Spinach, Mushroom and Swiss Baked Omelet
½ Cup Spinach
1/3 Cup Mushroom, sliced
6-8 eggs
1/3 Cup Milk
½ Cup Swiss Cheese, grated
Black Pepper to taste
Nutmeg to taste
Cook the mushrooms and spinach over medium heat until all the liquid is rendered from the spinach and mushrooms.
Blend together eggs, milk, pepper and nutmeg at high speed in a blender. By mixing in the blender the eggs will turn out light and fluffy. Pour the egg mixture into a well greased oven proof skillet, such as an iron skillet or omelet pan.
Stir into the egg mixture the mushrooms and spinach. Sprinkle over top the grated Swiss cheese.
Bake in a 325° oven for 25 minutes or until the eggs are firm.
Muffin Biscuits
These are easy to make biscuits and are always a favorite. They are crumbly and buttery in flavor.
1 3/4 Cups All-Purpose Flour
1 tsp Salt
2 ½ tsp Double-Acting Baking Powder
6 Tbs Chilled Butter
1 Cup Milk
Mix the flour, salt, and baking powder in a large bowl. Cut the butter with a pastry blender into the dry mixture. Make a well in the center and pour in the milk. Stir for one minute.
Fill well greased muffin tins with batter to make shapely biscuits.
Bake for 20-25 minutes at 400° or until golden brown.
Serve warm with butter.
PEELING
Peeling an apple is best done with a vegetable peeler. Knives take with it too much fruit. A peeler makes nice thin even slices of peel leaving behind the maximum amount of fruit, smoothly removed. Peelers are not created equally. Many have dull blades, need too much pressure and will be difficult to use well. Look for one with a Swiss blade. Swivel blades are also easier to use and on the wrist. I recommend the Messermeister line of peelers. They are very easy to use and make light work of peeling.
CORING
Coring an apple can be easily done with a melon baller. Use a melon baller with a sharp blade and sturdy handle. Then simply cut the apple in half and scoop out the core, seeds and all. You can even use the melon baller to remove the blossom end and stem end. Now your apple is ready to slice and eat or slice, cut to cook, If you make the hole a little larger, your apple is now ready to be stuffed and baked with cinnamon, flour and sugar or even cheese and nuts like Brie and walnuts or whatever you prefer. The apples are also perfectly prepared for poaching, which is excellent dome with red wine and spices.
Not all apples cook up the same as the other. Some like the McIntosh or Spy will reduce to more of an applesauce. When baking, use a variety of apples for better flavour and a difference of texture.
Best Apples for Cooking
Rome
Cortland
Golden Delicious
Red Delicious
Ambrosia
Empire
Gala
Jonagold
McIntosh
Best Apples for Eating Raw
Cortland
Fuji
Granny Smith
Jonagold
Ambrosia
The Formula One racing programme recently arrived in Monaco and Mark Webber took the honours in the subsequent race. How far would the Australian's car have gone if his team had fuelled the car with orange juice, for example?
In reality our bodies react the same way. If we put in the wrong fuel they do not perform very well at all. But that is what most of us do every day.
The chances of a woman developing breast cancer was 1 in 20 in 1960 but a recent report put the figure to be nearer 1 in 8 today. The instances of this illness have increased by twenty-five percent between 1975 and 2004 in Britain alone. The sperm count of the average male was reported as 100 million per millilitre in 1940 but this fell to 50 million in 1990. There are concerns that many men will become infertile within fifty years.
Additionally the chances of becoming a cancer victim have now been calculated to be 1 in 2.
The World Health Organization estimates the cases of diabetes worldwide will become an epidemic, rising from 171 million in 2000 to 366 million in 2030. Similarly, the number of obese humans is likely to increase from 400 million in 2005 to 700 million in 2015.
What is it we are doing wrong? Can it be what we are eating? It is quite likely. A serving (around 180 grams or a cupful) of spinach contained 150 milligrams of iron in 1940 but now it is more likely to be two milligrams.
Do We Really Know What We Are Eating?
Mass production is one of the key reasons for the loss of nutrients. Food is produced at a rapid rate, in huge quantities and at the lowest cost and the nutritional value is neglected. The soil becomes depleted. Fertilizers are used to increase yield but result in vitamins and minerals being leached from the ground.
Mass meat production is still more worrying. Animals tend to eat hay, silage or artificial feeds and less grass. Steroids, antibiotics and other drugs are given to the animals to improve meat production. Estimates from Compassion In World Farming suggest that two out of three farm animals are now on factory farms.
