Chocolate-Glazed Graham Crackers
1 cup shortening
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 tablespoon shortening
Heat oven to 375Ĺ. Beat 1 cup shortening, the brown sugar and honey in
large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed, or mix with spoon. Stir in
flour, baking powder and salt.
Roll half of dough at a time 1/8 inch thick on lightly floured
cloth-covered surface. Cut into 2 1/2-inch rounds. Place 1 inch apart on
ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 7 to 9 minutes or until edges are firm. Cool
1 to 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely.
Melt chocolate chips and 1 tablespoon shortening over low heat, stirring
occasionally, until smooth. Drizzle over cookies.
Description:
“These crackers have a wonderful old-fashioned taste created with the
use of whole wheat flour. They are sure to please when served with a
glass of cold milk.”
Yield:
“48 Cookies”
Per serving: 79 Calories (kcal); 5g Total Fat; (55% calories from fat); 1g Protein; 8g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 18mg Sodium
Food Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch); 0 Lean Meat; 0 Vegetable; 0 Fruit; 1 Fat; 1/2 Other Carbohydrates
NOTES : Make It Your Way
Make Honey-Graham Cracker Cookies by leaving out the chocolate and
cutting the dough with 2- to 3-inch cookie cutters. Sprinkle the
cookies with plain or colored sugar before baking.
Cooking: Get the Kids Involved For Quality Time
With the hustle and bustle that goes on in families these days, it seems that nobody has time for each other anymore. Children are off to school, moms and dads are off to work, then it is soccer practice, piano rehearsals and homework for the kids. With such little time to be together, it is difficult to find time to spend together as a family. The money crunch adds another dimension to lack of family time. Still, when made a priority, family time does not have to be short or expensive. Pick a weekend night and don’t let anyone make other plans for that date. You may even want to pre-schedule similar family time on a monthly or weekly basis.
Prepare a Great Meal Together
Instead of “pizza night” or the typical take-out fare, plan a day that includes everyone taking part in preparing the evening meal. Children like to have choices in what they are given for their meals. Have your kids plan a meal together by offering them several menu items from which to choose. To keep things healthy, you may want to insist they pick something from every category: bread, dairy, vegetable, fruit, protein and the all-important dessert! A great way to cook an easy meal is with a crock pot. Just make sure that everything on the choice list goes well together so when you put the food in the crock pot, you don’t end up with “supper surprise”. Once the plan is laid out, it is time to go shopping.
Kids love to help their mother with the shopping. If your kids range in ages, it is a good idea to send them off in groups of two, with the older children being in charge of the younger. Give them each part of the menu list, making sure your children understand the brands you usually buy. As they come back and put food into the cart, have them add up the cost with a calculator. There is no harm in teaching a lesson in thriftiness and better appreciation for parental budgets while you are having fun.
The prep-time for crock pot cooking is short as all that is needed is for the foods to be cut up and thrown in. Of course, only older children and parents should be handling the chopping and slicing, but smaller children can always get a start on dessert by mixing things up and greasing the pans. This is a great time for kids to learn about herbs and spices and how to use them at appropriate measurements. Don’t worry about teaching too many lessons, though — this isn’t school but a fun family dinner!
While the food simmers in the crock pot, why not spend some time outside at the park or if the weather is bad, inside playing some games? Crock pots are great for preparation and the long cooking time can be used as an excuse to find something entertaining to do. If it has been a while since you were able to do this kind of family day, remember that Mom and Dad need to relax, too!
Jo Thompson just loves to cook and loves to cook with her kids. She has some wonderful ideas for getting the children involved in the kitchen. This article on cooking for children is sure to inspire you to try these crock pot recipes for kids.
Cooking Outdoor Utensils - Planning To Cook Outdoors
Cooking is something almost everyone encounters in his or her life but not everyone can cook. It makes the people healthy and alive because food is what the body needs. Of course when preparing and cooking the meal itself, you need a handy cooking outdoor utensil to make things easier. Just imagine doing it all manually, you will surely have hard time and it will take up too much time. There are electric appliances that do the work for you so you just dump everything in the pan when it is ready.
For some, the kitchen is their haven. They can be whoever they want to be in this place. They can experiment creating mouth-watering dishes to feed for their family, friends and relatives. For individuals who can really cook, it is nice to have a friendly showdown once in a while just like in Iron Chef. That adrenaline rush just keeps you going until the dish is finally over. Nevertheless, what to cook is hard to do since you do not know what ingredient you will use. In addition, pressure with the time limit is sinking in so fast that whatever you will prepare needs to be finished before time runs out.
Cooking outdoors and indoors does not have much difference. The only major difference is the venue and the stove. However, the ingredients and your trusty cooking outdoor utensil are the same ones you use when you decide to cook outdoors. At least you do not need to worry about the exhaust since all the smoke is gone as soon as it appears. The air carries it off thus making you able to breathe fresh air and still enjoy cooking while exchanging stories with your family and friends. Cooking outdoors is fun especially for a reunion.
When you are outside, you do not feel crowded since people are able to walk around freely and unrestraint. Unlike when inside the home, you are concerned about the stains on cloths, breaking of priceless pieces, dirt and filth on the rugs and the like. When compared to cooking outside, there may be some trash but you clean them instantly. You can even put a big garbage bag on one side so that people will know that their trash goes there. It makes cleaning up more efficient and less time consuming. Cleaning is something that must be a group effort too since you all contributed to the mess there is.
Overall, that memory of being able to cook for your friends and family alongside your cooking outdoor utensil is an accomplishment already. At least you know that when these people go back to their homes, you know that they have smiles in their faces and large bellies. Make them enjoy the event itself and try to start a conversation to keep it going rather than waiting for each other to speak up first. Nevertheless, having some quiet time is okay too since everyone needs peace sometimes but not all the time.
For more tips and information about cooking outdoors, check out http://www.summitcampinggear.com/kipr.html.
Outdoor Cooking - Heighten Your Taste Buds
Eating and cooking are two different things but co-exist with each other. Cooking is a discipline that not everyone enjoys doing. People sometimes do not want that feeling of confinement in the kitchen and cooking for customers. For some, they would rather eat and enjoy the food even though they did not prepare it. For outdoor cooking, it is the same thing. Someone loves to prepare the food while others would rather devour it as soon as it is plated and served.
One great thing about cooking outside is that you can enjoy nature and the clean air. In addition, you do not feel any pressure that you get from customers anxiously waiting for your concoction. You can just enjoy the moment or the occasion with your family and friends. Being yourself is something you must do often so that you can recharge before you get back to work. Passing on family recipes during a reunion is something most individuals look forward too. With little or no alterations at all, people are able to enjoy and savor the taste of their family food heirloom. Only the family knows about it and seldom does other know.
Outdoor cooking is also synonymous for food experiments. Because you only need to mind the stove or the griller, you can create as much smoke as you like without setting off the fire alarm. In addition, the smoke easily vanishes because you are cooking in an open space. This also means that more and more people feel hungry once they smell what you are cooking. That smell is enough for you to wait patiently for the food, which they will be serving in several minutes. If your food is exceptionally taste, people will ask you how you cooked it.
When this happens, your creation is a success. When people eat something different and appease their taste, they will try to copy it or perhaps make their own version of it. That is the magic of food. When people like what they are eating, expect them to return to you and have another order of it. Not everyone is an adventurous eater so try to have some classic meals on stand-by just in case. However, if you want to set your recipes in a new perspective, try to make dishes that are fresh, new and unique. Many individuals love trying out the latest foods available.
Remember this, whether you are having an outdoor cooking or a kitchen cooking, make the meals from your heart. They say that whatever the cook is feeling, it transfers to the food that he is preparing. It is never wrong to follow superstitions since you would not lose anything. Nevertheless, if you do, make sure that what you are following is not much outrageous unlike the others. Some recipes may seem to be out-of-this-world but still is popular all throughout food enthusiasts all over the world. Food, aside from love, is a language that everyone knows and understands.
For more tips and information about outdoor cooking, check out http://www.summitcampinggear.com/kipr.html.
Tips For a Great Turkey Dinner This Year
Thanksgiving is coming and that means cooks around the country will be doing their best to outdo last year’s Thanksgiving turkey
Here are some tips to help you get organized and turn out a fabulous feast come the day of Thanksgiving.
Get Organized and Start Planning.
You will probably need about one pound of turkey per Thanksgiving guest. Smaller turkeys cook well and dry out less so once you’re beyond about 14 or 14 people consider picking up two small turkeys such as to 10 or 11 pounders instead. Everyone loves Thanksgiving leftovers so don’t worry about the extras.
If you need a fresh turkey (I always do) connect with your store in advance (like now) and pick it up a couple of days in advance. Put it on the bottom shelf of your refrigerator in a tray to collect any juices.
If your turkey comes frozen also buy a couple of days in advance and allow to thaw in the refrigerator (again bottom shelf) never thaw meat on the counter.
Set Up
A note on brining
I love to brine my turkeys. Before brining I honestly did not like Thanksgiving Turkey that much and just ate teeny pieces. Now we have discovered brining these last 5 years and wouldn’t go back.
Brining is to soak the meat in a sugar and salt solution for a period of hours. The meat absorbs the solution and cooks up faster and more flavorful than otherwise.
If you’re planning on brining your turkey this year you will need a fresh turkey. Kosher or frozen turkeys have already been treated with a salt solution and you will end up with something not so good if you attempt to brine one of these.
So make sure you get a turkey that has not been treated with a salt solution. You will have to set that up the night before (12 to 14 hours in advance). Remove the turkey giblets and neck from the turkey and rinse it well.
A roasting pan with a V shaped rack works well if you tend to rotate your turkey during the baking.
Some will insist on starting the turkey on the breast so that the juices flow downward first and it turns out less dry.
Bake your stuffing in a separate pan outside of the turkey. The turkey cavity is that last to cook and the stuffing is in danger of not cooking through with raw turkey juices in it.
Using one of those meat roasting bags is a great idea if you are concerned about your turkey drying out. I have used them with great success. Follow the directions and never give up your secret.
Make sure you have fresh spices on hand. Sage, and thyme are two I cannot do without.
Baking
Use a meat thermometer so you never wonder if your turkey is done.
If you notice your skin getting too dark then use foil to keep it from over browning. My family has requested the darker skin so foil is never used here.
If you rotate your turkey during baking use paper towels to grab the legs and turn and toss after using.
Let your turkey rest for 30 minutes after baking before carving to serve.
Visit Homemaking Organized for more information about house and home and visit Beauty for Mom for taking care of you.
Traditional Yorkshire Pudding Recipe
Yorkshire puddings are a great British tradition; in this article you will learn more about Yorkshire puddings and find a Yorkshire pudding recipe.
Many years ago when I was a young child I used to watch in fascination whenever my mother cooked or baked. Her Yorkshire pudding recipe was in her head, she never measured ingredients, just seemed to have a sense of the perfect amounts. On Sundays we always had a roast and whether that roast was beef, lamb, pork, chicken or even turkey she always made Yorkshire puddings. What else would a Yorkshire lady make to compliment the Sunday roast?
Although mum never measured ingredients everything that she made always turned out delicious and perfect. Her Yorkshires always rose just right, crispy around the edges and leaving a hollow to collect the gravy in and they were always that lovely golden colour that we associate with Yorkshire puddings.
Traditionally Yorkshire puddings were a filler dish served with onion gravy before the main roast course in households that could not afford a lot of meat, but as far back as I can remember Yorkshires have been an integral part of the main course.
Although originating in Yorkshire they are popular all over the country, indeed the world. There are few places that you can go that you will not find the legend ‘Traditional British Sunday Dinner’ or indeed lunch on offer. The traditional British Sunday dinner always includes Yorkshire pudding as an integral part of the meal.
