Archive for December, 2009

I really love to cook but after work I’m beat, me and my boyfriend like to sit down and have a great meal at night. What are some quick and easy recipes I can whip up after work? Nothing too expensive/time consuming/over the top, just a simple meal that is quick, affordable, and down right delicious.

How about a steak?

(Serve for 2)
Ingredients:
- Your preferred meat, something like a scotch/eye fillet?
- Buy a garlic-steak spice (usually it’s like a powder in the bottle)
- Your preferred soy sauce. I use ‘kikkoman’
- Salt

How to make:
Marinate your steak for 5 minutes with garlic-steak spice and a bit of salt on both sides.
Pre-heat your pan for a few minutes until it’s quite hot. Grilled your marinated steak in low heat until both sides are half done (depending on how would you like to be done). And after it almost cooked, add 1 1/2 tea spoon of soy sauce for each side of the steak. Leave the steak for 2 minutes or less, and it’s ready to be served!

Side dishes: Fried fries or mix veg

How easy is that? Steak, sounds expensive yet it’s quite cheap when you cook it yourself (not much ingredients) and quick to cook.

Enjoy!

I’m looking for cookie recipes, using plain, cooked white rice as an ingredient.

Anyone?

this was the only one I could find…but should give you a start to make substitutions…………………………………. …………..Iranian Rice Cookies
Wheat Free Recipe
Ingredients:
1 cup butter
1 cup confectioners’ sugar; sifted
2 egg yolks
2-1/2 cup ground rice
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom (or more)
1 egg white; lightly beaten
1/2 cup finely chopped pistachios OR almonds

I am totally unexperienced in cooking, and i’m tired of microwavable foods, I want real dinner!

Does any one have any great recipes for spaghetti or chicken (they’re my favorites). And this may sound dumb, but I need to know exactly how to cook the chicken or any meats in the spaghetti, i’m pathetic I know!

Since you are starting out I believe this recipe would be a great meal for you to try. Its simple, quick, but yummy!! I got it off the Campbell’s Kitchen website which I highly recommend!! I will even post some more links that I have fixed from that site that are easy/quick as well but great of course!!

***Skillet Chicken Parmesan****
Serves:6
Ingredients:
6 tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 cups Prego® Traditional Italian Sauce
Vegetable cooking spray
6 small skinless, boneless chicken breasts (1 1/2 lb.)
1 1/2 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Directions:
STIR 4 tbsp. Parmesan cheese into pasta sauce.

SPRAY skillet with cooking spray and heat 1 min. Add chicken and cook until browned. Drain.

POUR pasta sauce over chicken; turn breasts over to coat both sides with sauce. Cover and cook over medium heat 10 min. or until done.

TOP with mozzarella cheese and remaining 2 tbsp. Parmesan cheese. Let stand 5 min. or until cheese is melted
______________________________________________

Here are some other recipes to give a try..happy cooking Some of them even have videos u can watch on how they are made.

http://www.campbellkitchen.com/prego/SpecialtySiteRecipeDetail.aspx?recipeID=25066&c=4

http://www.campbellkitchen.com/SpecialtySiteRecipeDetail.aspx?recipeSource=MealIdeas&recipeID=24226&rc=577&page=1&index=6&Lastindex=false&specialty=swansonchunkchicken

http://www.campbellkitchen.com/recipedetail.aspx?recipeSource=search&recipeID=25630&page=0&index=2&SearchText=paprika&LastIndex=false

http://www.hiddenvalley.com/recipes/view_recipe.php?recipe_id=142

http://www.hiddenvalley.com/recipes/view_recipe.php?recipe_id=62

http://www.hiddenvalley.com/recipes/view_recipe.php?recipe_id=66

http://www.hiddenvalley.com/recipes/view_recipe.php?recipe_id=63

Hi, i want to know how to bake a yummy buttercream cake for my mom’s birthday. However, I don’t know how to bake… (embarassed sigh) Anyway, my mom loves buttercream cakes, the really creamy ones with lots of frosting. Do you happen to know any recipes for buttercream cakes. Can any of you also give me a few good tips on how to decorate the cake with flowers and words? How do I do all that ?????

here are a couple different flavors, these cakes are amazing, and happy birthday to your mom!!

FILLING

CAKE:

2/3 c. butter
1 1/2 c. sugar
3 eggs
2 1/4 c. flour
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 c. milk
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

BUTTERCREAM:

2 pkg. Dr. Oetker vanilla pudding
3 sticks butter
3 tbsp. sugar

Cake: Cream together butter and sugar. Beat in eggs. Sift flour and baking powder. Stir in alternately with flour the milk and vanilla. Grease and flour 10 inch springform pan. Bake 1 hour at 350 degrees. After cake is baked, cut it twice and fill with buttercream and decorate.
Buttercream: Prepare pudding according to instructions with 3 additional tablespoons of sugar. Let cool to room temperature and remove the skin. Let pudding and butter stay out overnight so both are room temperature. Cream butter and add pudding 1 tablespoon at a time until well blended.