Broiler chickens are rapidly reared in factory farms, too often in appalling conditions. Reports indicate that twenty percent are disabled and ten percent suffer cancer; most are also fed antibiotics and other drugs. As a result of this triumph of economics over health we are not sure what we are ingesting.
Biscuits, sweets and cakes are cleverly marketed as 'treats' and ready meals as convenient. As a result we all eat too much sugar, salt and artificial fat, which the body cannot process and this turns into body fat. Combined with our less active lives, this is leading to an explosion of heart disease.
We Need To Eat Correctly
The generally accepted standard of healthy eating is five portions of fruit and vegetables a day but the World Health Organization has suggested eight to fourteen might be better. In reality twenty portions daily is probably the correct figure.
Eating twenty portions of fresh produce is going to be difficult. Perhaps the best strategy is to cut out all processed and useless foods and eat more potent organic foods, from local farmers markets or farm shops if possible or, ideally, grown at home. The rest of your needs can be provided by top quality natural dietary supplements. In this way perhaps we can reverse the trends.
Do you find most backpacking recipes to be dull and boring? I do, and that is why I came up with some exciting, flavorful foods for taking on the trail, that give your taste buds joy and eliminate the monotony of the same bland foods day after day. Here are five easy recipes that make eating while backpacking something to enjoy, and no longer just tolerate.
Mini Pizzas
These are easy to make using English muffins, a packet of pizza sauce, and cheese. The English muffins can be rewrapped in tinfoil, while the pizza sauce can be put in a small plastic container, and the cheese in a zip lock bag. When you are ready for this meal you simply add the pizza sauce and cheese on top of the English muffin and wrap them in tin foil. In order to prevent the cheese from sticking to the tin foil, make it loose on top. These can be cooked on top of a stove, or by leaving in the sun for an hour or so, just long enough to melt the cheese. Other ingredients, such as onions, mushrooms, or black olives can be added for a more flavorful variety of toppings.
Biscuits & Gravy
The biscuits can be made at home. I pack them in a water bottle with a large opening on top, since this saves space. The gravy mix is easy to pack since most come in a powdered form than can be put in a Ziploc bag. I find mixes that only need water added, but you can also find one that needs milk, and bring along some powdered milk. When ready for this meal you can head some water and the gravy mix and pour it over the biscuits. The biscuits do not need to be reheated, since they will get warm from the gravy. You can also bring jelly packets and use any left over biscuits as a treat with jelly spread on them.
Noodles With Wild Mushrooms
There are many varieties of mushrooms that are sold in their dried form. These can be purchased at most grocery stores, and an assorted pack of wild ones can provide a wonderful variety of tastes. The noodles can be any type, but I find the flat varieties most efficient for space and durability. Other than the noodles and mushrooms, a couple tablespoons of butter, as well as salt and pepper, are needed. The dried mushrooms need to soak for a couple of hours before being cooked. The liquid used to soak them is reused to cook the noodles in. After the noodles are cooked, they need to be mostly drained, with a slight amount of liquid left in. Add the mushrooms, butter, salt and pepper. Another great addition is some Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top.
Backpacking Recipes That Don't Need Cooking
Pita Pockets with Hummus
This is a quick, filling, and versatile meal. Pita pockets can be found at most grocery stores, and are ideal for packing since they are flat and compact. Hummus is great because it provides a lot of protein and flavor, and can be purchased in powdered form where water is added to reconstitute it. The hummus can be spread inside of the pita pocket, and cucumbers and olives can be added to enhance the flavors.
Tuna Fish on Tortillas
This is a great meal that is easy to make. The tuna fish can be purchased in a pouch. Sweet relish should be packed in a leak-proof plastic container, and mixed in with the tuna during preparation of this meal. The tuna and relish mixture is then heated and served on top of a small tortilla. A slice of cheddar cheese can be put on top of the tuna, and will melt slightly from the heat of it. The tortilla can then be folded in half, or rolled up. This is surprisingly good tasting and very filling.
While there are many more ideas for tasty backpacking recipes, this is a sample of how simple and scrumptious cooking for the back country can be. Enjoy!
In a world of instant mixes, frozen dinners, and fast food, the simple pleasure of baking bread has almost been forgotten. From early childhood, I have pleasant and cherished memories of my mother and grandmothers baking yeast breads and batter breads-hearty breads for meals, sweat breads for desserts. Baking bread, much like sewing, crochet, and knitting, is fast becoming a lost art, but the truth is that baking batter breads doesn't take much longer than a bread mix.
