How to Use Herbs in Everyday Cooking

When first experimenting, easy does it! Use just enough herb to heighten natural food flavors. One strongly seasoned dish per meal is generally a good rule of thumb. Following is a list of guides for your everyday cooking needs:

- Start with 1/4 tsp dried herbs to four servings, or to one pound of meat, poultry, or fish, or to 2 cups sauce or vegetables.

- If substituting fresh herbs for dried, use 3-4 times as much fresh herbs.

- Measure dried herbs; then crush them in the palm of your hand before adding – this helps hasten the flavor release.

- Add herbs at the same time as salt and pepper to meats, vegetables, and sauces.

- In long-cooking foods, such as stews, add herbs during last half hour of cooking.

- Add herbs to juices or cold sauces ahead of time – let stand overnight if possible.

- Many herbs are compatible, so don’t hesitate to use several herbs together.

- A rich spicy ginger cake that will last for weeks in a cake tin, if you are able to resist it for that long.

- Try some of these ideas for herbs, then experiment on your own and taste the delicious difference that herbs make.

- Basil is a natural for tomato and potato dishes. Try 1/4 tsp for each cup of tomato juice for a quick appetizer.

- When making potato salad, cook potatoes with a bay leaf and some onion.

- Sprinkle caraway seed over coleslaw.

- Add a dash of chili powder to corn.

- Chives are great in cottage and cream cheeses, and also in scrambled eggs.

- Add curry powder to deviled eggs.

- Oregano gives character to meat loaf, stew, chili, and tomato mixtures.

- Spark seafood and chicken dishes with tarragon. Also gives tang to tartar sauce.

- Thyme is popular for soups and chowders.

- Sage is best liked with pork and in stuffings for turkey and chicken.

The author is a big fan of cooking recipes. Visit the following website for more info about health and cooking recipes.

http://www.101cookingrecipes.com

http://www.desserts-recipes.com

http://www.herbs-spices-recipes.com

[tags]herbs, cooking, herbs tips, spices[/tags]

Soul Food Restaurant — Serving Up a Taste of Home Cooking

Okay so you don’t have the skill, time or patience to cook up that perfect soul food dinner? Chances are a soul food restaurant in your area is serving up home cooking just like mom or grandma use to make. Give yourself a break from kitchen duties and here is the reason why.

Soul food restaurants have never been more popular. In fact, today you have more options than ever before. Black celebrities, seasoned chefs and great cooks around the country have teamed up to offer you a unique dining experience and familiar soul food menu.

If you live in or near major cities with a significant African American population, expect the competition for your business to be fierce. This is great news for you because in essence you will have an opportunity to enjoy a full range of dining experiences at several different types of restaurants including: soul food diners, upscale establishments, buffets, catered events, mom & pop diners, cafeteria style restaurants and much more.

Cities like Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Las Vegas, Memphis, New York, Philadelphia, St Louis, Oakland and Washington DC all offer unique dining experience including: live jazz performances, comedy shows, celebrity appearances, modernized soul food cuisine, artwork exhibits, gifts & memorabilia and cooking products.

Once you get out and start enjoying establishments in your area, it will be easy to see that the soul food restaurant industry caters to a diverse group.

Now that you’re sold on the idea of giving yourself a break from kitchen duties, the obvious question is “What are celebrity soul food restaurants and famous chefs cooking up?”. This question is not at all easy to answer. The simple fact is, it all depends on location and the type of clients the restaurants in your area are trying to attract.

The bottom line up front is that in most cases you can find a soul food restaurant in your area that provides the type of comfort foods and home cooking you have become accustomed too. At this point you should feel very good about the idea of eating foods any day of the week that are traditionally served only during Sunday dinner and on special occasions like family reunions, family barbecues, birthdays, etc.

So what type of dishes can you expect to find on a soul food menu? That depends on the type of restaurant you visit. For example at a barbecue restaurant you can experience the taste of barbecued ribs, chicken, brisket; baked beans, macaroni & cheese, coleslaw, potato salad; banana pudding, sweet potato pie; and more.

At an upscale restaurant you would more than likely see many remakes of traditional soul food and southern favorites. These modern meals will be more appealing to todays taste. In addition, you’ll see soul food fusion, the combination of African American, Caribbean and Jamaican cuisine. Lastly, on the menu you’ll probably see NEO Soul Food aka New Soul Food prepared to fit the healthy lifestyle. These dishes contain less salt, fat, cholesterol and calories.