CHOCOLATE-BUTTERCREAM CAKE

1 3/4 c. flour
2 c. sugar
3/4 c.cocoa
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 c. milk
1/2 c. oil
2 tsp. vanilla
1 c. boiling water

Combine dry ingredients in large mixing bowl. Add remaining ingredients except boiling water; beat at medium speed two minutes. Remove from mixer; stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour into two greased and floured 9 inch or three 8 inch layer pans or one 9×13 inch. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes for layers, 35 to 40 minutes for 13×9 inch pan. Cool 10 minutes on rack. Remove from pans; cool completely.

CHOCOLATE BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

1/2 c. shortening
1/2 c. butter
1 tsp. vanilla
4 c. sifted powdered sugar
3/4 c. sifted cocoa
3-4 tbsp. milk
3 tbsp. light corn syrup

Cream shortening, butter, and vanilla together until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in sugar and cocoa on medium speed, scraping down bowl often. Add milk and corn syrup until light and fluffy.

The baby is on most things now (mashed down of course). I am a terrible cook, and want us all to start eating helathy as we survice on processed food at the moment (not the baby though, she has home cooked baby meals or jars)

But if you know of any VERY EASY and tasy recipes it would be much appreciated. Thanks.

IS ANYONE READING WHAT THIS LADY IS ASKING?!

SHE SAID HEALTHY AND easy recipes…..
SHEPHERD’S PIE AND CREAMY NOODLES ARE NOT HEALTHY! LOL~

Now here are some of my own recipes:

Try buying those miniature potatoes, skins on, no need to wash, boil them according to package directions, or until tender.
Drain and transfer to foiled cookie sheet, drizzle with lots of extra virgin olive oil, and take your favorite chicken seasoning (any kind of powder will do) sprinkle lots on top of the mini potatoes, make sure they are covered generously. Bake in the oven until skins are nice, wrinkly and crispy.
Baby can have these mashed up.

Peas, carrots, sliced eggplant and zucchini are good side dishes and can be mashed up for the baby.
Steam or boil these.

Try making regular minute rice and mix with peas.
Buy a jar of Jerk sauce to make Jamaican jerk chicken (recipes usually on the container).
All you need is Jerk sauce and chicken legs/breasts/thighs. Make them mild so everyone can have it, usually jerk chicken is cooked til meat is falling off the bone, so baby can have the very tiny flakes too.
That would be an easy and nice Jamaican meal.

You could buy from your Asian grocer, some Chinese broccoli. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kai-lan
These are tastier than regular broccoli, and very healthy as well.
Steam these or boil until "al dente" or tender, whichever you prefer.
Also, my Asian friends buy string beans or green beans, and they cut the ends, boil them for a few minutes, stick em in a bowl of ice to stop cooking, take a wok or frying pan and drizzle with vegatable oil and minced garlic and fry em up a bit until skins appear wrinkly…these are really tasty and I ‘ve seen them served at Tony Roma’s restaurants as well.
You can also use this cooking method with spinach (but no need to boil beforehand).

You can also do an Asian "ABC" soup, using pork meat and bone/carrots/potatoes/onions, even tomatos.
Put these in a crock pot and let it cook all day.
Here’s a recipe…you’ll see how easy it is and if veggies are mashed, baby can have some as well!
There’s a photo as well: http://www.flickr.vip.mud.yahoo.com/photos/mylittlerascal/8155317/
Serve all this with chinese rice (the kind in huge 10lbs bags, wash them, rinse them, leave between an inch of water up from the rice in a pot and cook with lid tilted to let steam out until tender if you don’t have a rice cooker.
Baby can even eat rice mixed in with the "ABC" soup.

You can get a jar of black bean sauce from the Asian grocer as well and use that and minced garlic on some spareribs cut into once inch blocks…steam them until cooked.

Try getting fish fillets too…use jar salsa or garlic mayonnaise as a topping and throw it in the oven to bake. Or try Ina Garten’s (from Barefoot Contessa) salmon panko (japanese bread crumb) recipe:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_35499,00.html?rsrc=search

BBQ’s are good too, and men love to grill. Try Korean BBQ marinades sold in jars at your Asian grocer to apply to beef short ribs, chicken breasts which are also healthy alternatives.
If you don’t have a BBQ, do them in the oven, they taste delicious too!

Japanese cuisine is healthy and easy as well providing that your family is adventurous when it comes to food. You can get soba noodles (type "soba" in wikipedia.com), healthy buckwheat noodles, boil, rinse in cold water, add ice cubes to keep the temperature cold, add thin strips of dry roasted seaweed and dip in soba sauce!

You can also make your own Asian dumplings as well, to steam or pan fry.

Use lots of extra virgin olive oil on veggies too and roast them and they are good also. Tomato and cucumber salads with any oil and not cream dressing is good, tomato and mozzarella cheese, etc.

French Onion soup, tons of onions, beef stock, real guyuere cheese, a stock pot and many hours and voila!

Whole wheat bow tie pasta with jar pesto sauce or tomato sauce is good too.

Canned salmon or tuna mixed with some ranch dressing served on a bed of spinach on flaxseed bread makes good lunches and baby can eat the sandwich filling.