You are trying to pour some cornmeal into a container and it keeps spilling everywhere.

You actually have one closer than you think. Simply take an envelope and seal it.

Once the seal has dried, cut the envelope in half at an angle.

On the corner opposite the cut, cut about 1/2 inch off (or smaller if your container has a small opening)

Now just pop open the cut end and pour away!