You’ll be pleasantly surprised when eating at Cafeteria style restaurants, along with restaurants featuring buffets. Here you can taste and sample a variety of comfort foods including meats like smothered chicken, barbecue, meatloaf, fish; vegetables such as collard greens, cabbage, yams, okra; delectable desserts like peach cobbler, red velvet cake, pecan pie; and much more.

The Mom & Pop type restaurants will be limited to daily specials and lack variety when compared to large establishments. This can work out to your advantage because you’ll always be served fresh vegetables and desserts with fruits that are in season.

Okay now is the time to take a break do some research and rush out to enjoy some soul food at a soul food restaurant near you. Just remember there are plenty of restaurants to choose from, that offer a variety of soul food menus. One word of caution, not all soul food restaurants are created equal.

About the author: Linnen Hodo is a cook and food connoisseur. His website http://www.soulfoodandsoutherncooking.com features a collection of soul food recipes, restaurant reviews, cook book reviews and cooking tips.

For the latest soul food restaurant reviews in your area visit the Soul Food Restaurant Review Guide.

[tags]soul food restaurant, soul food restaurants, soul food menu, soul food[/tags]

Ground Turkey Recipes

Our family has recently made the switch from ground beef to
ground turkey. With ground beef more than $2 a pound, we had
basically quit eating hamburger for quite some time. On a recent
trip to the grocery store I noticed that ground turkey was HALF
the price of ground beef, about $1 a pound. I decided to give it
a try, and our family loved the ground turkey. Honestly, you
can’t even tell the difference in taste, and it is very low fat.
There is almost no fat to remove from your pan. Here are some
recipes our family adapted to our tastes:

Turkey Chili

1 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
2 celery stalks, thinly sliced
1 lb. ground turkey
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1-2 tbsp. chili powder
1 28-oz. can of crushed tomatoes
1 15-oz. can of black beans, drained
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 can corn (optional)

In a large soup pan, cook onion, pepper, celery, and turkey in
oil until turkey is cooked through. Add garlic and cook 1
minute. Add tomatoes, beans, and oregano, and stir well. Bring
to a boil, reduce heat and simmer partially covered for 20
minutes, stirring occasionally. Add corn and simmer for 10 more
minutes. Serves 6.

Turkey Lasagna

1 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 lb. ground turkey
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 cup onions, chopped
1 (14 1/2-oz.) can tomatoes, chopped, reserve liquid
1 (6-oz.) can tomato paste
2 1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
8 uncooked lasagna noodles
1 (12-oz.) carton cottage or Ricotta cheese
3 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded

In a large skillet, cook onion, garlic, and turkey in oil until
turkey is cooked through. Add tomatoes with liquid, tomato
paste, and Italian seasoning. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and
simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Cook lasagna noodles according to directions on package.

Lightly grease 13×9x2-inch baking dish. Spoon 1/3 sauce in the
bottom of the baking dish. Top with 4 lasagna noodles. Spoon
cottage or Ricotta cheese over noodles. Sprinkle 2 cups
mozzarella cheese on top of cottage cheese. Spoon 1/3 sauce over
cheese, top with remaining noodles, and then spoon remaining
sauce over noodles. Top with remaining mozzarella cheese. Bake
at 350 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes. Serves 8.

Turkey Burgers

1 lb. fresh ground turkey
1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs
1/2 cup onion finely chopped
1/4 cup ketchup
1/2 lemon, juice of
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. soy sauce

Combine turkey, bread crumbs, and onion in a large mixing bowl.
In another bowl, stir together remaining ingredients. Using
hands, work sauce into turkey mixture. Form into 6 patties and
fry or grill. Serves 6.

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

[tags]ground turkey, recipes[/tags]

8 Simple Commonsense Cooking Tips

Do you get lumps in your white sauce?

When making white sauce (b

3 Easy to Cook Chicken Recipes for a Lovely Treat

We all love spicy chicken; except if you are allergic or you just can’t love spicy food. Being a chicken lover myself, I have collected 3 hot n’ spicy recipes for you to try out in your chicken today or anytime you would like to treat yourself for a deelicious meal; they make good family specials as well! Although they have similar names, they are very different. Perhaps their origins differ.

