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Sunday, January 31, 2010

Home cooking

Home cooking, is all about healthier ingredients (to cut fat, salt, and calories) and serving size. Serving size is an ongoing problem in our nation, and only seems to be getting larger. So, what is a serving size anyway? The answer is any size you wish it to be. You'll want to pay attention to how many servings per recipe, and adjust them as required. A recent study compared recipes from the same cookbook, with a current and older (by more than 20 years) edition. The older edition had far less fat in many recipes, and served more people per recipe as compared to the same recipes in the modern, updated edition. I believe that reflects our impressions of what a serving is based on like restaurant servings, where the food is flopping off the plate. And 3 cups of pasta is 3 servings: not one.

With food prepared at home you know what the ingredients are. This way you can assure the freshness, the nutritious level and quality. Home cooking is simple, healthy, and delicious. Cooking for a loved one is a luxury, like driving a Mercedes Benz. Your family will feel great, because you made wonderful meals prepared with your own hands with love. Home cooking is often simple to prepare, with the use of authentic, natural and local ingredients. Home cooking is decidedly one of the better choices when it comes to a meal. Home cooking also means eating at home, and there are certainly multiple benefits (physical and emotional) to eating dinner together as a family.

Home cooking was the hottest food trend of 2009, and the market research data says supermarket shoppers were cooking more from scratch and spending more on basic cooking ingredients than on convenient but costly frozen and refrigerated foods. Home cooked meals are generally more healthful than those prepared at restaurants. Nevertheless, just how much more healthful depends on who's doing the cooking, where the recipe comes from, and even the dishes in which the food is served. Studies show that the biggest influence on family eating habits, (more than 70 percent) is the person who buys and prepares the food. Could be a mother,father, grandparent
or other family member. If the person, that is responsible for purchasing and preparing the food, struggles with unhealthy habits and eating choices they will generally pass those problems onto family members. By the same token, if they can improve their habits that can help improve the health of the whole family.

Home cooking is easier today than it was years ago, thanks to better freezing methods, instant and already prepared foods and ready made ingredients. These items make it easy to put together a great home cooked meal in no time and is my secret to home cooking. Not everything has to be from scratch. There are a lot of products and canned foods out there that makes a meal that tastes just like grandmas. Cooking equipment and household items such as plastic containers and zip lock bags, have also added to the adeptness of home cooking. You can make home cooked meals ahead of time and freeze them for later in the week, or easily take a great meal to work with you.

Home cooking may call for a little more effort than picking up the phone and ordering a pizza, but you will soon see the health benefits of cooking at home and preparing foods for your family. Not all home cooking is considered healthy though, and that's one area where you will want to be careful if a healthy lifestyle is your goal. However, the many unhealthy items used in recipes of grandmas day can easily be replaced with healthier choices. Recipes that call for cheese, butter, eggs and even meat can be substituted with replacements easily found in many grocery stores. Products such as beans are a very healthy choice and make a great substitute for meats.

Health Benefits: of Beans

Black beans are rich in anthocyanins antioxidants, that help fight heart disease and cancer.

Garbanzo beans (chickpeas) a diet fortified with chickpeas could help slash, "bad"LDL cholesterol almost 5%

Kidney beans have thiamine and navy potassium. Thiamine (vitamin B 1) will protect memory and brain function.
A deficiency of thiamine (B 1) has possibly been linked to Alzheimer's. Navy Potassium helps to regulate your blood pressure, and normal heart contractions.

Pinto beans: The fiber in pinto beans is good to help stabilize your blood sugar. By stabilizing the blood sugar, it helps lower the risk of getting type 2 diabetes.

Here are two good meatless recipes both using beans. Enjoy.

This recipe is a great choice for a Meatless Monday, or any day. Yet still lets you convince
the kids that it's a Sloppy Joe!

