Cooking Recipes

Best Recipes: Chicken with Apples

2008-05-07T11:13:00.001-07:00

Ingredients

1½ cups quick-cooking rice
2 large onions, thinly sliced
250g snow peas, trimmed
1 large red cooking apple, cored and coarsely chopped, not peeled
2 tbsp curry powder
1 tbsp plain flour
¼ tspn salt
1 cup chicken stock
3 tbsp vegetable oil
1 cup milk
1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
¼ tspn black pepper
2 cups diced cooked chicken
½ cup unsalted dry-roasted peanuts

1. Cook the rice according to instructions. Transfer to a large bowl, cover with foil, and keep warm.

2. Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a large frying pan over moderate high heat for 1 minute. Add the onions and sauté, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until they are soft. Add the snow peas and apple and cook, uncovered, stirring now and then, for 2 to 3 minutes or until the apple is golden brown. Add to the rice.

3. Heat the remaining 2 tbsp of oil in the pan for 1 minute. Blend in the curry powder, flour and salt, and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in the stock and milk and cook, stirring constantly, for 3 to 5 minutes or until thickened.

4. Mix in the lemon juice, pepper, chicken and rice mixture. Cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 2 to 3 minutes more - just until steaming hot.

Sprinkle some of the peanuts over each portion.

Petrosyan writes for http://www.healthfood.blogspot.com where you can find more information about Healthy food, Diet food, Food Safety, Kids food, Best recipes of World's kitchen, Healthy weight loss ... nverpet@yahoo.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Nver_Petrosyan

Provence Steak Recipes

2008-05-07T11:12:00.003-07:00

Want an international flair for your steaks? Try a Provence steak recipe. These are delicious steak recipes that anyone will enjoy if they like meat at all. You will enjoy serving these wonderful dishes to any dinner guests and surprising your in-laws with a real treat.

To create a Provence steak you will need Provence herbs. That is the main ingredient for these delicious steaks. For the first recipe you will need:

4 steaks,
2 teaspoons of fresh cracked black pepper,
2 teaspoons of sea salt, and
2 tablespoons of Provence herbs.
Heat your grill, mix together the pepper, salt and herbs, sprinkle on the steaks. Now, all you do is grill until desired doneness. To top of this meal serve with a nice garden salad.

For fancier Provence steak recipes you should try this one. You will need:

rib steaks,
1 teaspoon of white peppercorns,
4 tablespoons of Provence herbs,
4 tablespoons of olive oil, vegetable oil, or peanut oil,
1 tablespoon of lemon juice, and sea salt.
First you begin by crushing the peppercorns. Then in a large bowl, mix together ½ of the Provence herbs, all of the oil, lemon juice and crushed peppercorns. Place the steaks in the mixture, turning to coat the steaks in the mixture. Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour. The longer the steaks marinate the better the flavor. Before grilling use the remainder of the herbs and spread over the grill. Grill the steaks until desired doneness and season to taste after cooking.

Provence steak recipes are easy to create, just use your favorite steak recipe and add the Provence herbs instead of what you normally use. These herbs are becoming very popular for providing steaks with a unique and awesome flavor that everyone enjoys. You can also add the Provence herbs to your favorite marinade and then baste your steaks while grilling, broiling or baking.

Either way you choose to use these herbs your tastebuds will be very thankful.

Hans is author of Steaks, Seafood and Barbeque Recipes at http://www.steaks-guide.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Hans_Dekker

Banana Pudding and Vanilla Wafers... the Perfect Crowd Pleaser!

2008-05-07T11:12:00.001-07:00

Next time someone signs you up for "dessert duty" at the family barbecue, cookout, picnic or whatever other type of party you may attend this summer, consider the old pudding-and-cookies recipe. It's a gooey dessert that really wows the crowd. I usually bring the banana vanilla version (detailed below), but you can try any combination of flavors. Here's the jist of it.

The Recipe:

2 boxes of Nilla wafers
4 cups of instant Vanilla pudding
8 bananas
1 tub of Cool Whip
1 small container of sour cream (optional)

To Make:

Prepare pudding according to the recipe on box. Line the bottom of a large, snap-on plastic container with a layer of Nilla wafer cookies. Spoon out a layer of Vanilla pudding over the cookies. Slice up the bananas. Layer some of the banana slices over the pudding. Follow with a layer of Cool Whip. Repeat layering, in same order (cookies, pudding, bananas, Cool Whip.)

If you like your recipes to be a little less sweet, you can spoon a few globs of sour cream into the vanilla pudding, but even if you don't, this will come out pretty darn good.

After assembling your pudding and snapping on the lid, refrigerate overnight so that the cookies can soften overnight for extra gooey fun.

Note: whatever way you present this recipe, it will still taste just fine. You can get fancy and serve it in a parfait glass, layering very carefully and slipping Nilla wafers and bananas down the sides of the bowl, where they can be seen suspended in the pudding. Or you can mix up the Cool Whip with the pudding and just throw it together in a big container.

To serve: scoop into plastic cups or paper plates.

Reactions:

I'm not sure exactly why, but a funny thing happens to people as they consume this goopy stuff. As eating commences, a hush falls over the gathering, and the sound of smacking lips and plastic spoons grazing cups can be heard. Appreciative murmurs soon follow. Both children and adults grow mesmerized, inhaling cup after cup like it's their job.

Here are some verbal reactions I've had:

"Ooooh. That stuff is GOOD. What is that, bananas?"

"Hey, honey you have to come over here and try this banana stuff!"

"Do you mind if I just sit here next to the pudding? I'll leave some for other people... I swear."

"Wait, so... what's the recipe again? Bananas? And then... what do I do with the pudding..."

"What IS that?" (pause.) "Oh! Oh, MY. Uhh... can I have more?"

"This is some good slop!"

The last time I made this, it occurred to me that it would work just as well with any number of pudding-and-cookie flavors.

Variations:

Oreo cookies and chocolate pudding
Sugar wafers and lemon pudding
Butter cookies, vanilla pudding and strawberry slices

If you bring this dessert to your next family function, just know that you're not coming home with leftovers. Enjoy.

Liked this article? Have more of the same emailed to your inbox each month. Sign up for the Copywriting and Marketing Ezine from Dina at Wordfeeder.com and learn to write search engine friendly web copy and market your web based business for free.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=D._Marie_Giolitto

The Perfect First Date Meal For The Culinary Illiterate

2008-05-07T11:11:00.001-07:00

The Microwave Generation of the 1990's has now finished school and stands ready to step forward into the competitive marketplace. It goes without saying that the workplace is a fiercely competitive place but the marketplace most young adults (and, unfortunately, the newly divorced) have the most difficulty with is "formal" dating.

Being a hardened veteran of the dating scene (I didn't marry until after forty), there are many "tricks of the trade" that I developed that always kept me a step ahead of my sports car driving, surgically built competitors who always were the center of attention as soon as they entered the room. So, when you find that special someone, step one is to make them feel special. There is an old adage that says, "The quickest way to a man's heart is through his stomach" and how true it is. It is simplistic, but men love to be mothered and any woman willing to take the time to make a home cooked meal for him is going to rise on the "dating ladder." Men who cook, on the other hand, are elevated to the status of "Sensitive Man" and in most women's eyes "Sensitive Man" is a clear-cut winner in the long term competition with "Flashy Guy".

So, the answer is a romantic dinner for two at your place but your cooking skills are limited to EasyMac or microwave popcorn. Don't panic! Below is a recipe that is simple and will make you look like you have been doing this for years. Don't overlook the obvious though. Clean up your apartment. Light some fresh smelling candles (you can get them at the drug store) or get some fragrance sprays. First impressions are everything and the proper aroma can set the tone for a romantic evening. Enjoy!

Simple Chicken Pepperoni

You will need:

1) A 10"x14" casserole dish (8"x8" will do in a pinch),

2) 2 cans (10 3/4 oz.) of Cream of Chicken Soup ,

3) 1 can (10 3/4 oz.) of Campbell's Ranchero Tomato Soup ,

4) 1 small package of sliced pepperoni ,

5)1 package of dry onion soup mix ,

6) 2 medium sized red peppers ,

7) 1 medium sized green pepper ,

8) 1 large Vidalia onion ,

9) 4 BONELESS chicken breast (completely thawed, if necessary), 9) Corn oil Spray (Pam or the like),

10) A package of flavored rice (Lipton Side Rices are great but, don't go way out on a limb. Stick with Chicken flavor, Rice Pilaf or something along those lines)

First rinse of your chicken and take a sharp knife and trim away anything that you wouldn't want to eat (fat etc.) and set aside. Next, take your three peppers (both red and green) and cut the top off of each, just below the stem. Discard the stems and slice each pepper down the middle from top to bottom. Take each pepper half and, using a standard table spoon, scrap out the seeds and the lighter colored portions of the interior of the peppers. Slice these peppers LENGTHWISE in 1/4" wide strips. When you are done, pile your peppers up, facing basically the same direction and chop across them, making them, each, 1/2 of their original length. Set aside. After that prepare your onion by slicing 1/4" off both the top and the bottom. Peel the outer skin of the onion off and then slice it WIDTHWISE into 4 or 5 equal portions (1/4" more or less). Lay these slices flat and slice the "circles" into 4 equal "triangles". Crumple these up a bit and set aside. In a bowl (large enough to hold three cans of soup), empty your two cans of Cream of Chicken soup, 1/2 of your can of Ranchero Tomato soup and 1/3 to 1/2 of your onion soup mix packet. Mix, with a large spoon, until the color is consistent. Set aside. After that, set your oven at 350 degrees and let it pre-heat.

While your oven is pre-heating, spray the inside of your casserole dish with your corn oil spray, making sure that it is completely covered but not runny. At this stage, take your sliced pepperoni and cover the bottom of your casserole dish. The pepperoni pieces can overlap a bit but, basically lay out the pieces like tile, completely covering the bottom of the dish. Take your onions and peppers and evenly distribute them over the pepperoni. Pour half of your soup mixture over the top of the dish contents. Place your chicken breasts, flat and evenly spaced, over the vegetables. Pour the remaining soup mixture over the top of the chicken and cover the dish tightly with tin foil (with the smaller dish you may need to compress the mixture a bit). Place dish on the shelf closest to the middle of the oven and leave for at least two hours. NOTE-If your dish seems overly full, press the mixture down some and include a cookie sheet or tin foil under your dish in the oven! As the vegetables cook the mixture will "fit" the dish better.

After your two hours is up, extract the dish and remove the tin foil and leave aside to cool for 15 minutes. While you are waiting, cook your rice according to package directions (these things are tough to mess up) and put the finished product in a nice serving bowl. Transport the food to the table, light some candles and wait for the complements!

Bo Walker is the Webmaster for OnlineCountryStore.com, a site that celebrates life at home with informative articles and inexpensive home and garden accessories, gifts, kitchenware and discount furniture. For informative articles go to http://onlinecountrystore.com/home_spun_solutions.html. For a wide product selection go to http://onlinecountrystore.com/index2.html.

You may use this article as long as you leave the article as is (you do not have to include pictures), including the author information, and website link (http://www.onlinecountrystore.com). No additional permission from the author is needed but notification at vendorrelations@onlinecountrystore.com would be appreciated!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bo_Walker

10 Tips for Fixing Heart Healthy Recipes

2008-05-07T11:10:00.000-07:00

Do you remember Grandma's apple cobbler? Is spaghetti one of your favorite meals? You can still eat these things, but new versions of them, if you know how to swap ingredients. Here are 10 tips for fixing heart healthy recipes.

1. Replace eggs wih a cholesterol-free egg substitute. If you don't have a substitute on hand, you may use egg whites. According to the American Heart Association, two egg whites may be substituted for a whole egg in baking recipes.

2. Use fat free (skim) milk. This one change saves you calories and lowers your cholesterol level.

3. Choose non-fat cheese. For better melting Dr. Richard Collins, author of The Cooking Cardiologist, recommends soaking the cheese in milk for a few minutes before adding it to recipes.

4. Add fiber -- fresh fruit, dried fruit, vegetables, and grains -- whenever possible. Fiber is good for you and fills you up.

5. Cook with plant oils, such as olive, corn, and canola. If you're sauteing food, add a teaspoon of butter to the oil for flavor. Use as little oil as possible.

6. Swap unsweetened applesauce for shortening in baking recipes. But cooking is chemistry and, for best results, you may have to add a teaspoon of oil.

7. Hold the salt. Excess salt raises your blood pressure. Insstead of salt Mayo Clinic recommends citrus zest, fresh and dried herbs. To bring out the flavor of dried herbs rub them with your fingers before adding them to the recipe.

8. Cut back on sugar. Recipes made with half the sugar may taste just as sweet. Instead of sugar you may use Splenda, a no-calorie sweetener made from sugar, or half Splenda and half sugar.

9. Go lean on protein. Buy lean cuts of beef, skinless chicken, extra lean chops and fish. Some recipes, like spaghetti sauce with mushrooms, may not need protein at all.

10. Eat normal (not supersized) servings. According to the Univesity of Missouri Extension Service, large servings add up to 200-500 calories a day, which can add up to 20-50 extra pounds a year.

A few ingredient changes can have a huge impact on your heart health. Before you know it these swaps will be automatic. The heart is your body's main pump so take care of it.

Harriet Hodgson has been a nonfiction writer for 26 years and is a member of the Association of Health Care Journalists. Her latest book, Smiling Through Your Tears: Anticipating Grief, written with Lois Krahn, MD, is availble on http://www.amazon.com. Go to http://www.harriethodgson.com for more information on her work. Hodgson is hard at work on her next book, Doctor in the House: An Inside Look at Medical Marriage.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Harriet_Hodgson

Frugal Microwave Cooking

2008-05-07T11:09:00.000-07:00

Microwave cooking can save you time and energy all year long. But it is especially nice in summer because it enables you to cook hot meals without heating up your home.

Microwave heat is produced only within the food, so the microwave oven stays cool and your house does, too, saving you money on your air conditioning bill!

In general, the microwave oven uses only one- fourth of the energy used by a conventional oven.

In order to get the most from using your microwave oven, remember these tips:

1. Covering most foods will speed up cooking.

2. Use round or oval dishes, instead of square or rectangle, for more even cooking.

3. If you are cooking two foods at the same time, choose foods that take about the same amount of time to cook.

4. Heating continues after food is removed from the microwave oven, so allow time for this additional cooking.

5. Arrange chicken pieces so that the thicker, meatier portions are toward the outside of the dish and the thin, bony parts are toward the center.

6. Foods containing sugar and fats cook faster.

Many of your family's favorite recipes can be converted to a microwave recipe.

To figure microwave cooking time, start with one- fourth of the conventional time.

Always undercook--if more time is needed, you can always add another minute or two.

Use less liquid because there is not as much evaporation.

It may help to find a recipe that is similar to yours that is written especially for microwave ovens and use it as a guide.

SWISS STEAK

3 tbsp. flour 1 lb. beef round steak, 3/4 inch thick 3 tbsp. dry onion soup mix - shake mix before measuring 1 tbsp. brown sugar 3 tbsp. water 1 tsp. prepared mustard 1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce

Sprinkle half of flour on one side of meat; pound in with rolling pin or meat mallet. Turn meat and sprinkle with remaining flour; pound with rolling pin. Cut into 4 serving size pieces.

Arrange in 8 inch round microwave baking dish.

In small bowl, combine all remaining ingredients, b lend well. Pour over meat. Cover tightly with microwave safe plastic wrap. Microwave on medium for 12 to 17 minutes or until meat is almost tender. Let stand tightly covered for 10 minutes. Serves 4 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Steamed Veggies

Vegetable (green beans,carrots, broccoli, whatever) Small amount of water (about 1/4 to 1/2 cup)

Put veggies and water in a microwave-safe container and cover with microwave-safe plastic wrap,loosely, so steam can escape.

Cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute at time, until done to desired tenderness.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Microwave Raspberry Cake

1/2 cup butter 2/3 cup granulated sugar 1/2 cup seedless raspberry preserves 1/4 cup sour cream 2 eggs 1 1/2 cups flour 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon salt

Cream butter and sugar in large bowl. Mix in preserves. Blend well. Add sour cream and eggs. Beat well. Blend together flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Add gradually to first mixture, beating well.

Pour batter into greased 8-inch round microwave-safe dish. Microwave on full power for 4 to 5 minutes or until top springs back when pressed with finger.

Cool. Frost with Raspberry Frosting.

Raspberry Frosting

2 tablespoons butter 2 cups powdered sugar, divided 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/4 cup seedless raspberry preserves

Combine butter, 1 cup powdered sugar, vanilla extract and preserves. Blend well. Add remaining 1 cup powdered sugar and stir until smooth. Spread on cake. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Cyndi Roberts is the editor of the "1 Frugal Friend 2 Another" bi-weekly newsletter and founder of the website of the same name. Visit http://www.cynroberts.com to find creative tips, articles, and a free e-cooking book. Subscribe to the newsletter and receive the free e-course "Taming the Monster Grocery Bill".

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Cyndi_Roberts

Serendipity Frozen Hot Chocolate

2008-05-06T15:09:00.001-07:00

Serendipity frozen hot chocolate is a signature dish at the Serendipity 3, nestled in the heart of the upper east side of New York. The place is a general store and restaurant combined with a coffeehouse and soda fountain and serves the most famous dessert in New York.

Serendipity New York was founded by Stephen Bruce and his two partners, Calvin Holt and Preston “Patch” Caradine in 1954. Since that time Stephen Bruce has been asked constantly to divulge his secret about his Serendipity frozen hot chocolate recipe. Jackie Kennedy even wanted to serve the dessert at a White House event and he would not give his secret away.

Serendipity frozen hot chocolate is an icy-chocolate type of dessert served in a fishbowl-shaped goblet, topped with whipped cream, shaved chocolate and served with a spoon and two straws. This frosty creation is made with more than 14 kinds of chocolate and exotic cocoas blended into a rich slush.

One taste of this frozen concoction and Oprah wants to “dance on the chandeliers!” The Queen of Daytime TV has named this one of her “Favorite Things.” This Serendipity frozen hot chocolate secret recipe has finally been revealed after 50 years. The Serendipity 3 restaurant in New York City has actually given out the recipe so you can make this unbelievable drink at home. It’s very simple.

Serendipity frozen hot chocolate recipe created by Serendipity 3 Restaurant.

INGREDIENTS

6 half-ounce pieces of a variety of your favorite chocolates

2 teaspoons of store-bought hot chocolate mix

1 1/2 tablespoons sugar

1 1/2 cups milk

3 cups of cups of ice

Whipped cream

Chocolate shavings

Chop the chocolate into small pieces. Place it in the top of a double boiler over simmering water. Stir occasionally until melted. Add the hot chocolate mix and sugar. Stir until completely melted. Remove from heat and slowly add ½ cup of milk until smooth. Cool to room temperature.

In a blender, place the remaining cup of milk, the room-temperature chocolate mixture and the ice. Blend on high speed until smooth and the consistency of a frozen daiquiri. Pour into a giant goblet and top with whipped cream and chocolate shavings.

To make this even more simple you can buy a Serendipity Frozen Hot Chocolate gift box on line. It comes in a whimsical box that includes two pouches (four servings) of the chocolate-cocoa blend mix, one signature goblet, a souvenir spoon and colorful straws. Just add milk, the chocolate mix, lots of ice and blend. It makes a perfect gift for any chocolate lover or splurge and buy one for yourself. You're worth it.

This article is supplied by Best-Coffee-Makers-Online.com where you can easily shop and compare coffee makers so you can purchase exactly what you’re looking for at great values.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gary_Gresham

Juniors Cheesecake

2008-05-06T15:08:00.000-07:00

Juniors cheesecake restaurant was founded in 1950 by Harry Rosen, and named Juniors after his two sons, Walter and Marvin. Harry and Eigel Peterson, the master baker, hit upon the secret formula for Juniors cheesecake recipe and it has been part of the Rosen family for three generations.

Juniors cheesecake New York is located in Brooklyn and is a favorite restaurant of many New Yorkers. It was rated #1 by New York Magazine in the 1970’s and people started to come from all over for an award-winning slice. In 1982, Governor Mario Cuomo declared May 27th as Junior’s Restaurant Day.

In 1989 Juniors cheesecake became available through mail-order and can now be ordered online. It can be shipped frozen anywhere in the United States. Each 8” large Juniors cheesecake arrives in a special, stay-fresh container guaranteeing freshness.

Today people still come from all over to have their favorite slice of famous cheesecake. For over 50 years the saying is still true: You haven’t lived until you’ve had cheesecake at Juniors.

For those of you that want the juniors cheesecake recipe here is the Famous No. 1 Juniors cheesecake recipe.

Pure Cream Cheesecake -- "The Best of the Best"

1 recipe Thin Sponge Cake Layer (see below)

For Cream Cheese Filling:
4 (8-ounce) packages regular cream cheese, at room temperature
1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 extra-large large eggs
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream

1. Preheat the oven to 350*F (180*C) and generously butter a 9-inch spring form pan. Make the batter for the sponge cake as the recipe directs. Evenly spread the batter on the bottom of the pan and bake just until set and golden, about 10 minutes. Place the cake on a wire rack to cool (don't remove it from the pan).

2. While the cake cools, make the cream cheese filling: Place one 8-ounce package of the cream cheese, 1/3 cup of the sugar, and the cornstarch in a large bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed until creamy, about 3 minutes. Then beat in the remaining 3 packages of cream cheese.

3. Increase the mixer speed to high and beat in the remaining 1 1/3 cups of the sugar, then beat in the vanilla. Blend in the eggs, one at a time, beating the batter well after adding each one. Blend in the heavy cream. At this point mix the filling only until completely blended (just like they do at Junior's). Be careful not to over mix the batter.

4. Gently spoon the cheese filling on top of the baked sponge cake layer. Place the spring form pan in a large shallow pan containing hot water that comes about 1-inch up the sides of the pan. Bake the cheesecake until the center barely jiggles when you shake the pan, about 1 hour.

5. Cool the cake on a wire rack for 1 hour. Then cover the cake with plastic wrap and refrigerate until it's completely cold, at least 4 hours or overnight. Remove the sides of the spring form pan. Slide the cake off the bottom of the pan onto a serving plate. Or if you wish, simply leave the cake on the removable bottom of the pan and place it on a serving plate. If any cake is left over, cover it with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator.

Thin Sponge Cake Layer for Cheesecake

One suggestion: keep an eye on this cake while it bakes. There's not much batter, so it needs only about 10 minutes of baking -- only enough time for the cake to turn light golden and set on the top.

1/2 cup cake flour, sifted
1 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
3 extra-large eggs, separated
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 drops pure lemon extract
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

1. Preheat the oven to 350*F (180*C) and generously butter a 9-inch spring form pan. Sift the cake flour, baking powder and salt together in a medium-sized bowl and set aside.

2. Beat the egg yolks together in a large bowl with an electric mixer on high speed for 3 minutes. Then, with the mixer still running, gradually add the 1/3 cup of the sugar and continue beating until thick light-yellow ribbons form in the bowl, about 5 minutes more. Beat in the vanilla and lemon extracts.

3. Sift the flour mixture over the batter and stir it in by hand until no more white flecks appear. Then blend in the butter.

4. In a clean bowl, using clean dry beaters, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar together on high speed until frothy. Gradually add the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form (the whites should stand up in stiff peaks but not be dry). Stir about 1/3 cup of the whites into the batter, then gently fold in the remaining whites -- don't worry if a few white specks remain.

5. Gently spoon the batter into the pan. Bake the cake just until the center of the cake springs back when lightly touched, only about 10 minutes (watch carefully). Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack while you continue making the cheesecake filling. Do not remove the cake from the pan.

Serves 12 to 16.

Source: From the cookbook, "Welcome to Junior's! Remembering Brooklyn With Recipes and Memories from Its Favorite Restaurant".

Enjoy Juniors cheesecake one way or the other, you won’t be sorry.

This article is supplied by Best-Coffee-Makers-Online.com where you can easily shop and compare coffee makers so you can purchase exactly what you’re looking for at great values.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gary_Gresham

Swiss Chard - What Do I Do With That?

2008-05-06T15:07:00.000-07:00

Originally, all foods were “organic” – grown and prepared without pesticides, herbicides, chemical fertilizers, hormones, irradiation to prevent spoilage, and microwave cooking.

Our food these days, whether of vegetable or animal origin, is not only deficient in nutrients but also full of pollutants and farm chemicals. The modern denaturing of foods through massive refining and chemical treatment deeply affects their Energy qualities, making them devoid of the exact boost that we should be getting from our food.

Here is a great recipe for the summer using some yummy, organic Swiss Chard:

Organic Swiss Chard

1 or 2 bunches Organic Swiss chard
1/8 teaspoon Brittany sea salt
2 teaspoon Organic virgin olive oil
4 lemon wedges
1 Tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

1. This recipe works for many different cooking greens like: collard greens, turnip or beet tops, mustard greens, spinach, tat-soi, and rapini (broccoli rabe)

2. Wash chard well to remove all sand and remove all tough stems.

3. In a large saucepan, bring to a boil about 1/2 inch of water and drop in the Swiss chard leaves.

4. Return to a boil, cover and cook 2 to 3 minutes until leaves are tender.

5. Add salt and remove from heat.

6. Drain, reserving 1/4 cup of cooking liquid.

7. Add oil to the reserved liquid and pour desired amount over the chard before serving.

8. Serve each portion with a lemon wedge and sesame seeds.

9. Enjoy!

To your energy and success,

Energy~Nutrition Specialist Heather M. Dominick, "The Energy Expert," is author of the information packed 'EnergyRICH Lifestyle' weekly ezine. If you're ready to jump- start your energy, make effective changes, and have more fun in your life, get your FREE subscription and more EnergyRICH Tips at http://www.individual-health.net

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Heather_Dominick

Basic Quick Mix and Recipes

2008-05-06T15:06:00.000-07:00

With an easy basic quick mix, you can make a wide variety of inexpensive homemade biscuits, breads, and other baked goods. This mix is easy to make and store and great for any family on a tight budget.

Basic Quick Mix Recipe

10 c. all-purpose flour
1 1/4 c. nonfat dry milk
1/3 c. baking powder
1 tbsp. salt
2 c. vegetable shortening (room temperature)

Measure flour into a large bowl. Stir in baking powder, dry milk, and salt, mixing well. Use an electric mixer on medium speed to mix shortening into other ingredients until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal.

Storing mix:

Store basic quick mix in a ziploc bag or container with a tight lid. This mix can be stored at room temperature about 2 weeks. Will keep a couple of months in refrigerator or freezer. Bring mix to room temperature before using.

Using mix:

Do not sift mix for recipes. Stir lightly before measuring mix. When measuring mix into a bowl, level off measuring cup with the straight edge of a knife.

Basic Biscuits

2 c. basic quick mix
1/2 c. water

Stir together quick mix and water. Turn dough onto a lightly floured board, kneading lightly. Roll 1/2 inch thick. Cut with biscuit cutter and place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes.

Note: For drop biscuits, increase water to 2/3 cup. After mixing flour and water together, drop by spoonfuls onto a greased cookie sheet. 1/3 c. grated cheese can be added to dough before dropping onto cookie sheet.

Basic Muffins

2 c. basic quick mix
4 tsp. sugar
1 egg, beaten
2/3 c. water

Stir sugar into quick mix. Add water and egg. Fill greased muffin tins 2/3 c. full and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Variation: Add 1/2 c. of favorite chopped fruit.

Basic Pancakes

2 c. basic quick mix
1 tsp. sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 c. water

Stir sugar into quick mix. Add water and egg. Pour pancakes onto heated griddle, turning pancakes when bubbles appear on the pancake surface.

The Internet is a great source for more quick mix recipes. Just type "quick mix recipes" into your favorite search engine!

Rachel Paxton is a freelance writer and mom of four. For inspirational articles and tips for everyday living, visit her web sites at http://www.creativehomemaking.com and http://www.frugal-home-decor.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rachel_Paxton

New York Style Cheesecake Recipe

2008-05-06T15:04:00.000-07:00

New York style cheesecake recipes are made with a combination of cream cheese and Italian cheese cakes made with ricotta cheese. In the early 1920's, this particular silky style of cream cheese was developed in the New York area.

New York style cheesecake recipes were introduced by Jewish delicatessens in New York City. Arnold Reuben Jr., owner of the legendary Turf Restaurant at 49th and Broadway in New York City and a descendant of immigrants from Germany, claimed his family developed the first cream cheese cake recipe. Reuben’s cheesecake was so good, it won a Gold Metal at the 1929 World’s Fair.

The superior qualities that make Reuben’s classic New York style cheesecake are a graham cracker crust, a creamy texture, and distinct lemon flavor that is firm but light in density. Below you will find his Classic New York Style Cheesecake recipe.

Classic New York Cheesecake

Crust:

Heavily coat 10-inch spring form pan with cooking spray

1 1/2 cups commercial graham cracker crumbs

5 Tbsp. butter

1 tsp. honey

1/4 cup sugar

Mix ingredients together with hands until well blended and crumbs appear moist. Pour into pan. With hands, spread evenly across the bottom and pat down firmly.

Filling:

5 8-ounce bars cream cheese, at room temperature

2 Tbsp. flour

1 Tbsp. confectioners' sugar

11/2 cups sugar

grated rind of 1 lemon

1/2 tsp. orange liqueur

3/4 tsp. vanilla

2 egg yolks at room temperature

5 eggs at room temperature

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place first five ingredients in large mixing bowl and beat on high until they are completely blended. Add vanilla and 2 yolks, and beat again. Add eggs one at a time, beating well. Pour into prepared pan. Batter will fill pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Top will be golden. Lower oven temperature to 200 degrees and bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until top browns, cake feels bouncy to the touch, and a toothpick tests clean. Cool to room temperature. Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Yield: 16-20 slices

The history of cheesecake is believed to have originated in ancient Greece. The first recorded mention of cheesecake was when it was served to the athletes during the first Olympic Games held in 776 BC. Centuries later, cheesecake appeared in America. The recipes were brought over by the immigrants.

If you ask a New Yorker, the only true cheesecake makers and connoisseurs are in New York. Every New York restaurant has their own version and thus the cheesecake from New York has been re-named New York cheesecake.

I hope you enjoy this New York style cheesecake recipe.