Hot N’ Spicy Chicken Recipe #1. Spicy Chicken Wings

- 1 lg. can Parmesan cheese

- 2 tbsp. oregano

- 4 tbsp. parsley

- 1 tsp. salt

- 1 tsp. pepper

- 1 stick margarine

- 4-5 lbs. chicken wings

Line cookie sheet with aluminum foil. Melt margarine in small pan. Cut up chicken wings. Discard tips. Mix all dry ingredients in bowl. Dunk chicken wings in margarine and roll in cheese mixture. Place on cookie sheet. Bake in preheated 350-degree oven for 1 hour. Serve warm.

#2. Hot Chicken Wings

-Chicken wings

-1/2 stick margarine

-1 bottle Durkee hot sauce

-2 tbsp. honey

-10 shakes Tabasco

-2 tsp. cayenne pepper (optional)

Deep fry wings for 20 minutes. Drain and dip and let set in sauce. Take out to dry and then serve.

#3. Hot-N-Spicy Chicken Wings

-5 lbs. bag chicken wings (drumettes)

-12 fl. oz. Louisiana Pre Crystal Hot Sauce

-1-2 sticks butter

Fry chicken wings until golden brown and drain on paper towel. Mix hot sauce and melted butter and pour into deep pan or crock pot. Add chicken wings to sauce and heat thoroughly.

Tommy Lee is the current owner of a Chicken recipe website. Visit his website for more deeelicious chicken recipes!

[tags]hot chicken wings, spicy chicken wings, hot n spicy chicken wings, spicy chicken recipes[/tags]

Favourite Irish Recipes

Are you sick of the same old food? Want to try that something different? Perhaps you want to impress the lady or man in your life with your culinary skills. Below are some of the best Irish recipes around.

Bacon and Cabbage Soup

Ingredients:
1 Medium Onion sliced
Butter-5-60 Grammes
4 medium potatoes peeled and sliced
1 Cabbage-use Savoy or Spring cabbage
Chicken Stock-750ml
Salt and Pepper
Bay Leaves-5 for flavour
250 Grammes Ham or Bacon

Toss the butter onto the pan as add the sliced onions as it begins to melt. Add your potatoes nicely sliced and the cabbage. Cook for about 3 minutes. Add the stock, continue to cook. Throw in the bay leaves and bring to the boil. Turn heat down and cook until potatoes are soft. Add the ham or bacon and simmer for 30 minutes. Season as required with salt and pepper.

Rillettes of Fresh and Smoked Salmon

This is a great little snack for those hot summer days.

Ingredients:

225 Gramme Poached Salmon Flaked
175 Gramme Smoked Salmon cut into small pieces
3 Spoons Fresh Cream
I spoon of Horseradish Sauce
Some chopped Dill
Chopped Chives
Salt and Pepper
I pinch of Cayenne Pepper
1 good squeeze of fresh lemon

Throw all the ingredients into a bowl and mix well. Serve as a chilled salad or in a sandwich. Its that simple. Delicious!

Dara Ward is an expert on all things Irish. He even cooks for his wife at home. He operates over 20 Irish travel websites which offer instant bookings for 120 Hotels in Dublin He also runs Self Catering Cottages in Ireland.

[tags]Irish recipes, best Irish recipes, bacon and cabbage soup,rillettes of salmon,[/tags]

College Student and Simple Recipes

Tired of school and a lack of good meals on a daily basis? Welcome finally to the real world. Of course, dorm life is so far from real life that one can not try to approach the topic without digressing, so I will stick to the matter at hand. Recipes for those who swear they can’t cook, and healthy enough to eat so that your brain doesn’t rot in time for finals, midterms, practicals, papers, and exams.

Chicken!

Prepare with care and caution, meaning you never handle raw chicken with cooked food and you always clean surfaces that have chicken juice, meaning you also wash your hands. Not remembering to wash your hands after handling raw meats can make one ask, why do you deserve to be a college student?

Butter Chicken

Take a chicken breast and split it into two. Pound it so that it is slightly flatter. In a plastic bag, put in flour and salt and pepper to taste. Throw the chicken in and do the shake-and-bake move. You shake it! Cover the whole chicken with the flour/salt/pepper and once you are done, put butter or oil into a pan. For three minutes, cook the chicken on high fire. Flip the chicken, reduce the fire to medium or low and cook the chicken for another 9 minutes. Cover the pan during the last few minutes of cooking.

Given you haven’t burnt down your dorm, place the chicken on a plate, enjoy. You can add ketchup if you don’t care for sophistication. You can add some greens to make the plate pretty, but all food in the end becomes crap so it doesn’t matter unless you are trying to impress!