Although I prefer to make my own Yorkshire puddings, frozen cooked or uncooked versions are easily available and they taste almost as good. You can also get powdered batter mix where you just need to add milk or water, not quite as good in my opinion.
I should perhaps have used ready-made versions the first time that I attempted to make Yorkshire puddings. Newly married I was trying to impress my husband with a lovely Sunday lunch complete with Yorkshires. I did not have a recipe and tried to emulate my mother’s non-measuring method. An hour passed and my Yorkshire pudding still was not cooked. We ate the dinner but had to pass on the Yorkshires because I had added twice as much milk as necessary. I made sure that I used a recipe after that!
Yorkshire Pudding Recipe
This is the recipe that I use, a traditional pouring batter recipe that can be used for pancakes as well as Yorkshire pudding.
4oz (100g) Plain Flour
1 medium sized egg
pinch of salt
˝ pint (280ml) of milk (or mixture of milk and water)
2oz (50g) lard/fat or 2 tablespoons of oil – as an healthier alternative I use vegetable or sunflower oil, or you can use fat from the meat.
Mix the flour and salt in a basin and make a hollow in middle. Drop the egg into the hollow and stir in with a wooden spoon. Add the milk (milk and water) gradually, stirring all of the time until the flour is worked in. Add rest of liquid and beat well. The end result should have a similar consistency to single cream.
Melt the fat in cooking tin until spitting hot. Can be one large tin square, rectangular, round or small tins or a bun tin. When the fat is hot enough pour in the batter just half filling small tins, patty tins or bun tins. Cook at 450F, 230C or gas mark 8. Large tins for about 30 minutes, small tins or bun tins 15 - 20 minutes.
When cooked they should turn out puffy, golden and crispy on the outside and sunken in the middle. Some people let the fat from the meat drip on to the Yorkshire puddings while cooking.
A popular addition to menus in recent years in restaurants, cafes and bars is a king size or giant Yorkshire pudding filled with onion gravy or different meat, vegetable and gravy concoctions. This dish is served as a separate course emulating the original filler course.
You can even buy delicious smaller Yorkshire puddings filled with steak in one large chain store, rather like traditional steak and kidney puddings but made with batter mix.
Another popular meal made with Yorkshire pudding batter is Toad in the Hole. This is a tasty low cost meal with sausages cooked in the batter. An alternative there is to use lamb chops.
Yorkshire Pudding Facts
The first known Yorkshire Pudding Recipe was published in 1737 in ‘The Whole Duty Of A Woman’ and named ‘A Dripping Pudding’. Eight years later a lady named Hannah Glasse published it in her Art of Cookery as Yorkshire Pudding.
The first British Yorkshire Pudding day was on February 3rd 2008 and in future the celebrations will be on the first Sunday of every February.
On Sunday 11th June 2000 the first Great Yorkshire Pudding Boat Race was held in Brawby in North Yorkshire. The organiser Simon Thackray arranged for 6 3ft in diameter Yorkshire puddings to be baked coated with yacht varnish. Each ‘boat’ used up 50 eggs.
Patricia Jones writes for several websites including the Yorkshire Pudding Recipe blog where you can get more delicious Yorkshire Pudding Recipes. For free digital downloads visit Eprofits Centre For free travel guides visit Articles Abroad
Little Ones Cooking
Get little ones involved in the kitchen especially when it comes to cooking nutritious recipes. Once you get your kids in the kitchen helping you make nutritious meals, it is almost guaranteed that they will eat what they help make.
Children of all ages can be brought into the kitchen to assist with making a meal. Even when they are barely old enough to talk, allowing them to get close enough to the cooking excitement, they enjoy the hustle and bustle of dinner preparation.
You can impress and delight you little ones by having them assist you prepare the family meals. We sometimes forget how vital time is with our little ones. They love hearing you tell them about the time you stuffed peas in your socks so you would not have to consume them.
Sharing funny stories and explaining nutritional values during dinner time will make an indelible impression on your little ones. While you dazzle them with your wit, give them bits of food to try. Allow them to wash and chop vegetables. The time spent making food at an early age will benefit the entire family.
1) If little ones are of the age to have developed their motor skills, they will be delighted to operate the vegetable chopper or cut the tops off the carrots for you.
2) Allow the kids mix together the dry ingredients for muffins, cupcakes, etc. Let the little ones stir the egg mixture and mix everything together. They can even spoon the batter into the pan.
After the meal is finished, they will eat it and rave to the other members of the family about their accomplishment.
Allowing children to assist in the kitchen, gives them a sense of accomplishment. In some ways they feel more in control over the foods they consume. Feeling more in control, little ones will eat what they help to make.
A favorite family dish is vegetables with pasta. The little ones can chop up the vegetables, cut up the sprigs of dill, and help mix the pot with your supervision.
Vegetables with Pasta
This dish is a favorite little one friendly yummy recipe. This provides some family time in the kitchen and gets kids to consume their vegetables.
Although this pasta recipe started as only pasta and carrots that cook at the same rate, you might want to test the cooking time for the other vegetables that we added. Some alternatives on the recipe may include different rates of cooking for other vegetables like broccoli, snow peas, sugar snaps, etc. separately, and then mix with pasta after both are cooked.
Ingredients:
* 8 ounces of pasta
* One 10- ounce package of pre-peeled baby carrots
* 2- small zucchinis cut up into bite sized pieces
* 1 cup of fresh broccoli tops
* 3 sprigs fresh dill
* 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter
* Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions:
1. Fill a large pot 2/3 full with water and set over high heat to boil.
2) Place the carrots, zucchini, and broccoli and pasta in a plastic pitcher.
3) When the water boils transfer the pasta carrots, zucchini and broccoli to the pot
4). Stir occasionally with a wooden spoon, approximately 8 minutes.
5) Test the pasta - it should be slightly chewy but not hard or stiff, the vegetables & carrots will be done also.
6) Drain the combination into a colander–
While cooking let the little ones use scissors to snip the fresh dill and set in a bowl.
7) Place the pasta and vegetables back in the pot,
Melt the butter over the pasta and vegetables
9) Add the dill.
10) Add salt and pepper to taste.
11) Mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon and serve immediately.
Makes 4 servings
For more great kid friendly suggestions check out http://www.kidapprovedmeals.com
Grow Your Own Cooking Accoutrements
Cooking can involve so many wonderful ingredients that produce fantastic smells and flavors. Different recipes call for various spices and herbs that you can find bottled at the local grocery store. To enhance those dishes, you may want to consider growing your own herbs and having the opportunity to pick the freshest of herbs and add them to your dish can make a big difference in taste and quality of the dish. Growing your own herbs enables you to pick what you need whenever you need it.
Herbs are not very difficult to maintain provided you have a enough space in a well-light area of your kitchen. Herbs do not require much space to grow and need about six hours worth of sunlight during the daylight hours. Depending on which herbs you use in your cooking, you will have a difference between those that are perennials, which means they grow year after year without needing to replant seeds and there are annuals, which means the plants last only one season and when they die off, new seeds must be planted to re-grow the herbs.
Some classic examples of perennial plants are mint, lavender, chives, tarragon, and thyme. Annual herb plants include dill, chamomile, parsley, cilantro, and basil. For the cooks who do not necessarily have a green thumb, it may be easier to purchase grown plants rather than starting from see. Some of the more common plants may prove to be difficult to grow directly from seed if you are not an experienced gardener. The choice of plants, which can be found at most nurseries or home improvement stores, is up to the chef and what herbs are most likely to be used in regular cooking.
For some ideas on which herbs you may want to cultivate in your own kitchen, here are some of the most common herbs used in recipes:
Sage
Sage is a perennial that comes in different varieties which affect the taste of the herb and the dishes to which sage is added. It can be used in breads, stuffing, and pork dishes. A variation known as pineapple sage is used for sweetening desserts.
Rosemary
Rosemary is a perennial and a member of the mint family. It is also one of the oldest herbs on record. Rosemary has been used for everything from a cooking ingredient to a healing agent that cures headaches. It is a strong herb that is most often added to chicken dishes, breads, and vegetable dishes. Rosemary plants can turn into a shrub after several years of growing.
Oregano
Oregano is a perennial that is most often used in tomato sauces, on pizzas, or to season meats. Oregano plants can grow up to two feet tall and makes an attractive addition to outdoor gardens.
Dill
Dill is an annual that is best known for making pickles. It can also be used with potatoes and in salmon dishes.
Parsley
Parsley is a biennial, meaning it can grow for two full seasons before needing to be replanted from seed. Parsley is most often used in a number of recipes including soups, salad dressings, sauces, and it is also used as a simple garnish for decoration.
Georgina White has developed ways to make great tasting food using healthier methods. She feels that it’s important to be kind to your body and provide it with plenty of healthy foodwhile letting the taste buds enjoy it too
Winning Recipes For Children’s Birthday Parties
You can treat the birthday party guests to tasty snacks! Most of these recipes can be altered to coordinate with the theme of your fiesta. Providing individual cupcakes for each guest is a great way to celebrate a child’s birthday party. The big cake can be complimented by little cupcakes that fit the theme of the birthday party.
Some favorite birthday party recipes are mice cupcakes, pizza rollups and banana boats. They are all quick and great snacks. These kids’ birthday party ideas will wow any birthday kid.
Mice Cupcakes
Makes 8 “mice”
Ingredients:
*1 pkg. Chocolate Cake mix
*8 scoops vanilla ice cream
*16 sandwich or mint cookies
*Small candies-red hots
*M&M’s candies or skittles
*1 pkg. shoestring licorice
Instructions:
1. Prepare cake mix according to package for cupcakes.
2. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full.
3. Bake until toothpick comes out clean
4. Cool completely and remove from pan
5. Top each cake with a scoop of ice cream
6. Decorate each cupcake to resemble a mouse
Use 2 mint cookies for the ears, use the candies for eyes nose
and mouth.
7. Cut and insert licorice for the whiskers.
8. Place cupcakes in the freezer for 1/2 hour before serving.
Looking for an awesome treat for a summer birthday party? Give Banana Boats a try. They are a great party treat, especially for summer birthday fun.
Ingredients:
*1 banana per child
*Ice cream
*Mini marshmallows and
*Chocolate chips
*Whip cream
Instructions:
1. Slit each banana open lengthwise.
2. Put ice cream, mini marshmallows and chocolate chips in the slit.
3. Add whip cream to the top
Enjoy!
Pizza Rolls
Everyone loves pizza rolls! They have the same awesome flavor of pizza but in a cool, convenient shape. The guests at your child’s birthday party are sure to love this great pizza roll recipe. Their parents will probably phone you the very next day pleading for the recipes because their little ones keep talking about it.
Ingredients:
*2 Tbsp. butter, melted
*1/4 tsp. Italian seasoning
*1/4 tsp. garlic powder
*1 can (13.8 oz.) refrigerated pizza crust
*1 cup 2% Milk Shredded Reduced Fat Mozzarella Cheese
*2 Tbsp. chopped onions (optional)
*1 pkg. Pepperoni slices
*1-1/2 cups marinara sauce
Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Mix butter, Italian seasoning and garlic powder until well blended
3. Set mixture aside.
4. Unroll dough onto un greased baking sheet
5. Press into 15×10-inch rectangle
6. Brush with half of the butter mixture
7. Sprinkle with cheese and onions
8. Top evenly with pepperoni.
9. Starting at one of the short ends roll up dough to form a log.
10. Pinch seams and ends together to seal.
11. Position log lengthwise, seam-side down, in center of baking sheet.
12. Brush with remaining butter mixture.
13. Bake 15 min. or until lightly browned.
14. Let stand 5 min.
15. Cut crosswise into 12 slices.
16. Serve with the marinara sauce.
Yield: 12 servings
Add your favorite cut-up fresh vegetables with the cheese and onions.