Hmm, fresh yeast bread! The aroma fills the entire house, causing all within to follow the fragrance to the kitchen in hopes of getting a slice of hot, buttered, yeast bread. For as long as I can remember, the smell of bread baking has been a comforting sign of home.
There are so many things that come to my mind when I think about bread: my grandmother's old stories of times when bread and cheese, or worse, bread and water, were all that was available to eat; the five loaves Jesus blessed and fed to 5,000 men (the women and children were not counted); the unleavened bread of remembrance for the body the Christ sacrificed that the world might have peace with God; the buttered bread toasting in the oven on a cold winter morning; the first time I punched down the yeast dough, then baked the loaf and served it to my new husband. . . So many things come to mind that I can spend an entire, serene morning just thinking while enjoying the scent of rising and baking bread. Even batter breads (breads leavened with baking powder or a combination of baking soda and buttermilk rather than yeast), such as the cornbread my mom served with hot brown (pinto) beans, lend a sense of home and belonging.
Grocery stores have long sold boxes of cake mixes on their shelves (I confess that I occasionally use one of them.). For some time, now, they have also sold different types of bread mixes, biscuit mixes, cornbread mixes, and frozen yeast breads and rolls. While these are usually ok, they just don't have give your home the ambience of handmade, fresh breads. Nor do the pre-made, brown-in-the-oven varieties.
Think you don't have time to bake bread? While it is true that yeast breads take some time, after all, they need to rise, many bread recipes don't take much, if any, longer than using a mix. For instance, to use a cornbread mix, you open the package and pour it into a bowl, add egg, oil, and milk. To make cornbread from scratch, you measure cornbread, flour, salt, and baking powder into the bowl, and then add egg, oil, and milk. While it might, maybe, take two extra minutes to measure four items, the taste difference is incredible! Another example would be homemade biscuits. To make biscuits from scratch, measure flour, salt, and baking powder into the bowl, add oil and milk. Depending on the biscuit mix you buy, you can open the package and pour it into the bowl, or open the container and measure the appropriate amount into the bowl, then add oil and milk. Not much difference, is there?
It doesn't even take too much longer than "whampum" biscuits (store-bought refrigerator biscuits in a roll can). Even with those, you have to open them and put them in the pan. Frozen biscuits might be faster, but again, the difference in taste is definitely noticeable.
I have memorized three bread recipes: the yeast bread I use for both pizza crust and table bread, the cornbread my mother taught me to make, and the biscuits my husband loves. The following three quick bread recipes, with full instructions, will help you recapture the aromatic art of baking bread.
Yeast Bread
Can be used to make 2 loaves or to divide and use as the crust for two pizzas.
2 cups warm water
2 tablespoons dry baker's yeast
4 tbsp. oil
2 tsp. sugar
2 tsp. salt
5 cups flour
In a 2 cup measuring cup, add the yeast to the warm water and mix well. Add the sugar, salt and oil. Stir liquid and let sit for 5 minutes. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Grease two pans (loaf pans or pizza pans, depending on which you are making) with 1 tablespoon of oil for each.
Pour yeast liquid into a mixing bowl. Add half the flour and stir gently with a fork until moistened, then add the rest of the flour. Stir with fork until dough forms ball around fork (about 25 stirs). Flour hands and knead dough until smooth and elastic. Divide dough into two balls.
For bread loaves, roll each ball into an 18" X 9" rectangle. Starting at the small end, roll dough into a log shape. Pinch edges together, and tuck ends under. Place into oiled pan, cover and let rise for 30 minutes. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden.
For pizza crust, press each ball into a 12" to 14" oiled pizza pan. Make sure that the dough is distributed evenly. Top each with ½ cup pizza sauce and your favorite toppings. Bake for 20 minutes until toppings are done and bottom is lightly browned. After 10 minutes, I trade places with the two pans, moving the one on top to bottom, and the one on bottom to the top. This prevents one being overdone and the other underdone. Allow to sit for 5 minutes before slicing.
Biscuits
2 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
3 tsp. baking powder
¼ cup oil
¾ cup milk
Preheat oven to 420 degrees F. Measure the dry ingredients into a medium mixing bowl. In a glass, liquid measuring cup, measure ¼ cup of oil. Into the same cup, over the oil, pour in milk to the 1 cup mark (mixture will bubble). Pour all at once into the dry ingredients. Using a fork, stir until dough follows fork, then stir 10 more times. Flour your hands, and knead dough ten times. Roll or pat dough onto a cutting board or clean counter. Cut into squares or use a floured glass to cut round biscuits. If you are in a hurry, you do not have to roll the dough. Pat it out and tear off biscuit size pieces and put them into the pan. If you want the biscuits to be crispy, butter or oil the pan. Otherwise, just place then in the pan. If you prefer the sides to be crusty, place the biscuits 2" apart on the pan. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until light golden brown.