This article is supplied by Best-Coffee-Makers-Online.com where you can easily shop and compare coffee makers so you can purchase exactly what you’re looking for at great values.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gary_Gresham

Home Made Ice Cream Recipe for Coffee Can Ice Cream

2008-05-06T09:02:00.001-07:00

The very best thing about having birthday cake is the ice cream that goes along with it. This delicious home made ice cream recipe can be made with a few simple ingredients and a couple of coffee cans.

Learn how to make your own yummy blend! It's so easy to make and fun to eat! A great hands-on kids party activity!

There's always room for ice cream. (That's my motto!)

Home Made Ice Cream Recipe

1 lb. Coffee Can
3 lb. Coffee Can
1/2 cup Rock salt
1 pint Half and Half
1 1/2 tsps. Vanilla
1/3 cup + 2 tblsps. Sugar

For flavored ice cream, choose one:

3 tblsps. of your favorite flavor of instant pudding
1/3 cup of fruit (such as, bananas, strawberries, peaches)
3 of your favorite cookies, crushed into pea-size pieces
1/4 cup finely chopped nuts

METHOD:

Mix the first three basic ingredients together and pour into the one pound coffee can. Add flavorings if desired. Place the lid on securely and set inside the three pound can.

Add ice, and alternate layers of ice and salt outside the small can and inside the large can. When totally full, secure the lid on the large can. You may wish to add duct tape for good measure.

Now here comes the fun part! Place a sheet on the floor or wrap the can in a large towel. Let party guests roll the can back and forth for at least 10 minutes. Open the cans and check the ice cream.

If it is not starting to freeze, replace lids and roll 10 minutes more. The ice cream should be frozen to the sides and bottom of the can. If not thick enough, place in freezer and check every 10 minutes or so.

YIELD: 2 cups ice cream

Note: This recipe can be effected by temperature, humidity, and other environmental factors, so make a trial run before attempting in a group setting.

Patricia B. Jensen is a mother of three and kids party enthusiast. She is the webmaster and owner of Kids-Party-Paradise.com - a complete resource for kids party ideas including invitations, cakes, decorations, games, costumes, favors, and food.

For all the latest party news, read her Kids Party Blog

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Patricia_Jensen

Kid Party Food - Without the Stress!

2008-05-06T09:00:00.002-07:00

Kid party food doesn’t have to take hours to prepare or completely blow your budget. When it comes to kids and party food, variety and presentation are the answer.

Rather than cooking a few specialty dishes, aim for serving lots of small dishes of fun and kid-friendly finger foods.

Try to serve mainly savory foods and only a few sweet treats. This will help avoid the dreaded sugar highs. Here are a few time-tested party food tips.

Presenting Kid Party Food - Make it fun, fun, fun!

Honestly, it really doesn’t matter what you serve as long as you wow them with the presentation. You want the kids to see the table, light up and rush to their seats. Okay… so how do you do that?

1. Plenty of color - Use colorful kid tableware, balloons, serving bowls, etc.

2. Plenty of variety - Serve lots of small bowls or plates containing a selection of different finger foods such as cut fruit, bread sticks, mini muffins, mini wraps, crackers, cheese, etc.

3. Serve Fun Foods - You can easily turn the most normal foods into fun kid foods. Cut sandwiches with fun cookie cutter shapes to make them more interesting or roll them into pinwheels, cup up a selection of veggies and fruit and serve with a colorful dip. Also make all foods kid size. Cut everything from pizzas to hotdogs into small bite size pieces. This will make it easier to eat and be more fun.

4. Personalize - I’ve found that using table setting tags with individual names doesn’t work as kids will just rush to find the first seat available. Instead tie a plain balloon to each chair and using a black marker write each child’s name on a balloon in large letters. Make a game out of each child finding their seat.

5. Keep it interesting - Play a calm game at the table. For older kids have each one take turns in telling their favorite foods or a funny joke. Sing or play songs for younger kids.

So what do you serve?

Here are some top favorite kid party food ideas:

Fun mini sandwiches and wraps.

Cut up fruit and veggies with dip.

Breadsticks and chocolate sprinkle dip.

Pizza fingers, chicken finger, fish fingers… anything fingers!

Potato wedges or mini baked potatoes.

A selection of small savory crackers, dried fruit, and a few chocolate chips will make a fun trail mix.

Mini muffins.

Classic cheese and crackers with baby tomatoes in the center of plate .

Small meatballs (chicken, pork or beef all work well).

With a little imagination you can turn most foods in your kitchen cupboards into kid party food. Also, don’t go overboard in the amount of food you provide. Most kids are so excited by the actual party they will only lightly pick at their party food… no matter how yummy it is.

So take it easy, prepare lots of quick finger foods, present it nicely and most of all enjoy the day!

Mila Sidman is a mom of three and the creator of http://www.easy-kid-recipes.com - A leading website providing simple, kid-friendly recipes, nutritional information, meal planning tips, fun kid cooking projects and much more.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mila_Sidman

Homemade BBQ Sauce Recipes

2008-05-06T09:00:00.001-07:00

What makes great homemade BBQ sauce recipes? Well, it could be the time and love that you put into making this delectable barbeque sauce for your family to enjoy, or it could be the fresh ingredients that you use.

The barbecue that you create is what make your meals so tasty and wonderful. The main ingredients in all barbeque sauces are either tomato sauce or a combination of tomato puree and tomatoes. Knowing this you should be able to create some of your own recipes that will be enjoyed and passed down through your family.

The easiest BBQ sauce can be prepared very quickly. You will need 2 cups of your favorite ketchup, 2 chopped onions, ¼ cup of apple cider vinegar, 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce, ¼ cup of brown sugar, and chili powder to taste. Sautee the onions and then add the remainder of the ingredients. Cook on low heat for around 15 minutes until the mixture thickens. Then brush on your favorite meat.

You can also add or substitute the above ingredients to create some very unique barbeque sauces on your own. You may prefer to add items such as peppers for a nice flavor or even Tabasco sauce for a hotter style.

Now, you can choose your flavorings and spices to add to the tomato sauce. You can use tomato sauce or tomato puree with a whole tomatoes. Try pineapple juice or orange juice for a tropical flavor or add liquid smoke flavoring for that outdoors flavor. You can even use molasses or your favorite pancake syrup to enhance the style of your bbq sauce. Don’t just think simple, try the various flavors such as maple or butter pecan to add a new and unique flavor. Either way you are sure to find a delectable recipe that you cook-out party will love.

You are free to publish the above article in your ezine or website, provided credit in the form of an (HTML clickable) hyperlink is given to the author.

Hans is author of http://www.steaks-guide.com/ and the barbeque and grill section of http://www.patio-furniture-ideas.com/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Hans_Dekker

What's So Great About Slow Cooking Anyway?

2008-05-06T08:59:00.000-07:00

As I walked through the grocery store aisles a few weeks ago, I noticed the increase in prepackaged slow cooker meals. I’ve been using my slow cooker and reaping the rewards for years, so it was no real surprise to me when others started proclaiming the benefits of cooking with a crock pot. Why did it take the rest of the country so long to catch up? With this increase in popularity, I’ve recently been asked by a few ‘newbies’ ‘What’s so great about slow cooking anyway?’

That’s an easy question to answer even if all you’ve ever done is make chicken stew with your slow cooker. It’s just so dang simple and the food tastes better when cooked slowly and evenly in a crock pot.

I’m a work at home mom. I operate a Family Child Care and also have a busy online business, both of which keep me going all day long. That on top of my daughter’s activities and the in and out nature of my husband’s business, we’re usually searching for time to sit down and eat, especially eating together as a family. There’s where the slow cooker comes in handy. I have tons of slow cooker recipes, and can find just about anything to cook that my kids and picky husband will like to eat.

Since I work at home, having the kitchen stay a comfortable temperature is a must, as I spend quite a bit of time there preparing meals and snacks for my day care kids. I use my crock pot year round, and love its usefulness during the warm weather months when I can fix the beginnings of the meal in the morning when I’ve got other ‘stuff’ out on the counter anyway, put it all in the pot, and then clean up the whole mess when I’m done. The crock pot requires very little clean up itself, so there you have yet another major reason for why slow cooking is so great.

For those of you who work away from home, consider this scenario: As the day goes along, the slow cooker is busy fixing your meal for you, and when you walk through the door at the end of another grueling day at work, your dinner is waiting. All you need to do, depending on the recipe you’ve selected, is prepare a side dish or salad, add some bread, set the table, and call the family in to eat. Simple, simple, simple; and very satisfying to come home to.

Here is a favorite slow cooker recipe that you can try with your family. I’m sure you’ll all love it.

Country-Style Crock Pot Chicken

6 carrots, sliced

6 celery stalks, sliced

8 chicken pieces

1 can (10-3/4 oz) cream of chicken soup, undiluted

1 envelope dry onion soup mix

1/3 c or chicken broth

2 tsp cornstarch

Slice vegetables place in crock pot. Place chicken on vegetables. Spread undiluted soup over chicken. Sprinkle dry onion soup mix. Do not add any water. Cook on High 4 hours, or until chicken is done. Stir often, but leave that lid on during cooking! 10 minutes before serving, mix broth and cornstarch. Pour over chicken, stir well. Serves 4.

About the Author: Sherry Frewerd is a busy work at home mom of 3. Visit her website for delicious slow cooker recipes http://familycrockpotrecipes.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sherry_Frewerd

Apples of Love

2008-05-06T08:58:00.001-07:00

If the Spanish conquistadors had known what they were onto when they brought tomatoes to the old world in the sixteenth century, they wouldn't have spent the rest of their careers searching for gold, because they had already found it. If any of them had any prescience at all, they would have simply opened a canning facility somewhere in the vicinity of Mount Vesuvius, and begun mining the gold that became known as pomodòri 'golden apples'.

By the time southern Italians began manufacturing pasta asciuta 'semolina pasta' in the late eighteenth century, inovative chefs had already invented dozens of preparations for tomatoes (also referred to pómi d'amore 'apples of love'). So when tomato sauce was introduced to pasta, it was indeed love at first sight. Pasta alla marinara was love at first sight for me, anyway.

But due to restrictions imposed by Mother Nature, we here in America can enjoy fresh, vine-ripened plum tomatoes for only about three months of the year. The rest of the time, we depend on the canned variety.

Of those tomatoes that find their way into cans, foodies and gourmets acknowledge those that come from the region of San Marzano to be the finest. There's a lot of talk about the volcanic soil of Calabria; the intensity of the sun in the region; even the name God works its way into the conversation from time to time. Nevertheless, the Italian government has taken the region seriously enough to give the local growers a D.O.C. (Denominazione d'Originata Controllata, or Government Certification).

But there's a knock-off artist lurking around every Cypress tree, and it wasn't too long before canned tomatoes labeled tipo di San Marzano, 'San Marzano-style' began appearing at Italian delis. The latest craze in the tomato game, is taking the seeds from San Marzano tomatoes, and growing them elsewhere in the world. I'm aware of a California grower who's doing well by marketing his tomatoes as having been grown from "San Marzano tomato seeds."

It is encouraging, though, that for the past several years, American growers have begun competing favorably against their Calabrian bretheren. Muir Glen, in Petaluma, CA., for example, grows wonderful organic tomatoes that are readily available at your local grocery super-store.

But there's a problem that crops up with canned tomatoes, especially if they come in unlined cans: they taste "canned." Tomatoes, being acid as they are, often interact with the metal, and absorb some of the metallic taste.

My Sicilian grandmother (and I'm sure her peers as well) solved this problem by adding grated carrot to her marinara sauce. I've seen some validation of this technique in recipes from Mario Batali, and recently, from Pino Luongo in his cookbook, "Simply Tuscan." In fact, Mr. Luongo goes so far as to include a stalk of celery too.

Here in Connecticut, we're probably two and a half months away from picking the first plum tomato. But wouldn't it be great to go to a farmer's market, and see that someone there is selling plum tomatoes grown from San Marzano seeds.

And here is the most requested recipe from the archives of my first Web site, www.northend.com; my grandmother's tomato sauce. (reprinted from my first cookbook, La Cucina dei Poveri). Buon appetito.

Salsa di Pomodoro
My Grandmother's Tomato Sauce

Ingredients:

Olive Oil
4 Cloves garlic, peeled, and thinly sliced
2 28 oz. Cans peeled tomatoes (preferably San Marzano)
1 Small carrot, finely shredded
1/2 tsp. Red pepper flakes
2 Tbs. Fresh oregano, finely chopped
2 Tbs. Fresh basil, finely chopped
1/4 Cup Flat leaf Italian parsley, finely chopped
Salt & freshly ground black pepper

Preparation:

Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat, then add enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Add the garlic, and sauté, shaking the pan for about one minute, until the garlic begins to give up its aroma.

Remove the pan from the heat and add the tomatoes. Return the pan to the heat and begin to break the tomatoes with either the back of a fork, or a wooden spoon. Lower the heat to medium-low and simmer the tomatoes to evaporate some of the liquid, then add the carrot, the red pepper flakes and the oregano.

Simmer gently for about twenty minutes, or until the sauce has thickened and the clear liquid from the tomatoes has evaporated. Add the parsley and season with salt and pepper.

Makes approximately 1 1/2 Quarts

Skip Lombardi is the author of two cookbooks: "La Cucina dei Poveri: Recipes from my Sicilian Grandparents," and "Almost Italian: Recipes from America's Little Italys." He has been a Broadway musician, high-school math teacher, software engineer, and a fledgeling blogger. But he has never let any of those pursuits interfere with his passion for cooking and eating. Visit his Web site to learn more about his cookbooks. http://www.skiplombardi.com or mailto:info@skiplombardi.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Skip_Lombardi

How to Prepare the Perfect Garlic Lemon Chicken

2008-05-06T08:55:00.000-07:00

If you want to prepare the perfect garlic lemon chicken then you should try this recipe. This is one of the easiest and best recipes around for creating delicious garlic lemon chicken.

Let’s get all of the ingredients together that you will need to prepare this wonderful chicken dish. You can either purchase a whole chicken and then cut it into pieces or just buy the cuts that your family enjoys such as chicken thighs or breasts. You will also need 10 cloves of minced garlic, 4 tablespoons of margarine, 3 large lemons, 1 teaspoon of dried oregano, salt, pepper, and parsley.

You should begin by preheating your broiler. Take your chicken and rinse underwater and skin, then rinse again well under cold water and place in a large baking dish. Squeeze the lemons and reserve the juice.

Sprinkle about one half of the garlic over the chicken and dab ½ of the margarine on various spots on the chicken. Pour ½ of the juice from the lemons on your chicken, and season with the oregano, salt, and pepper. Broil for about 15 minutes, remember to baste quite often.

Remove and turn the chicken, add the remaining of the ingredients just like you did before broiling for the first time. Now you will need to broil your chicken again for another 15 minutes. Remember, to baste your chicken so it does not burn. If the chicken starts to become too crispy, you can change from broil to bake and bake at 350 degrees until the chicken is completely done. Remove the chicken from the oven and pour the remaining sauce from the baking dish over your chicken and serve.

Everyone will absolutely love this garlic chicken dish. Serving suggestions would be whipped potatoes and a garden salad.

Hans is an editor of Steaks, Seafood and Barbeque Recipes; http://www.Steaks-Guide.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Hans_Dekker

Save Time with No-Bake Cookies

2008-05-05T22:24:00.000-07:00

Whether you don't want to heat up the kitchen or the demands of getting the kids out the door are upon you, it's nice to have a few no-bake cookie recipes on hand. We thought we would share some of our favorites with you.

Cranberry Coconut Bars

This first recipe, Cranberry Coconut Bars, is more of a big kid cookie-it has too much fruit and too many nuts in it to suit most youngsters. But it so scrumptious and easy, we had to include it. If you are making a lunch for a spouse or a teenager, we think this will be a hit. Of course, it doesn't have to go in a lunch pail.

This is a microwave cookie that can be mixed right in the baking pan. How's that for convenience?

If you are not fond of dried cranberries, consider substituting dates, raisins, or chopped apricot pieces in this recipe.

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 cup quick rolled oats

1/4 cup light corn syrup

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut

1/2 cup walnut pieces

Directions

1. Place butter in an 8-inch square, microwave-safe baking dish. Microwave until the butter is melted.

2. Stir in the brown sugar until dissolved. Stir in the rest of the ingredients. Press the mixture firmly into the dish.

3. Microwave for three to five minutes or until lightly browned. If your microwave does not have a rotating carousel, rotate the dish twice during cooking.

4. Let the cookies cool and then cut them into bars with a sharp knife. Wrap them individually to pack in a lunch.

This recipe will make sixteen 2 x 2-inch squares.

This next recipe makes a great kid cookie. It's almost confection-like but is so packed with energy and hearty oats that you won't mind giving your youngster a few. This cookie is best with a tall glass of milk.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Drops

This is a range-top cookie. Because it is a no-baker and so full of energy, it makes a great camping cookie.

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup butter

1/3 cocoa

2 1/2 cup quick oats

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Combine sugar, milk, butter, and cocoa in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture comes to a boil. Cook for two more minutes stirring constantly and then remove the pan from the heat.

2. Stir in the peanut butter and vanilla, then the oats.

3. Let cool for several minutes and then drop spoonfuls onto waxed paper. Let the cookies cool completely before removing them from the waxed paper.

More No-Bakers

When thinking of no-bake cookies, don't forget the perennial favorites, Rice Krispie Treats and Frosted Graham Crackers. We're assuming everyone has the recipe for Rice Krispie Treats. Consider adding chocolate chips, dried fruit pieces, or cinnamon candies for a little pizzazz.

To make Chocolate Rice Krispie Treats, melt 2/3 cup chocolate chips (for a recipe calling for six cups of cereal) with the marshmallows and butter. This is a real favorite-our kids like these more than regular Rice Krispie Treats and they are no more difficult to make.

For Frosted Graham Crackers, simply pick your favorite frosting and sandwich that between two graham cracker squares. Pick a frosting with a powdered-sugar base that will set up firm and won't be messy.

Dennis Weaver is the author of "How to Bake", a free 250-page e-book. Which is free at The Prepared Pantry The Prepared Pantry sells bread mixes and other baking mixes and offers a free Bread Center with recipes and techniques.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dennis_R_Weaver

How to Make Kaiser Rolls

2008-05-05T22:23:00.001-07:00

Want to impress your family and friends at the next gathering? Serve sandwiches on Kaiser Rolls. They'll look so professional--like they came from the bakery. You don't have to tell them how easy they were. If you can make dinner rolls, you can make Kaiser Rolls.

You can make Kaiser Rolls out of any lean bread dough but if you would like to make your rolls from a mix, we suggest using our Sunday Dinner Rolls. Simply leave the butter out and add another half-tablespoon of water.

A Kaiser Roll is merely a lean roll, specially shaped, and baked in a steamy oven to make it crusty. Choose a recipe or mix for a lean bread dough-or leave the butter or oil out of the recipe. Make per the directions for rolls including letting the dough rise the first time.

Here's how to shape the rolls:

Step 1:

Cut a piece of dough off about twice what you would use for a dinner roll. (We scale the dough at 3.5 ounces for our sandwich rolls.) Roll the dough out into a rope about eight inches long.

Step 2:

Form a simple over-hand knot in the center of the dough. Leave the knot loose; do not try to draw it tight. You will have two protruding ends a couple inches long.

Step 3:

Take one of the ends and continue it around the rope and push it down through the center hole. It should look like the picture to the right.

Step 4:

Take the other end of the dough, go around the rope, and push the end up through the center hole. The finished roll should look like the one to the right.

It's more complicated to try to describe the forming process than it is to form the rolls. After the first couple, you'll breeze right through without even thinking.

Now let the formed rolls rise covered on a baking sheet. When they are ready to bake, brush them with a whisked egg and one tablespoon water, then sprinkle them with sesame or poppy seeds. You can bake them as you would dinner rolls but if you would like crusty roll like true Kaiser Rolls, follow the direction for baking breads in a steamy oven.

To form the thick, chewy crust that is typical of artisan breads, follow these instructions: Place a large, shallow, metal pan in the oven on the lowest shelf. You will pour hot water in this pan to create steam in the oven. High heat is hard on pans so don't use one of your better pans. An old sheet pan is ideal. Fill a spray bottle with water. You will use this to spray water into the oven to create more steam.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. When the oven is hot and the bread is fully risen and is soft and puffy--being very careful not to burn yourself with the rising steam and with a mitted hand--pour about two cups of very hot water in the pan in the oven. Quickly close the oven door to capture the steam. With spray bottle in hand, open the door and quickly spray the oven walls and close the door.

Immediately put the bread in the steamy oven. After a few moments, open the door and spray the walls again to recharge the steam. Do this twice more during the first ten minutes of baking. This steamy environment will create the chewy crust prized in artisan breads.

You can use this baking procedure for crusty hearth breads also. For rolls, bake for ten minutes at 450 degrees then lower the temperature to 350 degrees until done. How long you will bake them will depend on how quickly your oven loses heat but it will probably be about ten additional minutes (a total of 20 minutes). As for all hearth breads, the internal temperature of your crusty rolls should be about 210 degrees. (If crusty rolls are not well baked, the internal moisture will migrate to the crust and make it soft.)

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dennis_R_Weaver

Low Fat Flaming Bananas Treat

2008-05-05T22:22:00.001-07:00

Nutritional Information: Serves 3, Fat: 8 g, Cal: 299, KJ: 1256, WW: 5 Points

This is yet another one of my favourite low fat banana recipes. You can impress your guests with your culinary skills when cooking this one! (It's just amazing how a little bit of fire on your food can mesmerise your audience... but try not to set yourself on fire, as this may scare your guests!)

Low fat flaming bananas are the type of low fat snack or dessert you can prepare to impress your guests, date, signifant other, the kids, or all of the above!

But perhaps the best feature of this recipe is that you not only get to enjoy its sweet and delicious taste, but you will derive pleasure in the process of making it.

As for nutrition benefits, bananas give you an instant, sustained and substantial energy boost, as well as fibre... and you know what fibre is good for... That's right! It is good for you! ;-)

Unfortunately, this is not a diebetic dessert recipe, as it contains sugar. And I wish I could tell you to substitute the sugar for artificial sweetener, but the truth is that bananas themselves contain three natural sugars: sucrose, fructose and glucose. So, if you are a diabetic, perhaps you should avoid this recipe (unless your doctor tells you otherwise, of course).

Ingredients:

Your shopping list for next shopping day should include the following:

2 Tbsp low fat butter
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp skim milk
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
2 bananas, peeled and sliced
2 Tbsp Rum
Low Fat ice cream (optional)

This is what you do:

Set aside the bananas, rum and low fat ice cream, and combine the rest of the ingredients in a large casserole.

Microwave on high until melted and bubbly for about 1 to 1½ minutes.

Next, add the bananas and microwave on high for about 1 minute, and stir.

Pour the rum into small custard cup, and nuke it in the microwave for about 20 seconds on high.

Now, this is the fun part...

Carefully (without burning your eye lashes, that is!) light with a match and pour over the banana mixture. Try not to let the flame last for too long, as this will actually burn the banana a bit, and you may not like the flavour.

If you wish, you can serve it over your low fat vanilla ice cream.

Visit http://www.Jeff-The-Skinny-Chef.Com and check out Jeff's growing collection of free low fat recipes, and articles on weight loss and healthy eating.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jeff_Rosales

Low Fat Banana Toasts

2008-05-05T22:21:00.000-07:00

I love bananas for breakfast.

I think bananas a convenient food that can be easily combined with other things to make delicious meals, especially for breakfast.

They are a rich source of potasium (an essential mineral for proper muscle and never funciont), fibre (great to avoid constipation and hemorroids), and high levels of fructose (which is a natural sugar, providing a quick release of energy into your blood source).

A banana french toast is a delicious quick low fat breakfast recipe that you can enjoy almost on a weekly basis (unless you go bananas and decide to have it everyday!)

Ingredients:

2 egg whites

1/2 cup of skim milk

1 mashed banana

1 tsp sweetener

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

8 slices of whole grain bread

1 Tbs low fat butter (Cannola based is best)

This is what you do:

First, whisk together the egg whites, skim milk, banana, sweetener and cinnamon till mixed well.

Then, soak the bread slices into the mix on both sides.

Next, coat a large nonstick frying pan with cannola oil spray.

Finally, melt the low fat butter, and add the soaked bread slices onto the pan till they turn golden.

Serve immediately, and top with a teaspoon of honey, or go to my website and get the low fat syrup recipe for this delicious dish.

2 toasts equal 1 serving.

How's that for a quick low fat breakfast recipe!?

For more of these delicious low fat recipes visit http://www.Jeff-The-Skinny-Chef.com. You'll find a growing collection of free delicious low fat recipes, articles on healthy eating, and weight loss.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jeff_Rosales

How to Make Your Own Low Fat Vanilla Ice Cream

2008-05-05T08:54:00.002-07:00

Sometimes, when you have set yourself in the weight loss journey, you may miss your old friends: snacks.

But life does not have to be miserable for you to lose weight. You can add flavour and colour to your life by learning a few smart eating recipes such as this delicious and easy-to-prepare low fat vanilla ice cream.

This recipe is ideal for diabetic people, as it contains no sugar, and it yieds only 3 grams of fat and only 60 kilocalories (250 kilo joules).

If you are in a Weight Watchers plan, that is the equivalent of 1 point per serving!

This is one of those recipes where the list of ingredients is longer than the actual preparation instructions. It is that easy!

In reality people should not have to eat like hermits (with food that tastes like cardboard!). You can prepare you own delicious meals and snacks, and this low fat dessert recipe is proof of that!

Ingredients:

2 tsp gelatine dissolved in 2 Tbsp hot water

300 ml chilled low fat evaporated milk

1 tsp vanilla essence

sugar-free sweetener (equivalent to 4 Tbsp sugar)

This is what you do:

Whisk all the ingredients, and pour into freezing trays till it goes hard. It will take a couple of hours, but the wait will pay off!

Tips: You can eat the ice cream on its own, or toping up your favorite fruit or fruit salad. You can also freeze it in ice cube trays and have little ice cream scoops as snacks.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

You need tasty meals to lose weight effortlessly. For more of these delicious low fat recipes visit http://www.Jeff-The-Skinny-Chef.com. You'll find a growing collection of free delicious low fat recipes, articles on healthy eating, and weight loss.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jeff_Rosales

Ribolitta: The Italian Way Of Having Your Five Veggies A Day!

2008-05-05T08:54:00.001-07:00

Ribollita is a delicious low fat Italian soup, a bit similar to the famous minestrone, but instead of pasta, you cook it with beans.

Ribollita is very filling, as you serve it on top of 2 bread slices and a cooking spoon of slightly fried spinach, and top all that with a tablespoon of low fat Parmesan cheese.

You can add bacon bits if you want, but you don't really need it. This delicious Italian soup is full of flavour and goodness.

Ribolita yields 3 WW points, but you may want to have a double ration and go for a sixer! You won't go for seconds or dessert after that! (and if you are... you shouldn't!).

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp olive oil

2 onions, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

2 Tbsp crushed garlic

2 celery sticks

1 fennel bulb, trimmed and chopped

2 large courgettes, thinly sliced

1 X 425 g (14 oz) can chopped tomates (with onion and basil, or any other combination you want)

1 Tbsp pesto

1 lt (4 cups) vegie stock

1 X 425 g borlotti beans, drained

Salt and pepper

8 slices of white bread

1/2 kg spinach

2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

1 Tbsp low fat grated Parmesan cheese

This is what you do:

Ok, first you heat one tsp of olive oil in a large pot, and add the onions, carrots, garlic, celery and fennel and stir for about 10 minutes.

After that, add the courgettes and keep stirring for another 2 minutes.

Next, add the tomatoes, pesto, stock and the beans and stir till boiling, and then simmer for about 30 minutes or so. By then, the vegies will be soft and tender.

Add salt and pepper.

Now prepare your seving dishes by placing a slice of bread in the bottom of the saucers.

Heat a frying pan, and add 2 tsp of extra virgin olive oil, and fry the spinach for about 2 minutes.

Spoon equal portions of spinach on the bread slices, and then laddle the soup on top of the bread and spinach.

Garnish with a Tbsp of low fat Parmesan cheese on each portion.

Ahhhhh! Magnifico!

For more of these delicious low fat recipes visit http://www.Jeff-The-Skinny-Chef.com. You'll find a growing collection of free delicious low fat recipes, articles on healthy eating, and weight loss.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jeff_Rosales

Healthy Yummy Bran Muffins

2008-05-05T08:53:00.003-07:00

An Individual Health Recipe to Enjoy

Too many people start their day with a muffin because it is easy to eat on the go.

Here is an alternative to store or street bought (and sugar loaded) muffins. Take a Sunday night and prepare yourself for the week. Your body will thank you and you will find yourself having an Energy Rich™ day versus and Energy Poor™ day.

For more information about enjoying an Energy Rich™ Lifestyle visit www.individual- health.net

Healthy Bran Muffin Recipe (Makes 16 muffins)

2 cups whole-wheat flour
1 1/2 cups raw bran
1 1/2 cups oat bran
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup Sucanat

1/2 cup honey
3 eggs, slightly beaten
2 cups rice or soy milk
1 tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. sea salt
1 cup carrot pulp (from juice machine)
2 medium apples, shredded
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 bananas, mashed
1 cup pecans or walnuts, chopped fine (optional)
1 cup raisins (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Beat oil, Sucanat, honey, carrot pulp, mashed bananas, shredded apples, eggs and milk together. Add the wheat and oat bran and let sit 10 minutes. Pre-mix the dry ingredients and fold into the bran mixture until just mixed (don't overmix). Add the pecans and raisins. Fill muffin tins with mixture (don't overfill) and bake for 20 minutes.

To your energy and success, Heather

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Heather_Dominick

Vegetarian Diet Tips: Make Your Vegetarian Diet A Balanced Diet!

2008-05-05T08:53:00.001-07:00

The world has opened eyes to the harmful side-effects of non-veg food like red meat and is now opening arms to Vegetarian Food. A very common myth found among common man is that vegetarian food doesnt provide you with necessary nutrients but a Vegetarian Diet, in no ways, is deprived of necessary nutrients, only if you have a balanced Vegetarian Diet. Make sure you eat a lot of fruits and dont follow particular monotonous meals.