Substitute olive oil for the melted butter.
So the next time you are faced with planning a birthday party for your child, consider using these great recipes. They are sure to impress all of your guests. And your phone just may be ringing off the hook with parents calling for the recipe.
For more great kid friendly ideas go to http://www.kidapprovedmeals.com
Fly Fishing For Trout in Southeastern OK and Baked Trout Recipes to Celebrate Your Catch
I have some delicious baked trout recipes for you to try (read on!). Did you know that some of the country’s best rainbow and brown trout fishing is in Southeast Oklahoma, less than a gas tank away from Dallas/Fort Worth - the Metroplex?
Trout fishing is available year-round in McCurtain County (in Broken Bow, Oklahoma), and it is one of the most popular activities in the park. You will find deep mountain lakes surrounded by national forests and clear-running rivers. The area offers outstanding fly fishing (if you are a purest), as well as excellent river bank fishing with a spinning rod (I suggest using artificial salmon eggs or spinners if you are not a fly fisherman). Featured bodies of water in McCurtain County include Beaver’s Bend, the Mountain Fork River, and the Glover River.
McCurtain County is the perfect fishing destination for weekend getaways. For example, The Lower Mountain Fork River offers 14 miles of trout habitat. The lower Mountain Fork is a tailwaters fishery flowing out of Lake Broken Bow and includes a 3.8 mile Trophy section where boats and barbed hooks are banned. Fly fishermen will have good success using nymphs with the fish taking a black (occasionally red) zebra midges. You can also catch fish on soft hackles, San Juan worms, and of course, the olive wollie bugger.
Anglers on the Mountain Fork are celebrating the fourth consecutive year of the spawn of rainbow trout and the second year of documented reproduction of brown trout in the river. Not long ago, Jason Archie of Broken Bow caught a brown trout that not only surpassed the old record - it nearly doubled it with a catch weighing over 17 pounds, 4 ounces.
McCurtain County is an easy 2-to-4-hour drive from Dallas/Fort Worth, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Tyler, Little Rock and Shreveport.
Once you have caught your trout, try using it in one of these delicious baked trout recipes:
Recipe #1 - Simple Baked Trout Recipe:
This recipe was made available to us by find-a-seafood-recipe.com. It is very simple to prepare and cook, and it uses minimal ingredients.
Ingredients:
* 4 trout - 12-14 oz (350-400g) gutted and heads off (if you prefer)
* black pepper
* butter
* lemon juice
* chopped parsley
Preparation: Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. Wash and dry the fish. Oil an ovenproof dish and lay in the fish. Sprinkle the parsley into the cavity of the fish and season with pepper and lemon juice, then dot with butter. Bake in the oven for about 20-25 minutes until the fish is cooked through. (Note: if the fish bigger than 1 lb. (500g) each, then give them a little longer in the oven.)
The fish will be firm to the touch. Lift it carefully out of the dish with two spatulas, spoon the juices over it, and serve it with some boiled new potatoes and buttered vegetables or a crispy salad.
Recipe #2 - Baked Trout Romero:
This Italian dish comes to us courtesy of the delicious recipes available on fishingworks.com:
Ingredients:
* 3/4 cup Vigo Italian Style Bread Crumbs or regular bread crumbs
* 2 tablespoons garlic powder
* 1/2 cup grated Romano Cheese
* 1/3 cup lemon juice (or more as needed)
* 4 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley
* 4 Trout Fillets (about 8 ounces each), rinsed, patted dry
* Parchment paper
Preparation: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the bread crumbs, garlic powder, Romano cheese and enough lemon juice to form a paste.
Tear off a piece of parchment paper large enough for the trout to be enclosed loosely. Place a fillet on the parchment paper. Spread the paste evenly on top of the fillet. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of parsley. Fold the parchment to enclose the trout loosely. Tuck ends underneath, creating a sealed pocket. Repeat with remaining fillets. Place on a baking sheet and bake 10 to 12 minutes or until the center of the fish is opaque. Serve in the parchment pocket.
The bread crumbs and cheese make the Baked Trout Romero a real treat.
If you live in the Dallas/Fort Worth area and are in the mood for some great trout fishing, try McCurtain County in Southeastern Oklahoma. It is less than a 3-hour drive from the Metroplex and yet seems like a world away. Then, bake it using one of these excellent baked trout recipes. Bon appétit!
To catch some trout while enjoying one of the most beautiful fishing spots in the country that happens to be within a short driving distance of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, check out McCurtain County, Oklahoma at: www.mc-outdoors.com
John Boos Butcher Blocks
The John Boos Company has been manufacturing hard maple butcher block products since 1887. The Boos products including butcher blocks, cutting boards and kitchen furniture are made to professional standards and are found in most restaurants, butcher shops and even the kitchen of the White House.
Boos, a blacksmith was asked by a butcher to make him a wooden block when he saw how the block had absorbed the shock of Boo’s hammer. That was the first of millions to be produced by the Boos Company. With nothing but the best, John Boos cutting boards offer an array in style from the simple butcher block maple wood cutting board right on up to kitchen furniture.
By the 1940s, butcher blocks were found in every restaurant, food store and butcher shop in America. Then came World War II, which was instrumental in changing the manufacturing philosophy of the management at John Boos and also the course of the business. The John Boos plant operated from a blacksmith shop until 1892 and then it moved across town, and began producing the Boos blocks, cutting boards and kitchen furniture as we know them now. Along the way they also become known as the Mercedes of wood cutting boards and butcher blocks.
End grain butcher blocks are built from short solid wood elements glued in such a way that only the end grain shows on both the top and bottom sides. As these elements are usually rectangular in shape, the whole board gets a mosaic or chess board pattern. End-grain butcher blocks are more durable, feature a harder surface than regular chopping blocks, and are easier on knife blades. The end-grain construction absorbs the knife between the fibers of the wood.
Made from only the highest quality American maple, the Boos Broadway Butchers Block offers charming country kitchen design alongside premium space and performance. Built to withstand the rigorous demands of a commercial kitchen, the thick end grain block, with ‘Varnique’ finish, provides a work surface that is extremely durable yet easy on knives and resistant to nicks and gouges. The maple butcher-block bench top is kiln dried, electronically glued, then cured, sanded smooth and finished with a penetrating mineral oil for protection.
John Boos expands the highly popular Cucina Rustica line of butcher block island work tables with two offerings featuring added shelf space. This distinctive line of butcher blocks and kitchen work tables is constructed using only the finest in hard rock maple and features a wide variety of sizes and configurations designed to meet the demanding needs of today’s chefs. Naturally beautiful and durable, the work surface is constructed in classic butcher-block style, with bonded squares of select end-grain Northern hard maple sawn horizontally, sanded smooth, and finished by hand. The butcher block’s resiliency and shock absorption protects knife edges while standing up to even the heaviest cleaver. The end grain gives a true butcher block nostalgia.
A past recipient of the Gold Medal for Excellence in Foodservice Equipment, The John Boos Company is a leading manufacturer of residential and commercial chopping blocks, cutting boards, butcher block counters and furniture, and stainless steel tables and countertops.
Maxx Johnson of VGS Golf Click for Butcher Block Tables. Click for more info on Restaurant Equipment.
Moroccan Recipes To Impress Your Dinner Party Guests.
If you really want to have a dinner party that will be the talk of the town, use go ahead and throw a Moroccan dinner party with Moroccan recipes. Moroccan recipes sound exotic and they are; but as recipes go, they are easy to make if you have the right ingredients and a Moroccan Tagine. Tagines are a type of clay pot with a lid that is used to cook Moroccan food.
Yes, Moroccan recipes seem to be exotic and very elaborate, but they are wonderfully easy to make and healthy as well. You can easily plan a Moroccan dinner party for your guests by finding some easy to make Moroccan recipes online and creating them in Tagines. You can have quite an impressive dinner party when you build it around Moroccan food.
Where to Find Moroccan Recipes
Years ago, you had to buy a Moroccan cookbook in order to learn how to make Moroccan recipes. Today, thanks to the internet, you can come up with hundreds of Moroccan recipes literally at your finger tips. Most of them are easy to make and are also very healthy. What’s more, the ingredients are readily available at most grocery stores. When you cook your Moroccan recipes in Tagines, you can not only keep the flavor and nutrients in to the vegetables, but you also will blend the spices and flavors together.
Using Tagines in Moroccan Recipes
Tagines do double duty when it comes to creating Moroccan recipes. They will not only cook the food quickly and allow the foods to retain their flavor, but they are also attractive to put on the table. You can put the Tagines on the table that contain the Moroccan recipes and have your dinner party served family style. Give everyone a plate and have serving spoons for the Moroccan recipes inside the Tagines and have them help themselves.
If you really want your dinner party to be authentic, you can impress your guests by adding some Moroccan decor to the party. Along with the Moroccan recipes, you can put in some fabrics and even table lamps that feature Moroccan decor.
Whipping up Moroccan Recipes
Moroccan food is not difficult to make, in fact, Moroccan cookie is rather easy. You can prepare your meals in the Tagines and then cook them for the appropriate time for the dinner party. For appetizers, be sure to serve some Moroccan olives, flat bread and cheese. You should also serve Moroccan mint tea for an after dinner drink. Moroccan mint tea is a tasty treat and is good both hot and cold.
Moroccan recipes are generally spicy and have a mild kick to them. You can purchase spices to make your Moroccan recipes in the local supermarket. Once you have the spices that you need to create the Moroccan recipes and are familiar with Moroccan cuisine, you will be able to whip up Moroccan food easily not only for dinner guests but your entire family.
Celebrate the foods of Northern Africa by having a Moroccan cuisine themed dinner party. Your guests will have a good time trying the delicious Moroccan food and you will have no problem trying to find the best Moroccan recipes right online. If you really want to make a statement for a dinner party, hold a Moroccan dinner party featuring Moroccan recipes.
Seomul Evans is a SEO Services Expert for leading The Moroccan Bazaar retailer and publishers of Moroccan Recipes.
Cooking Beef With the Crock Pot
When you think of having beef for dinner you probably see the little white smiling glove signaling another night with everyone’s quick fix dinner routine, or you see the golden arches everywhere before your eyes. If you’re a little more adventurous you might cook a steak or two every few months but anything outside of ground beef is usually beyond your reach, your style and the abilities of your cookbook and microwave to make happen without causing a huge disaster or creating a meal that no one wants to eat.
In reality, in doesn’t have to be this way. If you’re willing to venture out into the realm of something even easier than hamburgers and other ground beef entrees, there is a way to make a beef meal that seems less like it took five minutes and more like it came from a restaurant. Not ready to spend two hours over the stove or oven every night? Like I said, this method is actually easier than microwave meals.
Using a slow cooker, or crock pot, to make your dinners will not only open doors for you with the types of foods you’re able to cook but there are literally hundreds of beef crock pot recipes that require less than 15 minutes to prepare. You’re thinking that 15 minutes of prep usually leads to at least one hour spent over the stove. But with slow cookers, you simply prepare the meal in the morning, set the slow cooker and go about your daily business while the machine you left in the back of the cupboard for five years works magic with a different beef slow cooker recipe every time you want to cook beef for dinner.
Slow cookers can take care of all of your beef slow cooker recipes that cover every type of beef, from beef stew to steaks to beef ribs and even beef pot pies and other types of beef recipes you can find in your regular cook books—you can turn any recipe into a crock pot recipe, slow cooker cook books and all over the internet.