Soup

Chicken soup, the real kind and not the one from those cans are so good, both for you and to taste. Cut up a chicken breast into slices and then boil a pot of water. If you have one chicken breast, I guess you can have 10 cups of water… If you have a regular sized pot, just fill it around 3/4 full, or less. Boil the water and then lower the fire before you put in the chicken slices. Cut some ginger and throw that in too if you can tolerate the taste. Let the soup simmer/boil for a while, like 20 minutes on low fire and then put in around 1 teaspoon of salt. Enjoy while hot! Very good, this is pure chicken soup! So easy to make, granted you don’t boil yourself or whatnot.

Simple Pasta

Garlic, cut up some cloves into dices. Cut up some parsley. Grab a serving of pasta, and cook it al dente, meaning in boiling water for less than 10 minutes, most of the time. In a pan, throw in olive oil and then cook the garlic until brown on medium fire. Throw in parsley. Finally, salt and pepper the mixing to your liking before stirring in the cooked pasta.

After about one minute, close fire, serve, eat… So good!

What can life be without desserts? Just eat fruits. Stay healthy. College life is stressful and unhealthy enough as it is! EAT FRUITS!

End of recipes…

Visit http://www.Nummyz.com for more information on the author.

[tags]chicken, simple, recipes, for, college[/tags]

Low Carb Cooking – Recipes and Ideas to Prevent Low Carb Boredom

If you’ve jumped on the low carb bandwagon and found it has worked really well for you, chances are you’ve run out of meal ideas at one time or another. When cooking low carb, it isn’t always easy to come up with new foods to keep it interesting. Here, we’ll discuss some easy low carb foods you can prepare that’ll mix things up a little and prevent low carb boredom.

Cooking low carb means you should always have a few food necessities around to whip up a good meal that is high in protein.

Some of these low carb necessities are:

1.) Low carb bread crumbs
2.) A variety of cheeses such as Muenster, Provolone and Mozzarella – which are lower in fat than orange cheeses like cheddar.
3.) Low carb wraps that are about eight inches around and high in fiber.
4.) Cottage cheese
5.) Yogurt
6.) Almonds, macadamia nuts and brazil nuts are all excellent sources of protein and omega 3 fatty acids, which help slow the absorption and utilization of calories.
7.) Flavored tunas – a favorite of mine is sweet and spicy tuna by Starkist.
8.) Brown rice, the slow cooked variety.

Once you have these “staples”, you’ll always have food around for a simple lunch or dinner and snacks. The cheese can be used as a snack by itself or you can wrap a piece of deli pepperoni around it and have a snack that tastes like pizza bites. If you want to have a hot snack, try frying pepperoni in a pan with the mozzarella over it, and you can even dip it in a tomato sauce. Another good snack is deli ham rolled with cream cheese and a slice of dill pickle. Believe it or not, this is a great flavor combination!

Yogurt with some slivered almonds also makes an excellent snack, and they even have some low carb varieties of yogurt on the market that are pretty tasty. You can also eat this as a breakfast since it is filling enough to replace a meal. The same goes for cottage cheese. You can even make a low carb lasagna with special whole wheat pasta. Layer about two rows of the whole wheat pasta with tomato sauce, small curd cottage cheese, some cooked and crumbled hamburger meat which can also be mixed with either vegetarian or pork sausage, and mozzarella cheese. As mentioned previously, you can also make this a vegetarian dish by substituting the meat with either soy versions of meat or a vegetable of your choice such as broccoli or spinach.

Another excellent low carb meal is eggplant parmesan. Lightly salt thinly sliced eggplant, dip it in egg whites and fry in a pan with olive oil or low fat cooking spray until golden brown. Layer the eggplants with sauteed mushrooms, mozzarella cheese and tomato sauce. Sprinkle the top with parmesan cheese and bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 miutes.

If you want a lighter dinner, try flaking the sweet and spicy tuna over a small bed of brown rice. You may season the rice with a dash of salt and pepper and a hint of sesame oil for extra flavor also. What you end up with is a delicious low fat, high fiber meal that leave you feeling lighter and satisfied for hours.

More Low Carb Cooking: Comfort Foods that Won’t Pack on the Pounds

An excellent low carb substitute for a common comfort food is turkey meatloaf. This one is both light on carbs and light on fat. Take 2 pounds of ground turkey, about 3/4 cup of low carb bread crumbs, 2 eggs, and a meatloaf seasoning packet such as McCormicks meatloaf seasoning. Mix it all together and bake. An optional topping is a low carb BBQ sauce for an extra zing.