Meatless Sloppy Joes

2 tsp olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
1/3 cup carrot, shredded
1 can of chili beans, undrained
1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice
1/4 cup hickory-smoked barbecue sauce,
more or less to your preference

1. Add olive oil to pan and heat on medium-high
2. Add onions, bell pepper, and carrots and cook for 3-4 minutes
3. Add rice, chili beans, and barbecue sauce and cook for approximately
10-15 minutes, stirring frequently to heat thoroughly


Quick Beans and Rice
Makes 6 servings

1 medium carrot, chopped
1/3 cup chopped Onion
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 15-1/2-ounce can pinto beans, drained
1 small tomato, chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
3 cups hot cooked rice

1. Cook carrot and Onion in butter in large skillet 2 to 3 minutes or until tender crisp.
2. Add Beans, tomato, salt, curry powder and pepper; heat thoroughly.
3. Serve over hot rice.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Momma's Homemade Chili

The chili recipe below,is a recipe that my sister came up with, when she was trying to think of something to fix her family to eat one day. She is not a chili lover but her family loves chili. She loves to cook from scratch and see what she can come up with. One day while looking through her pantry she found some cans of beans, tomatoes, and packages of spices. She took a package of hamburger from the freezer and then the process started.

She just started mixing, and pouring, blending, cutting vegetables, and wala! a pot of Momma's Chili was born. She usually likes to mix and match her recipes to see what develops. Every once in a while when the mood strikes her, she will go see what's in the pantry, and what new dishes she can make. The recipe below is doubled. The numbers in Parentheses ( ) are for the regular recipe amount. Enjoy.


THIS IS A DOUBLE RECIPE

1 cup Water (1/2 cup)
8 pounds ground beef (4 pound)
8 larges onions (4 )
29 oz can tomato Italian style /olive oil, garlic, spices (14.5 )
2 larges Sweet peppers (1 )
2- 26 oz family size tomato soup- fill with water to rinse out the can ( 1 )
2 -15 oz cans Hot/ Hormel chili/ no beans (1 )
2- 28 0z cans seasoned diced tomatoes ( Dei Fratelli) (1 )
2- 25 0z cans Hormel chili regular with beans (1 )
6 15 oz cans Red chili beans (3 )
4 Pkg's McCormick chili mix seasoning (2 )

Brown ground beef, onions, sweet pepper together. Don't drain the grease, add 1/2 cup water along with chili mix in package. simmer for 5 minutes. Add all other ingredients in big pot and simmer until everything is blended.. Serves 6-10 people. when doubling the recipe add 1cup water with chili mix.

Thursday, January 21, 2010

What Is A Donut

A donut is for the most part, a deep-fried clump of sweet dough or batter.

In the grand scheme of things, making donuts isn't rocket science. Making donuts is a perfect way to spend a lazy Sunday morning. And making donuts is a perfect way to involve the entire family, and create a few special family memories. I believe making donuts is pretty much the same every where. I have made, and witnessed donuts being made, and observing sugar laden dough dropped into a bath of vegetable oil is somewhat disturbing, but the first bite will promptly make you forget, and not care about what an unhealthy procedure making donuts is.

Donuts may induce health problems if they're consumed too often. One of these problems is that donuts incorporate a large quantity of fat. Consuming too much fat may contribute to clogged arteries. As the arteries become clogged, blood does not flow through them easily. That could lead to more serious health issues. Also donuts contain a large quantity of sugar and white flour, which is converted into fat inside our body. Donuts are a health concern in Canada where each individual consumes more donuts annually than in any other country.

Making donuts can be a fun thing. The most scary part about it, is the fear of having them come out "doughy" in the middle. If you watch the time they will come out perfect. Donuts are often eaten in the morning, along with a cup of hot coffee. Donuts may be bought from donut shops or from grocery stores. People likewise eat donuts for a dessert, or for a snack.

The two most common types of donut are ring donuts, which are formed like rings, and filled donuts, which are round and hold jam, jelly, custard, whipped cream, or chocolate inside them. There's also bite-sized donuts called "donut holes", but they are just the center of the ring donut. Most donuts have an icing (also called a "frosting") made with 10x powdered sugar, water, and flavorings (such as chocolate). Some donuts are rolled in sweet foods such as sugar, chopped coconut, candy sprinkles, and if you like you can use chopped nuts.
Here are two different types, of low fat donut recipes. Perhaps one or both will strike your fancy. Whichever one you prefer, grab yourself a nice a hot cup of java, sit down unwind and enjoy them.


Baked Low-Fat yeast Donuts

Ingredients

1 1/3 cups unsweetened evaporated milk
1 packet dry active yeast
2 Tbsp unsalted butter or margarine
2/3 cup granulated sugar or Splenda
2 eggs
5 cups white flour
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp fine sea salt

In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, warm milk to 95 degrees, stirring constantly to avoid scalding. Set aside 1 cup of milk, and pour the other 1/3 cup into a large bowl and add the yeast. Stir in briefly, then let sit for five minutes. Meanwhile, mix the sugar and butter into the other cup of milk. Add to yeast mixture, then use a fork to stir in eggs, nutmeg, salt, and flour, just until the flour is fully mixed into the batter.