Some Nutrients you dont come across normally in Vegetarian Diets are:-

a) Iron

b) Calcium

c) Zinc

d) Protein

e) Vitamin D

f) Vitamin B12

But you can always have vegetarian source for these nutrients. On a other side of the coin, there are a lots of benefits of Vegetarian Food (incomplete). They are rich in:

. You can Find Iron in the following Vegetarian Food items:- Cashews, tomato juice, rice, garbanzo beans (chick peas) and tofu.

. You can Find Calcium in the following Vegetarian Food items:- Dairy products, fortified soymilk, fortified orange juice, tofu and broccoli.

. You can find Zinc in the following Vegetarian Food items:- Whole grains (especially the germ and bran of the grain), nuts, tofu, leafy vegetables (lettuce, spinach, cabbage), root vegetables (onions, potatoes, carrots, celery, radishes), eggs and dairy products.

. You can find Protein in the following Vegetarian Food items:- Vegetarians must eat a variety of plant foods over the course of a day to get enough protein. Eg: Tempeh, miso lentils, tofu, nuts, seeds, and peas.

. You can find Vitamin D in the following Vegetarian Food items:- fortified cereals (or a small amount of sunlight) and Fortified milk and soymilk

. You can Vitamin B12 in the following Vegetarian Food items:- Tempeh, miso, eggs, dairy products, fortified soymilk and cereals.. Tempeh and miso are foods made from soybeans.

They are low in calories and fat and high in protein.

Know more about Balanced Diet at http://www.weightloss-health.com/balanced_diet.htm

About the Author: Ashley Green

For Healthy Diet Related Free Articles Directory your complete and most comprehensive family guide on Health.

Also get free sample low carb recipes, low fat recipes, low calorie recipes, low sodium recipes, low sugar recipes at Low Carb Recipes and Diet

If you wish to reproduce the above article you are welcome to do so, provided the article is reproduced in its entirety, including this resource box and LIVE link to our website.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ashley_Green

Stuffed Shrimp Recipes

2008-05-05T08:52:00.001-07:00

Stuffed shrimp recipes will help you celebrate any special occasion like a raise, a promotion or even an anniversary. These dishes are very elegant and very delectable. There are many different ways to prepare stuffed shrimp and several different ingredients that will have your tastebuds jumping for joy.

Many times stuffed shrimp recipes use other seafood ingredients like this one. This one uses clams for a great and tasty treat. For this recipe you will need:

1 pound of shrimp (peeled and de-veined),
¾ cup of cracker or bread crumbs,
3 tablespoons of melted butter or margarine,
1 small can of minced clams,
1/8 teaspoon of garlic powder,
1/3 cup of sweet sherry,
salt and pepper to taste.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. To start you will need to cut the shrimp down the middle and have it in the butterfly style, but leave the tails attached. Mix together the cracker or bread crumbs, butter, clams, garlic, salt and pepper. Stuff each shrimp with the mixture. Place the shrimp in a baking dish and pour the sherry around the shrimp. Bake for around 15 minutes until shrimp are transparent in the center.

Stuffed shrimp recipes are very popular and you will find several that use all kinds of spices and other ingredients to create wonderful and mouth watering meals. Just like this one. This one also uses crab meat. You will need:

shrimp,
¼ cup of milk,
1 egg,
¼ cup of cracker or bread crumbs,
1 pound of crab meat,
1 teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce,
1 teaspoon of hot sauce,
1 teaspoon of dried mustard,
1 teaspoon of miracle whip,
2 cubed slices of bread,
1 small onion chopped,
½ cup of green bell pepper, and
½ cup of melted butter or margarine.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Prepare the shrimp as you did in the recipe above in the butterfly style leaving the tails attached. Stir together the egg and milk. Mix together the crabmeat, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, mustard, mayo, bread cubes, salt and pepper. Sauté the onions and green pepper in a small amount of butter, and then add to the crab mixture. Now, dip the shrimp into the egg mixture and place in a baking dish. Top each shrimp with the crab mixture and bake for 40 minutes.

You are sure to enjoy stuffed shrimp recipes and so will your dinner guests. They are easy to prepare and a joy to eat.

Hans is author of Seafood Recipes at http://www.steaks-guide.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Hans_Dekker

Shrimp Scampi Recipes

2008-05-04T15:57:00.001-07:00

Many people have different ideas on how to prepare great shrimp scampi recipes as you will see below. Some of the ingredients are the same and usually it is served with pasta. The type of pasta that you serve with your dish is up to your own taste.

Here are two shrimp scampi recipes that do vary in style. For the first one you will need:

2 pounds of shrimp,
¾ pound of melted butter or margarine,
3 chopped green onions,
4 tablespoons of crushed garlic cloves,
¼ cup of lemon juice,
½ cup of dry bread crumbs,
1 egg,
1 teaspoon of seasoning salt,
2 teaspoons of hot sauce and salt and pepper to taste.

Be sure to clean and de-vein your shrimp. Preheat your broiler. Cut them into a butterfly style. Place them in a large pan. Now, combine the butter, green onions, garlic, lemon juice, bread crumbs, and egg, seasoning salt, hot sauce, salt and pepper. Now place this mixture by spoonfuls over the shrimp. Broil for around 5 minutes until done.

Other shrimp scampi vary also in the ingredients but are just as tasty as the one above. For this recipe you will need:

1 pound of thin spaghetti noodles,
1/3 cup of olive oil or vegetable oil,
2 pounds of shrimp,
1 tablespoon of chopped garlic,
¼ teaspoon of crushed peppers,
¼ cup of chopped green onions,
1 cup of diced mushrooms,
¼ cup of white wine,
¼ cup of butter,
salt and pepper to taste.

To prepare you need to cook the pasta until it is al dente, usually around 3 to 5 minutes, drain and set aside. In a large skillet, heat the oil. When the oil is hot, (sprinkles of water will dance around the pan) sauté the shrimp for a few seconds. Now add the garlic, peppers, green onions and mushrooms. Cook for about one minute. Now add the wine and bring to a boil, cook until slightly thick. Remove from the heat and add the butter, stir until dissolved. Now, you can add the pasta and gently stir. This is a very wonderful and unique dish that everyone will love.

Finding the best shrimp scampi recipes are a matter of taste. You can try all different types of spices and other ingredients that you want to try to create your own recipes. Usually shrimp scampi is kind of spicy, so you can try other items such as salsa, for a new and unique flavor that no one else has thought of to add to the basic recipe.

Hans is author of Seafood Recipes at http://www.steaks-guide.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Hans_Dekker

Recipes: Fast Food at Home

2008-05-04T15:56:00.001-07:00

Kids have to eat. Three meals a day, every day. All moms know how important it is to have an arsenal of quick meals handy. You never know when you'll have to put healthy food on the table in a hurry, or when you need ideas so dad can help.

Dunk It

Lucky for us, kids love dip. Cut some fresh cucumbers, carrots, zucchini, broccoli, celery, and bell peppers and serve them with ranch dressing. Even finicky veggie-haters will eat their veggies with dressing on them.

Saved by a Sandwich

Start with two waffles, an English muffin, bagel, croissant, or a hotdog, hoagie or hamburger bun. Simply add jam, peanut butter, fruit slices, meat, hummus, veggies, eggs, or cheese. The possibilities are endless.

Oodles of Noodles

If you've got noodles, you can make a meal. Add some salad dressing and some meat, garbanzo beans and veggies and you've got pasta salad. Or, start with noodles and add a little butter and parmesan cheese to make buttered noodles. And, there's always the classic standby - add pasta sauce and a dollop of cottage cheese onto noodles and you just made lasagna.

Wrap it Up

If you've got tortillas and leftovers, you've got a wonderful meal. Warm up your leftovers and wrap them up in a tortilla with some cheese. Voila! Leftovers Burrito.

Spuds from Heaven

Potatoes are a meal waiting to happen. Microwave a potato, pile on cheese of any sort (cheddar, mozzarella, cottage cheese) and some meat, veggies, or even salsa or sunflower seeds, and you have a delicious dinner.

Soup Warms the Soul

Fill a pan with broth and veggies. Then, just throw in whatever you have in the house, meat or beans, leftovers, a can of diced tomatoes, noodles or rice, and spices. You just made soup in minutes.

Turn the Day Upside Down

You can have breakfast any time. Cereal, eggs & bacon, waffles, or pancakes. Breakfast is always better at night.

Next time you're in a position to make a meal in a hurry, refer back to this list and presto - you'll have dinner on the table in minutes.

Nicole Dean is the mom behind http://www.ShowKidstheFun.com, a website that helps address the question "How do I communicate with my children?" and http://www.ShowMomTheMoney.com, a resource that takes work at home moms by the hand and helps them to achieve success.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Nicole_Dean

Weight Loss Recipe: Turkey Tomato Wrap

2008-05-04T15:55:00.004-07:00

Are you struggling to lose or maintain your weight? Then this recipe can help you along the journey. Long term weight loss isn't about hunger, misery and crash dieting. It's a whole new way of learning to prepare nutritious food that your body needs and enjoys. This recipe is one of a range of hunger fighting, low fat recipes to assist you keep your weight under control.

Variety is an essential element of any successful health program. If you get bored with foods, you're much more likely to abandon your program altogether.

Forget bland, boring lunches at work. Try this for an exciting variation to the traditional sandwich. You can substitute chicken breast or lean ham for the turkey, and for further variety, add any number of your favorite salad vegetables.

Turkey Tomato Wrap (serves one)

Ingredients
1 tablespoon light mayonnaise
1 carrot, grated
1 tomato, chopped
1/2 cup cucumber, chopped
1 whole wheat wrap
3 oz cooked, boneless, skinless turkey breast, thinly sliced
1 cup chopped mixed lettuce leaves
pepper and salt to taste

Directions
1. Blend the light mayonnaise into the grated carrot. Stir in tomatoes.
2. Spread on the whole wheat wrap. Arrange the turkey slices on top.
3. Add spinach leaves, roll and eat.

Nutrition Per Serve
299 calories, carbohydrate 34g, protein 31g, fat 7g

Kim Beardsmore is a weight loss consultant whose business operates across 60 countries. Tons of recipes, articles, resources, free newsletter and more to help you lose weight and keep it off forever. Estimate your healthy body weight or receive a free weight loss consultation at http://www.weight-loss-health.com.au

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kim_Beardsmore

Weight Loss Recipe: Crustless Quiche

2008-05-04T15:55:00.003-07:00

Crust-less Quiche

Quick and easy, this meal is great either hot or cold. Stores well in the refrigerator and can be frozen. If you cook it in a well greased muffin tray it makes fantastic mini-quiches to pop into school lunch boxes. This is a great way to take a healthy lunch to work and avoid the canteen calories!

Long term weight loss isn't about hunger, misery and crash dieting. It's a whole new way of learning to prepare nutritious food that your body needs and enjoys. We've selected a range of hunger fighting, low fat recipes to assist you keep your weight under control. These irresistible, no-hassle meals will help you reach your weight-loss goals - while making mealtime a real treat.

Variety is an essential element of any successful health program. If you get bored with foods, you're much more likely to abandon your program altogether. Each main meal should be accompanied by an exciting range of colorful vegetables.

Ingredients
4 eggs
1 cup (250ml) skim milk
1 cup (250g) full-cream natural yoghurt
2 tablespoons wholemeal flour
1 cup (250g) ricotta cheese
½ cup (50g) chopped spring onions
120g (4oz) mushrooms, sliced
1 medium tomato, diced
oil
330g (12oz) can asparagus, drained

This quiche makes it own crust. It is quick and easy to make, and is delicious hot or cold served with crusty bread and a green salad.

Directions
1. Beat together eggs, milk, yoghurt and flour.
2. Add cheese, spring onions, mushrooms and tomato.
3. Pour into a lightly oiled flan dish.
4. Arrange asparagus on top.
5. Bake in a preheated 180C (350F) oven for 30-35 minutes or until quiche is set and lightly browned.

Nutrition Per Serve
274 cal, CHO 15g, protein 23g, fat 14g.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kim_Beardsmore

Weight Loss Recipe: Veal Mango

2008-05-04T15:55:00.001-07:00

Just because you are watching your weight does not mean you can't prepare fantastic meals for company. "Veal Mango" is one of range of hunger fighting, low fat recipes that will assist you manage your weight. Your guest will never know you are on a diet, and your family will love you for this great recipe!

Veal Mango (serves four)

Ingredients
2 small or 1 large mango or tinned mango
1 cup (250ml) dry white wine
3 tablespoons mango chutney
4 tablespoons chopped spring onions
4 lean veal schnitzels
a little plain flour
1 teaspoon oil
2 tablespoons water
4 spring onions for garnish

Directions
1. Peel the mangoes. Cut away and roughly slice the flesh.

2. Place the mango flesh in a saucepan. Add the white wine and chutney. Bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer until the sauce has reduced by half, about 15 minutes.

3. Add the chopped spring onions. Return to the boil, reduce heat and simmer for a further two to three minutes.

4. Dust the veal schnitzels with the plain flour. While the sauce is simmering, brush or spray a large frying pan with oil and heat over medium-high heat.

5. Fry the schnitzels, turning occasionally, for approximately 10 minutes until browned on both sides.

6. Remove the cooked schnitzels from the pan. Add the 2 tablespoons of water to the pan, as well as the sauce. Heat, stirring constantly, for about three minutes.

7. Arrange the schnitzels on individual dinner plates. Spoon the sauce over the schnitzels and garnish with the whole spring onions.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kim_Beardsmore

Weight Loss Recipe: Chicken Tikka

2008-05-04T15:54:00.003-07:00

Long term weight loss isn't about hunger, misery and crash dieting. It's a whole new way of learning to prepare nutritious food that your body needs and enjoys. "Chicken Tikka" is one of a range of hunger fighting, low fat recipes to assist you keep your weight under control. This irresistible, no-hassle meal will help you reach your weight-loss goals - while making mealtime a real treat.

Chicken Tikka (serves 4)

Ingredients
200g low-fat natural yoghurt
juice 1 lemon
1 teaspoon finely chopped or minced ginger
1 teaspoon finely chopped or minced garlic
¼ teaspoon dried coriander
½ teaspoon powdered turmeric
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon garam masala
4 skinless chicken breasts

This is simple to make and superbly fragrant. All you need to add is either rice or pasta and serve with steamed vegetables or crisp salad.

Directions
1. Combine yoghurt, lemon juice and flavorings in a bowl.
2. Add chicken and cover well with marinade. Cover and marinate for two to three hours.
3. Lift chicken from marinade. Place on baking dish. Cover with aluminum foil and bake in a preheated 200C (400F) oven for 30 minutes.
4. Remove foil, spoon remaining marinade over and bake until chicken is tender and lightly browned (1/2-1 hour).

Nutrition per serve
173 calories, carbohydrate 4g, protein 27g, fat 6g

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kim_Beardsmore

Weight Loss Recipe: Apricot Chicken

2008-05-04T15:54:00.001-07:00

Just because you are watching your weight, doesn't mean the whole family can't enjoy your health enhancing meals! The kids will love "Apricot Chicken" and you will love it because it is so low in calories and fat!

Long term weight loss isn't about hunger, misery and crash dieting. It's a whole new way of learning to prepare nutritious food that your body needs and enjoys. "Apricot Chicken" is one of a range of hunger fighting, low fat recipes to assist you keep your weight under control. This irresistible, no-hassle meal will help you reach your weight-loss goals - while making mealtime a real treat.

Apricot Chicken (serves 4)

Ingredients
2 cups (460g) solid pack canned apricots (or canned puree apricots)
4 skinless chicken breasts
1 large onion, chopped coarsely
ground black pepper, to taste
2 sage leaves, finely chopped or ½ teaspoon dried sage
1 sprig thyme, chopped
1 tablespoon fruit chutney
1 tablespoon cornflour (cornstarch)
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon finely chopped chives or mint for garnish

Directions
1. Reserve four apricot halves for garnish. Puree remaining apricots in a food processor or blender or press through a sieve.
2. Arrange chicken fillets in a single layer in a casserole. Sprinkle over onion, pepper and herbs.
3. Combine chutney and apricot puree and pour over the chicken.
Bake in a preheated 180C (350F) oven for 30 minutes.
4. Mix the cornflour and water to a smooth paste.
5. Remove casserole from oven. Use a slotted spoon to lift out chicken breasts; cover and keep warm.
6. Drain the sauce form the casserole into a saucepan. Add the cornflour paste to the sauce and heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens. Cook a further two minutes.
7. Arrange a chicken breast on each plate and spoon sauce over each one. Garnish with apricot halves and chopped chives and serve.

Nutrition per serve
192 calories, carbohydrate 11g, protein 26g, fat 5g

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kim_Beardsmore

Weight Loss Recipe: Whole Fish In Ginger Sauce

2008-05-04T15:53:00.002-07:00

Lean protein is your diet is essential to weight loss and weight maintenance. Fish is an excellent source of lean protein as it is lower in fat that red meats.

Long term weight loss isn't about hunger, misery and crash dieting. It's a whole new way of learning to prepare nutritious food that your body needs and enjoys.

Instead of high calorie, fatty sources - use spices to provide flavorsome, exciting meals your whole family will enjoy. "Whole Fish In Ginger" is another recipe in a range of hunger fighting, low fat recipes to assist you keep your weight under control. This irresistible, no-hassle meal will help you reach your weight-loss goals - while making mealtime a real treat.

Variety is an essential element of any successful health program. If you get bored with foods, you're much more likely to abandon your program altogether. Experiment with spices to find exciting alternatives, and each main meal should be accompanied by an exciting range of colorful vegetables.

Whole Fish in Ginger (serves four)

Ingredients
1kg (2lb) fish fillets (approx)
2 teaspoons chopped fresh ginger
1 clove garlic, crushed
¼ cup (60ml) soy sauce
juice of 1 lemon
¾ cup (190ml) dry white wine
4 spring onions, sliced lengthways
lemon slices for garnish

Directions
1. If there is skin on your fish, score the skin with a knife.
2. Place fish on its side in a flat dish.
3. Combine remaining ingredients to make a marinade, and pour over the fish.
4. Bake the fish, uncovered, in a 180C (350F) oven for 20 minutes or until fish flakes when tested with a fork. Baste frequently with the marinade during cooking. Alternatively, cover with plastic film and microwave on high for approximately 10 minutes.
5. Serve the fish whole with cooking juices and garnished with lemon slices. Accompany with boiled rice and a green salad.

Nutrition per serve
119 calories, carbohydrate 1g, protein 22g, fat 3g.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kim_Beardsmore

Weight Loss Recipe: Oven Fried Chicken

2008-05-04T15:53:00.001-07:00

Enjoy the sensation of fried chicken without the extra calories of deep frying. This recipe is sensational either hot or cold and is great for taking to work to avoid the unwanted 'canteen calories'. Oven fried chicken is an excellent choice for those for those wanting to lose or maintain their weight.

Oven-Fried Chicken (serves two)

Ingredients

Vegetable oil spray
1 cup high fiber breakfast cereal
2 teaspoons 33% reduced sodium chicken bouillon
1 tablespoon very low sodium chicken bouillon
black pepper to taste
chili powder to taste
1 teaspoon canola oil
2 egg whites, slightly beaten
8 oz or 250g skinless chicken breast

Directions

1. Preheat over to 180C (350F). Coat a cookie sheet with vegetable oil spray.
2. In a food processor, combine cereal, both types of bouillon, chili powder and pepper. Process until it is fine ‘meal’. Alternatively, crush the cereal with a rolling pin or other means. Be sure it is exceptionally fine. Place in a small, flat container.
3. In another small, flat container, whisk together the oil and egg whites.
4. Cut chicken into strips and dip into egg-oil mixture. Then dredge in cereal meal, coating each strip well.
5. Place each strip on the cookie sheet and coat tops of strips with vegetable oil spray.
6. Bake for 30 minutes.

Nutrition Per Serve
285 calories, carbohydrates 24g, Protein 38g, Fat 7g

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kim_Beardsmore

Zucchini Carrot Salad

2008-05-02T17:12:00.001-07:00

Summer is nearing and it is time to start thinking about serving succulent garden grown or farm fresh salads. This zesty Zucchini Carrot Salad recipe is certain not to disappoint you or your guests as it is an attractive meal to dish out after a hot summer's day! No cooking is involved; consider serving it with bread, if so desired.

Ingredients:

1 {one} bunch of romaine lettuce, cut into quarter sized pieces

1 {one} medium head iceberg lettuce, cut into quarter sized pieces

2 {two} medium or one large zucchini, sliced thinly

3 {three} green onions, sliced

1 {one} can -- 6 oz. of pitted ripe olives, small, drained

1 {one} cup thinly sliced or chopped carrots

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup of finely chopped bacon

1/2 cup of Italian dressing

Directions:

Toss all the ingredients together in a large bowl except for the salad dressing and the chopped bacon.

Pour dressing over the salad and toss.

If desired, sprinkle liberally with bacon.

Servings:

6 to 8 people

Substitutions:

Select imitation bacon, low calorie Italian, Caesar or Greek dressing

Another option:

You could also consider adding basil, parsley and cherry tomatoes to the salad to give it a richer, more robust Italian flavor:

If Desired, Add:

1 {one} cup of cherry tomatoes, halved

1 {one} tbsp. of parsley

Sprinkle crushed, dried basil over the salad

Matt manages the Corporate Flight Attendant Community at http://www.corporateflyer.net where the discussion is as much about food service as it is about flight.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Matthew_Keegan

Cinco de Mayo Recipe

2008-05-02T17:11:00.003-07:00

My ex reminded me last week that the holiday that "my people" celebrate was coming up.

My people. He was, of course, being facetious, but I smacked him anyway. Well, he's a thousand miles away, so I virtually smacked him. Same effect.

My people. Like I even speak Spanish. My father wouldn't teach us when we were growing up because he didn't want us to be stigmatized. Only the last name gave us away as it was.

Still, I do like to celebrate Cinco de Mayo. The Fifth of Mayonnaise. I love mayonnaise.

For this Cinco de Condiment, my love wanted to make turkey taquitos for his office party. So I am, even now, roasting turkey parts for said taquitos. Have you ever had turkey taquitos? Around here we have them after major holidays. Christmas, Thanksgiving . . . because that's usually when there's leftover turkey. Turkey is a primary ingredient in turkey taquitos, as you may, or may not, have gathered from the name. I dunno. Some of you are probably quicker than others about these things.

There is no mayonnaise in turkey taquitos. A recipe featuring mayonnaise will be arriving shortly, but this isn't it.

This is a recipe for turkey taquitos. Keep in mind that I can barely read directions, much less give them, so this may be a bit haphazard.

First step: Go to the store. Any store. Well, not just any store. A store that sells what you need. We went to Central Market because I wanted to show Bruno (my boyfriend's alias) what a fun place it is. He stuck his finger in one of the crab tanks and irritated a crab, who tried to grab his finger and run off with it. The crab, fortunately, was unsuccessful in this endeavor. Whew. Close call. Anyway, Central Market has lots of cool stuff. Live food. Dead food. The mess of octopus on ice was something I could have done without. Organic food. Free range chicken. Bulk herbs. Skullsplitter ale, which I wanted just because of the name. A deli section where one could just do all their shopping, thereby making the rest of the store redundant.

Anyway. Go to the store. We looked at turkeys. Then we looked at the turkey breasts next to the turkey. And we went for the turkey breasts. Three of 'em. Saves me the trouble of wrestling with a turkey. I am nothing if not lazy. Also buy tortillas, and bend them to make sure they're fresh and pliable. And either fresh salsa, or make your own. And vegetable oil. And toothpicks. Some dark sweet beverage, if you're feeling like it.

Method of cooking turkey: See, this all depends on what one plans on doing with the turkey. For enchiladas, stewed chicken works best. For taquitos, roasted turkey works best. Something about the dryness or lack thereof of the meat. I roast my turkey in a turkey roaster, but I suppose you could also use an oven. The recipe for how to roast a turkey will be out later this year, when it's time to take those things seriously. For now, I'm sure you can stumble through it.

Roast the turkey.

Chop the turkey into chunks and shreds. Add the fresh salsa or the salsa you made yourself using the fresh ingredients. We don't want the mixture to be too wet.

Too wet. I just made that term up.

Get out two frying pans. Get them out of where? That's rather up to you. Depends on where you keep yours. Put a nice half inch layer or so of oil in one, and just heat the other. (Almost had a typo there. Almost said eat the other, which would be wrong. That is no way to get more iron in your diet.) Heat the oil now or later, depending on if you're going to cook them now or later. I usually fry them as I go.

Heat the tortillas one at a time in the hot skillet. When hot and pliable, and therefore easily bendable, take out of the pan, put a good heaping tablespoon of turkey mixture on the tortilla, and roll it tightly. Secure with a toothpick. (Did you think we bought the toothpicks just for fun?) Sometimes tortillas aren't as bendable as we might wish. This is too bad. Heat them longer.

Put the secured taquito in the hot oil. Let it sit there and brown. Of course, while it's doing this, roll up another one and stick that in there too. Watch taquitos carefully. We want them crispy but not lethal. Turn them over while they cook. We're not deep frying them after all, it just seems that way. The oil should not cover the taquitos fully, only about halfway. That's why you turn them over.

When the first taquito is crispy but not overdone (and this is rather subjective - mine are at times a bit chewy just because I like 'em that way), remove it gently and put it on a plate with a paper towel to soak up the oil. Do not use your fingers for this procedure, except to handle the tongs. This is hot oil, after all. Repeat this procedure for the several dozen taquitos to follow. You can make a whole buncha taquitos before you know it.

Growing up, I was often the victim of burnt fingers because my stepmother would make me stand over the stove for hours heating tortillas to her specifications. For years I suffered from post-taquito stress syndrome. Just the thought of making taquitos was enough to make my fingertips itch. Do not overdo it. You can cook them in batches. You can cook some now and some later. This is not a marathon to see how much damage one can do to oneself. Once, when my hand was sprained, she made me take off the wrap that was holding it together so I could bake cookies for her, the kind you had to roll in your hand. She was mean. Besides, she always overcooked hers. Both taquitos and cookies.

Serve the taquitos with guacamole and sour cream. Okay, some of you don't like sour cream. That's why I only bought a small sour cream - I can eat the stuff straight, but other people have a problem with it. I don't know why.

These can be eaten either hot or cold. Technically, everyone thinks they're supposed to be hot, but it ain't so. If made properly, and drained properly, they're quite good any time at all.

Enjoy the holiday. I hear it won't come around again until next year.

Monique Young is adept at certain things, but cooking is not one of them. She can be reached at monique@moniquewrites.com most days of the week.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Monique_Young

Spanish Recipes - Tempting Tapas Dishes

2008-05-02T17:11:00.001-07:00

Spain is famous for its tapas and, whichever Spanish bar you frequent, in whichever area of the country, you are sure to find them.

So, what exactly are "tapas" and where did the name come from?

Tapas are, essentially, snacks and the word literally means "cover". The name originates from the card which used to be placed on top of your drink to protect it from the flies (this can be a hot country!).

At some point in time, it became popular to place a little snack on top of this card. At first, this would just have been something simple like a few nuts and olives, or a fresh slice of crusty Spanish bread plus topping.

In those, not-so-far-gone days, the tapas were free! That is not usually the case these days, although you will occasionally be presented with a small dish of crisps or olives to go with your drink.

Nowadays, there is a wide variety of (paid) tapas, with some bars really going-to-town on them and offering highly original, magnificently presented snacks.

But, even a fairly humble bar will present you with the opportunity to enjoy a slice of tortilla (Spanish omelette), boquerones (fresh, marinated anchovies preserved in olive oil and garlic), calamares (squid), champiñones al ajillo (garlic mushrooms), jamón serrano, Manchego cheese, etc.

Are you keen on cooking? Then perhaps you would like to try out this tapas potato recipe called "Patatas Bravas". An old Spanish favorite, it is simple to prepare, using fairly basic ingrediants but, it should only be savored by the courageous as it is quite spicy! Ingrediants are for four people.

Ingredients

750 g potatoes
4 dessertspoons olive oil
Salt and black pepper
2 teaspoons sweet paprika
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 dessertspoons red vinegar wine
2 teaspoons tomato purée

Method

1. Peel potatoes and cut into chunks.
2. Fry in oil for 3-4 minutes until lightly colored.
3. Add salt and pepper to potatoes.
4. Cover pan, lower heat and cook for 20 minutes.
5. Sprinkle with paprika and cayenne. Increase heat.
6. Mix wine vinegar with tomato purée. Add to pan.
7. Cook a couple of minutes, constantly stirring.
8. There should be no loose liquid or oil in the pan.

Should you fancy coming to the country to try the original version, there are plenty of afternoon Tapas Tours available throughout Spain for you to enjoy! Or download the wonderful e-book of 300 Simple Tapas Recipes!

Linda Plummer is webmistress of Top Tour of Spain providing comprehensive information on Spain for travel, food, language and living.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Linda_Plummer

Canarian Recipes for Shrove Tuesday

2008-05-02T17:10:00.001-07:00

For the British at least, Shrove Tuesday is probably better known as Pancake Day. Those wonderful delicacies, smothered in sugar and lemon and often tossed around in village competitions. As you will see from the recipes below, the Brits certainly don't have the monopoly of this type of fare for the occasion:

REBANDAS DE CARNAVAL

This a great way to use up stale bread at any time.

Ingredients:

1 "yesterday's" Canarian loaf (any crusty white bread like a French stick or baguette will do just as well), 1 egg, 1 cup of milk approx., Sugar, Sprinkle of ground cinnamon.

Method:

Slice the bread diagonally into 1/2 to 3/4 inch slices and discard the ends of the loaf. Beat the egg, milk and cinnamon together in a bowl then soak the bread slices briefly in the mixture. Lift them carefully and fry gently in oil in a shallow frying pan, turning once. Remove when golden, arrange on a plate and sprinkle with sugar. Watch them disappear fast!

(A variation on this recipe is to substitute half the milk with white wine.)

TORTILLA DE CARNAVAL

Ingredients:

Gofio, Plain Flour (optional), Three or four egg yolks, Ground cinnamon, Half a litre of milk, Sugar, Aniseed liqueur or Marie Brizard.