You can even make a low carb pizza. Specialty stores and even some grocery stores carry special low carb pizza crusts. The toppings are all naturally low in carbs. Just add some tomato sauce – preferably one without any sugars, mozzarella or provolone cheese and toppings such as pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms or other veggies.

Eating low carb no longer has to be a prison sentence. There are hundreds of specialty low carb foods now available at your local grocery store and all it takes is a little creativity to eat a diet filled with variety and flavor.

Visit Carb Blockers for information on a low carb diet pill that actually blocks excess carbs when you indulged. Danna Schneider is the founder of Dieting Magazine Online Resource for Weightloss and Dieting

[tags]low carb cooking, low carb recipes, ideas, foods, low carb diets, low carb, weight loss, carb[/tags]

Turkey Recipes

The Turkey is a bird that is used in many delicacies. It is a North American bird that is closely associated with Thanksgiving dinners. However, it is also consumed on other occasions. Turkey is generally preferred because it is high in protein and low in fat, as compared to other dark meat. Some common breeds of Turkey are: Narragansett, Bronze, White Holland, and Bourbon Red.

Turkey can be roasted, smoked, deep fried, grilled or microwaved. Turkey can be used for appetizers, soups, salads, sandwiches, entrees and more. Dishes rich in proteins yet low in carbohydrates can also be prepared from Turkey. Turkey can be cooked using highly complicated recipes, or it can also be used for preparing some quick and easy dishes. It is very important to follow some guidelines while cooking Turkey. These include: use only cooked ingredients in the stuffing, use only fresh stuffing; stuff the Turkey just before roasting; thaw the Turkey properly, and so on. Selecting the right kind of oil is also important–the oil should have a high smoke point.

Turkey dishes require special seasonings, spices and other ingredients. Bread crumbs, onion, eggs, garlic, ginger, pepper and oil are some of the commonly used ingredients. Some ethnic Turkey dishes are: Turkey tenderloins with black bean and corn salsa, enchilada Turkey soup, smoked Turkey breast ratatouille melt, Turkey satay with spicy peanut sauce, Mediterranean Turkey and eggplant stir-fry, Turkey and oriental noodle salad, Turkey cassoulet, Thai grilled pizza, Turkey scaloppini Portuguese-style, West Indies minced Turkey, spring rolls with Turkey, moo shu Turkey with duck sauce and pancakes, pasteis con Peru, Thai green curry with Turkey and couscous, Turkey Brazilian with white rice, Turkey Kiev, curried tenderloin of Turkey with curried blueberry sauce, Swiss Turkey marsala and others.

Some other delicious Turkey dishes that can be made are: grilled Turkey brat hoagies, Turkey chili, Turkey breast Diane, Turkey enchiladas, garlic roasted Turkey, ginger lime Turkey strips, seasoned Turkey with rice pilaf, Turkey sausage with pasta, Turkey bratwurst kabobs, Turkey lasagna, Turkey meatloaf, Turkey parmesan, Turkey sausage, Turkey scaloppini, stir fried Turkey with walnuts and cashews, grilled southwestern Bratwurst, Turkey pizza, Turkey burgers and so on.

There are also prepared Turkey dishes available. These contain all the stuffing and have to be just taken from the freezer and roasted. There are several Turkey recipes available over the Internet in exclusive websites.

Turkey provides detailed information about turkey, turkey hunting, turkey recipes, deep fried turkey and more. Turkey is the sister site of 1200 Calorie Diabetic Diets.

[tags]turkey, turkey hunting, turkey recipes, deep fried turkey[/tags]

Thai BBQ or Barbeque Chicken Recipes

What makes Thai BBQ chicken recipes so delicious? It is all the wonderful and unique spices and ingredients that are used to deliver a flavor that are taste buds enjoy. These recipes are wonderful and give us a new view of how we look at barbeque sauces. You will learn once you begin to try other countries bbq recipes that many spices and ingredients can make delectable sauces that everyone will love.

This first Thai BBQ chicken recipe will give you an idea of all the different items that make your own barbeque sauce liven up the dinner table.

You will need 16 ounces of cubed chicken, 2 tablespoons of curry powder, 1 teaspoon of seasoning salt, 1 garlic clove minced, 1 tablespoon of your favorite cooking wine, 1 tablespoon of chopped ginger, 3 tablespoons of soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of honey, 1 small can of pineapple chunks, 1 green pepper cubed, 1 red pepper cubed,