Ribolitta: The Italian Way Of Having Your Five Veggies A Day!
June 22, 2008
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
Banana Cream Cheesecake
June 21, 2008
Banana Cream Cheesecake
by: Luke Indran
Merge the taste sensations of rich banana and creamy cheesecake now with my fabulous banana cream cheesecake creation roadmap!
1 Yellow cake mix, prepared in 13×9 pan.
8 oz Cream cheese, room temperature
1 pk (3-oz) instant vanilla pudding
2 c Milk
3 Or 4 bananas
1 lg Container Cool Whip
1 c Chopped nuts
Beat cream cheese until creamy. Add milk, gradually; add pudding, beating until well mixed. Pour over cooled cake. Slice the bananas over cake. Cover with Cool Whip and top with nuts.
About The Author
Luke Indran is a professional food and recipe addict who actively balances his obsession with eating with his fanaticism for exercise and healthy living. If you’re after delicious recipes that stir your senses, then head on over to Luke’s mega website at http://www.recipemecca.com/ for the yummiest recipes anywhere presented in a step-by-step format anyone can follow easily!
Aunt Franny’s Special Cheesecake
June 20, 2008
Aunt Franny’s Special Cheesecake
by: Luke Indran
Do you crave some good old homemade chesecake that’s hearty, sweet and unbelievably delicious at the same time? Say your thanks then to Aunt Franny for disclosing her classified cheesecake recipe for the benefit of all you dessert lovers!
3 pk Cream cheese
5 Eggs
1 1/2 pt Sour cream
1 1/2 ts Vanilla
3 tb Sugar
1 c Granulated sugar
1 1/2 ts Vanilla
1/2 c Sugar
1 1/2 c Graham cracker crumbs
1/4 c Margarine
Crust: 1 1/2 c. graham cracker crumbs, 3 T. sugar, 1/4 cup margarine. Mix and pour in 13×9x2 pan.
Filling: Cream cheese, add eggs, one at a time; mix thoroughly. Add 1 cup sugar and and 1 1/2 t. vanilla. Pour over graham cracker crust. Bake at 300 for one hour. Cool for 5 minutes.
Topping: Mix 1 1/2 pts. sour cream, 1/2 c sugar, and 1 1/2 t. vanilla together. Pour over baked cheesecake.
Bake an additional 5 minutes in oven, set overnight. Serve cherry pie filling as topping on the side. Cherries might be too rich for some people so this enables anyone who wants them to add them individually.
Making Homemade Pasta for Dinner Tonight
June 19, 2008
Homemade pasta cooked al dente (to the teeth), is a chewy and light treat. Here are the simple steps to making fresh pasta for dinner tonight.
Ingredients for pasta
3 ½ cups sifted all-purpose flour 4 eggs 4 to 5 tablespoons water 1 tablespoon salt
Place the flour in a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the center and drop the eggs in. Add the salt and the water a small amount at a time. Blend together to make a dough ball.
Place the dough ball on a dry pastry or baker’s board. Knead until it is smooth and elastic.
Cover the dough and allow it to rest for 30 minutes.
Divide the dough into four parts. Flatten each part with a rolling pin then dust lightly with flour.
Adjust the pasta maker to the widest setting. Crank each part through at this setting.
Adjust the pasta maker down one setting for thinner noodles and run the dough through a second time. Continue to adjust the setting to a smaller size until you reach the desired thickness of noodle.
Converting Recipes for Your Crockpot
June 18, 2008
Crockpots vary but the low setting is typically around 100 degrees and its high setting is around 300 degrees.
Knowing this, it is fairly easy to convert most recipes for use in your slow cooker. Some adjusments to cooking times will be a judgement call on your part, but some simple guidelines should help. Just follow a few simple rules and you’re on your way.
You should decrease the liquid since it does not boil away in a crockpot.
Add cheeses and other milk product towards the end of your cooking since they tend to break down if they are cooked for too long.
Brown any ground beef before adding to the crockpot. It will taste better and have better texture this way.
Add rice and noodles at the end of your cooking as well. They will turn mushy if they are cooked too long. You can cook these separately and then combine them when it’s time to serve.
Add your spices at the end.
If a stovetop recipe calls for 15-30 minutes, the crockpot should cook it for 1 1/2 - 2 1/2 hrs at a high temperature and 4 - 8 hours at its low temperature setting.