As if that’s not enough, with beef slow cooker recipes, you will never have to worry about dry, flavorless, tough to chew and tough to cut beef meals. Slow cookers do just that—cook your food slowly, so you don’t have to worry about extreme heats depleting the natural juices (or the natural nutritional value) of the foods you cook, especially when it comes to meats.
Additionally, making homemade meals with your slow cooker doesn’t just save your taste buds. It also saves your time. You can make enough food from a beef crock pot recipe, especially something like beef stew, for enough leftovers for the next day’s lunch. And it certainly doesn’t hurt that slow cookers always turn out better leftovers than double-microwave meals.
Remember, if beef is what’s for dinner, you don’t have to go the ground beef route. You can save time and your taste buds with your slow cooker.
Lisa Paterson is an avid home cook who loves to share her favorite recipes with the rest of us. Find all her best crock pot recipes at www.A-Crock-Cook.com. And be sure to try one of her beef crock pot recipes.
An Infrawave Oven Makes Holiday Meals Faster & Easier!
When Fall rolls around, most people start thinking about upcoming Holiday feasts including Thanksgiving and Christmas. This year, treat yourself to an Infrawave oven and prepare the best meals your family has ever had in less time than ever before.
This will not compromise the taste of your recipes at all in fact many may ask what changes you made to improve on the already great taste. Having one of these products may even let all the cooks enjoy more of the holidays.
Cooking the family turkey may not be entirely possible in one of these products depending on the size, but there are a few sizes that will fit. Some families may cook their small turkeys, chickens, ducks or ham for their family feasts.
When preparing your meat dishes, it’s quite easy to convert your favorite recipes to cooking times with the Infrawave oven. You’ll be able to easily convert old family recipes to the super-fast Infrawave cooking times.
Side dishes prepare in the Infrawave can be prepared in record time as well? Once you cook your favorite recipe of sweet potatoes in one of these items you may not go back to the conventional oven. Purchasing this time saving product that cooks food evenly and gives it great taste will let you get every side dish cooked quicker than any holiday dinner has ever been cooked.
In fact when family and friends take a taste of dinner they will want to know how you out did yourself so quickly. You’ll have to decide whether or not to reveal your secret.
With your Infrawave oven meats and your favorite desserts become easy. You’ll have more time to spend with your family because your new Infrawave oven will prepare your food better than ever in less time as well.
Products that give us more time are important because we all value our time but when you find a product that does that and gives a great tasting dish you will use it over and over again.
Enjoy the holidays more than ever before you can start now and enjoy them clear through the New Year. Cooking your favorite recipes in this product may even allow it to cook more evenly than ever before. Not only will that time you would normally spend waiting on food to finish cooking not be wasted because cooking times are cut in half.
Clean up will be fast too, allowing you to spend more time with your guests. You”l save so much time, you’ll probably want to add another dish to the feast. Add an infrawave oven to your must have appliance list for every holiday.
An infrawave oven is the latest “must have” appliance for the modern kitchen. You’ll enjoy its time-saving features year round, not just at Holiday season. Dinners will be much faster and easier to make with your new appliance.
And food won’t have that “blandness” sometimes associated with food cooked in a microwave. You’ll get “microwave speed” without the drawbacks. Your food will be restaurant-quality in less time than ever before with your new infrawave oven.
Would you like to know more about the Infrawave oven? Visit http://Infrawave-Oven.org to get all the details and information you need to make a wise and informed decision.
5 Tasty Cabbage Soup Recipes
The variety of cabbage known today is well beyond the ten fingers of your hands. Use whichever is available to you and you can work magic in the kitchen. There are famous soup preparations that you can try at home. These variations can help you if you want delicious soups or if you are one of the followers the cabbage soup diet.
There are a number of benefits when you use the cabbage soup diet. Here are some of them:
- Weight loss
- Better vitamin intake
- Better digestion
- Stronger resistance to common ailments
- Younger skin
Whatever variety you choose, cabbage soup diet will do wonders for your body. One doesn’t need to be a cooking expert to prepare a very nice bowl of cabbage soup. Here are some exciting recipes to aid you in your diet:
1. Original Cabbage Soup
- 1 head cabbage
- 6 medium onions
- 6 green onions
- 6 carrots
- 2 bell peppers
- 3 large tomatoes
- 5 stalks celery
- 4 oz uncooked brown rice
- Salt and freshly-ground black pepper
Slice the vegetables in small pieces. Put in a pot of cold water and bring to a boil. Let the mix simmer uncovered for around 10 minutes. Cover and adjust the heat to low. Let the soup simmer until the vegetables are soft enough. You can add the rice while the soup is simmering. Add salt and pepper to taste.
2. Refreshing Cabbage Soup
- 3 cups of chicken or beef broth
- 1 1/2 cups of green cabbage, finely shredded
- 1 tbsp of prepared mustard
- 1 tsp of sugar
- 2 cups of buttermilk
- 1 cucumber, finely diced
- 1 tbsp fresh dill, minced
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley
In a medium saucepan, heat the broth and add the cabbage. Let this simmer for around 10 minutes. Remove the pan from heat and mix in the mustard, dill, and sugar. Stir in the buttermilk and add the cucumber. Chill the soup for about 2.5 hours or depending on your refrigerator. Put some parsley to garnish the soup and enjoy the soup ice cold. A yummy soup on a hot summer day!
3.The Military Diet Cabbage Soup
- 1 large head of cabbage
- 1 large bunch of celery
- 2 bunches of green onion
- 1 large can of whole tomato
- 2 cans of chicken broth
- 3 large bell peppers
- Salt and pepper to taste
Military way is short and simple. Chop all the vegetables and add to a large pot of chicken broth. Add the whole tomatoes and cook with low fire for 15 minutes. Serve. Woohah!
4. Zucchini Cabbage Soup Recipe
- ˝ medium head of cabbage, diced
- 3 small zucchini, diced
- 1 large clove of garlic, crushed and minced
- ź tsp dried basil
- ˝ tsp black pepper
- Salt to taste
- 12 ounces of V-8 vegetable juice
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 can French Onion Soup
- 1-2 cups chopped spinach
- ˝ cup sliced carrots
- Dash of Worcestershire sauce
Mix all ingredients and cook with low heat for 10-15 minutes. Serve and enjoy!
5. Weight Watchers Cabbage Soup
- 1 large dark green cabbage
- 1 red, 1 green, 1 yellow pepper
- 1 head of celery
- 2 carrots
- 2 lbs of mushroom
- 3 big leeks
- Small bag spinach
- Big bag water cress
- Big bag rocket leaves
- 3 onions
- 1 can Weight Watchers chicken soup
Combine all the ingredients and bring to a boil. Upon boiling, decrease heat and let the soup cook for another 10 to 15 minutes.
These are just a few samples of how you can prepare the very healthy cabbage soup. You can consult friends, cook books, or browse the internet for more exciting dishes you can do with your cabbage diet soup variations.
Author is an online medical searcher and webmaster of Cabbage Soup Diet Recipe. You may be interested in: “Advantages and Disadvantages of Cabbage Soup Diet” and “Getting to Know the Cabbage“.
Fondant Cake Decorating Tips–Why Does Your Fondant Taste Terrible?
After you spend countless hours getting your cake to look perfect it can be a little disheartening when people seem to be afraid to eat your cake. Chances are, if you’re like most cake decorators, you want your cakes to look good and attract lots of attention. However, at the same time you also want them to taste good too!
Sometimes this can be a challenge when working with fondant but it doesn’t have to be impossible! With a little extra effort you can decorate a cake that both looks and tastes delicious.
The main benefit of fondant is that, unlike buttercream frosting, in a fairly short amount of time you can have a silky, perfect-looking cake.
In just a matter of minutes you can roll out your fondant, cover your cake, and smooth. You can also use fondant to create interesting shapes and figures for your cake that you wouldn’t be able to do with plain frosting.
Accomplishing the same thing with buttercream frosting can be nearly impossible, even for the most dedicated cake decorator. However, fondant doesn’t always taste as good as buttercream.
A general fondant cake decorating rule of thumb is not to buy store bought fondant. Especially if you want people to eat it! Unfortunately, most professional cake decorators agree that ready-made fondant doesn’t taste very good, especially the Wilton brand.
Store bought fondant is also fairly expensive, unlike homemade fondant which uses simple and inexpensive ingredients. However, the trade off will be your time. Homemade fondant may taste a lot better but will require some extra work in the kitchen.
If you’re in a hurry and still need to use store bought fondant, be sure to cover your cake with no more than 1/4 inch of fondant. You’ll also need a thin layer of frosting under the layer of fondant if you want it to stick to your cake. Make sure this additional layer of frosting tastes good and will be appealing to those who choose not to eat the top layer of fondant by peeling it off.
The best thing to do is make the fondant yourself at home. This will almost always taste better than what you can buy at the store. There are lots of recipes to try, although some may be better than others.
Many blogs on the Internet list simple fondant cake decorating recipes you can try at home. Marshmallow fondant seems to be very popular among cake decorating enthusiasts.
Remember that no matter what you do, some people may still refuse to eat your fondant. Try not to take it too personally. Most people don’t understand what fondant is or think that it’s inedible (like gumpaste).
Feel free to explain to them exactly how fondant is made and what it contains. If for some reason they still don’t like the fondant after tasting it, they can still enjoy your layer of buttercream frosting underneath.
You might need to experiment with a few different fondant cake decorating recipes until you find one that both you and your guests enjoy eating.
Make sure to visit my cake decorating tips blog for helpful advice and ideas on basic cake decorating, starting your own cake decorating business and much more!
Three Easy Pasta Recipes
When I get home and have short time to prepare lunch, the quickest dish is always pasta. You can easily have a complete meal in 10 minutes (plus the time to boil the water).
Pasta is a genuine food, that mostly of the times contain only water and wheat flour, being safe for people of all ages. The difference is how we dress it. But following the rules of Mediterranean Diet, that combines vegetables with carbohydrates, if the right quantity of fat (good fat) is used, it can really be considered a high quality meal for all ages.
The number of calories of a pasta dish (not considering the dressing) is around 300 kcal. Plus the dressing it makes a complete meal for about 600kcal, that matches perfectly with a balanced and healthy diet.
There are many industrialized dressings that may contain chemicals, but as seen along the following recipes, it is really easy and simple to cook a good and genuine meal with easy-to-find fresh ingredients.
Tasty Pasta with Tuna
This recipe is my children’s favorite one. It’s a complete meal as you have pasta (carbohydrates), extra virgin olive oil (good fat), grated parmesan and tuna (proteins).
You’ll need for 4 people:
400gr of pasta (500gr if you want a unique and complete dish)
3 cans of tuna with olive oil (I use the 160gr can)
5 anchovies fillets
4 pieces of garlic (chopped)
3 spoons of extra virgin olive oil
4 or 5 spoons of grated parmesan
1 lemon juice
How to do it:
Put the pasta into the boiling salted water and set your timer for the cooking time (part of the goodness of a pasta dish is its correct cook – a too much cooked pasta loses taste).
Then put the extra virgin olive oil inside a frying pan and add the chopped garlic, the minced anchovies fillets and soon after the tuna. Mix it all, add a small piece of peperoncino (optional) and right before turning the gas off, add the lemon juice.
When the pasta is done, drain it with a colander and put it back inside the pan. Add the tuna mix and the grated parmesan. Mix it all well and…it’s ready.
Tagliatelle Alfredo
I got this recipe from a waiter of Alfredo’s restaurant at Epcot Center, many years ago.