Using clean hands or an electric mixer with a dough hook, knead the dough in the bowl until it begins to pull away from the sides and becomes smooth and glossy. If the dough is too sticky, add a little flour. If it seems too dry, you can add a bit more milk. Lightly flour a working surface or counter and knead briefly, then shape into a ball, transfer to a bowl sprayed with nonstick cooking spray and put in a warm place to rise until doubled (about an hour).

Punch down and use a lightly floured rolling pin to roll the dough out into a 1/2-inch thick sheet. You can either use a donut cutter to cut out donuts, or a cookie cutter or the top of a plastic bowl. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and cut out the centers with a smaller cutter or melon baller. Cover with a cloth and allow to rise an additional 45 minutes. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until the bottoms begin to turn golden. coat with topping of your choice.


Low Fat baking powder Donuts

Ingredients

1/3 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg, at room temperature
1-1/2 cups flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup milk, at room temperature

Topping:
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease muffin pans.
Cream together shortening, sugar, and egg. Beat well. Sift together dry ingredients and add to creamed mixture. Add milk; beat until smooth.
Pour batter into muffin pans, to about 2/3 full. Bake 20 minutes until light brown.
Meanwhile, melt butter in a small pan. On waxed paper, mix sugar and cinnamon. As soon as the doughnuts finish baking, dip each one in melted butter; then roll it in the cinnamon/sugar mixture. Cool on a wire rack.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Home Style Southern Cooking

True southerners, will tell you authentic southern cooking is an art form, passed down from generation to generation, with little girls helping at the apron strings of their mothers and grandmothers. Anyone can enjoy a taste of the south with the right recipes, down home southern cooking is more than just a recipe. Southern cooking is as much about a way of life, as a cooking style. True Southern cooking is a style of cooking, unlike any other, with a unique blend of European, African and native American foods and cooking techniques. Southern style cooking is dedicated to meeting your needs for delicious, home cooked meals as well as catered lunches and party foods.

Down south, southern cooking is the center of interest and plays a pivotal role in most functions and activities. Cooking Southern style, is not for the faint of heart, though it can cause many hearts to grow faint. For the health conscious, the cooking style in the south, for the most part is not fat free, and it is considered unhealthy, but delicious Downhome cooking is totally about how you add spices and seasonings to your food. Southern cooking is a labor of love. Classical southern cooking is for both serious culinary devotees and casual dabblers. Southern style is known for its delicious flavor and variety of dishes as well. And the great thing about southern cooking is that it is all so simple, most ingredients are flour, water, butter (or other fat), salt, pepper, meat. Well, I guess for me personally, cooking southern is not fancy, I was raised on biscuits, gravy and fried potatoes.

A southern meal always comes in ample portions, and is always well seasoned. As always, the main thing to remember about southern cooking is to keep it authentic. One of the trademarks of southern cooking is simplicity. “we’ve always thought the hallmark of 20th-century southern cooking is its spirited resourcefulness, "turning thrift into indulgence with a wink". A lot of southern cooking is, a derivative of African cooking. A cultural adaptation by African-Americans from the ancestral cooking ways, that enabled them to stretch what they had to survive. Southern cooking is indulgent, and traditional southern desserts are no exception. Now If southern cooking is more your style (that is, if butter is more your style) Paula Deen's Place would be the perfect home to spend Thanksgiving. If you have never had southern cooking, here are three recipes for you to try.

NOTE: I prepared the Pork chops with Apple gravy, it was good, but, in my opinion the one Tablespoon of salt is a bit much. I think it should be cut in half or eliminated. And seasoned to taste when eaten.