Method:

Mix the egg yolks with the milk, cinnamon and sugar (the amount of which you can vary according to taste), along with a dribble of the aniseed liqueur. Beat well, then add the gofio a little at a time, until you have a consistency resembling custard. (You can mix flour with the gofio, again according to preference). Fry small amounts of the mixture until golden in hot oil to make little pancakes. It is customary to eat them at Carnaval time, accompanied by coffee.

About The Author

Pamela Heywood has been resident in Tenerife since 1992. Formerly an accountant in the UK, she has since written for local magazines and newspapers and now runs several web sites, publishing a number of ezines. This article first appeared in Tenerife Topics, a monthly newsletter that looks mostly at the other face of Tenerife from that the tourist usually discovers. http://tenerife-topics.8m.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Pamela_Heywood

Texas Pecan Treats

2008-05-02T17:09:00.004-07:00

Come August, there is nowhere I'd rather NOT be than in Texas. Steamy, sultry, and hot, living in Texas in August is like trying to breathe in a tightly-covered pressure cooker.

But in November, I remember the joys of Texas. Cool breezes and balmy fall days refresh the senses and invite us outside once again. On streets and in parks, pecans are ripe for gathering and shelling.

Those of you who think pecans come in 6-ounce plastic supermarket packages have missed the true texture and flavor of a real Texas treat. Best of all are the small native pecans with shells like granite. But once you've cracked them, there are no better fall treats to be had.

With the holidays rapidly approaching, we want to share a couple of our favorite recipes using Texas pecans. Even if you're forced to use those supermarket replicas, these recipes are great!

Texas Pecan Pie

Prepare a pie shell and set aside, or use a premade pie shell.

1/3 cup butter

3/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed

3 whole eggs

one cup light corn syrup

one cup broken pecans

one tsp vanilla

¼ tsp salt

Cream butter, sugar, and eggs.

Stir in corn syrup, pecans, vanilla and salt.

Pour mixture into prepared pie shell. Spraying the pie pan with PAM or a similar no-stick spray before placing pie shell can help keep the pastry crisp.

Bake in 375 degree oven for 30-40 minutes, or until just set in center. Cool completely before serving.

Back in the eighties, I spent an unforgetable Christmas with my daughter who was, at the time, studying in Kyoto, Japan. Because of her love of pecan cookies, I made a double batch to take with me, fully aware that taking foodstuffs into Japan was not allowed. I figured I might lose the cookies, but what the heck? I might get lucky and sneak them past customs.

Arriving in Japan after a 26-hour flight, I was confronted with a Japanese customs agent who went through everything in my luggage. Nothing was too small or insignificant to escape his scrutiny. When he came to the tin of tightly packed cookies, he eyed it with a quizzical expression.

"Desu ka (what's this)?" he questioned me.

In my best schoolgirl Japanese, I explained that this was a Christmas present for my daughter, hoping that he would go on to the next item. It was not to be.

As I watched in horror, he opened the tin and was immediately enveloped by a dense cloud of powdered sugar.

"Ah," he announced. "Clismas plesant!" And beaming, he clapped the lid back on the tin and waved me through.

He was right. The holidays just wouldn't be as pleasant without these pecan gems.

Holiday Pecan Cookies

Beat until soft ½ cup butter.

Blend in two tablespoons sugar.

Add one teaspoon vanilla, one cup ground pecan meats, and one cup cake flour or regular flour sifted several times.

Roll into 32 ½ inch balls, one teaspoon full at a time.

Place on greased baking sheet. Bake in 300 degree oven for 45 minutes or 375 for 25 minutes. While cookies are still hot, roll in confectioner's sugar. Roll again after cookies cool.

Stored in air-tight tins, these cookies will keep indefinitely.

Enjoy!

About The Author

Phyllis Staff, Ph.D. - Phyllis Staff is an experimental psychologist and the CEO of The Best Is Yet.Net, an internet company that helps seniors and caregivers find trustworthy residential care. She is the author of How to Find Great Senior Housing: A Roadmap for Elders and Those Who Love Them. She is also the daughter of a victim of Alzheimer's disease. Visit her website at http://www.thebestisyet.net

pando19@yahoo.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Phyllis_Staff

Grilling Recipes Give People Tasteful Tremors Just Thinking of BBQ Grilling!

2008-05-02T17:09:00.003-07:00

Grilling recipes give people tremors just thinking of the explosive thought of bbq grills producing tender, smoked ribs that melt right in your mouth.

Slabs of meat we call hamburger patties, spare ribs, steaks, lamb chops, and more line up gas grills like army soldiers lining up in front of their lieutenant. A great complement to barbequing is appetizers. An appetizer is a smaller portion of food like pizzas and wings that can be prepared by grilling, barbeque smokers, or the good ol´oven with its heat source located above, not below like grills. Fajitas and burritos can also be slapped on bbq grills and barbeque.

BBQ recipes are most diverse with the addition of slices of pizza or a cut of bread. A great tip to heat up those appetizers for your barbequing pleasure is blasting the gas grill to its optimum max temperature, having it heat up, turning it off, and slap the appetizer on it immediately. This savvy grilling method will cook your food quickly without burning your barbecue. Anything with cheese will melt to perfection, so add shreds of cheese to your favorite appetizer and grill it!

Along with turkey, chicken, and steak – staples of grilling and barbequing – you can use your natural gas grills to heat appetizers with it. A full plate simply does not consist of a barbecue food like steak. Appetizers like Buffalo wings should be added to the side to quell hunger like a champion. Doner kebabs are also perfect – they add a certain element to your barbecue that is unmatched adding Turkish touch to your cuisine. Chicken, steak – it doesn't matter, help bloat the stomachs of your loved ones by grilling appetizers. Whether you use your barbecue smoker or gas grill, your bbq appetizer will surely turn out perfectly cooked and savory to the taste buds.

To conclude, learning all the ways of grilling recipes will ensure an enjoyable grilling experience and if you want additional information check out http://a1-bbq-grills.com/grilling-recipes.htm or go to http://a1-bbq-grills.com web site for information on gas grills, barbeque smokers, outdoor living, hot tubs and of course grilling recipes.

This is Jack's first web site and he expresses an enthusiasm about gas grills, barbeque smokers, backyard or outdoor living, which includes hot tubbing and grilling recipes!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jack_Gordon

Grilling Recipes Give People Tasteful Tremors Just Thinking of BBQ Grilling!

2008-05-02T17:09:00.001-07:00

Grilling recipes give people tremors just thinking of the explosive thought of bbq grills producing tender, smoked ribs that melt right in your mouth.

This is Jack's first web site and he expresses an enthusiasm about gas grills, barbeque smokers, backyard or outdoor living, which includes hot tubbing and grilling recipes!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jack_Gordon

Steamed Bread - Apricot-Date Nut Bread with Caramel Sauce

2008-05-02T17:08:00.002-07:00

Steamed breads are so versatile. We love the outdoors and are always looking for interesting and different foods that we can cook while camping and steamed breads can be cooked as you lounge around the campfire. They make wonderful treats at home. And they make great emergency fare since you don't need an oven or even a range to cook these breads.

We put the following recipe together for a trip into the Wind River Mountains of Wyoming with a group of varsity scouts. We started it cooking next to the morning fire and by the time breakfast was over and the dishes were done, the bread was ready. It was a little rich for morning food--more like a cake than a bread--but these backpackers didn't seem to mind and it certainly turned out good enough to be a treat at home.

Apricot-Date Nut Bread with Caramel Sauce

11/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup apricot nectar

2 cups chopped dates

1/2 cup chopped Brazil nuts

Caramel Sauce

3 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1/2 cup water

1/3 cup dry milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

In a medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients. (If you are taking this camping, combine these ingredients in a plastic bag before leaving.)

Stir in the juice until just combined. (An individual serving-sized can of apricot nectar is just about the right size.) Stir in the dates and nuts. (If you prefer, you can substitute raisins, dried apricots, or cranberries for the dates. Of course, you can use your favorite nuts.)

Pack the dough into a well-greased large can or other cooking container. Cover the top with heavy foil and tie it securely with string.

Place the can on a rack in a large pan or kettle. (At camp, a few clean pebbles work as well as a rack.) Fill the pan with water and set it to simmer. Let the pan simmer for two hours, adding water as necessary. When done, invert the bread onto a plate and slice to serve.

For the caramel sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the sugar and cornstarch and stir. Then stir the water and dry milk together and add to the pan. Cook and stir until thick and bubbly, about five minutes at low heat. Add the vanilla. Serve hot or cold over the nut bread. (For camping, put the dry ingredients in a plastic bag adding the vanilla to the brown sugar. Melt the butter, add the dry ingredients and then the water.)

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dennis_R_Weaver

Fancy Up Your Muffins

2008-05-02T17:08:00.001-07:00

We introduced muffins to you last week and many of you bought our new Apple Oat Muffin Mix. Now we're going to tell you how to "fancy up" your muffins. We'll show you how to add a touch of orange to your muffins, put a fancy graham crumb topping on them, or top them with cream cheese. You can do this with your Apple Oat Muffins or a recipe of your choice.

First, for the orange muffins . . .

Pick a recipe that uses baking soda (or baking soda and baking powder) as a leavener. Baking soda is alkaline and needs an acid to complete the chemical reaction that causes the bubbles. Buttermilk is the acid most often used. Since orange juice is an acid, you can use that in place of buttermilk. Add a streusel topping and include one tablespoon of orange zest.

Here is a streusel topping mix that works well:

Orange Nut Streusel Topping

1/2 cup walnut pieces

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

2 tablespoon orange zest (the zest from one large orange)

1 tablespoon cold butter

1. Chop the walnuts into small pieces.

2. Stir the walnuts, brown sugar, cinnamon, and orange zest together.

3. Cut in the cold butter with a pastry knife or two table knives.

4. Spoon the streusel mixture over the muffin batter evenly before baking.

To put a fancy graham crumb topping on your muffins . . .

Oat-Graham-Brown Sugar Topping

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup rolled oats

2 sheets of graham crackers, crushed

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

6 tablespoons cold butter, cut in pieces

1. Mix the first four ingredients together.

2. Cut the butter in with a pastry knife.

3. Spoon on top of the muffins.

4. Bake as directed.

To put a cream cheese frosting on your muffins . . .

Cream Cheese Topping

8 ounces cream cheese

4 tablespoons flour

1/2 teaspoon lemon extract

1 egg

1/3 cup sugar

Directions

1. In a small bowl, beat the cream cheese until soft

2. Add the other ingredients and continue beating until the mixture becomes soft and smooth.

3. Spoon the mixture over the top of the muffins.

4. Bake as directed. The topping will increase baking time by at least several minutes. Be sure and test the muffins for doneness with a toothpick inserted in the center of the largest muffin. If it does not come out clean, continue baking.

Dennis Weaver is the author of "How to Bake", a free 250-page e-book. Which is free at The Prepared Pantry.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dennis_R_Weaver

Making Pancake Batter the Night Before (With Recipe)

2008-05-02T17:07:00.000-07:00

Mornings are hectic. If you make your pancake batter the night before, that will save you precious minutes. Some pancake batter can be made the night before and stored in the refrigerator and some cannot. Here's how to tell the difference:

Pancake and waffle batters made with baking powder can be made ahead and stored in the refrigerator overnight. Since the baking powder may lose some of its potency overnight, add a little extra. If the first pancake doesn't rise enough, sift a little more over the batter and gently stir it in. Alternatively, you can add an extra 25 to 50% when you make up the batter.

Pancake and waffle batters leavened with baking soda cannot be stored. These leavenings go to work as soon as they are moistened and will lose their power overnight.

Some pancake and waffle recipes call for whipped egg whites to give them extra volume. If the recipe calls for baking powder and egg whites, you can mix the batter the night before but wait till morning to fold in the egg whites.

Since you may not be familiar with recipes that call for whipped egg whites, we thought we would share one with you.

Extra Light and Fluffy Pancakes

Ingredients:

1 cup sifted all purpose, pastry, or cake flour

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/2 tablespoon baking powder

2 egg yolks

3/4 cups milk, more or less

4 tablespoons butter, melted

2 egg whites

1 tablespoon sugar

Directions:

1. Sift the dry ingredients together.

2. In another bowl, mix the yolks, most of the milk, and the melted butter together until smooth.

3. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and add the mixed wet ingredients all at once. Stir until just combined. (Over-mixing will make for a tough pancake.)

4. Beat the egg whites until light and fluffy and soft peaks appear as for meringue. Add the sugar toward the end of the beating. Fold the egg whites gently into the batter with a spatula. Add milk as necessary to get the right consistency.

5. Cook as you would other pancakes.

Dennis Weaver is the author of "How to Bake", a free 250-page e-book. Which is free at The Prepared Pantry.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dennis_R_Weaver

How to Bake Quick Bread - Apricot-Orange Nut

2008-04-30T17:21:00.003-07:00

We love moist, fruity quick breads--and this is one of our favorites. It's nutty, flavorful, and full of wholesome ingredients. We would like to share this recipe with you and demonstrate the baking principles for wonderful quick breads.

The definition of quick breads is imprecise. Often cookbooks classify muffins, coffeecakes, and biscuits as quick breads--not just those moist loaf breads made without yeast--breads like banana nut bread and date nut bread. And there is a thin line between quick breads and cakes. Quick breads contain less sugar and fat than cakes. They usually, but not always, contain fruits or nuts to add flavor and moisture and make up for the low percentage of fat and sugar. When we refer to quick breads, we're talking about loaf-shaped breads without yeast.

There are two major makeup methods for quick breads--the muffin method and the creaming method. In the creaming method, we cream the fat (butter or shortening) with the sugar until light and then add the other ingredients. In the muffin method, we mix the liquids and the dry ingredients separately and then stir them together until just combined. Today, we will look at the muffin method.

In preparation, grease an 81/2-by 41/2-inch loaf pan. Dust the pan lightly with flour by placing a spoonful in the greased pan and jostling it about by tapping the pan against the heel of your hand. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees with the rack placed in the center of the oven. Your pan should have an even coating as shown.

Here are the ingredients that we will use in our liquid mix:

3/4 cups very hot water

3 tablespoons butter

3/4 cup (5 ounces) diced dried apricots

1 tablespoon orange zest

3/4 cup orange juice

1 large egg

1. Heat the water until very hot, nearly boiling. You can do so in the microwave. Pour the water into a large bowl. The bowl should be large enough to mix the batter in.

2. Add the butter.

3. Dice the apricots into 1/4-inch pieces and add them to the hot water.

4. Grate the outer skin from an orange until you have a tablespoon full. You only want to get the orange peel without scraping deep enough to get the pithy white second layer, which is bitter. Add this zest to the hot water mixture.

5. Squeeze the juice from two oranges. Add 3/4-cup of the juice to the liquid mixture.

6. Stir in one large egg. Use a fork to mix the egg well.

In another bowl, mix the dry ingredients together:

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups oatmeal

1/2 tablespoon baking soda

1/2 tablespoon baking powder

3/4 cup walnuts

Make sure that they are thoroughly mixed. We like to use a large whisk.

7. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Stir with a large spatula until just combined. If it is mixed too much, the action will develop the gluten in the flour and the bread will not be as tender as it should be. (We don't like to make muffins and quick breads with our electric mixer.)

8. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and place it in the oven. Bake the bread for 40 to 45 minutes or until the bread tests done. When it is done, a skewer or large toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf should come out clean.

9. Let the bread cool in the pan on a wire rack for five minutes. Invert the pan and remove the loaf to finish cooling on the wire rack. If the bread does not come free easily, the top edges of the loaf are probably bound to the pan. Try lifting the edges away from the pan with a sharp knife.

Store the bread in the refrigerator where it will keep for up to a week. This bread, like most quick breads, is much better served the next day. The bread can also be frozen.

Peach Variation. This bread is just as good with dried peaches instead of apricots.

Dennis Weaver is the author of "How to Bake", a free 250-page e-book. Which is free at The Prepared Pantry. The Prepared Pantry sells bread mixes and other baking mixes and offers a free Bread Center with recipes and techniques.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dennis_R_Weaver

How to Bake - Easy Sourdough Bread

2008-04-30T17:21:00.001-07:00

A customer emailed us and said that her mother loved sourdough bread but had trouble making it work right. We shared the following recipe with her, which is our easiest, most foolproof recipe for sourdough bread.

Using this recipe for sourdough bread, a small amount of yeast is used in the starter. As the starter is used and refreshed with new feedings of flour and water, wild yeasts are introduced and cultivated. The sour flavor typical of sourdough bread that we love comes from the action of the yeast and friendly bacteria.

The commercial yeast makes an easier starter than culturing wild yeast from the air. Because it's easy, if you abandon your starter after a few weeks, you can readily start another when you're back in the mood or have the time.

Here is the recipe:

For the starter:

1 cup warm water (about 110 degrees)

1/4 teaspoon yeast

1 cup high gluten unbleached flour

Mix the starter in a glass or steel bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and set it aside at room temperature until it is doubled and bubbly, maybe 4 to 6 hours.

For the sponge:

1 cup of the starter

3/4 cup warm water

2 cups flour

Mix the starter amount with the flour and water, cover, and set aside to ferment until it has tripled in volume. At room temperature, it will take four to eight hours. You can put it in a cool place--about fifty degrees--and let it perk all night. Your garage may be just right. You can also let it ferment in the refrigerator overnight. At temperatures of forty to fifty degrees, the friendly bacteria will be more active than the yeasts and the flavor will be more sour.

To recharge the starter, add about one cup of flour and one cup of warm water to your remaining starter. Keep it in the refrigerator and use it or recharge it every few days. After a few recharges, you will plenty of complex wild yeasts in your starter.

For the dough:

All of the sponge

1 1/2 cups flour (more or less)

2 teaspoons salt

Mix the salt with the flour. Knead the combination into the sponge by hand until you have a smooth, elastic, slightly sticky dough, adding more flour as needed. Put the dough in an oiled bowl and let it rise again until doubled, about an hour.

Form the loaves. This works best as a large freestanding round or oval loaf or two smaller loaves. Place a clean cotton cloth in a bowl or basket with which to hold the loaf. Lightly dust the interior of the bowl with flour. Place each formed loaf upside down in a bowl on top of the dusted flour. Cover the loaves with plastic and let them rise again until doubled. This rising will probably take less than an hour.

To from the thick, chewy crust that is typical of artisan breads, follow these instructions: Place a large, shallow, metal pan in the oven on the lowest shelf. You will pour hot water in this pan to create steam in the oven. High heat is hard on pans so don't use one of your better pans. An old sheet pan is ideal. Fill a spray bottle with water. You will use this to spray water into the oven to create more steam.

Preheat the oven to 475 degrees. (If your oven runs on the cool side, set it on 500 degrees.) When the oven is hot and the bread is fully risen and is soft and puffy--being very careful not to burn yourself with the rising steam and with a mitted hand--pour about two cups of very hot water in the pan in the oven. Quickly close the oven door to capture the steam. With spray bottle in hand, open the door and quickly spray the oven walls and close the door.

Gently invert the loaf or loaves onto a slightly greased non-insulated baking sheet on which a little cornmeal has been dusted. With your sharpest knife, quickly make two or three slashes 1/4-inch deep across the top of each loaf. This will vent the steam in the bread and allow the bread to expand properly. Immediately put the bread in the steamy oven. After a few moments, open the door and spray the walls again to recharge the steam. Do this twice more during the first fifteen minutes of baking. This steamy environment will create the chewy crust prized in artisan breads.

After the bread is in the oven, turn the temperature down to 450 degrees and set the timer for about forty minutes. Check on the bread ten minutes before the baking should be complete. If the top is browning too quickly, tent the loaf with aluminum foil for the remainder of the baking to keep it from burning. The bread is done when the crust turns a dark golden brown and the internal temperature reaches 210 degrees. It is important that the bread is well-baked to drive moisture from the loaf. If the bread is under baked, the excess moisture will migrate to the crust and you will no longer have the dry chewy crust of a great artisan loaf.

This sourdough bread is to die for. The prolonged rising gives the yeast plenty of time to convert the starch to sugars and the friendly bacteria a chance to impart their nut-like flavors.

Last winter, we made dozens of these sourdough loaves. Since this bread is best eaten fresh, we gave scores of loaves away-mostly to folks from church. Funny thing-we were never turned away.

Dennis Weaver is the author of How to Bake, a free 250-page e-book. Which is free at The Prepared Pantry. The Prepared Pantry sells bread mixes and other baking mixes and offers a free Bread Center with recipes and techniques.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dennis_R_Weaver

African Bean Soup

2008-04-30T17:20:00.001-07:00

Yoruba ethnic group from the Southwestern part of Nigeria call this traditional soup ‘Gbegiri’

Most of the ingredients can be got at ethnic Nigerian or African food markets

Ingredients:

To serve 4 people
Beans - 2 cups of size of small tinned milk
Dried crayfish - 2-table spoonful
Beef - 1kg
African snail – 4 medium size
Dried fish – 1 large size
‘Stock’ (cod) fish (dried) – 4 pieces or medium size
Dried pepper or ground chilly pepper – to taste (depending on your palate)
Seasoning – your choice of brand –2 cubes
West African Palm-oil – 1 cooking spoon
Large pepper – 2 large size
Tomatoes – 2 medium size
Onion – 1 medium size
Salt – a pinch to taste
Water – as –required
Serve hot

The ingredients: Red pepper, tomatoes and onions, pieces or chunks of boiled beef, red palm-oil, dried crayfish, smoked catfish, ground and dry pepper, salt plus 3cubes of food seasoning, pieces of boiled African snail and pieces dried of 'stock' fish and the washed beans with the skin peeled at the centre. (To save time, have the mixture of your ground tomatoes, onions and pepper in a blender to a smooth paste prior to the following steps)

1st step: The beans would have been soaked in water for about 5min to soften the skin. Then rubbing very hard against the palm of the hands continuously will peel off the skin.

2nd step: Sieve the peeled beans of their skin several times until the skin is completely removed.

3rd Step: Put the beans in the pot and allow proper cooking for about 40 minutes until it is soft and cooked, adding water when necessary. (With a pressure cooker it might be faster). Then when it is soft, get a wooden blender to mash the beans-while it is still cooking on fire-to a paste adding bits of water to prevent burning as you do this continuously.

4th Step: Once a paste is established add all the ingredients including palm-oil, salt and food seasoning to taste at reduced heat. 2 minutes after, the soup is ready.

The Bean Soup can be served hot as starters or as a compliment with the main menu as done by the Yoruba ethnic group of Southwetsern Nigeria in Africa who take it with rice, foofoo or eba -both made from cassava processed flour.

Muyiwa Osifuye
I have prepared an illustrative free photo essay that accompanies this delicacy to show how the soup is prepared.

You can ask for this in my newsletter at http://www.pictures-of-nigeria.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Muyiwa_Osifuye

Chicken Mushroom Marsala - Easy and Elegant for the Amateur Gourmet

2008-04-30T17:19:00.004-07:00

If you are having company and want to make something easy but really flavorful, try this chicken Marsala recipe. This is my favorite way to eat chicken for a few different reasons. First, I love how tender it comes out. If you really pound your chicken breasts nice and thin, it will result in unbelievable tenderness. Second, the flavors of this recipe are perfection. The sauce made with wine, butter, and chicken broth cannot be beat. Third, I love how quick and easy it is to prepare! If you are having it with rice and vegetables, be sure to start them first, because once you start cooking, this chicken will be done in about 15 minutes.

Here is what you will need:

2-3 Chicken Breasts, pounded thin

4 Tablespoons All-Purpose Flour

2 Teaspoons Marjoram

½ Teaspoon Salt

4 Tablespoons Butter

2 4oz. Cans Sliced Mushrooms

2 Tablespoons Sliced Green Onions

1 ½ Cups Chicken Broth

1/3 Cup White Wine

1. Mix together flour, marjoram, and salt. Pat chicken breasts into the mixture on each side to coat. Shake off any extra.

2. In a Large Frying Pan (preferably with deep sides) heat 1 Tablespoon of the butter over medium heat. Add mushrooms and green onion. Sauté for 5-10 minutes until tender. Transfer to a bowl.

3. Add the other 3 Tablespoons of butter to the pan. Brown chicken on each side over medium heat (about 4-5 minutes per side).

4. Pour mushroom mixture back into the frying pan. Add chicken broth and white wine.

5. Simmer for 5-10 minutes to let the flavors mix together.

I think this recipe is best served with some white rice and a steamed vegetable. You can spoon the sauce over the chicken and over the rice as well. If you need to let the chicken simmer on the stove a little longer than 10-15 minutes – don’t worry – this recipe is very forgiving and it won’t ruin the taste or tenderness. Just make sure you turn the heat down as low as possible for that period of time.

About The Author

Stacy Tabb is the owner of ThreeLittleHouses Kids Bedding, offering fun and colorful quilts for kids.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Stacy_Tabb

Tasty Rice Pudding

2008-04-30T17:19:00.003-07:00

1 cup - uncooked rice

1 teaspoon - vanilla

a pinch of salt ( if desire)

3 sticks - cinnamon

1/3 cup - sugar

2 1/2 cups water

12 0z. - evaporated milk

Bring water to boil for at least 7 minutes with cinnamon sticks, stir in rice.

When rice tenders completely stir in evaporated milk, sugar, salt and vanilla.

Cover and let it simmer for 10 minutes.

It makes up to 4 servings.

It can be serve hot or cold.

About The Author

Kenia Morales is the publisher and owner of weekly online magazine " For Every Aspect Of Today's Woman". To find a variety of women related issues and topics visit http://www.kpatra.com; info@kpatra.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kenia_Morales

Cool Snacks for a Hot Summer

2008-04-30T17:19:00.001-07:00

Beat the heat with these cool summer treats!

Mouse Popsicles

It’s not what you’re thinking! The name refers to the size of the popsicle—not the contents. Wash a bowl of seedless grapes, and then set the grapes in the freezer for about an hour. Poke colored toothpicks into the grapes to serve.

Juice Pops

Summer isn’t complete without homemade juice popsicles. Simply fill a popsicle mold or an ice tray with your favorite fruit juice. Cover the ice tray with clear plastic wrap and poke a toothpick through the plastic into each square. Place the tray into the freezer until the popsicles are frozen solid.

Frozen Monkey Treats

Here is a healthy snack that your kids will go bananas for! Peel a banana and cut it in half. Insert popsicle sticks into the cut ends. Dip the bananas into yogurt or melted chocolate, and then roll the bananas in chopped nuts, crushed cereal, or coconut shavings. Place the bananas on a small waxed paper-lined baking sheet and set the sheet into the freezer for an hour or so. Fun to make and even more fun to eat!

Fruit Fizzy

Don’t plan your summer party without this refreshing drink. Pour one can of Sprite (it doesn’t have caffeine) into a blender, along with small ice cubes. Add several large strawberries, a handful of blueberries, or other favorite fruit to the mix. Blend the mixture until it has the texture of a slush. Pour into a glass and garnish with a cherry on top.

About The Author

Deborah Shelton is a mother, freelance writer, and author of the brand new book, "The Five Minute Parent: Fun & Fast Activities for You and Your Little Ones." Visit Deborah's website for more family-friendly ideas:

http://www.fiveminuteparent.com; deborah@fiveminuteparent.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Deborah_Shelton

Holiday Recipe: Filled Cookies

2008-04-28T10:42:00.003-07:00

From the book: Christmas In Dairyland (True Stories From a Wisconsin Farm)

When I was a kid growing up on our dairy farm in Wisconsin 40 years ago, cookies with a date filling were my dad's favorite kind. Here is the recipe.

3/4 cup butter or margarine (softened)
3/4 cup shortening
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
5 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
several tablespoons of milk if the dough seems too dry
Jam: blackberry, black raspberry, strawberry, red raspberry, plum conserve, apple conserve, or date filling (recipes for plum and apple conserve and date filling are included below.)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter, margarine, sugar, eggs and vanilla. Stir in flour, baking powder and salt. If the dough is too dry, add 1 or 2 tablespoons of milk. If the dough seems too wet, add 1/4 or 1/2 cup of flour.

Roll out dough. Use either a small round cookie cutter or one large round cutter. Place cookies on an ungreased baking sheet. Put one teaspoon of jam (or other filling) in the middle of the smaller rounds or off to one side of the larger rounds. Place another small round on top of the small rounds; fold the larger rounds in half. Use a fork to crimp the edges together and to poke holes in the top. Bake for 15 minutes, or until light brown.

This recipe makes about six dozen filled cookies.

The recipe can also be used to make cut-out Christmas cookies frosted with colored icing.

************

~ Plum Conserve ~

If plum conserve is made specifically for filling cookies, store any that remains in the refrigerator and use on toast or biscuits. The conserve can also be sealed in pint jars. (This recipe makes about three pints.)

8 to 10 fresh, large, ripe plums
1/2 cup of water
4 cups of sugar
2 cups of raisins
1 cup chopped walnuts
2 tablespoons of lemon juice

Pit the plums and chop into small pieces. Place in a large saucepan and add the sugar and water. Boil for 10 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the lemon juice, raisins and walnuts and cook for 10 minutes longer, stirring constantly. (Note: Recipe can also be made using 3 cups of chopped apples instead of plums. Add 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon.)

~ Date Filling ~

3 cups chopped dates
1/2 cup sugar
1 2/3 cups water
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Put all ingredients into a saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until thickened (10 or 15 minutes).

************

About The Author

LeAnn R. Ralph is the author of the book: Christmas In Dairyland (True Stories From a Wisconsin Farm). Share the view from Rural Route 2 and celebrate Christmas during a simpler time. Free shipping on autographed copies. http://ruralroute2.com; bigpines@ruralroute2.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=LeAnn_R._Ralph

Wonderful Holiday Recipe Ideas

2008-04-28T10:42:00.001-07:00

The Holiday Season is upon us and soon we will be frantically searching for yummy recipes to serve our family and friends. Many of the leading food manufacturers have spent 1000's of hours testing and perfecting recipes for you to enjoy.

The recipes below are a few of my favorites and may become yours too!

**********

Basic Bread Stuffing

1 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 1/2 cups celery, chopped
12 cups bread cubes, white and whole-wheat bread
2 tbsp. McCormick® Parsley Flakes
1 tbsp. McCormick® Bon Appetit Seasoning
1 1/2 tsp. McCormick® Poultry Seasoning
1/2 tsp. McCormick® Ground Black Pepper
1/2 cup chicken broth

1. Melt butter in large skillet or Dutch oven, add onion and celery, and sauté until onion is transparent.

2. Place bread cubes, parsley, Bon Appétit, poultry seasoning, and pepper in large bowl and toss to combine. Add to onion mixture and chicken broth and toss to coat bread cubes lightly.