You’ll need (for 4 people):
400gr of tagliatelle(fresh fettuccine would be great)
250gr cream
120gr of a good quality grated parmesan
1 spoon of butter
How to do it:
After putting the pasta inside the boiling salted water (tip: add a thread of oil to the water. It avoids fresh pasta to attach one with another), take a pan and put the butter, the cream and the grated parmesan together. Take it to low gas and mix it until it gets hot, but not boiling.
When the pasta is done, drain it with a colander and add the warm cream and mix it all. It’s done.
Pasta with bottarga and cherry tomatoes
Here you need to have grated bottarga, but it worths the expense.
You’ll need (for 4 people):
400 gr of spaghetti
4 spoons of extra virgin olive oil
4 or 5 pieces of garlic, chopped
Minced parsley
500gr of cherry tomatoes
Grated bottarga
How to do it:
After putting the spaghetti into the boiling salted water, put the extra virgin olive oil inside a pan, add the chopped garlic and parsley and let it color a little. Then add the cherry tomatoes cut in halfs, mix it with the rest for a while and then turn off the gas.
When the pasta is done, add this mix adding the grated bottarga. Perfect with a glass of good white wine.
Enjoy!
Ana Maria da Costa. Economist, living in Italy since 1983 and proceeding the studies in Food and Wine culture. Her website All About Italian Food gives useful information about Italian food
Meal Ideas For Outdoor Fire Pits
There is absolutely nothing that brings back the great memories of bygone times like roasting hotdogs on outdoor fire pits. For most of us, a traditional campfire built on the ground in the forest is practically impossible to recreate but an outdoor fire pit is an easy addition to any backyard. It allows you to once again enjoy the taste of food cooked outside over an open fire and the ambiance of a cozy fire on a chilly night.
A fire pit can be a great place to do as much or as little cooking out as you want to do. In addition to just roasting hotdogs on outdoor firepits, you can also cook corn on the cob, fish, meats, vegetables and much more. The list of foods and dishes you can make on a fire pit is endless.
One thing you must keep in mind is that you do need to have the right tools in order to be able to cook out easily and with the least amount of fuss and mess. A grate to put over your fire pit is essential to any cooking you want to do on it. Without a fire pit grate, you will have tired arms from holding things over the flames, not to mention how warm it gets when you stand within arm’s reach of the fire for a while. A mesh basket is another great investment for fire pit cooking. It is the perfect way to cook vegetables, fish and shellfish. You’ll never have to worry again about dropping good food into the fire and watching it incinerate. Last, but not least, when you’re doing those marshmallows and roasting hotdogs on outdoor fire pits, you need extra long metal skewers with stay cool handles.
A great idea for an outdoor fire pit cookout is to do a build-your-own-shish-kebab party. Set up a table with all the ingredients anyone could possibly want for shish kebabs and keep them on ice. Have plenty of wooden skewers already soaked in water to prevent scorching. Allow everyone to make their very own shish kebabs exactly how they want. A cook out like this is easy, family friendly, healthy and fun. Before long, you’ll be known for your great outdoor get-togethers.
When cooking meals over an open fire, you can get everyone involved. It is not the traditional kind of meal where one person devotes lots of time to preparing it for everyone else. It is very much a shared event and as such, it will make for not just tasty meals but also warm memories of doing things together as a family. Whether you are simply toasting marshmallows, cooking an elaborate meal or roasting hotdogs on outdoor fire pits, it will be great fun and you will create lots of special moments to cherish.
So call up your friends, get the family together, plan a menu and head out to the backyard. In no time you can put together a fun evening of cooking out and cozying up to a fire, just like the good old days, only a little better.
For more information on fire pits or fire pit accessories please visit PremiereFirePits.com
Easy Dinner Ideas for the Whole Family
Providing your family with easy dinner ideas each night is never easy. They need to include foods which the family loves an also provide the right nutrition for health. They need to be made quickly especially on the nights you work late. It must include healthy options and, above all else, taste good. The recipes listed here will give you what you are looking for in easy dinner ideas the entire family will love.
The Easy dinner ideas listed here would not be served art a gourmet restaurant but, they will give you and your family a nutritious option each night. They are simple to prepare for and do not require many ingredients. You will also not need to take much time to plan for it. You might even look forward to coming home each night just so you can prepare them.
The first of the easy dinner ideas is an old classic, barbecue chicken. It will take less than an hour to make and can feed a large family cheaply. The trick to cooking barbecue chicken is to make sure the outside does not burn while the inside is cooking through. To make sure this is accomplished, put the barbecue coating on after the chicken is cooked thoroughly and let it heat until warm.
To prepare this, preheat the oven to 300 degrees. While you are waiting for the oven to heat, take out a baking dish and add about a teaspoon of oil. You can use olive oil for a healthier option. Add your chicken pieces to the pan and coat with salt and pepper. Put the chicken in the heated oven and cook until white inside and heated to 180 degrees by meat thermometer. Mix one 16 ounce can of orange soda and 16 ounces of barbecue sauce together and coat chicken. Put back into the oven for about ten to fifteen minutes. Remove and enjoy. Add a Side salad and a baked potato or potato salad made with low fat mayonnaise and you have one of the most perfect easy dinner ideas.
One of the kids favorites as well as good eating for adults is tater tot casserole. It is super simple to create and only takes less than an hour from start to finish. It is great because it only requires the use of two pans. A pound or two of ground met such as beef, turkey, chicken, or pork needs to be cooked and browned. While this is cooking, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Take out a large baking dish and begin to cover the bottom with frozen tater tots. Drain the cooked ground meat and begin to add a layer over the tater tots.
If you like onions, you can also cut these and layer them on top of the meat. Add a layer of shredded cheese of your choice. Cover all this with cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soup. Continue layering the ingredients until you reach the top. Add a final layer of cheese and cover with foil. Put into the oven until the casserole is heated through. Take off the foil and let sit in the oven for a minute to make it brown. Serve each person and enjoy. It goes great with a fresh salad and a nice large glass of milk.
Want to learn more about Meal Planning? Visit http://mealplanningguide.com for meal planning ideas, meal plans and recipes.
Essential Ingredients For Healthy Cooking
Healthy eating does not denote a diet strictly made up of salads; it just means that your favorite meals are prepared with more care to calorie and fat, as well as other harmful ingredients among them.
Reduce the Fat
Non-stick cookware is also a way of cooking healthy, as it negates the need for using cooking oil. Valuable nutrients are also maintained by boiling, steaming, braising, baking and microwaving foods.
Taking the Fat Out of the Cow
The choice of reduced dairy fats products and lean meats minimizes hidden fats within these food groups, which can also be found in varying amounts in processed foods. Dietary fats are best found in natural, unrefined form in foods such as avocado, olives, soy, fish, seeds and fish. If fats are used in the cooking process, use, to a bare minimum, mono-saturated oils, like canola and olive oils.
Shopping for Healthy Eats
Healthy cooking begins when shopping at the store and as such, the choices made reflect upon the results. Skinless chicken breasts are a wise choice, as is lean meat cuts. Make sure to look for foods with low fat versions, such as gravies, salad dressings, yoghurt, cheese and milk.
Start With Healthy Ingredients
Other tips on healthy cooking include consuming more fish, rich in protein and omega three acids, while being short on fats. As a matter of course, consume fresh legumes and vegetables and desist from adding too much salt while cooking. Recipes that require animal fat sautéing and deep frying should be eliminated, as well as those that need butter in their preparation.
Lighten the Lunch Meal
Suggestions for healthy sandwiches include using reduced salt wholegrain or whole meal bread, use very little or no cream cheese or butter on the bread, use instead avocado, low fat peanut or cheese spreads. Herbs have been known to replace oil and salt flavors, as well as containing phyto-oestrogens, which are health protective. They can be used to augment meat dishes, as well as drinks, desserts, vinegars, salad dressings, mustards, breads, and soups. Great herbs are such as lemongrass, chili, garlic, ginger, and coriander.
Cooking Healthy for a Healthy Body
To reduce the loss of vitamins in vegetables during cooking and preparation, scrub them clean rather than peeling, as nutrients are close to their the skin. Vegetables that are stir-fried retain their nutrients through their crunchiness, as they are not overcooked.
Finally, if it looks good, it probably is. Presentation will increase enjoyment, just as great taste will. Many higher end restaurants will use presentation to increase the visual size of the portion and to make the meal appear more intricate than it really is.
The key to the healthiest of cooking is at the beginning of the recipe. By choosing the best ingredients and the best cooking methods for your body, you are choosing a healthier lifestyle. Alternative medicine and treatments begin with treating the body with respect and honor and that begins with offering healthy foods as a source of daily energy.
Learn how to cook healthy at methodsofhealing.com
How to Concoct a Saucy Party
It’s that time of year when hosts and hostesses turn their thought to themes for parties celebrating everything from their favorite college or professional football game and Super Bowl parties to Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s parties, and celebrations of All of the other World Holidays during this holiday season.
We at I-ShopTheWorld are what you might call “party people,” so we have some party idea suggestions that will add variety and spice up your party: host a saucy chili cook-off.
Compile your guest list so you can create teams of 3-6 cooks. On your invitation let your guests know they’ll be participating in a chili cook-off and who’ll be on their team (have some extra fun and mix up couples). Ask them to bring any special ingredients they like to use in their chili, but let them know that every thing they could possibly will likely be provided and everyone will be starting with a basic batch of chili you will prepare in advance. Then they can spice it up. Be sure to arrange for enough pots and utensils for each team to have their own. Tell them to BYOA (bring your own apron).
Here’s how it works: The day before your party prepare a big batch of chili starter sauce using your choice of basic ingredients. Here’s one recipe. We suggest you multiply the ingredients to accommodate the number of teams you’ve organized with a hefty batch of starter sauce.
Basic chili sauce recipe to serve 6
• 1 pound lean ground beef or steak chopped into bite-size pieces
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 2 chopped garlic cloves
• 1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes or tomato puree
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon salt (regular or garlic)
Preparation:
Spray the skillet with nonstick cooking spray or a light coating of an oil, such as olive oil. Brown the ground beef or chopped steak with the onion. Add the remaining ingredients stirring as you go. Note, you are not adding beans at this point; your guest cooks get to do that. Cover and simmer for at least 20 minutes. Refrigerate till party time.
On the day of the party, scoop up an equal amount of the basic chili sauce for each team, then invite them to complete the cook-off by adding any of the following ingredients you’ll have available in whatever quantities they prefer:
• cooked, browned ground pork
• pre-cooked sausage
• cans of beans, including kidney, chili, black, cannelloni, and pinto
• cans of vegetarian refried beans with chilies
• cans of tomato sauce or whole tomatoes with and without chilies
• cans of whole kernel corn
• fresh tomatoes
• fresh red, green, and yellow sweet peppers
• fresh jalapeno peppers
• fresh squash and zucchini
• garlic powder
• paprika
• fresh natural black pepper, white pepper, dried chili spice, and India long pepper spice
• an assortment of gourmet Tortuga sauces, such as Sweet Heat Carib, Mango & Ginger Stir Fry, Hot Caribbean Pepper, and Hell Fire Hot Pepper Sauce.
• jars of Tortuga Gourmet Wildflower and Citrus Honey
Give each team a couple of hours to finish the cook-off, then conduct the taste contest and let your guests vote on the best. If you get a wow! Winner, consider having the team try it again for charity, presuming they have kept track of their ingredients and can repeat the taste (check out those opportunities at http://www.chilicookoff.com).
Consider serving other I-ShopTheWorld products like Thai coffee and tea. Treat your guest cooks to beverages made with Tortuga Rum Punch Mix. And, don’t forget the dessert; you’ll be so busy making the basic chili and organizing teams and ingredients, you may want to serve a variety tray of Tortuga Gourmet Fudge, rum balls, or rum cakes.
