Getting ready to bake your pumpkin pies? If your recipes involve a graham cracker crust, I've discovered the best tool for pressing the crumb mixture into the pie pan: a potato masher. The crust turns out smooth and even, and comes together much quicker than if you use your fingers.

Which brings to mind another hack: graham cracker crumb crusts are a great way to use up those half-empty (or going stale) boxes of graham crackers left over from summertime s'mores. Finely grind the crackers into crumbs and store them in a Ziploc bag in the freezer till you're ready to use them.

(Fun for kids: throw the graham crackers into a Ziploc freezer bag and let them bash them into crumbs with a rolling pin.)

Here's a simple recipe for a graham cracker crust:

Mix 1 1/2 cups of graham cracker crumbs with 1/3 c. sugar and 6 tablespoons of melted butter (if the butter's unsalted, add a dash of salt). Press into a pie tin and bake at 375 for about 7 minutes. Once it's cool it's ready to fill!

Related: Quick, thrifty, and retro: food remnant and leftover tips