3. Stuff loosely into neck and breast cavities of bird and truss bird. As an alternative, place stuffing in casserole, cover, and bake with turkey or chicken during last 45 minutes of cooking.

Variations:

Herb Stuffing: Add 1 of following to bread cubes: 2 teaspoons Rubbed Sage, 2 teaspoons Ground Thyme, or 2 teaspoons Ground Marjoram.

Chestnut Stuffing: Wash 1/2 pound chestnuts and cut slits on both sides of shells. Bake in 500 degree F oven 15 minutes. Cool. Remove shells and skin from nuts and place nuts in salted water. Cover and boil 20 minutes. Drain and finely chop. If preferred, use canned chestnuts, drained and chopped. Toss with bread cubes.

Oyster Stuffing: Cook 1/2 to 1 pint small or medium- size oysters in oyster liquor until the edges of oysters curl. Drain and chop or leave whole as preferred. Toss with bread cubes.

Makes 8 cups

This recipe courtesy of McCormick, Inc.

**********

Glazed Sweet Potatoes

Prep: 5 mins - Ready In: 17 mins

1/2 cup maple-flavored syrup
1 Tbsp. butter or margarine
1 can (40 oz.) sweet potatoes, drained

BRING syrup and butter just to boil in large skillet on medium heat. Reduce heat to low; simmer about 2 minutes.

ADD sweet potatoes. Cook on low heat 10 minutes, gently turning sweet potatoes frequently to glaze. Garnish with pecan halves, if desired.

Makes 6 servings

This recipe courtesy of Kraft Foods.

**********

Granny Shaffer`s Black Walnut Fudge Pie

3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup dark corn syrup
1/2 cup cocoa
2 Tbsp. melted butter
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups Hammons Black Walnuts
10-inch unbaked pie shell

Beat eggs slightly; add sugar, syrup, cocoa, melted butter and vanilla. Whisk until thoroughly mixed. Measure black walnuts into unbaked pie shell; cover with chocolate mixture.

Bake one hour at 350 degrees. Cool to room temperature.

Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.

Makes one 10-inch pie - 8 servings

This recipe courtesy of Hammons Black Walnuts.

**********

Spiced Holiday Coffee

Prep: 5 mins - Ready In: 5 mins

1/3 cup MAXWELL HOUSE Coffee, any variety
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 cup orange marmalade
3 cups cold water

PLACE coffee, cinnamon and cloves in filter in brew basket of coffee maker. Place marmalade in empty pot of coffee maker.

PREPARE coffee with cold water. When brewing is complete, stir until well mixed. Pour into large cups or mugs.

Serve with sugar, if desired.

Makes 6 servings

This recipe courtesy of Kraft Foods.

**********

About The Author

Dawn Connors owns and operates Back of the Box Recipes web site where you will find hundreds of brand name recipes from leading manufacturers and producers. For more recipe ideas visit her web site at: http://www.backofthebox.com Back of the Box.

admin@backofthebox.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dawn_Connors

Easy Trail Mixes

2008-04-28T10:41:00.003-07:00

Before you set off on your next family walk or outing, try making one of these super easy trail mixes to keep your energy up.

* Quick Fix Mix

2 cups mini pretzels
1 cup cheese snack crackers
1 cup honey roasted peanuts
1 cup raisins

Place all ingredients into a plastic baggie, seal, and then shake. Enjoy!

* Chocolate Popcorn Mix

2 cups spoon size shredded wheat cereal
2 cups popped popcorn
1 cup dried cranberries
3 Tbsp. milk chocolate chunks

Toss cereal and popcorn into a large bowl. Place the cranberries into a small bowl. Melt the chocolate as directed on the package, and stir. Pour the chocolate over the cranberries and mix lightly. Add the chocolate cranberries to the cereal mixture, and toss lightly. Spread the mix into a single layer on a large piece of wax paper. Let it cool completely before serving.

* Fruity Nut Mix

1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup raisins
1 cup dried banana chips
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1 cup unsalted peanuts
1 cup dried fruit bits

Place all of the ingredients into a plastic baggie, seal, and then shake. Fast, easy and yummy!

About The Author

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Deborah_Shelton

Fun & Fruity Recipes

2008-04-28T10:41:00.001-07:00

Sometimes the easiest way to get children to eat healthy is to let them have a hand in making their own snacks…and add whipped cream on top. Here are two fruity recipes that are fun and easy to make, and even more fun to eat.

Miniature Fruit Pizzas

1 package refrigerated sugar cookie dough
8 ounces softened cream cheese
1 cup confectioners' sugar
Assorted fresh fruit, cut into bite size pieces, such as bananas, kiwis, oranges, blueberries, grapes, strawberries, pineapple, etc.

Directions: Cut sugar cookie dough into 1-inch slices and place on ungreased cookie sheet or pizza pan. Bake as directed, or until lightly browned around the edges. Allow the cookies to cool.

Combine cream cheese and confectioners' sugar; mix well. Spread over cooled cookies. Decorate with assorted fruit. Yummy!

Strawberry Angels

1 angel food cake
6 large strawberries
1 carton whipped topping

Directions: First, cut the cake into serving-size pieces. Slice the strawberries and layer on top of the cake. Then spoon whipped topping on top of the strawberries. Serve and enjoy!

About The Author

Deborah Shelton edits The Five Minute Parent email newsletter. For your free subscription, send a blank email to mailto:Five_Minute_Parent-subscribe@yahoogroups.com or visit http://www.fiveminuteparent.com; deborah@fiveminuteparent.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Deborah_Shelton

The Official "Parenting" Cheesecake Recipe

2008-04-28T10:40:00.003-07:00

Whoever writes all those fancy cookbooks has never been a parent. To begin with, the pages are never spill-proof, almost guaranteeing that somewhere in the middle of mixing ingredients, a spill will cover the remaining two ingredients listed. This means that parents must learn to improvise.

Some would suggest that the very thrill of cooking is experimentation. So what’s the big difference between oregano and cayenne pepper, anyway?

Then there are all those "quick" recipes to "serve your family" gracing the pages of women's magazines. NO recipe is quick with Little Helper's assistance.

For the benefit of parents everywhere, I have taken my favorite cheesecake recipe and translated it into parentease. The non-parent version is available in Cooking By The Book -- a free bonus I offer with every purchase of The Get Happy Workbook at http://thehappyguy.com/happiness-workbook.html .

Harvest Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake (Parent Version)

Mix one cup of ginger snap cookie crumbs and one tablespoon of olive oil. Add more cookie crumbs to make up for the ones that disappeared about the same time your Little Helper walked into the kitchen.

Press the crumby oil mixture ... "Sorry, Little Helper distracted me." Press the oily crumb mixture into the bottom of a 9-inch spring-form pan, and up around the edges about one inch. Put it in the refrigerator to cool – best to slip it in safely behind the broccoli and that thing that's been turning blue for three weeks in case Little Helper gets inspired

Soften three bricks of cream cheese, ideally in the microwave. If you can't separate the cheese from Little Helper's hands, let her keep doing what she's doing until the cheese is good and soft. Cream the cheese with one and a half cups of pureed pumpkin, three large eggs, two tablespoons of cream, and one cup of brown sugar. Keep mixing until creamy.

Add one teaspoon of vanilla extract. If you are fortunate enough to have help at this stage, you have three options:

Rename it " Harvest Pumpkin and Vanilla Cheesecake".
Try scooping out the extra cup of vanilla Little Helper poured in for you.
Start over.

You will also need to add a tablespoon of cinnamon. If Little Helper is in a generous mood, don't worry. You still have three options:

Rename it " Harvest Pumpkin and Cinnamon Cheesecake".
Try scooping out the extra pile of cinnamon Little Helper poured in for you.
Bang your head against the counter and start over.

There is also a tablespoon of ground ginger to add. Sorry about that. Don't worry, you still have three options...again:

Rename it " Harvest Pumpkin and Ginger Cheesecake".
Scoop out as best you can the extra heap of ginger Little Helper added for you.
Bang your head twice on the counter and start over.

I almost hate to mention this, but you'll need to add a teaspoon of ground nutmeg. And a half teaspoon of salt. And a half teaspoon of allspice. Go ahead and bang your head some more if it makes you feel better.

Fortunately, there is a parental failsafe. It is sort of like a "get out of jail free card". Look in the bowl. Observe the quantity of creamy things. Observe the quantity of spicy things.

If the quantity of creamy things is even slightly greater than the quantity of spicy things, keep going and pretend you didn't have any help. Maybe nobody will notice. If the quantity of spicy things is greater than the quantity of creamy things, open another can of pureed pumpkin. Keep adding cans of pureed pumpkin until creamy things are greater than spicy things -- or until your grocer runs out of cans.

Pour the filling into the crust. Note, if you had to add too many cans of pureed pumpkin, this could get messy. I recommend hip-waders...especially for Little Helper.

Cook at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 50 minutes or until the top is slightly brown and almost as cracked as your head and the counter. Do NOT let Little Helper eat the cake while it is still in the oven.

Let it air cool in a safe place -- like at a neighbor's house -- then refrigerate overnight

Just before serving, top with whipped cream and sprinkle with pecans. Oops. I just wrote that last line in non-parentease. It should read: "Now that the whipped cream is polished off, shake the remaining sprinkles on the cake. Unless Little Helper ate them, too.

Now you can sit down and enjoy your Harvest Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake (Parent Version). Oh yes, don't forget to laminate this page to avoid more impromptu experimentation in the future.

About The Author

The author is David Leonhardt. Sign up for his weekly satire column up at http://TheHappyGuy.com/positive-thinking-free-ezine.html or read more columns at http://TheHappyGuy.com

info@thehappyguy.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=David_Leonhardt

Low Carb Christmas Enchiladas!

2008-04-28T10:40:00.001-07:00

FELIZ NAVIDAD...

IT'S A LOW CARB CALIFORNIA CHRISTMAS FIESTA!

We low carbers tend to think that Mexican food is “off limits”... NOT! This girl lives in California and I have some awesome recipes from friends for some Mexican food that is “music for your mouth”... not to mention your tummy!

CHICKEN ENCHILADAS

Before you start to build the enchiladas... whip out that Girl Scout motto and “be prepared”! You can fix this stuff a couple of days in advance and then “whip it together” for your guests or for a quick supper after a day of Christmas shopping.

Okie dokie... prepare the Chile Sauce recipe below and refrigerate so it READY. Also, cook the chicken and “chop it”!

“Oil-righty then”... here we go...

CHILE SAUCE

1/2 cup onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, finely crushed

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon whole wheat pastry flour

1/8 cup chili powder (if you like it hotter, add more!)

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 teaspoon dried cumin

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups pureed tomatoes (lowest carb count you can find)

1 chicken bouillon cube

Cook the onion and garlic in the olive oil until onions are clear. Sprinkle flour and stirring quickly, cook for one minute.

Add remaining ingredients mixing well and stirring often. Simmer for about 10 minutes.

Makes two cups.

Now for the Enchiladas...

FIRST... prepare the Filling (recipe below):

FILLING:

1/2 cup onion, chopped

2 tablespoons butter

2 cups cooked chicken, chopped or shredded... your preference

1 cup Chili Sauce

1 cup sour cream

Salt to taste

Sauté onion in butter and add other ingredients. Set aside while preparing tortillas for BUILDING enchiladas!

Now let’s build enchiladas...

Olive oil

12 low carb tortillas

2 cups cream

1 cup chicken stock

1 1/2 cups Jack cheese grated

Heat oil in heavy skillet and cook tortillas just a few seconds. Combine the cream and chicken stock until well blended.

After cooking each tortilla, dip each one in the chicken stock and cream mixture. Spread filling mixture on the tortillas (kinda like peanut butter on a sandwich), roll the tortilla, placing the seam side down on a baking dish. By the way, this dish should be big enough to hold 12 of these puppies!

After all tortillas are filled and rolled, pour the remaining liquid over them. Sprinkle with cheese and bake in a 350° oven until hot and cheese is melted... about 25 minutes.

Serves 12

Carb count for Total Recipe:

107 grams carbs/19 grams fiber = 88 net grams of carbs

ADD the carb count for your tortillas! WOW... this is ONLY 7.3 grams of carbs per serving and if you ADD 3 net grams for the tortilla it is still only 10.3 grams for a very special treat.

Who says low carb cooking is boring??

VIVA FIESTA and FELIZ NAVIDAD...

IT’S A LOW CARB CALIFORNIA FIESTA CHRISTMAS!

Recipe from the FIRST Low Carb Christmas Cookbook!
by Jan McCracken
Now ONLY $9.95
Low Carb Christmas Cookin'-
With an Old-Fashioned Cook!
224 fun-filled, sometimes hysterical pages!
http://www.lowcarbcookin.com

About The Author

Jan McCracken is author and self-publisher of 39 gift books and cookbooks. Born in the Midwest and former owner/innkeeper of a country bed and breakfast in Branson, MO, she has been cooking since she was seventeen years old (she won’t tell us how many years that is)!

Jan has been living the low carb lifestyle for eight years. Her long-term goal is helping people understand that food is truly the great medicine, prevention and healer of disease.

jan@lowcarbcookin.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jan_McCracken

The Taffy Pull (A Story and a Recipe)

2008-04-28T10:39:00.003-07:00

One year when I was growing up on our Wisconsin dairy farm, the Brownie leaders had announced we were going to make some extra-special candy at our next meeting.

So — when school let out one winter afternoon — I lost no time getting to the gym where we always had our meetings.

For once nobody was late, and when we entered the gym, the Brownie leaders already had everything set up.

"What's in the pans?" asked one girl.

On the table were several square cake pans full of some clear caramel-colored stuff.

"That's our taffy," explained one of the leaders.

The questions came fast and furious then.

"What do we have to do?"

"What's taffy, anyway?"

"But I thought WE were going to make candy…"

"You are," one of the leaders said. "This is called saltwater taffy. Cooking it is the very hardest part but now just the fun part is left — making it."

We looked back and forth amongst ourselves. If the candy was already cooked, what else was there?

"First we want you to wash your hands. And use lots of soap and warm water. Don't just rinse, either," the other leader continued.

One girl spoke up. "Why do we have to wash our hands like that?"

"Because you're going to put them in the taffy, so they have to be very clean," the leader answered.

Put our hands IN the candy? Hmmm, maybe the fun part WASN'T already done…

A little while later when we returned from our hand-washing expedition, the leader was busily working something back and forth between her hands.

"What's THAT?" asked one girl.

"This," she said, "is taffy. And it's almost ready."

The mass of stuff she held was light and cream-colored.

"Where'd it come from?" another girl asked.

"There," the leader replied, nodding toward the table.

The cream-colored glob in no way resembled what was in the pans.

"How'd it get like THAT?" another girl asked.

Both the leaders laughed.

"It's what happens to taffy when you pull it like this."

We watched for another five minutes.

"There," she said, "it's done." She laid the taffy on a piece of wax paper, rolled it into a rope, and then quickly cut it into sections with a pair of scissors.

"Now I want you to taste it," she instructed.

No problem there…

"This is good!"

"Chewy."

"Tastes a little like caramel."

The leader smiled. "Rub butter on your hands," she instructed, "then grab some taffy…and start pulling."

In no time at all, a dozen little girls wearing Brownie uniforms were industriously manipulating handsful of taffy.

"This is FUN!" declared one girl.

"The funnest thing we've EVER done!" exclaimed another, nodding vigorously.

"Can we do it NEXT week, too?" asked a third.

"I told you just the fun part was left," the Brownie leader said.

When the taffy had reached the right consistency we cut it into pieces. Then the leaders produced some Baggies, and a little while later it was time to go home.

"Did you have fun today?" my mother asked as I got into the car. She had ridden into town with Dad to pick me up from the Brownie meeting.

"Look what we made!" I exclaimed.

My mother squinted at the bag of candy. "Why, that looks like the taffy we used to make in school. Wonder if it tastes the same."

I stared at my mother. She had gone to school in a one-room country schoolhouse about a mile from our dairy farm.

"You've made taffy?" I said.

She smiled. "Of course. We used to make it for Christmas. Wasn't much left by the time Christmas rolled around, though."

I held the bag toward her.

She popped a piece into her mouth and then nodded. "Tastes just the same."

Dad thought it was good, too.

And apparently so did everyone else in the family.

The next morning as I sadly contemplated the empty Baggie, I decided the Brownie leaders had been dead wrong.

Making the taffy wasn't the best part — eating it was.

**********************

Saltwater Taffy

1 cup sugar

3/4 cup light corn syrup

2/3 cup water

1 tablespoon cornstarch

2 tablespoons butter

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons vanilla (or another flavoring, such as peppermint or anise)

In a large saucepan, combine all ingredients except the vanilla. Stirring constantly, cook over medium heat until the mixture reaches 256 degrees Fahrenheit on a candy thermometer (or until a small amount dropped into a cup of cold water forms a hard ball).

Stir in vanilla. Pour into a buttered 8x8 square pan. Let cool.

Note: if you would like to make colored taffy, stir in a few drops of food coloring just before you add the vanilla or other flavoring.

When the mixture is cool enough to handle, rub a small amount of soft butter between your palms, take a handful of taffy and pull until it becomes stiff and lighter in color. Pull or roll into ropes and cut into pieces with a scissors.

To store the candy, let it sit for an hour or so and then wrap the individual pieces in plastic wrap or waxed paper.

**************

About The Author

LeAnn R. Ralph is the editor of the Wisconsin Regional Writer (the quarterly publication of the Wisconsin Regional Writers' Assoc.) and is the author of the book, Christmas in Dairyland (True Stories from a Wisconsin Farm) (trade paperback; August 2003). She is working on her next book, Give Me a Home Where the Dairy Cows Roam, which will be available later in 2004. Share the view from Rural Route 2 — http://ruralroute2.com

bigpines@ruralroute2.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=LeAnn_R._Ralph

Easy, Tasty Chicken Wing Recipes

2008-04-28T10:39:00.001-07:00

You can serve chicken wings hot or cold, for a meal, or for snacks. They're great as appetizers at parties, or when you're just looking for a tasty midnight snack. Try these four easy recipes:

Baked Chicken Wings

1/2 c. margarine, melted
1 t. dijon mustard
3 c. multi-grain flaked cereal
16-18 chicken wings, broken into two pieces
1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese
4 t. finely chopped parsley

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In glass pie plate, combine melted margarine and mustard. In medium bowl, combine cereal crumbs, Parmesan cheese and parsley. Spoon onto waxed paper. Roll chicken pieces in margarine mixture, then in cereal mixture to coat completely. Place on rack in baking pan; drizzle with remaining margarine mixture. Bake 35-40 min., or until golden brown.

Hot Chicken Wings

12-15 chicken wings
1/2 c. (1 stick) butter or margarine, melted
1/4 c. Red Hot Durkee's Sauce (or more to taste)

Split wings at each joint and discard tips. Bake in 425 degree oven until crisp, turn halfway through. Drain. Combine hot sauce and butter until butter is melted, stir to mix thoroughly. Dip wings in sauce to coat completely. Arrange on plate.

Sweet and Sour Chicken Wings

3 lbs. chicken wings
Accent seasoning
Oil
1 c. water
Cornstarch
Garlic powder
Beaten egg

Sauce:

3/4 c. sugar
3 or 4 tbsp. catsup
Dash of salt
1/2 c. white vinegar
1 tsp. soy sauce
1/4 c. chicken stock
1 tsp. Accent seasoning

Cut wings into thirds. Boil tips in water for 5 min. for the stock. Sprinkle remainder of wings with garlic powder and Accent and let set for 1 hr. Dip wings into cornstarch, then beaten egg. Brown in oil on high heat. Place in 9x13 pan. Cover with sauce. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour.

Teriyaki Chicken Wings

12-15 chicken wings
1/3 c. water
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/3 c. soy sauce
1/4 c. brown sugar
2 green onions (diced)
1/3 c. cooking sherry (optional)
1/2 tsp. ginger

Combine all ingredients for marinade, heat just to dissolve sugar. Separate wings, pour marinade over. Refrigerate overnight. Place wings in greased pan. Pour marinade over, cover with foil. Bake for 30 min. at 375 degrees. Remove foil, bake 5-10 min. longer to crisp.

About The Author

Rachel Paxton is a freelance writer and mom who is the author of What's for Dinner?, an e-cookbook containing more than 250 quick easy dinner ideas. For more recipes, organizing tips, home decorating, crafts, holiday hints, and more, visit Creative Homemaking at http://www.creativehomemaking.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rachel_Paxton

Homemade Cinnamon Rolls from Scratch (in 2 hours or less!)

2008-04-28T10:38:00.001-07:00

If I've heard it once, I've heard it a dozen times: "Make homemade cinnamon rolls? From scratch? Are you crazy? That takes all day!"

Actually, it depends upon the recipe.

I have several recipes for homemade cinnamon rolls that do, indeed, take at least all afternoon, if not all day -- scald the milk and let it cool to room temperature (30 minutes); mix the dough and let it raise for an hour (1.5 hours); punch down the dough and let it raise for another hour (1 hour); shape into cinnamon rolls and let raise for another hour (1.5 hours); and then, finally, bake the cinnamon rolls (30 minutes) -- for a grand total of 5 hours from start to finish.

But it doesn't have to be that way. You really can make homemade cinnamon rolls from scratch in two hours or less.

Here's my recipe:

2 cups of warm water
1/2 cup sugar
4 teaspoons dry yeast (or two packages of dry yeast)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup Canola oil (I use Canola, but you can use any kind of cooking oil) (you can also use shortening, if you prefer)
6 to 7 cups of flour

Dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Let sit for a minute or two. Add the sugar and salt. Mix. Add the cooking oil (or shortening), 2 eggs, 2 cups of flour and beat until smooth.

Stir in 3 more cups of flour. Begin kneading the dough, adding the final cup of flour. If the dough seems too sticky, knead in more flour, a quarter to a half cup at a time.

Let the dough "rest" for 15 to 20 minutes. (I leave it sitting on the counter and use the time to wash up the bowl and other utensils and to clean off the counter top.)

Roll the dough into a rectangle that's 24 to 30 inches long by about 16 inches wide. Spread with soft butter and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Starting at the wide end, roll into a log.

Cut the cinnamon rolls into equal sized slices (approximately one inch wide each or slightly more) and place into two greased 9x13 pans. Put in a warm place to rise for 45 minutes.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes (or until the cinnamon rolls are golden brown).

Allow to cool for 5 minutes and then turn out of the pans.

This recipes makes two dozen cinnamon rolls. If you want REALLY BIG cinnamon rolls, cut into 12 equal pieces 2 inches wide.

Total amount of time needed from start to finish (including time to bake) is about 2 hours.

****************************

About The Author

LeAnn R. Ralph is the author of the book, Christmas in Dairyland (True Stories from a Wisconsin Farm) (trade paperback) (August 2003). She is working on her next book, Give Me a Home Where the Dairy Cows Roam, which will be available later in 2004. Read sample chapters and other Rural Route 2 stories at http://ruralroute2.com; bigpines@ruralroute2.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=LeAnn_R._Ralph

No-Bake Peanut Butter Cookies

2008-04-28T10:36:00.000-07:00

Homemade cookies from scratch in 20 minutes!!

• 2 six-ounce packages of butterscotch chips

• 1 1/2 cups of chunky peanut butter

• 4 to 5 cups of corn flakes

• 1 cup dry roasted peanuts

Melt the butterscotch chips and peanut butter together in a large microwave-safe bowl in the microwave.

Then stir in 4 to 5 cups of corn flakes and 1 cup of dry roasted peanuts.

Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls on wax paper.

Store in an airtight container between layers of wax paper.

About The Author

LeAnn R. Ralph is the author of the book, Christmas in Dairyland (True Stories from a Wisconsin Farm). She is working on her next book, Give Me a Home Where the Dairy Cows Roam. To read sample chapters, other Rural Route 2 stories and to sign up for the FREE!! monthly e-mail newsletter, Rural Route 2 News (stories and recipes from down on the farm), visit — http://ruralroute2.com

bigpines@ruralroute2.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=LeAnn_R._Ralph

5-Minute Strawberry Jam

2008-04-27T13:17:00.001-07:00

Nothing tastes better than fresh picked strawberries. For many people, making homemade jams and jellies conjures up memories of grandmother in the kitchen preparing bushels of fruit, stirring and straining, and sterilizing jars. Actually, nothing could be simpler.

The key to making jam is small batches. Do not double the recipe. The jam will not set up. This strawberry jam keeps in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks. But, we’ve never been able to keep it around that long! It’s also great as an ice cream topping.

Try this quick and easy recipe with your kids. It makes a great Mother’s Day present for family and friends. And, if you’re lucky, they may even save some for you.

Ingredients

1-pint strawberries, hulled and sliced
2-tablespoons fruit pectin
½ teaspoon butter
1-cup sugar
2 8-ounce jelly jars

Directions

In a medium sized bowl, crush the strawberries with a potato masher
In a skillet, combine the crushed strawberries, pectin, and butter.
Stirring constantly, cook over medium-high heat, until the mixture boils.
Add the sugar and bring to a boil. Boil for 1 minute and remove from the heat.
Pour the jam into the jars. Seal. Refrigerate until the jam is set, approximately 6 hours. Keep jam refrigerated. It will keep for up to 3 weeks.

You have permission to reprint this article electronically or in print, free of charge, provided that each article is:

Printed in its full form with no changes
Includes an active link
A courtesy copy of your publication is sent to the above contact
And the following byline appears at the bottom of each article:

About The Author

Rondi Hillstrom Davis and Janell Sewall Oakes are the co-authors of the award-winning book Together: Creating Family Traditions. To check out their website that's jam packed with family ideas, visit http://togetherparenting.com/

info@togetherparenting.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rondi_Hillstrom_Davis

Easy-Cheesy Casserole

2008-04-27T13:16:00.002-07:00

I have always loved mac-n-cheese, and this variation is one of my favorites!

1 pound of browned hamburger
1 1/2 cups of grated cheddar cheese
2 cups cooked macaroni (or egg noodles; I prefer to use egg noodles myself)
Parmesan cheese to sprinkle on top
1 can cream of mushroom soup

Combine hamburger and macaroni (or egg noodles) in a large baking dish.

Add cream of mushroom soup and mix well.

Stir in cheddar cheese.

Sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top.

Bake in 350 degree oven for 25 minutes.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

About The Author

LeAnn R. Ralph is the author of the book, *Christmas in Dairyland (True Stories from a Wisconsin Farm)* (trade paperback; August 2003). For more information, visit http://ruralroute2.com

bigpuines@ruralroute2.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=LeAnn_R._Ralph

Rib-Eye Steak with Mushrooms and Bleu Cheese

2008-04-27T13:16:00.001-07:00

This is a mouth watering steak. Every time I serve this in the restaurant the customers rave. The best part, it’s so simple you can make it at home for the family.

Serves 2

2 ea. Rib-eye steaks (each about 1 inch thick)
½ tsp. Kosher salt
½ tsp. Pepper
1 Tbsp. Olive oil
3 Tbsp. Unsalted butter
1 ea Onion - thinly sliced
1/2 lb Mushrooms - thickly sliced
2 Tbsp. Garlic - chopped
3/4 cup Beef broth
1/4 cup Brandy
1/4 tsp. Fresh rosemary - minced
½ cup Bleu cheese - crumbled

Place steaks in shallow dish. Drizzle with oil; rub oil all over steaks. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Heat a sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add steaks to skillet; fry until cooked to desired doneness, about 5 minutes per side for medium-rare. Using tongs, transfer steaks to plates and place in a warm oven.

Add butter and onion to sauté pan then sauté until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add mushrooms and garlic; sauté until mushrooms are just tender, about 4 minutes

Add broth, brandy and rosemary and bring to a boil, scraping up browned bits. Reduce until liquid by 2/3, about 5 minutes. Add cheese; stir just until cheese melts, but still has bits of bleu cheese visible, about 1 minute.

Take the steak out of the oven and transfer it to a plate. Top with mushroom sauce.

About The Author

Chef Richard has worked in some of the finest restaurants in Washington and is the author of the ebook “Chef’s Special”. You can find more free recipes and order the ebook at http://www.csrecipes.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Richard_Massey

Spinach Salad with Mango and Papaya

2008-04-27T13:15:00.003-07:00

This is a great summer salad, leaving you refreshed even on the hottest days. For those who like to have a little protein with there salad, both grilled chicken or shrimp go well with this dish. Don’t let the number of items scare you, this is a simple recipe and well worth the extra time. Great for the family or summer parties.

Spinach Salad

Makes 1 salad

4 oz. Spinach – cleaned and stem removed
2 oz. Mango – peeled, seeded and diced into ¾” pieces
2 oz. Papaya – peeled, seeded and diced into ¾” pieces
2 oz. Mandarin oranges
½ oz. Red onion – julienne
2 Tbsp. Slivered almonds – toasted
2 oz. Lime vinaigrette (recipe follows)
1 ea. Lime slices

Combine spinach red onion and lime vinaigrette in a bowl and toss. Place on plate and top with mango, papaya, mandarin oranges and slivered almonds. Garnish with lime slice.

Lime vinaigrette

Yields 4 cups

4 oz. Lime marmalade
6 oz. Fresh lime juice
4 tsp. Sugar
4 tsp. Orange juice concentrate – undiluted
2 ½ oz. Cider vinegar
2 tsp. Kosher salt
1 tsp. Sambal olek (chili paste)
1 ½ tsp. Dijon mustard
½ tsp. Ground coriander
1 Tbsp. Poppy seeds
2 cups Canola oil
3 oz. Olive oil

Combine and mix all ingredients except the oils in a mixer. Slowly add the oil on medium speed until vinaigrette is emulsified. Store in an air tight container and refrigerate.

About The Author

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Richard_Massey

Strawberry Rhubarb Coffee Cake

2008-04-27T13:15:00.001-07:00

Bottom Layer:

1/2 cup butter or margarine
1 cup sugar
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup milk
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

Cream shortening and sugar. Beat in eggs and stir in milk. Add dry ingredients. Mix until smooth. (Batter will be stiff.) Spread in the bottom of greased 9x13 pan.