Go ahead, just do it.
Tell everyone to “pen” in the date, start arranging the details, and place your order online.
Let I-ShopTheWorld help you concoct the sauciest party your family and friends have ever had.
—–
Please Reply and Post All of Your Feedback and Comments regarding this Article and …
- Your Saucy Party Ideas?
- Your Best Favorite Chili Recipes?
- Your Favorite / the Best Chili Ingredients?
- How Hot / “How Many Alarms” do You like Your Chili?
- Where do you stand on the “Bean” or “No Beans” “Great Chili Debate”?
- How about Meats in Your Chili?
—– Do You prefer Your Chili with or without meat(s)?
—– Which meat(s) do You like Best in Your Chili? / makes the Best Chili?
- Your other ideas do You have to Share for Great Parties?
Again, Please Reply and Post All of Your Comments at:
http://i-shoptheworld.com/2008/09/27/how-to-concoct-a-saucy-party/
regarding all of this and anything other Great Party Ideas can think of for the Mutual Benefit of Everyone Around The World, ok?! 
Michael S. DeVries is the Founder of I-ShopTheWorld.com (http://www.I-ShopTheWorld.com ) - where You may Save Money on Unique Native Products Direct to You from All over the World! and a Principal of The Virtual Consulting Firm (http://www.TheVCF.com).
Crock Pots For International Cooking
International cooking usually leaves you slaving over a hot stove or running for the phone book to search for the closest take out place. But with a crock pot and a couple of simplified recipes, you can cook to your heart’s content for a taste that’s a world away.
No amount of reading and re-reading the instructions for Kung Pow Chicken in your International Foods cook book is going to prepare you for what’s in store, especially if you’ve never attempted Kung Pow Chicken or any other type of Asian or other international dish. The same goes for all different types of international foods. You have to get used to using different types of seasonings like cumin, coriander and for many dishes, kosher sea salt—you’ll probably be wondering “whatinthewhonow” does that mean?
Especially if you are a beginning cook—and many times, even if you’re not—you need to choose cooking options that are within your grasp. But that doesn’t mean you’re stuck with Mac & Cheese or grilled cheese sandwiches—you know that’s what you’re cooking, don’t lie. You simply have to be more innovative about “how” you cook your foods.
Every cook should have a large brigade of cooking utensils and cooking appliances. Amongst this army of cookware you should always be able to easily locate a well maintained crock pot. Crock pot cooking is one of the easiest ways to get around the difficult recipes you’ll find in cook books. Not only are crock pot recipes simplified for the crock pot way of life, but they are also easily accessible in crock pot recipe books and all over the internet—there are hundreds of web sites dedicated to crock pot recipes and crock pot cooking and your favorite search engine can open the doors to crock pot recipe bliss if you let it.
Crock pot cooking is known for having hundreds of easy crock pot beef recipes and crock pot pork recipes, many of which are international dishes that could be cooked over the stove, slaved over even…but don’t have to be. You can even make delicious crock pot pasta recipes that you’d expect to find only at an Italian restaurant. And it doesn’t end there. Crock pot dessert recipes also mimic the hard-to-make in the oven or over the stove top recipes that come from the pros at French restaurants all over the world.
Never forget that the basic principle of crock pot cooking is to make food that tastes as if it were professionally prepared and tastes as if you spent hours preparing it. The fact that you threw the ingredients in the crock pot, turned it to high and walked away for five hours is always supposed to be your little secret.
Not to mention the leftovers. If you’re a fan of ordering in from a great take-out place with your favorite international dishes, then you’ll love cooking for yourself at home with easy crock pot recipes. Not only will you save money making the exact same dish, but you’ll be able to keep tons of leftovers that you can even freeze for a later date. And you’ll be able to choose exactly what is and what isn’t in your food. You can’t beat that.
Lisa Paterson is an avid home cook who loves to share her favorite recipes. Find all her crock pot recipes at www.A-Crock-Cook.com. And be sure to try one of her beef crock pot recipes.
A Cook Needs Good Knives
Kitchen utensils of all kinds abound. Just look in any kitchen store or in the aisles of kitchenware at other retail stores and you’ll see an amazing array of items used for cooking. Some kitchen utensils are used only for one very specific task, so may not be used often. However, there are other utensils that are more versatile, and needed and used daily.
Knives Are The Workhorse of The Kitchen
If you do much cooking at all, you’ll use not one, but several kinds of knives. Each of these kitchen utensils has a specific function, like chopping, slicing, or filleting food.
However, all knives have pretty much the same parts.
The Major Player – The Blade
The blade is pretty self-explanatory, being the metal part of the knife used for cutting, from the handle to the tip. It’s the most important part of the knife, and the quality of the blade determines how well the knife cuts. Good quality blades make it much easy to do food preparation for cooking.
A Better Bolster
The bolster is the small part between the blade and the handle, connecting the two together. Obviously, it needs to hold the blade securely to the handle so the blade doesn’t fall off while you’re using it.
It’s also worth noting, however, that there is an advantage to having a bolster that is not the full width of the end of the blade. That might seem sturdier, but it gets in the way of sharpening the blade. A bolster that doesn’t reach clear to the edge of the blade is preferable for that reason.
The Whole Tang
The tang is an extension of the blade. It runs through the middle of the handle and not only provides a way to attach the handle, but it helps give the knife a good balance. It also strengthens the knife and makes it more durable.
The tang is of varying lengths, and sometimes only runs partway into the handle. The higher quality knives have a tang that runs the full length of the handle, making it strong and well-balanced.
Getting A Handle
You need a way to safely hold a knife, and that’s the handle. The handle wraps around the tang and holds it secure. A handle can be made of many different materials, including wood, metal, or various types of plastic.
Not only should the handle should be sturdy, but it should also be easy to hold. You’re going to be using a knife a lot, and it should fit your hand well.
Types of Kitchen Knives
Checking the different parts of the knife for quality gives you an idea what to look for when buying a good knife. However, when it comes to buying a knife, there’s a tremendous variation of types. Some of these include:
* Boning Knife
* Butter Knife
* Cheese Knife
* Chef’s Knife
* Cleaver
* Deli Knife
* Filet Knife
* Frozen Food Knife
* Mincing Knife
* Paring Knife
* Sandwich Knife
* Serrated Knife
* Slicing-Carving Knife
* Steak
* Utility
There are also specialty knives for chestnuts, clams, grapefruits, deveining, lettuce and oysters, plus specialty knives for different types of cuisines such as Japanese and Asian.
Fortunately you don’t need to buy every kind of knife out there.
The Bare Essentials of Knives For The Kitchen
While every knife has a use, most people don’t need so many of the more specialized knives. There are a few types, however, that should be found in every kitchen. These are the more versatile knives that can do a number of different types of food preparation.
The Paring Knife
If you don’t have any other knife, you need a paring knife. It’s a small knife with a straight, sharp blade. Paring knives run from about three to five inches long with a thin blade that tapers to a point at the tip.
This little knife is easy to handle and use. As indicated by the name, it’s main function if for paring foods. It’s also good for cutting up small items, coring apples and such, and mincing garlic and other foods. Every kitchen should have at least one good paring knife.
The Chef’s Knife
The Chef’s or Cook’s knife is another versatile knife. It comes in several different lengths, running from about 6 inches to 12 inches long. The smaller sized chef knives are called mini chef’s knives. These are the best chef knives for people with smaller hands. The larger chef knives are handier for people with bigger hands that allow the bigger chef knives to balance better in their hands.
The chef knife picks up where the paring knife leaves off, and can cut bigger vegetables, fruits and meats. It’s great for chopping, dicing, mincing or slicing foods. The bigger size makes it better suited for the heavy duty work, and making thicker slices than a paring knife.
A Serrated Knife
Instead of a straight edge like the paring and chef knives have, the serrated knife has notches in the blade. It can be anywhere from 5 to 10 inches long. It is best used for foods that are hard on the outside, while being soft on the inside. A perfect example is a loaf of homemade bread. The serrated blade is also good for slicing tomatoes and other fruits and vegetables.
Don’t Forget A Cleaver
You could make do with a paring knife, chef’s knife and serrated knife, but there’s one other blade that is highly useful in the kitchen. This knife had a very wide blade which is usually about 6 inches in length.
A cleaver is good for pounding and crushing foods, although it can also be used to chop and shred foods like the other knives. Additionally, this is a good knife for cutting through hard materials like bones in chickens.
Not only can a cleaver pulverize meat, but the flat of the blade can be used to crush garlic and other herbs. It takes up a lot of space in a kitchen drawer, but most cleavers come with a hole near the end of the blade so it can be hung up somewhere out of the way.
Choose Good Quality Knives For The Kitchen
Whatever knives you chose, get the best quality you can. A kitchen knife gets used a lot, so make you food preparation easier by buying good ones.
The more you cook, the more you will appreciate using good quality knives, and may wish to expand your selection to include more types. For a starter kitchen, however, the paring knife, chef’s knife, serrated knife and cleaver are good basic equipment.
Every kitchen can use a few good knives.
Cooking for over 40 years, Pat has lots of experience and definite ideas about what works best in the kitchen. http://www.cookwareforhealth.com/
Cheap Meal Ideas – 3 Alternatives to Fast Food
Society today is very tired and overworked. Everyone is busy and running at a fast pace each day. It does not matter what the reason is for the hectic pace of your lifestyle, your time is precious and needs to be managed effectively. You need cheap meal ideas to help you stretch your time and money while still providing a wholesome and nutritious dinner for you and your family.
The fast food makers know how little time we have and use this very thing to make themselves successful. The idea of coming home after a long day at work and cooking for four or five people is not something we tend to look forward to on top of preparing for the next day and trying to get the homework done. This is why they offer you cheap meal ideas that require no cleaning, no cooking, and only 25 minutes to pick up.
Mothers and fathers are the first to take a run to the drive through to avoid the hassles of grocery shopping, cooking, and cleaning up after dinner so they can go home and relax a bit before they need to wake up and do it all over again. The problem with this is that eating so much fast food will inevitably cause obesity and is not the healthiest choice to consider. There are some very cheap meal ideas that take almost no time to prepare and will make coming home to a good meal more bearable.
The first cheap meal idea includes meat, vegetables, and pasta or rice all in one dish. To make a quick stir fry, begin with some thin slices of meat. Beef is good and chicken will also work. Add a modest amount of soy sauce to the meat. Cook until done completely. In the same pan, add a bag of stir fry vegetables to the mix. Add a cup of water to the mix as the vegetables are heating to make a sauce of sorts. While the meat and vegetables are cooking, get out a bag or two of the boil in bag rice. Let this cook as the rest is heating. When the rice is complete, put a helping on each plate and cover with the stir fry vegetables and meat. Not only is this a cheap meal idea, it is also fast; it can be made in only 20 minutes.
You can whip up a hearty batch of pancakes and scrambled eggs for the family in about 30 minutes or less. If you think it is strange to eat breakfast food for dinner, consider how these same foods give you what you need to go through an entire day. Another one of the cheap meal ideas to try is a simple macaroni and cheese with meat dish. The ground beef or turkey only takes 20 minutes to cook through and the macaroni and cheese can be finished before the meat is. For an added flavor, add one small can of tomato sauce for a tomato macaroni dish.
When you fix one of these or other cheap meal ideas at home, you are taking time out of your busy day to treat yourself and your family special.
Want to learn more about Meal Planning? Visit http://mealplanningguide.com for meal planning ideas, meal plans and recipes.