These recipes are courtesy of: Downhome Southern Cooking (at it's best)


Pork Chops in Apple Gravy

8 pork chops(approx. 3lbs.)
1/4 cup butter
1 Tbsp. finely minced garlic
1/3 cup flour
1 Tbsp. salt
1/8 tsp. black peppe3 cups boiling water
1 cup applesauce
1 Tbsp. lemon juice

In a large skillet, brown pork chops well on both sides in butter. Arrange them in a 3 quart casserole dish.Saute garlic in the fat and butter left in skillet. Add to this, flour, salt, pepper and mix well. Pour in boiling water; cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils. Remove from heat and stir in applesauce and lemon juice. Pour this over the chops and cover. Bake at 425 for one hour and 30 minutes, basting occasionally.
serves 8



Handmade Buttermilk Biscuits

2 cups plain flour
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. shortening
3/4 cup (approx.) buttermilk

Stir dry ingredients together. Cut in shortening and add milk slowly, stirring until dough is soft and moist then kneed lightly. Pinch off 2 inch balls of dough and roll by hand until round. Place in pan 2 inches apart and flatten slightly. Bake at 450 for 10 to 15 min. or until golden brown.

Apple Pecan Cake

1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
3 cups plain flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 tsps. vanilla
3 eggs
3 cups tart apples (peeled & chopped)
1 cup chopped pecans

Mix the sugar, eggs, vanilla and oil. Sift the dry ingredients together and add to the sugar mixture, mix well. Last, fold in the apples and pecans. Bake in a greased and floured tube pan at 325 for one hour. Turn out and allow to cool completely before icing. (see below)

Icing

1 stick of butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup of evaporated milk

Bring the sugar and butter to a boil. Add the vanilla and milk and return to a boil. Let it cool and then pour over the cake.

Monday, January 4, 2010

Baking Basic Yeast Bread

Baking bread is truly not that hard. Wouldn't it be nice if your family could wake up to freshly baked bread every day?. At any rate, home made bread is very tasty especially when it's still warm. In my view,even bad homemade bread is good. Homemade bread has superior taste, and the fact that homemade bread is very easy to incorporate into your routine is an added bonus.

Homemade bread is a special treat that most of us do not make very often, but simply enjoy eating. Baking bread could be a real blessing since it can be difficult and very costly buying special gluten free bread in the stores. In any case home made bread is indeed much fresher and more tasty. Homemade bread is unquestionably cost-efficient for us and saving money is what it's all about isn't it?

Home made bread is something everyone ought to make. It is free from additives and is much healthier for you than store bought bread and the taste is much better than store bought bread. Home made bread is always much better than store bought. Your choice of soup, and homemade bread is one of the best frugal meals you can eat. Baking bread is something that connects us to our ancestors and to the countless others who have come before us. I think the smell of baking bread is irresistible. So here is a recipe for home made bread made from scratch. As you can see I have incorporated pictures of the steps to making basic yeast bread. Have fun and enjoy the tasty end product.


2 pkg yeast
1/2 cup warm water (115º)
4 Tbsp sugar
4 Tbsp soft shortening
1 tsp salt
2 cups tepid water (68 to 86ºF)
7 cups unbleached flour (a little more if needed)

Combine the !/2 cup of warm water,the yeast and 1 Tablespoon of sugar. Let stand until the yeast is dissolved and bubbly. ( This is called proofing the yeast). In a large bowl combine this mixture with the remaining water,sugar,salt and the shortening beat all ingredients together with a whip, then mix in flour until thoroughly combined. Then pour onto a floured surface and knead for 5 to 10 minutes. Place ball of dough into a large buttered bowl and cover with a towel. Set in warm place for 30 minutes to 1 hour to rise. Punch down and let rise again. Then Punch down Divide dough and form into loaves. Place in buttered pans. Cover with towels and let rise again. Bake for 45 minutes at 375 degrees. Remove from oven place on rack until cool enough to slice and eat, then grab a knife and have it. Enjoy.


If you would like to try a quick bread, here is a tasty recipe.

Fruit Bread

2/3 c. sugar
1/3 c. shortening
2 eggs
1 c. mashed bananas
1/4 c. buttermilk
1½ c. unbleached white flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. soda
1 c. whole bran or bran flakes
3/4 c. chopped dried apricots or cranberries
1/2 c. coarsely chopped nuts

Cream the shortening and sugar. Beat in the eggs.
Combine the bananas and the buttermilk. Mix the dry ingredients.
Add alternately with the banana mixture. Stir in the bran,apricots
or cranberries and nuts, Pour into a well-greased loaf pan. Bake
at 350º about 1 hour or until a pick stuck in the middle comes out clean.
Cool well before slicing. Enjoy.

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I am a retired father and grandfather. I am retired from TRW Kelsey Hayes after 37 years of service. I enjoy collecting recipes,cooking,playing guitar and playing golf as a hobby.