Middle Layer:

4 to 5 cups of rhubarb (cut up)
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk
2 cups sugar
1 cup flour
1 three-ounce package strawberry Jello

Measure rhubarb into a mixing bowl. Stir in eggs, milk, sugar and flour. Spread over bottom layer. Sprinkle the dry strawberry Jello over the rhubarb mixture.

Top Layer:

1 cup flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine

Put all ingredients into a mixing bowl. Use a fork to cut the butter/margarine into the flour and brown sugar. Continue mixing until crumbly. Sprinkle over the rhubarb layer.

Bake at 375 degrees for 70 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

For an added treat, serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

About The Author

LeAnn R. Ralph is the author of the books "Christmas in Dairyland (True Stories from a Wisconsin Farm)" and "Preserve Your Family History (A Step-by-Step Guide for Writing Oral Histories)." You are invited to order a book from Rural Route 2. You are also invited to sign up for LeAnn's FREE! monthly newsletter, Rural Route 2 News. Visit — http://ruralroute2.com

bigpines@ruralroute2.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=LeAnn_R._Ralph

Ice Cream In A Baggie

2008-04-27T13:14:00.003-07:00

Yes, it sounds dangerous and the potential for messes seems highly likely, but you'll be surprised at the good, "clean" fun you'll enjoy when you make ice cream.This recipe is enough for one person to make a dish!

1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon sugar
4 cups crushed ice
4 tablespoons salt
2 quart size Zip-loc bags
1 gallon size Zip-loc freezer bag
a hand towel or gloves to keep fingers from freezing as well!

Mix the milk, vanilla and sugar together in one of the quart size bags. Seal tightly, allowing as little air to remain in the bag as possible. Too much air left inside may force the bag open during shaking. Place this bag inside the other quart size bag, again leaving as ittle air inside as possible and sealing well. By double-bagging, the risk of salt and ice leaking into the ice cream is minimized. Put the two bags inside the gallon size bag and fill the bag with ice, then sprinkle salt on top. Again let all the air escape and seal the bag. Wrap the bag in the towel or put your gloves on, and shake and massage the bag, making sure the ice surrounds the cream mixture. Five to eight minutes is adequate time for the mixture to freeze into ice cream.

Tips:

Freezer bags work best because they are thicker and less likely to develop small holes, allowing the bags to leak. You can get away with using regular Zip-loc bags for the smaller quart sizes, because you are double-bagging.Especially if you plan to do this indoors, I strongly recommend using gallon size freezer bags.

Here are some interesting tidbits:

What does the salt do? Just like we use salt on icy roads in the winter, salt mixed with ice in this case also causes the ice to melt. When salt comes into contact with ice, the freezing point of the ice is lowered. Water will normally freeze at 32 degrees F. A 10% salt solution freezes at 20 degrees F, and a 20% solution freezes at 2 degrees F. By lowering the temperature at which ice is frozen, we are able to create an environment in which the milk mixture can freeze at a temperature below 32 degrees F into icecream.

Who invented ice cream?

Legend has it that the Roman emperor, Nero, discovered ice cream. Runners brought snow from the mountains to make the first ice cream. In 1846, Nancy Johnson invented the hand-cranked ice cream churn and ice cream surged in popularity. Then, in 1904, ice cream cones were invented at the St. Louis World Exposition. An ice cream vendor ran out of dishes and improvised by rolling up some waffles to make cones.

About The Author

Merle lives in the mountains of Colorado. She is a mom and teacher. She loves to help others with fun ideas. Stop by http://www.gratefulbaby.com and http://www.recipes4learning.com for more fun.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Merle_Obrien

Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes

2008-04-27T13:14:00.001-07:00

You will need:

1 (18.25 ounce) box yellow cake mix

Frosting

Sprinkles or other decorations of your choice

Directions:

Prepare cake mix batter according to directions, or make any standard cake recipe batter (i.e. white, chocolate, etc.)

Place flat-bottomed ice cream cones in the cups of a regular muffin pan.Pour enough batter into each cone to fill from 1/2 to 2/3 full.

Bake at time and temperature as recommended for cupcakes. After they have cooled, frost with your favorite canned or home-prepared frosting recipe.

Decorate with sprinkles or other decorations of your choice.

About The Author

Merle lives in the mountains of Colorado. She is a mom and teacher. She loves to help others with fun ideas. Stop by http://www.gratefulbaby.com and http://www.recipes4learning.com for more fun.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Merle_OBrien

Crab Stuffed Salmon with Lobster Sauce

2008-04-27T13:13:00.003-07:00

I served this dish at an event I catered and people are still talking about it a year later. The lobster base used in the sauce can be found at stores offering specialty foods or you can order it off the internet. If you’re really ambitious, you could also make your own lobster stock and reduce it. Using it in place of the clam juice. Then chop up the lobster and use it in the sauce and stuffing. I hope you enjoy this recipe.

Serves 6

6 cuts Salmon (5-6oz fillet cut)

Crab stuffing

Lobster sauce

Cut a pocket in the side of the salmon large enough for the crab stuffing. Gently place the crab stuffing in the pocket evenly.

Place salmon in a baking pan and bake salmon at 350° F for approx. 15 minutes or until the internal temperature is 140° F. Place on plates or serving tray. Ladle lobster sauce over the top.

Crab Stuffing

4 oz. Dungeness crab
3 Tbsp Butter
¼ c. Onion
¼ c. Bell pepper
1 ea. Egg
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
dash Worcestershire
pinch Pepper
pinch Salt
½ c. Bread crumbs

Sauté peppers and onions over medium high heat in the butter until tender. Then cool

Whip the egg then add mustard, Worcestershire, salt, pepper, bread crumb and sauté vegetables. Mix in crab until well combined and refrigerate until ready to stuff the salmon.

Lobster Sauce

2 Tbsp. Butter
1/3 c. Onion, yellow - minced
1/2 c. Clam juice
2 tsp. Lobster base (you can find this in gourmet or specialty stores in the soup section)
3 c. Heavy cream
1/4 tsp. White pepper

Melt butter in sauce pot, over medium heat. Add onions and cook until translucent. Add clam juice, lobster base, cream and white pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer to a medium sauce consistency.

About The Author

Chef Richard has served in some of the finest restaurants in Washington State and is the author of the ebook “Chef’s Special”. You can find more free recipes and order the ebook at http://www.csrecipes.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Richard_Massey

Grilled Scallops with Ginger-Lime Sauce

2008-04-27T13:13:00.001-07:00

Summer time is great for barbequing, but aren’t you tired of burgers and hotdogs? At your next party why not try something a little classier. This scallop recipe is so easy, but so good. If the weather doesn’t cooperate, you can also pan sear the scallops without the skewer. Either way this dish will make your parties the most popular in the city. Be patient with the sauce making sure to reduce the liquid as direct or the sauce will be too thin. You can substitute shrimp and other seafood with this recipe as well. Enjoy!

Serves 4 - 6

1 ½ lb Scallops (10/20 count)
½ cup Olive oil
2 tsp. Kosher salt
2 tsp. Pepper
1 cup Ginger-lime sauce
2 Tbsp. Fresh parsley – chopped
1 ea. Lime - sliced

Begin by soaking 8” bamboo skewers in water for 30 minutes. Rinse scallops and thread on skewer so they lie flat. Pat dry and brush with olive oil; season with salt and pepper. Place scallops on a greased hot grill. Cook turning once until scallops are done (about 4 -7 minutes). Transfer to a serving dish and top with Ginger-lime sauce. Garnish with chopped parsley and lime slices.

Ginger-Lime Sauce

Yields 1 cup

½ cup Clam juice
½ cup White wine
2 Tbsp. Fresh lime juice – from one lime
2 Tbsp. Shallots – minced
1 tsp. Ginger – peeled and minced
¼ tsp. Lime zest – minced
½ cup Heavy whipping cream
4 Tbsp. Butter – unsalted, chilled

In a sauce pan over medium high heat add clam juice, white wine, lime juice, shallots and ginger. Reduce liquid by half. Add lime zest, cream and reduce to ¾ cup. Turn down to low and while stirring add the butter one tablespoon at a time until butter is incorporated.

About The Author

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Richard_Massey

Oatmeal-Apple-Raisin Muffins

2008-04-27T13:12:00.003-07:00

These muffins are not only tasty, but they're also a good source of fiber. In recent years, health experts have come to realize that fiber is an important part of a heart-healthy diet. Using Canola oil also increases the health benefits of these muffins.

1 egg
1 cup buttermilk (or 1 cup of milk with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice added)
1 cup oatmeal (either quick-cooking or old-fashioned oatmeal; I like to use the old-fashioned)
1/2 cup of brown sugar
1/2 cup cooking oil
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 apple chopped
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Chop apple and put into a mixing bowl. Add the raisins. Measure out the remaining ingredients. Stir just until the dry ingredients are moistened. Grease muffin cups and fill to 2/3 full. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool for 5 to 10 minutes, then remove from the muffin tins. Makes 2 dozen muffins.

Hint: Instead of greasing the muffin tins, use cupcake papers. That way you won't have to work so hard to scrub out your muffin tins.

About The Author

LeAnn R. Ralph is the author of the books: "Christmas in Dairyland (True Stories from a Wisconsin Farm)" and "Preserve Your Family History (A Step-by-Step Guide for Writing Oral Historyies)." You are invited to order a book from Rural Route 2. You also are invited to sign up for the FREE! monthly newsletter, Rural Route 2 News. Visit — http://ruralroute2.com

bigpines@ruralroute2.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=LeAnn_R._Ralph

Easy No-Roll Pie Crust

2008-04-27T13:12:00.001-07:00

EASY No-Roll Pie Crust

3 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar
2/3 cup cooking oil (I like to use Canola oil)
1/3 cup water or milk

Measure all ingredients into a mixing bowl and stir with a fork. Pat into pie pan with fingers or use the back of a spoon. Use with your favorite pie recipes.

This recipe will make enough for:

3 eight-inch one-crust pies (or)
2 eight-inch two-crust pies (or)
2 ten-inch one-crust pies (or)
1 ten-inch two-crust pie with a generous crumble crust.

To make the crumble crust, use half of the mixture for the bottom crust and then add 1/4 cup brown sugar to the remainder and sprinkle on top of your pie filling.

For a baked pie shell, bake the crust at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until light brown.

About The Author

LeAnn R. Ralph is the author of the books: "Christmas in Dairyland (True Stories from a Wisconsin Farm)" and "Preserve Your Family History (A Step-by-Step Guide for Writing Oral Histories" (e-book). You are invited to order a book from Rural Route 2. You are also invited to sign up for LeAnn's FREE! monthly newsletter, Rural Route 2 News. Visit — http://ruralroute2.com

bigpines@ruralroute2.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=LeAnn_R._Ralph

Edith's Cake That Thrilled the French

2008-04-26T16:02:00.001-07:00

Twenty-three chefs who cooked for world royalty and heads of state (The Club des Chefs des Chefs) were, during their 1987 visit to the U.S., wined and dined with the best our finest chefs had to offer. What impressed them most? Lunch at an Amish farm in Pennsylvania, where they ate homegrown new potatoes, string beans with cream sauce and corn, charcoal-grilled chicken, and baked ham, washed down with homemade root beer and peppermint tea, served by the family in a barn lined with handmade quilts.

They were stunned. Happily so, it seems. The chef for the president of France said, “Cooking has evolved so much. Nobody presents the true product as it is, and all of a sudden we were presented that.”

But the desserts impressed them most. Especially one they couldn’t name. One they described as a light “pain d’epices” (spice cake) with a layer of chocolate filling. Gilles Brunner, chef to Prince Rainier of Monaco, was so taken with the cake, which he described as a chocolate gingerbread, that he tried to get the recipe. His request was refused.

The Amish family did not want their identity revealed, which refusal greatly hampered efforts to identify the cake as well. Research by Phyllis Richman, then food editor of the Washington Post, seemed to show that the mystery dessert was Amish applesauce cake with chocolate frosting, and the Post printed a version of it contributed by Betty Groff, a cookbook author from the Pennsylvania Dutch country.

Which applesauce cake turned out to be pretty much what our family had been enjoying since my father married Edith Kennedy in 1977, and which Edith’s family had been enjoying long before that. Her daughter, Lorenelle Doll, who gave me the recipe, says that it was a favorite of my father and Lorenelle’s husband Arnie. (So far as I know, Edith didn’t actually feed any to a French chef.)

I like to think Edith’s version is better than Betty Groff’s, because that recipe says to “frost with vanilla or chocolate frosting if desired.” Whereas Edith’s gives a recipe for chocolate frosting MADE WITH BUTTER. And in my view the humblest frosting made with butter is better than the fanciest frosting made without. I’m not implying that Edith’s frosting is humble. It isn’t. It’s purely wonderful, as is her cake.

Edith Kennedy Glidewell went to be with her Lord in March 2002, but before that she gladdened many hearts in many ways, this applesauce cake not the least of them.

EDITH’S APPLESAUCE CAKE

Cream together 1/2 cup room temperature butter or shortening and 1 cup sugar. Add 1 egg and beat together. Mix in 1-1/2 cups applesauce.

Sift together 2 cups flour, 1 tsp. baking powder, 1 tsp. soda, 1 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. cinnamon, 1/2 tsp. allspice, 1/2 tsp. nutmeg, and 1/4 tsp. cloves. Add to applesauce mixture, along with 1 cup raisins and 3/4 cup chopped walnuts.

Lightly oil a 9" x 12" pan and dust with flour. Add the cake mixture and bake at 350 degrees 50 to 60 minutes, until the top of the cake’s center springs back when touched. Frost with chocolate frosting when cool.

Chocolate Frosting: Combine in a heavy saucepan or double boiler 1 square baker’s unsweetened chocolate, 1 cup sugar, 1/4 cup butter, and 1/3 cup milk. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, and cook 1 minute. Cool and beat until the frosting has a satin finish.

About The Author

Find Janette Blackwell’s hilarious cookbook, “Steamin’ Down the Tracks with Viola Hockenberry,” at foodandfiction.com

Janette@foodandfiction.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Janette_Blackwell

Seafood Fettuccine Alfredo

2008-04-26T16:01:00.004-07:00

Seafood Fettuccine is always a top seller in our restaurants. Any pasta alfredo recipe is easy to prepare making it a great choice for family and friends. The alfredo sauce can be made several days in advance, so when it comes time to make the meal it’s a breeze. Once you master the sauce, you can use any type of protein, vegetable or pasta you desire. Giving you and endless variety of meals for the future.

Serves 4-6

16 ea Prawns (31-35 count)
8 oz. Bay scallops
1 cup Flour – all purpose
12 oz. Fish (choice of salmon, cod, halibut) – cut into 1” pieces
8 oz. Clams
6 oz. Mussels
3 oz. White wine (optional)
4 Tbsp. Olive oil
¼ tsp. Kosher salt
½ tsp. Pepper
1 lb Fettuccine – dry then cooked al dente
½ cup Parmesan - shredded
4 Tbsp. Red bell pepper – diced
2 Tbsp. Fresh parsley – chopped
4 cups Alfredo sauce – recipe follows

Heat oil in a large sauce or sauté pan on medium high heat until hot. Season prawns, scallops and fish with salt and pepper then dredge in flour. Add to the pan and cook until about half way done. Add clams and mussels and continue cooking until they open up.

Remove clams and mussels from pan and deglaze pan with white wine. Add fettuccine and alfredo sauce and cook until hot and sauce coats the pasta. Transfer to a serving dish and top with clams and mussels, then garnish with parmesan, diced peppers and parsley.

Note: Do not use any clams or mussels that are already open before cooking or won’t open when cooked.

Alfredo sauce

Yields 4 cup

6 cups Heavy whipping cream
¼ lb Butter
2 Tbsp. Garlic – chopped
1½ tsp. Kosher salt
1 tsp. White pepper
3 Tbsp. White wine (optional)
1 cup Parmesan cheese - shredded

In a sauce pot over medium heat, cook the garlic and butter until soft. Add the heavy cream, wine, salt and pepper and reduce until a thin sauce consistency is achieved. Remove from heat and stir in the parmesan cheese.

Note: Whipping cream bubbles over very easily. Keep an eye on it. If it begins to boil over, reduce the heat.

About The Author

Chef Richard has worked for some of the top fine dining restaurants in the United States and is the author of the ebook “Chef’s Special”. You can find free recipes, informative articles and order the ebook at http://www.csrecipes.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Richard_Massey

Parmesan Crusted Sole with Lemon Beurre Blanc

2008-04-26T16:01:00.003-07:00

Sole/flounder is a refreshing sweet and mild flavored fish which allows it to be used in a variety of ways. With its long thin flesh, sole is often stuffed or used in other extravagant plate presentations. Because this fish is very thin it’s a great choice to pan fry for a quick meal. Parmesan crusted sole is the best of both worlds, it’s eloquent and fast. You can make it look even better with some fresh chives, tarragon or basil. Even if you don’t like fish, you’ll love this recipe.

Serves 4

4 ea. Sole fillet (6-8 oz) – if the fillets are small use 2 per serving
1 ½ cups Panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
½ cup Grated parmesan cheese
4 Tbsp. Parsley - minced
½ tsp. Granulated garlic
¼ tsp. Kosher salt
½ tsp. Pepper
½ cup Flour – all purpose
3 ea. Eggs
1 cup Milk
4 Tbsp. Butter
4 Tbsp. Olive oil
1 cup Lemon beurre blanc

In a food processor blend panko, parmesan and parsley until fine. Transfer to a shallow pan. In a separate pan whip eggs and milk until well combined. In a third pan place the flour.

Take the sole fillets and season with salt, pepper and granulated garlic. Dredge sole in flour, then egg wash and finally in the parmesan/panko mix. Pat the parmesan and panko into the sole until the mix sticks to the fish.

In a large sauté pan heat butter and olive oil until hot. Carefully place sole in the pan and shake the pan to make sure the fish doesn’t stick. When sole is golden brown, flip over and continue to cook. When sole is done (120° F internally), transfer to plate and top with lemon beurre blanc.

Lemon Beurre Blanc

Yields 1 cup

1 cup White wine
1 Tbsp. White wine vinegar
1 Tbsp. Shallots
4 Tbsp. Heavy whipping cream
¼ lb Butter – unsalted, chilled, cut into cubes
2 Tbsp. Lemon pulp – chopped (see note)
1 tsp. Lemon zest - minced
1/8 tsp. Kosher salt
1/8 tsp. White pepper

In a sauce pan over medium high heat, combine wine, vinegar and shallots. Reduce until almost a syrup consistency. Add cream and continue to cook reducing by half. Turn the heat to low and add butter cubes 2 at a time while stirring until all the butter is added and sauce is a creamy consistency. Season with salt and pepper.

Note: If the butter is not chilled it will not incorporate into the sauce. Also if the wine mixture is not reduced far enough the sauce will be runny.

Note: To make the lemon pulp, cut off the rind including the white part. Cut between the sections removing just the pulp. At the same time removing any seeds. Place the pulp and any juice in a cup. It is also a good idea to zest the lemon first.

About The Author

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Richard_Massey

Easy Spaghetti Recipes

2008-04-26T16:01:00.001-07:00

Spaghetti has always been a favorite family meal. My teenage daughter will eat leftover spaghetti for breakfast, lunch, and as a mid-afternoon snack. Not everyone loves spaghetti so much that they will go to that extreme, however, and the same meals can getting boring after awhile. Here are some ways to jazz up this old favorite:

Italian Sausage Spaghetti

2 lbs. Italian sausage
48 oz. spaghetti sauce
1 (6 oz.) can tomato paste
Green pepper, sliced thin
1 lg. onion, sliced thin
1 tbsp. Parmesan cheese
1 tsp. parsley flakes
1 c. water

Place sausage in skillet and cover in water. Simmer 10 minutes; drain. Meanwhile, place remaining ingredients in crock pot. Add drained sausage and cover; cook on low 4 hours. Increase to high; cook 1 hour more. Cut sausage in bite-size slices and serve over cooked spaghetti. Sprinkle with more Parmesan, if desired.

Irish Italian Spaghetti

1 onion, chopped
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 lb. ground beef
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
Dash of red pepper
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. tabasco sauce
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can condensed tomato soup
1 (8 oz.) package spaghetti
1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese

Brown onion in oil. Add meat and seasonings. Brown lightly, cover. Simmer 10 minutes. Add soups, cover and simmer 45 minutes. Cook spaghetti. Cover with sauce and Parmesan cheese.

Baked Spaghetti

1 c. chopped onion
1 c. chopped green pepper
1 tbsp. butter or margarine
1 (28 oz.) can tomatoes with liquid, cut up
1 (4 oz.) can mushroom stems and pieces, drained
1 (2 1/4 oz.) can sliced ripe olives, drained
2 tsp. dried oregano
1 lb. hamburger, browned
12 oz. spaghetti, cooked and drained
2 c. shredded Cheddar cheese
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/4 c. water
1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese

In a large skillet, saute onion and green pepper in butter until tender. Add tomatoes, mushrooms, olives, and oregano. Add ground beef. Simmer, uncovered for 10 minutes. Place half of the spaghetti in a greased 13x9x2-inch baking dish. Top with half of the vegetable mixture. Sprinkle with 1 c. cheddar cheese. Repeat layers. Mix soup and water until smooth; pour over casserole. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes. Six to 8 servings.

Chicken Spaghetti Casserole

1/2 c. margarine
1 c. chopped red bell pepper
1 (4 oz.) can sliced mushrooms, chopped
1/4 c. chopped hot pepper rings
2 c. chicken broth
1/4 c. flour
2 c. cooked chicken, chopped
1 (4 oz.) can diced pimento
1 tsp. salt
1 oz. chopped slivered almonds
1/2 lb. spaghetti, broken
4 slices American cheese

Melt margarine and cook peppers and mushrooms until tender; add flour and blend well. Add chicken broth. Cook and stir until thickened. Add chicken, pimento, and seasonings; heat and add almonds.

Cook spaghetti in boiling water for about 9 minutes. Drain and mix with previous ingredients. Place in casserole dish and cover with slices of American cheese. Heat at 325 degrees until cheese is melted (approx. 30 to 45 minutes). Serve.

About The Author

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rachel_Paxton

Easy to Make Guacamole Dip

2008-04-26T16:00:00.003-07:00

You can make guacamole that people will rave about! It’s easy, and you don’t need any fancy kitchen utensils or appliances.

What You’ll Need To Have Ready

Assemble the following kitchen items:

Cutting board
Sharp knife
A shallow-lipped dish or bowl, preferably with a flat bottom
A potato masher, hand-held is better than an electric whipper

Ingredients (for one batch, feeds 2-4 people as a side dish or dip for chips):

2 Haas avocados*
Fresh cilantro (usually comes in a small bunch or plastic bag in the produce area)
2 Roma tomatoes
2 fresh limes (not lime juice)
Sour Cream (fat-free is OK)
1 package of Guacamole seasoning (Schilling, McCormick, or Lawry)
Cumin (a spice)
Your favorite salsa (homemade or favorite brand)
Favorite tortilla chips

* Do not use green-skinned “Chilean” avocados. Haas (or “California”) avocados have a very dark skin, almost brown, and the skin has a “wrinkled” appearance. To select avocados that are “ripe” (ready to use), pick up the avocado, hold it in your palm (like you are holding a ball), and squeeze very gently, but with some pressure. The avocado should “give” a little (that is, not feel solid or too firm). If it is “squishy” (really soft), then try another one. Don’t buy too far ahead of time (I like to get them the day before). DO NOT REFRIGERATE prior to making the guacamole.

Making the Guacamole

1. Rinse the avocados. With a sharp knife, but avocado in half. There is a very hard “seed” inside the avocado, so after you’ve sliced it all the way around, grasp the two halves and “twist” to pull apart. You can scoop out the seed with a spoon, then scoop avocado flesh out of the skin and put in the dish or bowl.

2. Pinch off several leaves from the tops of the cilantro and rinse. Trim off stems. Cut through the leaves many times until as finely minced as possible. Scrape into avocado.

NOTE: Cilantro is very potent. Start with just a little bit. After the guacamole has been completely mixed, taste test. If you need more “zest,” then begin to add a little more cilantro and taste. Continue until you have the zesty flavor that is right for you!

3. Rinse the tomatoes. Cut in small pieces and then mince as finely as possible. Add to the avocado.

NOTE: I like to do the cilantro first, and then the tomatoes, without rinsing off the cutting board. This way, you can pick up all the cilantro flavoring that’s still on the cutting board!

4. Cut one lime in half. Take one half and squeeze most of the juice into the avocado.

NOTE: Limes can be very strong, flavor-wise. Start with just half a lime. If you need more of a lime flavor, after making the guacamole, you can squeeze in a little more juice. Be careful! Don’t add too much liquid to the guacamole or it will be too runny!

5. Spoon in a dollop of sour cream (about a soup-spoonful) into the avocado.

6. Open and empty the entire packet of guacamole seasoning into the avocado.

7. Add a “pinch” of cumin to the avocado.

NOTE: Cumin is a very strongly flavored spice. Add in just a little bit at a time until you have the right taste that’s best for you.

8. Add a spoonful of salsa (about a soup-spoonful) to the avocado.

Now that you have all the ingredients in one bowl, begin to mash (with your potato masher). Continue mashing until almost all of the avocado has been mashed smooth (that is, mash until only little chunks of avocado are left, some avocado will be thoroughly mashed like mashed potatoes).

Taste, using a chip that you are going to serve with it. Depending on your personal preferences, you can now begin to add small amounts of cilantro, lime, and cumin until you have just the right zestiness! If you go overboard on any one ingredient, you can offset with little pinches of sugar (add in a pinch at a time, mix well, and taste), until you have the perfect flavor.

Provides enough dip for 2-4 people. If using as a side dish to tacos, burritos, or fajitas, you might want to double the recipe so that you have enough for the side dish and as a dip for chips.

When To Make and How To Store Your Guacamole

You can make the guacamole ahead of time, although I recommend that you make it the same day that you are going to serve it.

Put freshly made guacamole in a glass dish or container, and refrigerate. If you are going to be refrigerating for more than 6 hours, add 1 teaspoon of reconstituted lemon juice, and mix in well. This will prevent the guacamole from turning brown.

When you are ready to serve, I suggest that you serve in a wooden bowl. Using a cut lime, smear the inside of the wooden bowl with just enough lime juice to wet the surface. Spoon in the guacamole.

For a festive touch, spoon a very small dollop of sour cream into the middle of the guacamole. Break off one or two leaves of cilantro, leaving enough stem so that you can push down into the sour cream (so that the cilantro leaves stand up). Then rim the outer edge of the guacamole with a little bit of freshly minced tomato.

Serve with chips or as a side dish to your favorite Mexican or Tex-Mex meal!

About The Author

Jan K., The Proofer is freelance proofreader and copyeditor.

Visit http://www.janktheproofer.com for more information about Jan’s services; for work at home articles and free printables. For work at home moms, visit Jan’s sister site http://work-at-home.momsbreak.com for articles, free printables, and work at home T-shirts and other fun products.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jan_Kovarik

Sicily's Great Eggplant - Tomato Stew

2008-04-26T16:00:00.001-07:00

I ran into a friend yesterday, who tells me that he should be harvesting eggplants from his garden any day now. Of course, this got me thinking about Caponata, the famous Sicilian eggplant and tomato stew.

This is a terrific 'contorno', vegetable course, and also a great topping for 'bruschetta', Tuscany’s grilled bread. Of course it's one of the quintessential Italian antipasti too. And when you can walk into your own garden and harvest the vegetables to put it together, Caponata becomes all the more magical.

Italians have a particular fondness for 'le primizie', the smallest of the first crop of vegetables. So if you have access to a garden—either your own or a friend's—or if you can get to a farm stand, now is the time for you to be thinking about caponata too.

The recipe below is excerpted from my first cookbook, "La Cucina dei Poveri."

My Grandmother's Caponata

When the garden was in full swing during the summer, Noonie (my grandmother) would harvest—well, more accurately, she would direct Pop (my grandfather) to harvest some eggplant, tomatoes, and peppers for this delicious antipasto that she referred to as 'Caponatina. My recollections fail as to how she served it, but I’m betting that it was over a piece of Italian bread that Pop had fried in olive oil.

Nowadays, I serve it over bruschetta made from some good Tuscan bread which—I’m happy to report—seems to be turning up more and more frequently at supermarket bakeries.

Ingredients:

4 Tbs. Olive oil
2 Cloves garlic, peeled, and thinly sliced
1 Medium onion, peeled, and chopped
1 Medium eggplant (approximately 1 1/4 Lb.) cut into 1 inch cubes
2 Medium bell peppers
1/4 Lb. Green olives, pits removed
1 Tbs. Capers
1 Cup Italian plum tomatoes, roughly chopped
1/4 Cup sugar
1/4Cup red wine vinegar
1/2 Cup raisins
2 Tbs. Fresh mint, chopped
1/4 tsp. Red pepper flakes

Preparation:

Heat the olive oil in a sauté pan over medium-high heat, then add the garlic. Sauté until the garlic just begins to give off its aroma—perhaps a minute or two. Add the onion and sauté for about five minutes, until it becomes translucent.

Add the eggplant and sauté for about five minutes or until it begins to soften, but still has plenty of texture. Add the peppers, olives, and capers and sauté until the peppers become tender. Add the tomatoes and continue cooking to incorporate the tomatoes with the other ingredients and to begin to form a sauce.

Add the sugar, spreading it evenly over the pan, then the vinegar, raisins, mint, and red pepper flakes. Stir well to blend all the ingredients, then remove from the heat.

Italians typically serve Caponata at room temperature.

Serves four to six.

About The Author

Skip Lombardi is the author of two cookbooks: "La Cucina dei Poveri: Recipes from my Sicilian Grandparents," and "Almost Italian: Recipes from America's Little Italys." He has been a Broadway musician, high-school math teacher, software engineer, and a fledgeling blogger. But he has never let any of those pursuits get in the way of his passion for cooking and eating. Visit his Web site to learn more about his cookbooks. http://www.skiplombardi.com or contact Mr. Lombardi at

info@skiplombardi.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Skip_Lombardi

Frugal Outdoor Cooking

2008-04-26T15:59:00.001-07:00

Firing up the grill is a great way to cook in the summer! Here are a few grilling tips and a couple of recipes, too.