Affordable Induction Sealing Machines
June 18, 2008
Affordable Induction Sealing Machines
by: Todd M. Cannon
The high cost of induction sealing machines has been a barrier of entry to many startup packaging companies. A Packaging Systems now offers hand held induction sealers starting at $1800, whereas the closest competition sells similarly powered machines at prices well over $6,000. These new affordable induction sealers open up many new opportunites to affordably package short runs, trials, etc…
The APSIS Induction Sealer is designed for the needs of pharmaceutical, food, cosmetic, pesticide, oil and chemical industries to provide leak-proof and tamper-proof container sealing. It can be used to seal different kinds of compound aluminum foil, such as PE, PET, PP and glass, etc.
Specifications:
500W adjustable power
100 KHz Operating Frequency
Handles cap diameters from 10 to 100 mm
Production capacity of 22~25 cpm.
Power requirements - 220 VAC, 10A
Dimensions: L. 360 x W. 260 x H. 120mm
Why induction seal?
1. Tamper Evidence - Deter Pilferage
2. Leak Prevention
3. Increased Shelf Life - Product Freshness
Making Spanish Paella The Easy Way
June 17, 2008
Making Spanish Paella The Easy Way
by: Noel Gomez
Paella is a saffron-flavored dish made with varying combinations of rice, vegetables, meat, chicken and seafood. Spain and the Catalan languages, paella means frying pan or pot. The traditional paella pan is flat and of large diameter, it can also have handles on each side.
In fact, paella is one of the most versatile dishes to make. Paella also has the advantage of being great to clean out the fridge and use up leftover meats and vegetables. Any combination will eventually be great the secret is in the chemistry. Spanish Paella is a dish that is generally made to feed several people. Moreover, Spanish Paella is quite flavorful the next day as the tastes have had time to mix together and become stronger.
Here are three basic steps to follow to make wonderful Spanish Paellas while leaving you the latitude to be creative and to make the dish their own by customizing it to their taste.
1. Preparing the rice.
Oregano Dressing - Good for Allergies
June 16, 2008
An Individual Health Recipe to Enjoy
As the weather becomes warmer our bodies naturally turn to lighter dishes and raw foods. Here is an excellent dressing that is a great alternative to the sugar -based dressings located in most grocery stores. This dressing will help you welcome in the salad season, keep you breathing freely and living Energy Rich?.
To find out more about living an Energy Rich? Lifestyle please visit www.individual-health.net.
Oregano dressing
Serve this over fresh greens, chilled pasta or even use in a rice-vegetable dish.
Ingredients 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon stevia
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped dry-packed sun-dried tomatoes
1 tablespoon fresh oregano
Directions 1. In small bowl, whisk together vinegar, mustard, stevia, salt and pepper.
2. Gradually whisk in oil.
3. Cover sun-dried tomatoes with boiling water and let stand for 5 minutes.
4. Drain and add to dressing.
5. Stir in oregano.
6. Eat and breathe deep.
All the best for you and your health, Heather
Curry - A Journey
June 15, 2008
Curry - A Journey
by: Liz Canham
Due to a childhood in the Middle East, I was practically brought up on curry. My first memories of it are eating curried goat in the fire station of Dubai airport in about 1962. My dad was the airport manager and the Chief Fire Officer and his family were our good friends and neighbours. The firemen cooked for our two families - fiery hot curry for the adults and a much milder version for us kids. Some of the men were of Arabic origins and some of Indian so I think the resulting meal was something of a mixture.
I remember we were offered chairs and cutlery but we preferred to sit on the floor and in the traditional manner, ate only with our right hands. This posed something of a problem for my mother as she was left-handed - she avoided making inexcusable gaffes by sitting on her left hand until the meal was over.
Secret of Light and Fluffy Biscuits and Pancakes
June 14, 2008
Would you like to lose some weight — in your baking, that is? This one secret ingredient (that you likely already have in your kitchen) is not only inexpensive and healthy, it’ll also add a bit of “cloud” to your biscuits and pancakes!
And that ingredient is … Oatmeal!
Yep, I know what you’re thinking … just give me a moment and trust me on this.
For instance, to make super light pancakes, I’ll use normal, non-instant, oatmeal. I’ll prepare a 1 to 1 1/2 serving size portion, usually in the microwave.
Next, add your normal pancake ingredients to the oatmeal. I normally add the milk first to cool down the oatmeal (don’t want the eggs to cook!). You may notice that the batter is a little frothy — especially if you let it sit a bit. That’s oatmeals extra viscosity coming into play.
Cook the pancakes just like you normally do. They’ll look the same and taste the same (no oatmeal taste). However, they’ll rise up nice, light, and fluffy!
To make super light biscuits, you’ll alter your normal biscuit recipt just a tiny bit. Prepare the oatmeal as usual — but, since the prepared oatmeal is fairly liquid, it’ll make your biscuit dough into a batter … IF you add the normal amount of milk!
