Wonderful Holiday Recipe Ideas
February 13, 2008
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!
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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:
How To Make An Espresso? The Art Of Making Coffee Cuisine
February 12, 2008
How To Make An Espresso? The Art Of Making Coffee Cuisine
by: Daryl Plaza
How to make an espresso. The art form of making coffee cuisine.
Espresso coffee is a precise art form of coffee making. There are several factors that must take place to make a quality cup of Espresso. First the fresh roasting of the coffee bean to bring out the truly gourmet coffee flavor that you expect. The grinding is the next procedure that must be done right in order to give you 20-25 seconds of extraction time. Espresso brewing requires the ground beans to be very fine in order to reach that perfect state for brewing. The next important step is the proper temperature of the filtered water that must be passed through the coffee at the specific pressure and timing that is critical to your espresso coffee.
The perfect espresso is created when:
Recipe directions: 1 ½ oz (45 ml) filtered water at the temperature of 195 oF (90oC) passes through ¼ - 1/3 oz (7-9 g) finely ground quality Espresso coffee. This water is forced through the fine coffee grounds by the espresso machine at 900 kilopascals atmospheric pressure (around 132 pounds/60kg per sq in/2.5cm2), with the water being in direct contact with the coffee for approximately 25 seconds.
Spicy Crab Cakes
February 11, 2008
Spicy Crab Cakes
by: Luke Indran
Good golly, these seafood specialty delights pack such a ferocious taste wallop that once you start popping them, you’d be hard pressed to stop! My zesty crab cake wonders make the perfect New Year’s party appetisers or family gathering fillers, so by all means dig in liberally, to welcome 2006 with a bang…
SPICY CRAB CAKES
2 lg. eggs
1/2 lb. fresh lump crabmeat
1 c. ricotta cheese
1 c. (4 oz.) shredded Monterey Jack cheese with jalapenos
3 tbsp. snipped chives
3/4 c. fine seasoned dry bread crumbs
1/4 c. salad oil
1 (7 oz.) jar roasted red peppers, drained
1/3 c. mayonnaise
In medium bowl, whisk eggs until blended. Stir in crabmeat, cheeses, chives and 1/4 cup bread crumbs. Form heaping tablespoonfuls of crab mixture into 1/4 inch thick cakes; on sheet of waxed paper, coat cakes with remaining bread crumbs. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line baking sheet with paper towels. In large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat.
Lose Weight With This Healthy Lean Chicken Salad Recipe
February 10, 2008
Lose Weight With This Healthy Lean Chicken Salad Recipe
by: Anita Johnston
This lean chicken salad recipe is perfect for eating alone on a bed of lettuceor on toasted whole wheat bread. Chicken salad will spice up any dinner plate.
This recipe even has a sweet taste with the addition of raisins.
Ingredients:
3 boneless, skinless chicken breast meat, cubed
1/2 cup sweet pickle relish
¼ cup red onion, finely minced
1 cup fat free mayonnaise
¼ cup celery, finely minced
¼ cup red bell pepper, diced
¼ cup cherry tomatoes, diced
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. black pepper
2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tbsp. fresh squeezed lemon juice
½ cup raisins
To Make:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a casserole dish with cooking spray or olive oil. You can buy pre-cubed chicken or buy whole chicken breasts and cut them up yourself.
If you cut the kitchen up this way, you will be available to cut the chicken to your liking. In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine the cubed chicken, the mayonnaise, and the fresh squeezed lemon juice.
Easy Trail Mixes
February 9, 2008
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!
Beer Through the Years
February 9, 2008
Beer Through the Years
by: J Square Humboldt
No one really knows exactly how the first beer came into being …
Suffice it to say that, around 10,000 years ago, somebody let a primordial barley and hop concoction stand long enough for it to ferment. The result not only made anonymous history, it was the genesis of beer’s own special influence throughout the ages.
Here are a few examples of note:
It was the accepted practice in Babylonia, as early as 4000 years ago, that for a month after a wedding, the bride’s father would supply his son-in-law with all the mead he could drink. Mead is a honey beer, and because their calendar was lunar-based, this period was called the “honey month” or what we know today as the “honeymoon.” I have also heard that the custom included one of the most resourceful bits of propaganda ever created for husbands. As the story went, if the groom drank mead for an entire moon, it would enhance the chances of his wife bearing a male heir. The bride, however, had to abstain from drinking alcohol at all. I’ll leave the punch lines to you.
Understanding Baking: How Yeast Works
February 8, 2008
Did you ever wonder why flour tastes like sawdust but a French or Italian bread made with that same flour and little else has a pleasant, sweet taste?
Bread wouldn’t be bread without yeast and yeast can’t work without sugars. Yeast is alive-living organisms-and living organisms need food for fuel, in this case, simple sugars. But flour is mostly starch and table sugar (sucrose) is too complex for the yeast before fermentation. Amylase and invertase, enzymes present in the flour or created by the yeast, break down the starch molecules into sugars. Some of these simple sugar molecules become food for the yeast; others create the sweet flavor we find in a fine bread-even a French bread where there is no sugar added.
As the yeast feeds on the sugar, it creates two digestive byproducts-alcohol (ethanol) and carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide is what leavens the bread-carbon dioxide gases filter through the dough creating loft. The alcohol is evaporated in baking.
A Healthy Low Carb Recipe Chicken Strips Salad
February 7, 2008
A Healthy Low Carb Recipe Chicken Strips Salad
by: Anita Johnston
After the holidays a lot of us want to go easy on the Carbs. This low carb chicken strips salad will help you to achieve just that.
A salad is not just boring lettuce anymore. This salad is bursting with flavor. This healthy low carb recipe is for a chicken strips salad with fruit and nuts.
It has such unique flavors that you will discover a new one with each and every bite. Compliment your dinner table with this salad today. Your salad never had it so good.
Ingredients:
2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts cut into strips
2 cups spinach, shredded
1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 cup fresh broccoli, chopped
½ cup red onion, cut into rings
1 cup fresh strawberries, chopped
½ cup pecans, diced
½ cup raisins
1 tsp. lemon juice
½ cup red wine vinegar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
Cilantro (optional)
To Make:
Fun & Fruity Recipes
February 6, 2008
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
Provence - A Wine Lover’s Dream Come True!
February 5, 2008
Provence - A Wine Lover’s Dream Come True!
by: Mark Anthony
Provence is often overlooked by companies that offer traditional wine tasting tours, in spite of the excellence of its wines. If you’re a true wine lover and wine fan, this beautiful location in France offers the most fascinating scenery and, not to mention, some of the best vineyards around.
In Provence, as everywhere in the Mediterranean, you’ll find the people full of warmth, spontaneity and a “joie de vivre”. As you will soon discover, any of these master oenologists (winemakers) will be delighted to introduce you to the wines they have become famous for; and share a little of the region’s history with you.
In Provence your days will be filled with sunshine and warmth, and lush nights, scented with jasmine, lavender and wild thyme - whether you stay in a bustling, crowded metropolis with all the modern conveniences, or a turn-of-the-century country guest house filled with 17th and 18th century antiques.