For great grilled burgers, form the patty gently. Smashing the meat forces out moisture.

Sear both sides of the burger on both sides, then move the burger and cook with indirect heat till done.

Use a meat thermometer to gauge when the meat is done. Ground beef should be cooked to an internal temperature of 160 degrees.

When grilling chicken, remember that dark meat needs longer on the grill than breast meat. Also, bone-in parts cook longer than boneless parts.

Place the pieces that need to cook the longest on the grill first, and then move them to a cooler area of the grill to finish cooking after they have browned.

Again, use a meat thermometer to tell when chicken is done. Bone-in parts should be cooked to an internal temperature of 170 degrees; boneless parts to about 160 degrees.

Tropical Glaze for Grilled Chicken

1 small can crushed pineapple
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon mustard

Drain pineapple, reserving 2 tablespoons of juice. Mix pineapple, reserved juice, brown sugar, lemon juice and mustard.

Brush chicken parts with glaze often during last 10 minutes of grilling.

Barbecue Sauce

1 cup ketchup
1 cup water
1/4 cup vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon celery seed
2 or 3 dashes hot pepper sauce (optional)

Mix all ingredients in saucepan; bring mixture to boil over medium heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes.

Use to baste burgers or pork chops during last 10-15 minutes of grilling.

= = = = = = = = = = =

Always be sure to cook on a clean grill. If you have a gas grill, leave it on for a couple of minutes after you finish cooking, with the lid down. If you have a charcoal grill, just close the lid and let it burn out. Then you can scrub the grate with a wad of aluminum foil.

Don't cook at too high a temperature and don't lift the lid and peek too many times. You'll just be adding to the cooking time, because the temperature will be lowered.

For a great warm weather dessert, try this cool fruit combination.

1 cup low-fat vanilla yogurt
1 tablespoon honey
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Stir together and spoon over sliced fresh bananas.

About The Author

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Cyndi_Roberts

School Lunches the Frugal Way!

2008-04-26T15:58:00.003-07:00

It seems that school starts earlier every year. So it's time to start thinking about what to put in those school lunches every morning.

My children always wanted to bring their own lunches because they didn't really like what was offered in the school lunchroom. But it was sometimes a little difficult to make their lunches nutritious and tasty and also to put a little variety in their lunchboxes without spending a small fortune.

If we let ourselves, we can spend a "lot" on individual servings, lunchables, and treats for lunches. Here are a few ideas to help you meet the "Frugal Lunchbox Challenge".

Go to the Dollar Store and buy a few of those individual serving-size storage containers. These are very inexpensive and they are worth every penny.

You can use them for any number of things--like making your own fruit cups and pudding cups.

And they can also be used to hold dip for carrot or celery sticks or fill with peanut butter and pack a zipper bag of pretzels for dipping.

Also at the Dollar Store or discount store, you can pick up one or two of the small "blue ice" cold packs. They will help keep lunchbox items cold and safe. Sandwiches such as egg salad or tuna salad need to have a cold pack. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, on the other hand, can be packed without one.

Those zipper bags we all love come into their own when packing lunches! They can hold vegetable sticks, popcorn, crackers, homemade cookies, etc.

Muffins hold up well in a zipper-top bag, as do slices of banana nut bread, or most any other quick bread.

When the weather turns cool, a small thermos will come in handy for homemade soup or chili. I see lots of these for sale at garage and yard sales, sometimes for as little as 25 cents.

A thermos is also handy to hold whatever drink your child likes to take.

Try to put some fun in the lunchbox: keep a stash of small, inexpensive toys, cut sandwich bread into cool shapes with cookie cutters, write little notes to your child, cut out funny cartoons. Children love surprises.

A good routine to get into is while you are cleaning up the kitchen after dinner, put leftovers in the storage containers, or make sandwiches and place in the fridge in a designated area for lunch items. Get your kids to help--the more they are involved, the better!

Put napkins, etc. in lunch boxes or bags and place them where all anyone has to do in the morning is fill with the prepared items. Now you can all be out the door in minutes!

Here are a few recipes that will help get you started this school year:

Apple Surprise

1 apple
Raisins
Peanut butter

Cut apple in half. Carefully, cut out the core of the apple. Spread peanut butter where the core used to be and over surface of apple. Sprinkle raisins over the peanut butter.

Use Up Those Leftovers!

2008-04-26T15:58:00.001-07:00

Managing leftovers is a challenge we all face! Throwing food away is just like throwing money away. With a little time,organization and using a little ingenuity, leftovers can be dealt with efficiently.

Be sure to refrigerate leftovers promptly and use them within one or two days or freeze. If you have any doubt about whether a food is still safe to eat, throw it out!

Keep your leftovers in a section of your fridge that you designate only for leftovers. Then it's easy to see what you have.

Leftover meat like roast beef, turkey or chicken can easily be used in sandwiches for tomorrow's lunch. Or it can be chopped, frozen and used in a casserole later in the week.

Leftover ham makes great ham salad or you can use it to make ham and bean soup.

Leftover onions, green peppers can be chopped and sealed in zipper-top bags and kept in the freezer. It's economical and time-saving, too. Next time you need chopped onions, just pull a bag out of the freezer!

Leftover bread can be used to make bread pudding. If your family doesn't eat the heels of a loaf of bread, keep a bag in the freezer and add the heels until you have enough.

Favorite Bread Pudding

3 cups soft bread crumbs
2 cups milk, scalded with 1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 teaspoon cinnamon or nutmeg

Place bread crumbs in a 1 1/2 quart baking dish. Stir remaining ingredients together and pour over bread crumbs, mixing well.

Place baking dish in pan of hot water (water should be about 1" deep) and bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 40 - 45 minutes. Test for doneness by inserting a knife 1 inch from edge - it should come out clean.

Delicious warm!

Bread can also be used to make croutons. Just cut the bread into cubes. Toss with melted butter, seasoned salt, parmesan cheese, and whatever other seasonings you like. Bake in a 300 degree oven till the cubes are golden brown.

Use these croutons to top salads or casseroles or even as a snack.

If you have leftover mashed potatoes, besides the obvious potato cakes, try this: Fry an egg and serve over a warm mound of mashed potatoes. Makes a different kind of supper.

Make a meal from leftovers seem special by adding homemade rolls or biscuits. Or serve along with a family favorite side dish or salad.

“They take great pride in making their dinner cost much; I take my pride in making my dinner cost so little.”
---Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)

About The Author

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Cyndi_Roberts

Are You Looking for a Breathtaking Chili?

2008-04-26T15:57:00.003-07:00

Chili cooks always want to discover that award-winning chili recipe that will be breathtaking for their family and friends and maybe even impress a few chili contest judges. Wouldn't it be exciting to UNLEASH your chili and rock your family and friends' worlds, save money and have a great time preparing it?

In my interviews with outstanding chili cooks, I have developed some breathtaking chili recipes that are easy, time and money saving and make your body tingle from the first taste right down to your toes.

The secret ingredient is the key to this breathtaking recipe. This secret "sauce" sets this chili apart from the rest. Actually, it is so sensational that it makes this easy and timesaving chili unbelievably flavorful.

Finding a recipe that uses your local grocery store ingredients is another time and money saving benefit of this chili. There are no fancy ingredients that you have to go to a specialty shop to buy. So, you can get the ingredients during one of your weekly food shopping trips.

This recipe produces a sultry chili that your family and friends will think came from a high-class restaurant.

Ingredients

4-5 lbs. ground beef of your choice
¼ cup of olive oil if needed to brown meat
64 ozs. V8 Juice for 4-5 lbs.
1 onion for each pound of meat
1/4 cup of brown sugar or honey
1 bell pepper for each lb. of meat
2-3 cloves garlic for each lb. of meat
3 jalapenos or 1 habanera
2 tablespoons cumin
½ cup finely chopped parsley or cilantro
2 tablespoons of chili powder (your favorite)
1 teaspoon of celery seed
1 bay leaf for each pound of meat
1 - 16 oz. can dark kidney beans for each lb. of meat
salt and pepper to taste
10 mushrooms per pound of meat
1 tablespoon of the SECRET INGREDIENT

Ground beef or ground round should be at least 80% lean. Brown ground beef with olive oil.

Salt and Pepper-to taste throughout the recipe.

After meat is browned, add onions, bell peppers, bay leaves and garlic.

Add secret ingredient.

Add chopped mushrooms.

Add celery seed.

Add brown sugar or honey.

V8 juice is added next.

Cook down for about 10 minutes at a simmer.

Add beans last and cook them until they are done to your taste.

Cook this entire batch of chili until you get it comin' up. Bubbling a little. Do not boil. Turn it off and let it sit, let it sit, and let it sit. You can even let it sit so long that it gets cold.

Then, reheat it.

Siphon off the grease when it cools - the whitish looking stuff on the top.

To discover the "Secret Ingredient" that makes this chili breathtaking plus 9 SECRET TIPS for "unleashing" your chili, email breathtakingchili@chiliunleashed.com

About The Author

Coach and Paula McCoach are the owners of Coach's Coffee Company, Inc. They have created special blends of coffee for coffee connoisseurs who like a caffeine kick. Coach's Coffee started by serving America's Civil War reenactors in 1997. Cups of their coffee are made by using Open-Pot Brewin,'ä a coffee brewing technique created by Coach and Paula to get the best brew from their high-altitude beans. Paula McCoach is now publishing her gourmet recipes, which are another of her culinary creations. For more information on Open-Pot Brewin,' send an email to coach@coachscoffee.net

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Paula_McCoach

How to Make a Seductive Chili

2008-04-26T15:57:00.001-07:00

Dedicated Chili cooks always seem to be looking for an amazing recipe for a blow-you-out-of-the-water chili. Wouldn't it be exciting to UNLEASH your chili and rock your family and friends’ worlds, save money and have a great time preparing it?

Searching the Internet, I found so many of you looking for new chili recipes. My husband, Coach, is a gourmet cook who has developed chili recipes that are easy, time and money saving and make your body tingle from the first taste right down to your toes.

Slow cooking is the key to this dynamic recipe. Due to this cooking process, less expensive cuts of meat can be used. Actually, they are more flavorful and tender using this process. We have found a sultry and seductive chili is produced using a slow cooking technique.

Finding a recipe that uses your local grocery store ingredients is a time and money saving benefit of this chili. There are no fancy ingredients that you have to go to a specialty shop to buy. So, you can get the ingredients during one of your weekly food shopping trips. This recipe is time and money saving and produces a sultry chili that your family and friends will think came from a high-class restaurant.

Try this recipe and send us your comments and suggestions.

Dynamic Chuck/Pork Roast Chili

One Pot Chili that Cooks Itself

Ingredients

3-5 lb. pork roast

salt and pepper to taste

1 onion

1 red, green or yellow bell pepper

½ cup finely chopped parsley or cilantro

4 cloves of garlic

2-3 chopped jalapenos with seeds

1 teaspoon of salt

2 tablespoons of cumin

1 tablespoon of chili powder

(A local grocery store brand is fine.)

3 16 oz. can of black beans

Use one 16 oz. can of beans for every pound of meat.

To discover the "Secret Ingredient" that makes this chili seductive plus 11 SECRET TIPS for "unleashing" your chili, email coach@chiliunleashed.com

Trim fat down to you dietary requirement or remove after cooking. Leave the bone in to cook - it adds more flavor.

Put chuck roast or pork roast in roasting pan with a lid. Add 64 ozs. of liquid in with the meat. Salt and pepper the meat. Put the fat side up. Roast the meat only on 350 degrees for 2 hours. Leave the bone in the meat.

After roasting the meat for 2 hours, put in all of the remaining chili ingredients. Putting the vegetables in for the last hour will not only cook them through, but the vegetables will maintain their color and consistency. This cooking technique will not allow them to be absorbed into the broth.

Add onion of your choice, green, red, or yellow bell pepper. Add chopped cilantro, chopped garlic, and finely chopped jalapenos. If you want more heat, put the seeds in from the hot pepper. Otherwise discard the seeds.

For spices, add salt, cumin, and your favorite chili powder.

At the end of the 2-hour cooking time, add the vegetables and seasonings to the meat broth. Remove the meat and let stand. Be sure the meat is tender enough - it should be almost falling off the bone. Stir the vegetables into the meat broth. Roast the vegetables and V8 broth for one hour at 350 degrees.

Check the vegetable mixture after an hour, and if vegetables are cooked through, remove the pan from the oven. Stir in 3 cans of beans. Cover and let sit about 30 minutes until beans heat through.

Pull the meat apart into shreds. Discard fat and bone. Add the meat into the bean and broth mixture.

Serve with sour cream and shredded cheddar cheese. Makes 17 servings for $$$24. That’s $1.41 per serving.

About The Author

Coach and Paula McCoach are the owners of Coach’s Coffee Company, Inc. They have created special blends of coffee for coffee connoisseurs who like a caffeine kick. Coach’s Coffee started by serving America’s Civil War reenactors in 1997. Cups of their coffee are made by using Open-Pot Brewin,’ä a coffee brewing technique created by Coach and Paula to get the best brew from their high-altitude beans. Paula McCoach is now publishing her gourmet recipes, which are another of her culinary creations. For more information on Open-Pot Brewin,’ send an email to pmccoach@mchsi.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Paula_McCoach

How to Make a Tantalizing White Lightening Chili

2008-04-26T15:56:00.001-07:00

Chili cooks always want to discover that award-winning chili recipe that will be tantalizing for their family and friends and maybe even impress a few chili contest judges. Wouldn't it be exciting to UNLEASH your chili and rock your family and friends’ worlds, save money and have a great time preparing it?

In my interviews with outstanding chili cooks, I have developed some tantalizing chili recipes that are easy, time and money saving and make your body tingle from the first taste right down to your toes.

The secret ingredient is the key to this tantalizing recipe. This secret ingredient sets this chili apart from the rest. Actually, it is so sensational that it makes this easy and timesaving chili unbelievably flavorful.

This recipe produces a sultry chili that your family and friends will think came from a high-class restaurant.

Try this recipe and send us your comments and suggestions.

Ingredients

3 lbs. of pork, chicken or turkey

2-4 cloves of garlic to taste

1 large chopped onion

1-2 tablespoons of cumin

1 large bell pepper - green, yellow or red

4-6 16 oz. cans of your favorite white bean

1-3 finely chopped jalapeno peppers

If using pork, use a pork shoulder and cook about 2 ½ - 3 hours until you can pull it. With chicken or turkey, cook it for about 1½ hours in an inch of water at 350 degrees in a large covered roasting pan with a good lid to hold in the steam.

Use chicken or turkey breasts with the skin and bone for the extra flavor. Not necessary to use boneless breasts because more flavor is available with the skin and bone and it is more economical too.

If the chicken does not pull apart at 1½ hours, cook an additional 15 minutes until it does pull apart. With chicken or turkey, before you add the following ingredients, pull out the bones and unwanted gristle, etc. Only the meat is used in the chili.

The last half hour of the cooking process, add the following ingredients.

Cook chili mixture an additional ½ hour. Add 4-6 16 oz. cans of your favorite white bean.

Stir in the beans and leave it in the oven until the beans are warm and let it cool for 20-30 minutes. Reheat to serve.

To discover the "Secret Ingredient" that makes this chili tantalizing plus 5 SECRET TIPS for "unleashing" your chili, email pmccoach@mchsi.com

About The Author

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Paula_McCoach

Frugal and Easy Thanksgiving Recipes

2008-04-25T12:04:00.001-07:00

Here it is - that time of year when everyone's thoughts turn to food! I'm thankful that at our house, we have plenty of food, but sometimes I am not so grateful that I am the one who usually gets to cook it!

So I am always on the lookout for simple, tasty recipes that are also easy on the budget. Here are a few of my family's favorites:

Corn-Rice Casserole

1 1/2 cups minute rice (uncooked)
2 cans cream-style corn
1 small onion, chopped
1 medium green pepper, chopped
1/2 cup butter or margarine
8 oz. jar Cheez Whiz

Melt butter in large saucepan and add onion and green pepper. Cook until tender. Add other ingredients and cook on low for about 5 minutes, stirring often.

Pour into greased 2-quart baking dish and bake at 350 degrees until bubbly.

~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~

Sweet Potato Casserole

2 16-oz. cans sweet potatoes
1/4 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla

Topping:

1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup butter
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 cup flour

Drain sweet potatoes and mash. Add other ingredients and mix well. Pour into ungreased 9" square baking pan. Mix all topping ingredients till crumbly. Spread on yams then bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

Tip: You can make this the day before. Just refrigerate till you are ready to bake.

~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~

This one is perfect for supper the night before Thanksgiving.

Harvest Time Soup

1 1/2 cups water
1 cup cubed potatoes
1/2 cup chopped carrots
1/2 cup chopped celery
3/4 lb. process cheese spread, cubed
1 cup ham, cubed

Bring water, potatoes, carrots and celery to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer till vegetables are tender.

Add cheese and ham; cook, stirring till cheese is melted.

This makes about 4 servings, but it could easily be cut in half or doubled.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Samuel Adams, father of the American Revolution:

"It is therefore recommended ... to set apart Thursday the eighteenth day of December next, for solemn thanksgiving and praise, that with one heart and one voice the good people may express the grateful feelings of their hearts and consecrate themselves to the service of their divine benefactor ..."—November 1, 1777

(adopted by the 13 states as the first official Thanksgiving Proclamation)

About The Author

Cyndi Roberts is the editor of the "1 Frugal Friend 2 Another" bi-weekly newsletter and founder of the website of the same name.

Visit http://www.cynroberts.com to find creative tips, articles, and a free e-cooking book. Subscribe to the newsletter and receive the free e-course "Taming the Monster Grocery Bill".

editor@cynroberts.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Cyndi_Roberts

Tantalizing Turkey

2008-04-25T12:03:00.002-07:00

You too can make a spectacular turkey dinner!

TT has what you need to help you at every step. You even get carving directions with graphics, guidance about the best way to thaw, stuff and roast your turkey, recipes and more. See what's inside.

Get answers to your most pressing turkey questions about how leftover turkey can be stored properly and what do you need to do to a turkey just before roasting it. Pick up invaluable Turkey Tips about Thermometer Placement and even how do you will know when the turkey is done. Learn about thawing your turkey using both the refrigerator and the cold water methods.

Not sure how to "Get Stuffed" the right way? Never fear, follow the Tantalizing Turkey's simple guidelines and you are on your way! You even get complete details (with approximate cooking times) for the Open Pan Method of roasting your turkey.

Once your turkey is roasted to perfection, don't mess up the meal with poor carving, follow the easy to understand carving instructions (complete with diagrams).

The turkey however is only one part of the presentation. Don't miss out on the mouth watering Turkey Apple Stuffing recipe and complete details on how to make Turkey Gravy with drippings or without. The recipes continue with ideas for dealing with the leftovers (the best part). Lots of ideas for you to use up the remains of your bird and enjoy dessert with this recipe for Handy Turkey Cookies (which doesn't actually contain turkey but who cares it tastes great)!

Handy Turkey Cookies

(NAPSA) - A Thanksgiving feast is not complete without dessert. And such a sweet ending can be a terrific way for youngsters to join in the preparation. Decorating these simple, "handy" cookies can be a light, tasty way to top a scrumptious meal-with some help from the little ones.

Makes about 2 1/2 dozen cookies

For the dough:

1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar

For the decorations:

1 cup prepared vanilla frosting (from a 16 oz. can)
Assorted colored sugars
Mini chocolate chips
Candy corn
Red fruit leather

Special aids:

Hand-shaped template or cookie cutter
Small resealable plastic bag
Scissors

Making the cookies:

In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer set on medium speed, beat butter and sugar until fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add egg and beat for 1 minute longer. Beat in vanilla just until incorporated.

In a large bowl, whisk flour, baking soda and cream of tartar. Using a wooden spoon, stir butter mixture, one-third at a time, into flour mixture until blended. (The mixture will be crumbly.)

Gather dough into a ball; flatten into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly spray 2 baking sheets with vegetable cooking spray. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to a 1/4-inch thickness. Using a template made by cutting out a tracing of your hand or a hand-shaped cookie cutter, cut out cookies.

Transfer cutouts, 2 inches apart, to the prepared baking sheets. Reroll scraps for additional cookies. Bake until lightly browned around the edges, 8-10 minutes; transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Decorating the cookies:

Spoon frosting into a resealable plastic bag; snip off 1 corner. Pipe a feather design onto each finger.

Sprinkle "feathers" with colored sugar. Pipe a dot for the "eye" on each thumb. Place a mini chocolate chip on each frosting "eye." Cut a candy corn for each nose and attach to thumb with a little frosting.

Using scissors, cut the fruit leather on its backing paper into 2-inch pieces; cut out "wattles."

Remove paper from fruit leather. Using a dab of frosting, attach "wattles" to thumbs. Let stand until frosting is set, about 1 hour.

About The Author

Chris Sadler is Owner and WebAdmin of The 1001Recipes2Send.com Recipes Database. Become a member to recieve the weekly newsletter alert and download FREE eBooks at: http://www.1001Recipes2Send.com/Free.

Chris@1001Recipes2Send.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Chris_Sadler

The Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie Experience

2008-04-25T12:03:00.001-07:00

Just about everyone loves freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. Many of us have fond memories from our childhoods of the aroma of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies filling up the house. Our eager little eyes anxiously awaiting their arrival from oven to countertop.

Chocolate chip cookies are the ultimate comfort food. There’s just something about them that makes us feel warm and fuzzy. The chocolate chip cookie has evolved over the years into a mouth-watering variety of textures and flavors.

If you’re a fruit lover you’ll enjoy banana chocolate chip cookies or cherry chocolate chip cookies. Chocolate lovers will delight over chocolate chocolate chip cookies, double chocolate chip cookies and white chocolate chip cookies.

Another popular variation is the oatmeal chocolate chip cookie. Who knew that oatmeal would taste so good with chocolate?

If you want to spice up your favorite chocolate chip cookies even more, you can add tasty morsels like mint chips, craisins, candy bars, espresso beans, m&ms, candy cane, walnuts, peanuts, macadamia nuts, dark chocolate or big chunks of milk chocolate.

Some folks love eating gourmet chocolate chip cookie bars and even chocolate chip cookie pie!

If you have special dietary needs, you can still enjoy home baked chocolate chip cookies. There are special recipes online for low fat chocolate chip cookies, vegan chocolate chip cookies, wheat free and egg free chocolate chip cookies, and whole wheat chocolate chip cookies.

Now that you know about the many ways you can enjoy the world’s most famous cookie, I hope you will try many of the delicious recipes so you too can enjoy the ultimate chocolate chip cookie experience.

About The Author

Donna Monday is a contributing author at: http://www.best-cookie-jar-recipes.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Donna_Monday

Shake Things Up With Fun Milkshakes

2008-04-25T12:02:00.002-07:00

Milkshakes have been around since the old days of drugstore soda fountains. Now days we tend to drink milkshakes mainly when we go out for a bite to eat at a fast food restaurant.

Milkshakes are healthy (they contain calcium) and delicious. The most common milkshake flavors are: strawberry, vanilla and chocolate.

But you don’t have to wait for your next fast food trip to enjoy a frothy, cold milkshake. Why not whip out your blender and make your own?

Milkshakes are extremely easy to make and only take a minute or two. Kids especially love milkshakes. What a great way to get them to drink more milk.

If you’re bored with the regular strawberry, vanilla and chocolate milkshakes, try these mouth-watering variations:

Blueberry Breakfast Milkshake – with fresh blueberries and apple juice

Peanut Butter Cup Milkshake – with peanut butter cups and chocolate syrup

Jello Milkshake – with any flavor jello and vanilla ice cream

Chocolate Cherry Milkshake – with cherries and chocolate syrup

Chunky Monkey Milkshake – with bananas and chocolate chips

Vanilla Vision Milkshake – with vanilla pudding

Pumpkin Pie Milkshake – with canned pumpkin and cinnamon

Coffee Fudge Swirl Milkshake – with instant coffee and fudge ripple ice cream

Strawberry Orange Milkshake – with fresh strawberries and orange juice

Irish Milkshake – with Irish cream liquor

Chocolate Tofu Milkshake – with bananas, cocoa powder and maple syrup

You can find these refreshing cold drink milkshake recipes online with the click of your mouse. So start shaking things up with a fun milkshake today!

About The Author

Donna Monday is a contributing author at: http://www.1st-milkshake-n-smoothie-recipes.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Donna_Monday

No Bake Cookies Are Easy to Make and Fun to Eat

2008-04-25T12:02:00.001-07:00

Got an urge for a homemade cookie snack but don’t feel like mixing up a bunch of ingredients and baking? No problem. Whip up a batch of no bake cookies to satisfy your hunger craving.

No bake cookies are easy to make and involve only a few simple ingredients. Fresh ingredients like milk, butter, sugar, peanut butter, uncooked oatmeal (rolled oats), cocoa, marshmallows, chocolate chips, raisins and chopped walnuts or pecans are commonly used to make easy no bake cookies.

Online you can find many delicious and unique no bake cookie recipes like:

Chocolate Peanut Oatmeal Cookies
Chewy Chocolate Marshmallow Cookies
Chocolate Fudge Oatmeal Cookies
Crunchy Cereal Ball Cookies
Old Fashioned Rum Ball Cookies
Wonderful White Chocolate Cookies

Kids enjoy making no bake cookies as well as adults because it’s literally as easy as mixing all the ingredients together in a bowl, rolling the dough up into balls, and plopping them down on wax paper to cool.

The most fun part, of course, about no bake cookies is when you get to eat them! For so little effort, they’re a great big delight for your sweet tooth.

About The Author

Love Cookies? All Your favorites here http://www.best-cookie-jar-recipes.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Donna_Monday

Sot Suppe (Norwegian Sweet Soup)

2008-04-25T12:01:00.004-07:00

My mother was the daughter of Norwegian immigrants who homesteaded our small Wisconsin dairy farm in the late 1800s. When my mother was a child, sweet soup was a traditional part of Christmas Eve, served cold with julekake, lefse, Christmas bread, or open-faced sandwiches. Sweet Soup is made with dried fruit and tapioca.

Sot Suppe

6 cups water
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon quick-cooking tapioca
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (depending upon how well you like the taste of cinnamon; you can also use a cinnamon stick)
2 cups dried fruit (use any kind you like: apples, apricots, peaches or a mixture of dried fruit)
1 cup raisins (dark or golden)
1 cup dried prunes
1 tablespoon lemon juice (you can also use 1 teaspoon of dried lemon rind or several slices of fresh lemon)

In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, tapioca, cinnamon and water. Bring to boiling, stirring constantly. Stir in fruit (including the lemon if you’re using sliced lemon) and heat to boiling again. Cover. Simmer for 15 minutes, or until the fruit is tender.

After the fruit is tender, if you're using lemon juice, stir in the lemon juice (or teaspoon of dried lemon rind). Serve either cold or warm, depending upon your preference. If you use a sliced lemon, remove the lemon rind before serving.

For a light afternoon 'Norwegian' lunch (after hiking, sledding, snowshoeing or cross-country skiing), serve sweet soup with Julekake or Christmas bread, Christmas cookies, open-faced sandwiches, and a variety of sliced cheeses.

Sweet Soup also is good served cold on a hot summer day.

About The Author

LeAnn R. Ralph is a freelance writer for two newspapers in west central Wisconsin, is the editor of the Wisconsin Regional Writer (the quarterly publication of the Wisconsin Regional Writers' Assoc.) and is the author of the book, Christmas In Dairyland (True Stories From a Wisconsin Farm) (Aug. 2003); trade paperback. For more information about Christmas In Dairyland, visit http://ruralroute2.com

bigpines@ruralroute2.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=LeAnn_R._Ralph

A Healthy Summertime Snack For Your Kids

2008-04-25T12:01:00.003-07:00

Oh, for the lazy days of Summer.... As If!

Nowadays we all rush around trying to balance two jobs, the kids and running the house. Many of us are taking classes on top of that.

The end result is we often just grab whatever is handy to snack on. Chips or sweet snacks like cookies or snack cakes. Not very healthy,eh? Try this instead. Take a few minutes and buy a package of tropical fruit mix at the market along with some wooden skewers. Also buy a package of popcorn chicken bites ( Tyson makes some really good ones).

You have all you need to make a platter of mini kebobs that your children will love.

Just make some up in the morning and place on a platter in the fridge.

They'll grab 'em and go.

Here's the recipe instructions:

Take a skewer and slide two pieces of fruit on
add one piece of pre cooked popcorn chicken
add a slice of banana
you may also put cheese cubes next if you like
now just repeat the process until the skewers are filled up
arrange on a platter and cover with plastic wrap.

Chill and watch them disappear!

This idea works really well as an appetizer also. Simply use long toothpicks instead of skewers and arrange on a bed of rice or lettuce leaves.

To get my recipe "Sweet & Spicy Popcorn Chicken" free just e-mail me at ronnie8444@roniesmagickitchen.com. Please put popcorn chicken in the subject line. I hope you can use this idea.

Thanks,

Ronnie Daniels - http://roniesmagickitchen.com

About The Author

Ronnie Daniels is veteran Restaurant pro who wants to share his experience and make a lot of new friends. E-mail him with any cooking or food service questions you may have and he'll try to give you a useful answer. ronnie8444@roniesmagickitchen.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ronnie_Daniels

Fish Recipes

2008-04-25T12:01:00.001-07:00

These recipes are wonderful and they are old family recpies. Armenian Baked Fish

3 lbs. whitefish-in the white fleshed bland fish may be substituted
3 fresh tomatoes or one small canned tomatoes
1 cloves garlic mashed
1 tbsp. flour
1 c. water
4 tbsp. minced parsley
1/2 cup olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

fillet and rinse fish. Spread the fillets skin side down in a buttered baking pan. Cover fish with tomatoes garlic and the flour mixed with water. Spread with parsley. Seasoned with salt and pepper. Pour oil and lemon juice all around fish. Bake at 325 after 420 to 40 minutes depending on the thickness of the fish. Spoon pan juices over the fish several times while baking. May be served hot or cold. Garnish with sliced lemon. Serves six.