Authentic Northern Vietnam Cooking Recipes in Hanoi’s High-end Restaurant
With fluorescent lights bleaching the steel surfaces and plumes of scented smoke rising from shing copper pots, this could be anyone of the bustling kitchens in Hanoi’s high-end restaurants. But at KOTO (which stands for Know One, Teach One), creating tantalising dishes is only one of the restaurant’s aims. The other is to provide training, employment and housing for 100 local “street children”. Enjoy one of the most vibrant recipes from the restaurant:
Caramel pork
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
2 eschalots, peeled and chopped
1/3 teaspoon ground black pepper
150 ml fish sauce, plus extra to taste
1 kg port belly
Vegetable oil for frying
Boiled rice to serve
Pickled bean sprouts (see following recipe) to serve
Caramel sauce
220 g caster sugar
Juice of ˝ lime
Place garlic, shallot, pepper and 2 tablespoons of fish sauce in a bowl and stir to combine. Slice pork into 2 cm strips and place in a shallow tray. Pour marinade over and marinate for 20 minutes. Preheat oven to 160 degree Celsius and place a clay casserole in the oven to warm. To make caramel sauce, place sugar and 3 tablespoons of water in a heavy-based saucepan over a low heat. Bring to the boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Continue to boil and when mixture starts to colour, swirl the saucepan. After 2-4 minutes, when caramel turns a deep brown, remove from heat and quickly but carefully add lime juice and 375 ml water; the hot caramel may spot. Return to heat and swirl sauce-pan to combine. Remove from heat and cover until required. Heat a small amount of oil in a wok or frypan over a high heat and sear pork, tossing frequently so it colours evenly and does not stick. Add caramel sauce, remaining fish sauce, 400ml water and bring to the boil. Place wok contents into heated casserole, cover and cook in oven for 1 hour or until pork is tender. Taste for seasoning, add a dash more fish sauce if desired and cook, uncovered, for a further 15 minutes. Server with rice and pickled bean sprouts. Serves 6 as part of a banquet.
Pickled bean sprouts
˝ cup rice vinegar
2 teaspoon sea salt
ź teaspoon caster sugar
500 bean sprouts
1 telegraph cucumber, peeled and cut into 5 cm batons
˝ pineapple, peeled an d cut into 5 cm batons
1 long red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
Place vinegar, salt and sugar in a small saucepan over a low heat and stir until sugar dissolves, then cool to lukewarm. Place remaining ingredients in a bowl, pour pickling liquid over and lightly toss to combine. Stand for 30 minutes and serve. Serves 6 as accompaniment.
Rock ling with turmeric, dill and rice vermicelli
3 cm fresh galangal *, peeled and roughly chopped
1 long red chilli, deseeded
2 tablespoons ground turmeric
1 tablespoon caster sugar
3 tablespoons fish sauce
800g rock ling (or other firm, white-fleshed fish such as barramundi or gemfish)
Vegetable oil for deep-frying
2 large handfuls dill sprigs
12 spring onions, thickly sliced
200 rice vermicelli
˝ cup roasted unsalted peanuts, chopped
Thai basil leaves to serve
Coriander leaves to serve
Classic dipping sauce (see following recipe) to serve
*Galangal is a knob-like rhizome from the same family as ginger, available from Asian food stores and select greengrocers.
Place galangal, chilli, turmeric and sugar in a mortar and grind with a pestle to form a paste. Add fish sauce and 2 ˝ tablespoons of water and stir until sugar dissolves. Remove skin and bones from fish and cut into 3cm chunks. Pour marinade over fish and refrigerate for 2 hours. Remove fish and pat dry with paper towel. Preheat a grill or barbecue to a high heat, cook fish on both sides until lines appear, but remove before fish is cooked all the way through. Heat oil in a large frypan over a high heat, add a third of the fish and deep –fry for 3-4 minutes, turning once. Add a third of the dill and spring onion and toss until jilted. Remove fish and herbs with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towel. Pace vermicelli in a large saucepan, cover with boiling water, stand for 4-5 minutes, then stir gently to separate. Drain and refresh vermicelli under cold water, then cut with scissors into manageable lengths. Place some vermicelli in 6 serving bowls, top with fish and herbs, scatter peanut over and serve with accompaniments. Fry remaining fish and herbs in two batches and encourage diners to continue piling vermicelli and fish into their bowls. Serve with classic dipping sauce. Servers 6 as part of a banquet.
The great variety of dipping sauces plays an essential role, supporting the Vietnamese principle of five flavours in every meal: bitter, sweet, sour, spicy and salty.
For more vibrant Vietnamese recipes and articles about Vietnam history, travel and culture, visit http://www.uniquevietnam.info
Annabelle Bui has great passion for Vietnam history, culture and Vietnamese cooking recipes. She has travelled from north to south Vietnam to collect Vietnamese vibrant cooking recipes, understand Vietnamese culture and experience great travel destinations. Visit UniqueVietnam.info
5 Tips For Fall Grilling and Barbecue
Autumn is the one time of year the weather is nice in most parts of the country at the same time. In the warm southern and southwest regions, people who have been kept inside by the blazing summer temperatures start to enjoy the outdoors more. In the northern regions, the nights start to get crisp but the daytime temperatures are very pleasant. And pleasant weather means an ideal time for grilling and barbecue.
1. We all tend to have a few recipes that are our favorites to prepare on the grill, the dishes we know are going to turn out nearly perfect every time. The old reliables. But part of the fun of grilling is experimenting, finding new dishes, flavors and cooking techniques to use with the grill or the smoker unit.
2. A new take on an old favorite. Is steak your favorite meat to grill? Well, steak is incredibly versatile. You could try making spicy southwest steak, by adding a chile powder such as chipotle to the normal salt, pepper, and garlic you put on the steak before grilling. Adding a few tablespoons of ground coffee beans gives you the classic “cowboy” steak. Have you ever added brown sugar to the spice mix you use? Try it. You’ll find it gives the steak a unique glaze, and it is one of the secrets expensive steakhouses employ.
3. And now for something completely different. Don’t limit yourself to the old standards: steaks, chops, burgers, ribs. Grilled fish is delicious, and is good for you as well. Buy whole fish like trout, insert thin lemon slices into the cavity, and cook them on a low, smoky heat. If you have a smoker unit, you’ll be surprised all the great food you can prepare—duck, goose, game birds, turkey, and chicken are all tasty candidates. You can even make your own smoked ham or smoked sausage.
4. Check out the liquor cabinet for ideas. Beer, brandy, red wine, bourbon, rum, even tequila can add tremendous flavor to a marinade or a sauce. Beer can be used to make a zesty marinade for shrimp. There are great tequila based marinades for grilled chicken. Bourbon and rum can be used to create your own signature barbeque sauce. An easy to make mushroom and red wine sauce or brandy can turn your backyard barbeque into one rivaling the high-end steakhouses.
5. Take a culinary vacation in the backyard. Maybe the cost and hassle of international travel these days has kept you from visiting those places you’ve always dreamed of. There’s no reason you can’t enjoy those countries’ cuisine. How about grilling some delicious, tender ribeye steaks and preparing several different dipping sauces for your guests to sample, maybe Asian teriyaki-style; a South American “Gaucho” sauce with lime juice, roasted peppers, red onions and cilantro; and a Caribbean “jerk”-style sauce. Sort of like one of those “five countries in one and a half days” tour packages you see advertised on TV.
Don’t be afraid to expand you grilling repertoire. And keep a record of your grilling experiments, the variations you tried on recipes you use. Write down what worked so well you would like to try it again. You may find out your family has a high tolerance for spicier foods, so you may want to enhance the recipes with additional chiles. You might find a grilled shrimp recipe that works equally well with scallops. Who knows, you might come up with a totally unique recipe that ends up in a cooking magazine.
Brian Hill is the author of several nonfiction books and the novel, Over Time.” One of his favorite hobbies is Grilling right behind eating and gardening.
Where to Find Raw Food Recipes For Every Occasion
This interview is an excerpt from Kevin Gianni’s Renegade Roundtable, which can be found at http://www.RenegadeRoundtable.com. In this excerpt, Nomi Shannon shares on The Raw Gourmet, Raw Food Celebrations and great raw food recipes.
Renegade Water Secrets with Nomi Shannon, raw food chef and author of The Raw Gourmet and a new book, Raw Food Celebrations.
Kevin: We could talk for hours. I wanted you to talk a little bit more about “The Raw Gourmet” and your new book and what someone can find in there, because it’s a great book. It’s great for people who want to do parties, who want to do themes and all that sort of stuff. And I think it’s really missing in the palate of raw food cookbooks that are out there. This one is kind of needed. It kind of fits a pretty nice niche. So why don’t you talk about that a little bit.
Nomi: All right, thanks. Well, you know, I think that the “Raw Food Celebrations” is the first book out that is specifically for celebrating. And what we did, Sheryl and I broke it down, so that if you wanted to have a theme, it doesn’t have to you can pick a recipe from here or from there, it’s broken down into I forget how many themes, seven or eight — Italian, Thai…she did the Thai because she and her husband have been to Thailand many times and the food is incredible. She did stuff I never heard of, like [indecipherable] and stuff like that. And delicious coconut soup and stuff. Brunch, buffet, cocktail, if you just want to have a bunch of people over, and just sort of have hors dousers and drinks. You know, we have a few nice drinks in there. They don’t have alcohol in them, but you could put alcohol in them, if you wanted to.
And what we did is we did a timeline, so it’s like three weeks before the party dehydrate, cut up the red peppers and dehydrate them, because they’ll keep forever, and then you toss them in or throw them on top of the soup. Five days before, four days before, three days before, the day of. And we tried and succeeded in most of the categories to have the amount of work you do on the actual day of your event, if you choose to make, there’s probably seven to nine recipes in each grouping, and if you choose to do the whole thing like that, and have the event as we structured it, then we really made it so that you can plan a week ahead and on a Saturday or a Sunday have a nice event. Or you can just
pull out one recipe at a time.
And we worked very hard to make it. Like my lasagna recipe I showed a few of the sauces last, whatever day I did the food prep in Fort Bragg, I think it was Saturday, and I made three or four sauces in less than 45 minutes. And turned out they were all the sauces that go into the lasagna. But we start making them four days before. And then really what takes the time is assembling the lasagna, and you do that the day before. So it’s a fun book for that, and it’s a book for someone who is starting but they don’t want to have like an energy soup concept, or for someone who’s been making food for a while and would like to make a nice family meal or entertain their friends. It’s absolutely structured so that you don’t have to be raw to enjoy the food.
Kevin: That’s great.
Nomi: And then “The Raw Gourmet” is your basic, this is the best first book to get, or one of the first books, and if you really, literally read it from cover to cover, you will know everything you need to know to have a raw food kitchen. I don’t get into things like, you know, it’s a food book, I do not get into deep things like healing and cleansing and all that because it’s a food book. But it’s everything you need to know about a raw food kitchen. We’re actually going to reprint it, and someone asked a question about I used Braggs in the book. Well, I do use Braggs in that book because I didn’t know it was a bad product at the time I wrote the book. I would substitute Braggs now for Nama Shoyu, which is a supposedly raw soy sauce, or maybe a little sea salt, or something salty like that.
And I’m thinking well maybe those people at my publisher can change every Braggs in the book to Nama Shoyu, but that’s a big undertaking, so maybe that won’t happen.
Kevin: Yeah. And where can someone go to get that book?
Nomi: The best place to get the book, I mean, yeah, you can get them at places like Barnes and Noble, or health food stores and stuff like that, but the best place is to get them from my site, rawgourmet.com, and the reason for that is I give a free booklet with each book. With the purchase of “The Raw Gourmet” you get a soup booklet, which is thirteen to fifteen raw soup recipes, and with “Raw Food Celebrations“ you get a book called Raw But Not Naked, and it’s a book of salad dressings.