Pine smoked trout

Use a wire holder to get a smoky flavor when cooking trout. The idea is to be able to turn the meat over like the type made to hold hot dogs or hamburgers.

Cut server pine boughs and place them on your campfire. Lay the holder with your trout directly on top. Light the pine boughs, then the fire will sear, cook, and smoke your trout in about a minute before burning out. Just turn the holder over to sear the other side – repeat the process. A couple of boughs and less than a minute for each side is perfect for a half-pound trout.

Pickled Bluegills

Use only a stainless steel pan for good taste.

Cut fish into small pieces – you will need about 5 cups of fish. Soak in a quart of water and one cup of salt for 2 days. Rinse fish in cold water and drain. Then pour two cups of white vinegar over the fish and put it in the fridge for another 2 days. Pour it off.

Next, cook the following mix for five minutes and let cool

2 cups white vinegar
1 ½ cups sugar
1 tsp. mustard seed
1 tsp. whole black pepper
1 tsp. whole allspice
1 tsp. whole cloves
4 bay leaves

After it cools pour it over the fish, and place slices of lemon and onions on top. Refrigerate for 5 days, then remove the spices and pack into jars. It makes three pints.

Sunfish

Once you have skinned and filleted the Sunfish, try this recipe.

You’ll need:

1 lb. sunfish fillets
2 scallionis sliced thin
1 green pepper sliced thin
1 small jar of spaghetti sauce
1 chopped tomato
½ cup water
½ cup white wine
Pinch salt

Combine scallions, pepper and sauce. Cover and simmer for r10 minutes. Add fish, salt, tomato nad wine. Simmer, covered, for six minutes. Ladle over rice and rim with parsley.

When you are all done skimming and filleting your sunfish, plant the carcasses deep in your tomato patch or rose bed. They make excellent fertilizer.

Fish Loaf

After you fillet your fish, don’t throw away the bones. There is still meat attached to them, and you can make a tasty dish with the leftovers. Begin by either baking the backbone scrapings in a 350 degree Fahrenheit oven or steaming them over boiling water until they are cooked. While the fish is cooking, gather the following ingredients:

1 cup toasted break cubes
1 small onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 tsp. salt
1 egg, beaten
½ cup tomato sauce
¾ cup grated cheddar cheese
Paprika
1 ¼ cups cooked, flaked fish (from the scrapings)

Mix all ingredients except paprika and one-quarter cup of the grated cheese in a large bowl. Work in the flaked fish until a uniform texture is attained. Spoon the mixture into a 9X5-inch bread pan and shape it into a loaf. Spread the remaining grated cheese over the loaf and sprinkle paprika on top. Bake the loaf at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for one hour. Let it cool five to 10 minutes before cutting.

Add chili peppers or hot pepper sauce as desired.

Baked Ciscoes

10 ciscoes, filleted
1 ½ tbsps. Lemon juice
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup light cream
1 ½ tsps. Flour
1 tbsp. butter
Salt and pepper
Buttered toast

Quarter the fiillets. Place fish pieces in a buttered flat baking dish. Sprinkle with the lemon juice. Heat butter and flour in saucepan. Add the two cups heavy cream and the cup of light cream slowly. Bring to boiling point, stirring constantly. Pour sauce over fish and sp rinkle with salt and pepper. Bake at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for about one hour. Serve fish and sauce on (or with) buttered toast.

Copyright 2005 EveningSecretFishing.com Fishing

Frank Faldo is a Long-Time Fisherman and friend of EveningSecretFishing.com (http://www.eveningsecretfishing.com/specialsecret/Fish_Recipes.php)

Feel free to use this article on your website or anywhere else - but all links and bio information must remain in tact.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Frank_Faldo

What Wise Guys Eat

2008-04-25T11:59:00.000-07:00

When I lived in the North End of Boston, in the nineteen eighties and nineties, I hung around a neighborhood bar from time to time, called The Corner Café. It was located on Prince Street near the corner of Salem Street. And it was indeed a neighborhood place. The owner, Richie Longo, was a neighborhood kid who grew up on Prince Street and duly attended Saint Leonard’s School—as his first generation Italian-American parents had—along with all the other neighborhood kids.

The regular patrons at the time, were neighborhood people too; all of whom seemed to have nicknames. (although, the nicknames were useful for identification purposes). There was Joe the Lawyer, who wasn’t a lawyer at all, but worked as an insurance investigator. Then there was John the Lawyer, who was a stockbroker, and John the Lawyer, who really was a lawyer with an office across the street. And I was always confused about Mary the Nurse, whose nickname seemed unnecessary; she was indeed a nurse, but she was the only regular named Mary.

Then there were the rest of the regulars: mostly young men ,who fancied themselves to be wise guys. Their conversations were peppered with phrases like ‘fuggeddaboudit,’ and ‘ba-da-bing!’ And they often talked about ‘needing to see this guy,’ or ‘having to take care of that thing.’ But despite the fact that they revered Robert DiNiro, and may have harbored dreams of being known by a nickname like “extreme unction,” the most serious crime any of them may ever have committed was betting on the Red Sox late in September.

When these local heros weren’t talking about ‘this guy,’ or ‘that thing,’ though, the conversation tended to stray toward food; often, toward Chicken Scarpariello. This was a hot dish—literally, and figuratively—during my years in Boston. And the folks often debated the qualities of one preparation over another. The talk often centered around the merits of Cantina d’Italia’s recipe, that included sausage, over Felicia’s, that didn’t. Sausage or not, though, Chicken Scarpariello is the kind of dish that would please any wise guy because it encourages eating with a fork in one hand an a torn-off piece of crusty bread in the other; the latter, used for sopping up the sauce, and for punctuating various exclamations of ‘fuggeddaboudit,’ or ‘ba-da-bing.’

The short version of the history of Chicken Scarpariello, ‘shoemaker’s-style’, is that it was named for the humble fellow who cobbled together the ingredients for the dish from his meager pantry. How it became a wise guy favorite is more obscure, and very likely lost to history. But I suggest that when you serve Chicken Scarpariello at home, the dinner table conversation will become animated and rise a decibel or two above normal. And will you and your fellow diners enjoy it? Fuggeddaboudit.

Skip’s Chicken Scarpariello
Chicken, Shoemaker's-Style
Excerpted from my second cookbook, "Almost Italian."

Ingredients:

2 ½ — 3 Lb. Frying chicken cut into 8 pieces
4 Tbs. Olive oil
4 Cloves garlic, peeled, and sliced thinly
1 Cup dry white wine (Pinot Grigio or Verdicchio are popular choices)
6 - 8 hot cherry peppers, cored, seeded, and coarsely chopped
1 14 oz. Can chicken broth (preferably low sodium)
4 Tbs. Flat-leaf Italian parsley
2 Tbs. Unsalted butter
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt & freshly ground black pepper
Six Links sweet Italian sausage, cut into 1 in. chunks (optional)
4 Tbs. Flat-leaf Italian parsley

Preparation:

Season the chicken pieces on all sides with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Heat a large sauté pan over medium-high heat, then add the olive oil. Add the garlic and sauté for about 1 minute, being careful not to let the garlic burn.

Add the chicken pieces to the sauté pan without crowding. Do this step in batches if necessary. Cook the chicken pieces, turning occasionally, until they’re golden brown all over; about 10 minutes. Remove the chicken pieces from the pan and reserve on a plate, covering them with aluminum foil.

Raise the heat to high, and add the wine. Boil, stirring with a wooden spoon to loosen any bits of chicken that may have caramelized on the bottom of the pan, for about 2 minutes. Add the cherry peppers, chicken broth, parsley, and butter. Allow the mixture to return to the boil, then stir in the lemon juice. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper as necessary.

Lower the heat to the simmer, return the chicken to the pan, and simmer, covered, for about 15 minutes. For a real wise guy presentation, add the sausage at this point too.

To Serve

Remove the chicken (and optional sausage) pieces to a platter, cover with the sauce and garnish with the parsley. Serve with plenty of Italian bread for sopping up the sauce.

Serves four

Skip Lombardi is the author of two cookbooks: "La Cucina dei Poveri: Recipes from my Sicilian Grandparents," and "Almost Italian: Recipes from America's Little Italys." He has been a Broadway musician, high-school math teacher, software engineer, and a fledgeling blogger. But he has never let any of those pursuits get in the way of his passion for cooking and eating. Visit his Web site to learn more about his cookbooks: http://www.skiplombardi.com. For comments or questions, e-mail at info@skiplombardi.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Skip_Lombardi

Cookbook Publishing - The Basic Ingredients and the Secrets to Success

2008-04-23T19:17:00.001-07:00

You are about to embark on the most exciting enterprise of your life -- publishing a cook book! You will soon learn that writing a cook book is truly a fun, exciting and challenging project – more than you can imagine. Like me, you can publish your own wildly successful cook book. And if you ask me if I think publishing a cook book is worth the time and effort? You bet I do!

My cook book, Fit to Cook – Why ‘Waist’ Time in the Kitchen? sold over 250,000 copies (with, I might add, less than 10% of those sales coming from book stores). However, I wasted a great deal of time, back-tracking and scrambling in order to sell all those books because in the beginning I did not have a complete grasp of the publishing industry and the process of marketing a cook book.

Before you rack your brain figuring out how to write a cook book, and more importantly, how to publish a cook book, take some time to thoroughly research the why and what you are writing about, who you are writing for and when is the best time to launch your book.

Whether you want to get published or whether you want to self publish your cook book, the same basics apply – you need a good understanding of the publishing industry. Without the basics, will you know if your contracts are in order, that your book is the best it can be and that your cook book marketing plan is actually an effective strategy? No – but, knowledge is power. It is crucial that you take enough time to educate yourself about the entire publishing industry.

Understanding publishing, and the marketing of books, will clearly help you to identify why you are writing a cook book. Perhaps you are writing a cook book just to record secret family recipes or to have all of your own favorite recipes in a book format; maybe you are writing a cook book for a community or church fundraiser; or best of all, your goal is to create a bestseller. Cook books that are written for a very small group do not require business and marketing plans because you already know how many books will be purchased and who the buyers are. However, if you are planning to publish your own cook book for the mass markets, you need to understand that you have moved beyond author to publisher. That means that you are now a business person whose primary goal is the creation of a product to sell. There is no point in printing a book that no one will want to buy.

When I began writing my own cook book, I naively thought that it would be a two or three month process, and that in no time I would have a book on every book store shelf in the country. Ha, ha, ha, chuckle chuckle… Experience is a great educator, but who says that you have to learn the hard way? Obviously I had no idea how to publish a cook book in the beginning! However, through this article and via the publishing course that I and my partners have created, I intend to help you avoid losing time and money.

How did I create such a successful cook book? The short answer is research, research, research, and then more research. Thankfully I had the wisdom to do the research before going to print. But research can, and did, take years.

In my experience, after I learned how to write a cook book I had to learn all about cook book publishing:

trademarks

ISBN numbers

cataloging in publication data

printing terms like cover stock, bindings, signatures and bluelines

learning how to obtain printing quotes, (crucial in knowing how many books you can afford to print)

barcodes

graphic design (makes the difference between great sales and no sales)

editing (cannot, and I mean cannot, be done by yourself, friends or family)

titles and subtitles (they can make or break a book)

title search (avoid duplicating someone else’s title)

distribution

Next, I had to learn about how to start a business:

business plan

incorporation

toll free numbers

corporate logos and identity

websites

shipping arrangements

accounting principles

Most importantly I had to become wise about marketing:

writing a plan

researching competition

understanding target markets

going through the difficult but crucial process of choosing a book title

discovering the importance of a book’s cover – both the front cover and the back cover – and how to design the cover

looking outside book stores for buyers

learning the importance of publicity

discovering the essential need for a stellar media kit and how to create one

approaching the media and the importance of a good publicist

I learned, and I will share with you, a key point to consider when you are discovering how to write a cook book. Before you even begin to write your cook book, you must identify your target market. Who will actually buy your cook book? It is amazing that so many authors think that “everyone” will want their book, but that is not so. Not “everyone” is a target for anything! – not even the Bible.

Know who will actually buy your book. Interviewing the owners of cook book stores and specialty cooking stores can help you to identify cook book trends so that you know what people are actually buying. It is also a good idea to think of corporations and organizations that might benefit by using your book as a promotional item. Approach them even before you go to print, offering them special discounts, opportunities to place their information in a special printing of the book, advertising chances to offer your cook book as a “freebie” with the purchase of their product – just to name a few cook book marketing ideas.

If your cook book is targeted to busy families, the recipes must be easy to prepare in a short time period; if it is targeted to gourmet cooks, the recipes must be of the quality that you would expect to find in a four or five star restaurant; if it is targeted to a specific ethnic group, the recipes must be authentic; but if it is targeted to the mass market, your cook book must have a very wide scope with recipes that make any mouth water, and the ingredients must be readily available in grocery stores.

Once you have identified who will buy your book, you can target your marketing plan and your book design with your customers in mind, such as:

· Where do they shop?

· Where do they play?

· What style of book appeals to them? - (research your competition closely).

· What price are they willing to pay?

· How many pictures do they want in a cook book? (a lack of photos can kill book sales)

· What colors attract them? (spend time in book stores and libraries, learning which books have the most appealing appearance)

· What size of book is currently popular?

· What type of book binding increases sales?

· Are they concerned about health or other issues?

· Do they appreciate little stories, jokes, cooking tips or other information in the book?

Sometimes I took two steps forward then had to take one step back, but at other times I took one step forward and two back. Don’t waste time the way that I did – use my experiences to your advantage. Once you have a grasp of the basics, you can actually begin to put your cook book publishing and marketing plans into action.

Of course, a cook book has special challenges that other books may not have. Your primary goal is to give people unique, delicious recipes that they can create successfully in their own homes. That means that you have to measure exactly and your instructions must be clear and simple. You will have to test each recipe over and over until it turns out perfectly every time, then you will have to enlist other people to prepare those recipes independently of you. No matter what their comments, you must take the critiques of your testers seriously because if they do not achieve great results the chances are very good that your customers will be unhappy with their “flops”. Finally, it is a good idea to have the recipes tested by a professional home economist or other food expert.

Depending on the focus of your cook book, you might want to include nutrition information such as calories and fat content. Fortunately, there is now computer software that will do the calculations for you. You must also provide an index at the back of the book, and thankfully, software is available for this chore also.

Food photography is a special challenge of its own, requiring many tricks to make good look appealing. A good food photographer is a vital part of your cook book publishing team. Great attention must be paid to every minute detail, down to the grains of pepper in a dish and to the bubbles on top of a cup of coffee. Each photograph can require four hours of shooting time, if not more, so plan adequate time for the photo shoot.

The services of a food stylist are very helpful, but with research you can do a great deal of the food styling yourself. Find as many books as you can on the subject and practice in advance of the photo shoot. I learned simple tricks like:

sticking sandpaper to the plate to prevent food from slipping

using whipped icing or shaving cream in place of ice cream or whipped cream

placing a shot glass under a very thickly cut slice of lemon to prevent the lemon from absorbing the liquid underneath

using beef bouillon in place of “coffee”

using dish detergent to create bubbles in the “coffee”

using a blow torch to make meat appear cooked

and the list goes on…

Food styling is such fun, but it requires a great deal of time, even in advance of the photo shoot. You will need all of your “props” in place, such as dishes, cutlery, flowers, table linens, food items and backgrounds. Many companies will happily lend these items to you in exchange for a credit in the book – this can appear on the Cataloging in Publication data page at the beginning of your book.

When your book is ready to go to print, it is time to put your cook book marketing and publicity campaign into gear:

· Decide on the best time of year to launch your book. September is usually the best month for Christmas sales, but you also face steep competition. Try to think of a time that is appropriate for your book, such as January for a healthy eating book, late Spring for a barbecue book, Valentine’s Day for a romantic book, Heart and Stroke month for a heart-healthy book, etc.

· Produce galley copies.

· Send galleys to appropriate book clubs (look at their websites to learn their submission requirements).

· Research appropriate catalogs and send galleys to them.

· Have your publicist approach magazines that review cook books (magazines have long lead times).

· Stay in contact with any corporations and organizations that might use your book for promotions.

· Find a reputable distributor to have your book accepted by the book store trade, as well as other retailers.

· Contact non-book store book sellers.

When your book is ready to roll off the press, get your publicity campaign into high gear. You can have the best book in the world, but if no one knows about it, no one will buy it. The easy part is over – publicity and marketing now become your life. This part is the most fun, as you now reap the rewards of all of your efforts. Your goal now is to turn your cook book title into a household word. Go for it -- publish your own cook book!

Ink Tree Ltd. helps authors publish, market and sell books. If you are considering publishing a cookbook, we will help you make it a success. http://www.inktreemarketing.com/PublishaCookbook.htm

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Denise_Hamilton

Rockfish Bessie

2008-04-23T19:16:00.001-07:00

Ingredients
5-6 lbs. Whole Rockfish
1 Onion
1 Lemon
1 Lime
Cilantro
Corn Husks
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper

Preheat over to 375F.

Make sure the fish is clean of all entrails. Slice the onion, salt and pepper it and place it in the cavity.

Chop the cilantro and slice the lemon and lime and place it on top of the fish. Drizzle a bit of olive oil on top of the fish then salt and pepper the top. Cover the fish entirely in corn husks and then wrap the fish in tin foil.

Place fish in a baking pan and place in the over. Bake for 30 minutes and then flip it over carefully and bake for another half hour. If the meat flakes, its ready.

Serve with salsa, rice pilaf, black beans and fried plantains.

Paul Rinehart is the founder of Online Cooking

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Paul_Rinehart

Blue Cheese Omnivorous

2008-04-23T19:15:00.000-07:00

Ingredients

Romaine Lettuce (head $1.29)
1 pound of steak ($10 per pound)
1 box of colorful pasta ($1.03 Blue’s Clues because my inner child sways me at times.)
1 red pepper ($2.62)
Blue Cheese dressing ($2.43)
½ pound block of blue cheese ($3.79 optional ingredient)

*Save money everywhere but in buying the meat. Cheap meat is too tough for this.

Wash and shred lettuce. Put it in the refrigerator so that it remains cold and crispy at serving time.

Then, cook pasta until tender but not downright floppy. We want the pasta to be somewhat cooler, so in this instance, it’s okay to rinse it off with cool water a little bit so it no longer steams.

Meanwhile, cut steak into slices and sear with salt and pepper. Do this in a shallow pan and a tablespoon of oil in the pan. As the meat cooks, toss it around a bit. When it starts sticking to the pan, you’re done in thirty seconds.

As the steak finishes, wash and half the red pepper. Faux roast a half on an electric range or carefully roast a half on a gas stove so that the outside is dark and toasty. While the pepper can still keep its shape, remove it carefully from the heat and slice lengthwise. It’s a lovely and tasty garnish with dramatic flair during cooking!

Assembly for presentation:

Toss the lettuce and cooled pasta together evenly. Now add enough dressing to coat the pasta and lettuce in a toss. Put this tossed mix as a bed on a plate or in a bowl. With clean fingers, crumble some of the wedge of blue cheese. Now place the steak strips on top in no particular pattern. Lightly drizzle with blue cheese dressing (diners can add more to taste). Finally, garnish the top with the most aesthetic strips of red pepper providing remaining slices for your companion.

What you have is a colorful and healthy salad for the human omnivore. Most every need of nutrition is encompassed in this attractive dish that goes well with red wine, water, or even cola for the kiddies.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bryan Applegate is >Online Cooking's Associate Editor and does really cool things with 3d graphics!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bryan_Applegate

London Broil - Garlic

2008-04-23T19:14:00.002-07:00

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs. London Broil beef

• 1 ½ cups cubed, peeled carrots

• 1 ½ cups cubed cabbage

• ½ cup cubed Spanish yellow onion

• 2 cups halved, unpeeled red potatoes

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 tablespoon of canola vegetable oil

• 4 quartered cloves of garlic from bulb

• ½ cup of water

Step One - take the 2 lb. London broil beef slab and infuse it with the 4 quartered cloves of garlic. The easiest way to accomplish this is to take a chopstick or a paring knife to make incision into the beef about 2 inches apart, then take the garlic and insert it into the holes created. Take ½ of the teaspoon of oil a put it into a pan warming to medium-high heat. Take ½ teaspoon of salt and dust the slab of beef. When the pan is warmed for about 2 minutes, place the beef into it and spend 10 minutes browning all sides of the beef. DO NOT WASH THE FRYING PAN, keep the heat on medium-high and place the ½ cup of water into the pan and bring to a boil, then remove from heat and save to be put on the vegetables. From that point place the seared meat onto a broiler rack lined with foil and place into a pre-heated 400º oven for 20 minutes. This should bring a meat cooking preference of medium-rare.

Adjust the time longer or shorter for your liking of meat doneness.

Step Two - while the London broil beef slab is in the oven, take ½ tablespoon of canola oil and place into another frying pan warming to high heat. Next take the halved potatoes and carrots and begin to cook for about 4 minutes, then add the onion and cabbage and cook for an additional 4 minutes. Add the other ½ teaspoon of salt and the ½ cup of water that is in the pan used to brown the beef, then cover and cook for another 4 or 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and let to rest until serving time.

Step Three - a simple, clean presentation of the food will always wet the appetite of those about to eat a meal.

Therefore, never crowd the plate with more than three items at a time. I suggest you take the beef sliced about ¼" thick-against the grain of the meat to ensure tender cuts-and place it a fan shape on the lower left portion of the plate. Nest take the vegetables and place the above and to the left of the meat. Compliment this with your favorite salad placed across from the vegetables and you have a delicious, hearty garlic infused London broil your family and friends will rave about. I like how cool the slices of garlic appear within the meat and how good it really tastes.

Eric Smith - over 9-years experience as a Japanese Teppan-yaki Chef

http://www.2pots.ws a cooking website by my wife and I.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Eric_Smith

Tayberry Jam

2008-04-23T19:14:00.001-07:00

The taste of Summer, bursting with flavour and anti-oxidant effects. Tayberries are a Raspberry / Blackberry cross that combines the best of both. Big, succulent fruits that crop early. Blackberries were eaten even in Stone Age times, pips from the fruit were found in the stomach remains of a Neolithic man preserved in clay in Essex.

Blackberry picking time was once a most important country activity. Country people would pick in droves, gathering the fruit for jams, tarts, crumble, jellies, teas, wine, ale, syrup, vinegar, cordial, summer puddings and the rest ! Tayberry, Raspberry or Blackberry jelly is a great way to preserve this fruit for when it is needed in the winter - it makes a great base for a hot toddy.

Legend has it that wild Blackberries should not be eaten after October 10th because the Devil spits on every bush at this time and they certainly lose flavour and become ‘fly blown’ as autumn progresses. Roger Phillips in ‘Wild Food’ (my favourite food book) notes that this choice of date falls around Michaelmas Day (allowing for an 11 day calendar shift in 1752). This feast day celebrates "the primeval war in which St. Michael the Archangel hurled Lucifer out of Heaven and down to earth" and provides more evidence of how Christianity assimilated much of folklore for its own ends.

These berries are rich in vitamin C and provide a recognised boost to the immune system. The fresh berries are rich in bioflavonoids, fibre and folate. There are also traces of salicylate - a natural aspirin like compound that can trigger allergic reactions in some people. The leaves and roots are also a valuable herb that can help to control diarrhoea. The chewing of blackberry leaves for bleeding gums goes back at least 2000 years.

For this recipe I used about 2 pounds of fresh Tayberries with a quarter pint of water (and a couple of Strawberries thrown in). Let it simmer for a few minutes, add 2 pounds of sugar and stir until it dissolves, then add the pectin and a knob of butter, get it to a rolling boil for a few minutes and pour into sterilised jars, and seal. It won’t last until winter as my son keeps eating it, and so do I. Yum !

From an ebook called ‘Wild Food’ underway at simonthescribe. If you wish to republish this article (with this resource box intact) you will find excellent quality pictures to accompany it at http://www.simonthescribe.co.uk/TAYBERRY%20AND%20STRAWBERRY%20JAM.html

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Simon_Mitchell

Rowan Jelly (Mountain Ash - Pyrus aucuparia)

2008-04-23T19:13:00.001-07:00

Sharp and sour but sweet and succulent all at the same time, this traditional accompanyment to cold meat is bursting with flavour, and folklore !

‘Rowan tree and red thread - have the witches all in dread’

On May eve Rowan crosses used to be worn in UK and were sometimes fastened to cattle (or their barns) for protection against witches and other ‘evil doers’. Legend has it that the crosses had to be made without a metal knife to work properly. Rowan branches were also bought indoors on a Good Friday as this tree had a reputation for strong protection against psychic forces.

This ‘mish-mash’ of folklore and Christianity indicates older uses of the tree having been ‘assimilated’ into a religion that converted people by adapting their beliefs and practices to its own ends. ‘Rowan’ is the most interesting of tree names with connections to both ancient Norse and Hindu/Sanskrit culture. Spelled several ways it is connected to the old Norse word ‘Runa’ - meaning a charm - and being able to ward off the effects of the ‘evil eye’. In even earlier times ‘Runa’ was the Sanskrit word for ‘magician’. ‘Run-stafas’ were staves cut from the Rowan tree and inscribed with runes for magical (and most likely protective) reasons. The smooth bark is ideal for this purpose.

The Rowan was such a sacred tree to the Celts that many churchyards in Wales still include the tree, not unlike the Yew tree in English churchyards. The berries were much used by the Celts for brewing wine, spirit, flavouring mead, ale, perry and cider. Try squeezing some of the fresh berry juice and putting it into a gin and tonic - it makes a convincing alternative to Angostura bitters. The fresh juice is mildly laxative and good for soothing inflamed mucous membranes. In herbal medicine the juice forms the basis of an astringent gargle for sore throats and in the 19th century it was used to treat scurvy - the disease of vitamin C deficiency.

Rowan berries are around from July/August through to November in the UK and may even stay on a tree until January if the thrushes don’t eat them. They are at their best for Rowan Jelly when they have attained full colour but are not yet mushy. They contain varying amounts of tartaric, citric and malic acid dependent on their ripeness. Cut them from the stalks in clusters and remove as much stem as possible before cooking. When made into a jelly the fruit becomes quite astringent and the tart taste makes a good ‘digestif’ accompaniment to meats such as venison, cold game or fowl.

Take about 3 pounds of Rowan berries and two pounds of juicy apples. Peel and core the apples, slice them and place them to simmer in 2 pints of water for 10 minutes, while you are washing and sorting the berries. Add the berries and simmer to a pulp. Use a potato masher to help this process if you like. Let the mixture cool a bit and then strain it through a jelly bag, leaving it to drip overnight.

Warm about 2 pounds of sugar and stir in the liquid mixture and heat to a simmer. I must admit to adding some pectin at this point as I have a problem with runny jams. You can do this and leave the apples out for a clear jelly. Add a knob of butter and stir to a rolling boil for a few minutes and put it into sterilised jars and seal. It is a most unusual taste but the thing that delights me most about this jelly is the fantastic colour.

With thanks to: J. Lust, C.L. Zalewski, R. Phillips, Edward Step

From an ebook called ‘Wild Food’ underway at simonthescribe. If you wish to republish this article (with this resource box intact) you will find excellent quality pictures to accompany it at

http://www.simonthescribe.co.uk/ROWAN%20JELLY.html

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Simon_Mitchell

Rosemary flower candies (Rosemarinus officinalis)

2008-04-23T19:12:00.002-07:00

Leave your tic-tacs at home. This medicinal plant provides delicious mouth fresheners to integrate into a balanced healing diet.

When a herb or plant has the designation 'officinalis' it means it has been recognised to have medicinal qualities. 'Rosemarinus', so called because of marine connections (colour of sea - grows by sea e.g. Mediterranean) is possibly the best example of a herb that we commonly grow that has extensive folklore and many attributed medicinal values.

Beloved by the Romans, who bought it to the UK from Turkey, they believed this valuable herb could preserve dead bodies from corruption and it was often strewn or grown in graveyards and around tombs. It was well known to the Tudors as a stimulant to the system. In ‘The Garden of Health’ (1579) William Langham writes: "Carry the flowers about thee to make thee merry and glad and well beloved of all men...hang the flowers on thy bed and place Rosemary in the bath to make thee lusty, lively, joyful, strong and young. To comfort the heart steep Rosemary flowers in rose water and drink it".

Gerard agrees in his 1636 Herbal. "The flowers of Rosemary, made up into lozenges with sugar and eaten make the heart merry, quicken the spirits and make them more lively". He also notes that Rosemary water acts as a breath freshener.

Rosemary has long been recognised as a valuable heart and liver tonic and its use can help to reduce high blood pressure. It has been used in the treatment of nervous complaints, digestive disorders and menstrual pains.

Rosemary is a symbol of constancy in love because it remains fresh and fragrant when cut, longer most other evergreens. For this reason it was often used for solemn occasions such as weddings or funerals - 'Be it for my bridal or my burial'. As in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Rosemary is for remembrance and in the language of flowers the gift of Rosemary means 'Never will your memory fade'. Ancient myth has it that ‘Where Rosemary flourishes - the woman rules’. Rosemary is sometimes used in psychic work as an aid to concentration, memory and mental steadiness. Under the pillow or over the bed its delicious aroma is said to prevent nightmares.

One word of warning though - excessive use of Rosemary taken internally can cause fatal poisoning, but that is no reason to not sample the delicious and invigorating herbal tea or eat a few of the flowers.

Like the raw flowers, Rosemary sugar candies are a tiny taste explosion and quite delicious. Preserving them in sugar helps to extend the amount of time you can experience this uplifting Epicurean event. First of all find a plant with flowers. It often flowers twice a year so this should not be too difficult. You can either pick the whole flower from the plant, or set up some arrangement that catches them as they fall naturally.

In a warm place, such as a sunlit window sill above a radiator, drop the flowers onto dried (even warmed) white sugar. Make sure the receptacle is open enough that moisture can evaporate from the flowers into the sugar and then into the atmosphere. Also make sure that no moisture gets to this mixture at any point as the sugar will ‘clump’ and the flowers will start to rot, spoiling the taste. Shake the mixture now and then to aid the process.

When thoroughly dry, seal the sugar/flower mixture into a moisture-proof receptacle and every now and then - treat yourself !

With thanks to: J. Lust, M. Woodward, D. Conway, C.L. Zalewski, R. Genders.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Simon_Mitchell