Kevin: Wow, cool.
Nomi: And actually there’s no other way to get those booklets. And they are, each booklet is worth seven dollars. I did that purposely because you have to pay for shipping and so it’s a free gift, and it mitigates the cost of shipping plus. So, and then of course you’re supporting the author, so that’s always nice, too.
Kevin: That’s great. And that’s at www.rawgourmet.com.
Nomi: Right.
Kevin: Where is that on the site, right on the front page?
Nomi: The first thing you’ll see is on the left, when you look at the products, there will be a picture of “The Raw Gourmet” and “Raw Food Celebrations.” There’s also lots of recipe at my site, Kevin, and there’s articles. I’ve been writing a newsletter for about ten years and I’m gradually posting them it the archives. So there’s probably eight or ten up there now. There’s a lot of information at my website. There’s also, when you sign up there’s a free newsletter. It’s one of the first things you’ll see. If you haven’t been to my site, sign up for my free newsletter. That comes out sometimes once a week, sometimes less. The one I sent out today was “how to deal with your doctor,” your medical doctor. How to get the responses you need from him, or her.
Kevin: Cool.
Nomi: Last week I put out a bunch of recipes called “Summertime Recipes.” Sometimes I put specials out, I always have really good specials. But when you sign up for my newsletter you also receive a free seven-part course which is called The Raw Truth. And that gets emailed to you every other day or so until seven have arrived and it stops. It’s just little snippets of information about fat and other things like that, and each one will have a recipe with it.
Kevin: Oh, each one has a recipe! Oh that’s great. So where you can find that is when you go to Nomi’s site www.rawgourmet.com , you can go there right now and on the left-hand side, as of this recording it’s an orange box and it says “newsletter.” You can get seven recipes seven days in a row that you can prepare for your family or for your friends or for yourself.
Nomi: And if you want to see the most recent picture of me and my little grandson Seth go to, I think it’s just “The Raw Gourmet.” Because I never, I’m just the most un- photogenic person, and the picture of me is like ten years old, so my daughter sent me a picture and it wasn’t too horrible so I posted it last month and it’s a picture of me and the baby, who is almost a year old now.
Kevin: That’s great. Well, I want to thank you for time, I really appreciate it. For those of you who are listening you can go to www.rawgourmet.com and I would recommend getting the seven recipes and Nomi’s newsletter and definitely checking out the book. Ann Marie loves it and she’s going to be preparing some of those recipes. So you’re going to be hearing a lot about it on the Renegade Health Show. So Nomi I want to thank you for your time.
Nomi: My pleasure.
To read the rest of this transcript as well as access The Renegade Roundtable experts just like Nomi Shannon please click here! Kevin Gianni is an internationally recognized health advocate, author & film consultant. He has helped thousands of people take control of their own health naturally. For more information visit raw food diets and holistic nutrition.
Creating Healthy School Lunches For Kids
One of the issues moms face as they send their kids back to school is preparing lunches. Not only are they concerned with preparing food for the kids each day, but preparing healthy and nutritious lunches! This can be quite the challenge, especially with picky youngsters. We all want our kids to eat well so they can learn well, but how do we create a meal that’s healthy that our kids will actually eat?
Here are a few tips and ideas for doing just that:
Think outside the lunch box. Don’t just create a plain old boring square sandwich every day. Try a lettuce wrap, a tortilla roll-up, a pita, or a sandwich made with a cookie cutter or whole grain waffles (use some of the organic frozen ones) for the bread. Try various types of bread to create unique sandwiches that will be not only healthy but fun and exciting for your child to eat. Presentation is big with kids. They love to eat foods that look interesting.
Another outside the box idea is to use small plastic containers or Bento boxes to create a fun, visually appealing meal. Try veggies and bread sticks with yogurt dips or sauces. What about slices of meat and a few different cheeses with crackers? You can create your own meal that is much more healthy than the pre-packaged ones that you can buy in grocery stores. There are several websites that teach Bento - the Japanese art of take out - that have fun ideas for kid’s lunches. Try browsing these for inspiration.
Be big on variety. Offer your child lots of options. This will help them to find something that they like. Include fruit, bread, a veggie, a protein source, and a drink. Try to alternate them as well instead of sending an apple daily, sending an apple one day, an orange the next, grapes the next and then swap it up. For their drinks, try a smoothie. These are easy to make and fun to experiment with.
Get the kids involved. Kids are creative and savvy moms know they are more likely to eat something they have chosen for themselves. They can even find fun ways to package the items to make them more appealing. Let them use cookie cutters to create playful sandwiches or cuts of cheese. Have fun together browsing cookbooks and websites creating new ideas for future lunches. Let them help you do some of the work in the kitchen preparing their lunch box for the next day.
Use your leftovers. Who says lunch has to be a cold sandwich and an apple? If your child loved last night’s dinner and you have leftovers send them for your child’s lunch. At least you know they will eat it. It saves you some work too.
These are just a few ways to make healthy lunches that your child will eat. You’ll also feel certain that they are getting the nutrition they need to stay focused at school.
Find fun healthy lunch box and Thermos recipes with an emphasis on whole foods at Whole Foods Recipes - pick up your free meal planning guide to save time in the kitchen too!
Vegetables Snacks Kids Like to Eat
What would you do if your kids asked for “More veggies, please?” Well, prepare yourself, because they just might when you serve vegetables like this. These snacks are great for after school treats.
Celery and Pretzel Butterfly
2 stalks of celery
12 large pretzels (not the straight kind)
6 tablespoons natural peanut butter
Around 18 raisins
12 slivered almonds
Wash the celery with cold water. Cut the celery stalks crosswise into thirds. Fill each celery stalk with one tablespoon of the peanut butter. Gently push 1 pretzel into the peanut butter, so the pretzel is parallel to the length of the celery stick and looks like a wing. Do the same on the other side of the celery, with another pretzel. Your celery stick now has butterfly wings!
Use the raisins for the eyes, nose and mouth of the butterfly. Create the antennae by pushing the slivered almonds into the filling, on top of the butterfly’s head.
Celery and Carrot Wagons
2 stalks of celery
12 toothpicks
16 carrot slices
1/2 cup of peanut butter; cheese spread or ranch dressing
20 Raisins
Wash the celery with cold water. Cut celery stalks crosswise into pieces that are about 3 inches long. Push two toothpicks through the sides of each celery stick to create the axles for four wheels. Fill each celery wagon with the peanut butter, or another spread. Stick a round carrot slice onto the end of each toothpick to form a wheel. After the wheel is attached, cover each toothpick tip with a raisin.
You can stick a toothpick into the end of the celery for a wagon handle, and cover the tip with another raisin. You can also leave the handle off to create a celery car instead.
Tomato Army Ants
3 small cherry tomatoes for each ant
9 toothpicks or grape stems for each ant.
Rinse the cherry tomatoes in cold water. Attach the three tomatoes with two of the toothpicks or grape stems. Use six more to create the ants legs, and two for the antennae. Make as many as you can to create a whole army of ants.
Zucchini or Cucumber Centipede
Small zucchinis or cucumbers
Shredded carrots
Rinse the zucchinis or cucumbers. Cut off the ends of each, and attach strips of zucchini or cucumber for the legs. You can use shredded carrots for the antennae.
Here are some other tips to make vegetables more child-friendly
Choose Colorful Veggies - Kids loves colors. When you serve vegetables to your children, try to serve an assortment of colors
Make them Little Finger Friendly – Slice vegetables into small pieces so they will be easier to pick up with small fingers.
Do the Dip - If your child is a reluctant vegetable eater, let them experiment with different dips. Most kids like ranch dip for their vegetables. Some kids will eat anything if it has cheese or peanut butter on it.
Vegetable Art - Instead of arranging vegetables for your kids, let them design their own vegetable creations. Give them an assortment of vegetables, spreads, and toothpicks, and let them create their own work of vegetable art.
Get hundreds more healthy snack and lunch ideas for the whole family at Whole Foods Recipes
Tasting Unique Cuisine on Cruises Around the World
Cruises around the world will give explorers the opportunity to experience some of most delicious cuisine imagined. If you have the palate it could be the experience of a lifetime.
* Argentinean Beef
* Brazilian Empanada
* Scottish Haggis
* Greek Frappe
* Swedish Köttbullar
Argentina Beef
Numerous cruises around the world will take you to Argentina where they have been raising cattle for over 4 centuries. In that time the Argentineans have succeeded in producing some of the finest beef the world has known. During your visit you simply must find some Asado beef. Asado beef is not only one of the local favorite foods but it is the way it is prepared. The preferred manner of preparing the Asado beef by the locals is by barbecuing it. The beef is prepared in outdoor grills and served with a number of tasty sauces and dips. I don’t know if it was the air or the beef but both were absolutely wonderful. It is truly unique by any standards.
Brazilian Empanada
Cruises around the world will typically stop in Brazil and while you are there a must try is a favorite dish of many visitors; the Empanada. It is chicken, onion, tomato and spices that are wrapped in dough and then deep fried, almost like a Mexican ranchero. The combination of the chicken, vegetables, spices and fried dough was to die for. You can get also get empanadas with shrimp or beef, either way they are a great example of the local flavor.
Scottish Haggis
Your visit to Scotland must include a sampling of their famous traditionally prepared dish: haggis. Cruises around the world will give you access to infamous Scottish haggis. The dish is a mixture of sheep liver, lungs, heart, oatmeal and onions which then are boiled in the belly of the sheep for a number of hours. The result dish is tender, spicy and full of flavor, nicely paired with a Sangiovese, http://www.wineaccess.com/wine/grape/Sangiovese/ —if you can find one in Scotland! This is obviously a traditional dish created by sheep herders who couldn’t afford to waste any part of the animal. If you can get past the way this traditional dish recipe was prepared you courage will be rewarded with a meal that is quite tasty.
Greece Frappe
In some parts of the world the word frappe is generally associated with a creamy type of milkshake. But cruises around the world that take you to Greece will present you with a different frappe. A Greek frappe is a strong-tasting coffee drink made with instant coffee, sugar, and evaporated milk. Many Greeks who indulge in frappes like to top theirs off with a layer of steamed milk foam. The flavor of frappe is unique with a strong but sweet coffee flavor and the evaporated milk adds a creamy element to the drink. The frappe will be a unique experience as well as an eye-opener.
Swedish Köttbullar
Sweden is a popular stop among cruises around the world and a visit here is not complete until you try Köttbullar. Now don’t get edgy Swedish Köttbullar is actually Swedish meatballs but prepared probably a little different then you are used to having elsewhere. The recipe calls for preparing beef, onions, breadcrumbs and pepper. The beef is mixed with the other ingredients and rolled into meatball shapes. Placing the beef in an iron skillet they are cooked thoroughly. The Köttbullar is then topped off with a sauce that has been made with beef broth, butter and beer. You’ll find different combinations as well with some using club soda, different kinds of fruits or vegetables. All of them are wonderfully tasting and satisfying to the palate.
During an American Express World Cruise (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wl2B19iOZj4) you’ll be given the opportunity to taste some of the most unique cuisines indigenous to the countries you’ll be visiting. You will find the dishes as exotic and diverse as the people who prepare them.
Sarah Martin is a freelance marketing writer based out of San Diego, CA. She specializes in travel, leisure, and the history of fines wines, such as Sangiovese and Dolcetto. For an amazing rate on an American Express World Cruise please visit http://www.amttravel.com/cruise-lines/.