Mom's Cornbread
2 cups cornmeal (yellow is best, for the color)
1 cup flour
2 tbsp. aluminum free baking powder
1 tsp. salt
¼ cup oil
2 eggs, slightly beaten
Enough milk to make medium dough-should not be as thin as cake dough, but not as thick as cookie dough.
Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F. Grease a 12" baking pan. The best pan to use in baking cornbread is an iron skillet. Pre-heat oiled pan. This allows the cornbread crust to crisp nicely.
Mix dry ingredients in mixing bowl. Add eggs and oil and stir to make a crumbly mixture. Add enough milk (start with 1 cup, and add a little more at a time until you have enough), to make a medium dough-dough will pour, but not very fast. Do not over-mix. Pour dough into iron skillet. Bake for 20 minutes. Delicious with bean soup of any kind, corn and ham chowders, or just crumbled into a large glass of milk for breakfast!
Whichever bread you prefer, the aroma of baking bread will bring your family running to the table. Spend a few extra minutes to create some special memories for your children, or even better, let them help measure the ingredients and roll out the dough! Bread making, once a common, daily activity, is not almost a forgotten art. Learn to bake bread, make some memories, and help a tradition that spans thousands of years to survive!
Copyright 2008, Linda Pogue
Tajine is a cooking implement. It is the Moroccan traditional slow cooker. Made of clay, tajine comes in to two parts, a base section where food is layered and piled and then covered with a cavernous cone shaped top section, and slowly cooked to tender perfection. The round shallow base has a flat-bottom with a lip where the cavernous cone shaped top section sits. It is designed to capture and retain condensation and to avoid dryness during the cooking process.
Traditionally, a tajine dish contains meat, either lamb of beef in addition to pulses or lentils and vegetables. For vegetarians cooking in a tajine cannot be any simpler. You can substitute the meat with either tempeh or hard tofu, or even the extra soft round tofu.
Cooking with a tajine is really easy and not dissimilar to an electric slow cooker. All the ingredients are layered in the base section, starting with root vegetables like slice potatoes and cubed carrots followed by chunky meat. Concentrated stock or chopped tomatoes well seasoned with condiments, spices (like ras-el-hanout, stock cube, etc.) and fresh herbs like parsley or coriander can be added to the tajine.
Cover the tajine, place over a low heat source and allow to simmer very slowly for at least 90 minutes to 120 minutes, depending on the volume of food to be cooked. As a result dishes cooked in a tajine is thoroughly moist with a soft melt-in-your-mouth texture.
If using a clay tajine, a heat diffuser, also know as a simmering mat is crucial. It helps to distribute the heat evenly over the flat surface of the tajine and also protects the tajine from over heating. Repeated direct contact with flame can cause clay tajine to crack over a period of time.
In Morocco tajine is served as a centrepiece where it is customary to share a meal. It is often serve with bread, rice or couscous.
Zainil Zainuddin
Copyrights reserved
Kids can use the microwave at a younger age then cooking in the oven if taught accordingly. Begin by teaching proper use of the microwave and handling objects taken out of the microwave.
Then try simple recipes such as:
Steamed broccoli and cheese-add a small amount of water less than ¼ cup with broccoli florets. Place a microwavable plate or plastic wrap over the top of the bowl and cook for 4-5 minutes until broccoli is tender. Sprinkle with Parmesan or other cheese desired and stir.
Warming up food is a good start that kids can learn the basics of the microwave.
Pop popcorn whether using microwavable popcorn or by placing a ¼ cup of popcorn kernels in a brown paper bag with 1 Tablespoon oil. Staple shut and pop for several minutes until kernels stop popping. Season with different flavors like cheese or taco.
Try various recipes for fondues or hot dips such as pizza dip or artichoke dip.
Simple fudge recipes that call for melting chocolate and stirring ingredients together are great for the microwave.
Baked apples are another simple and great treat.
Meatballs can be cooked in the microwave and then added to a jar of spaghetti sauce to warm up.
Breaded chicken patties can be cooked in the microwave and then add a slice of ham and slice of cheese for a quick chicken cordon bleu meal.
Always teach your children kitchen safety and the importance of using supervision at all times. And kids will love the freedom of using the microwave and being able to help put quick and easy meals on the table for the family.
The history of the biscuit follows that of sugar and it seems that the first biscuits were baked in Persia during the 7th Century BCE. It wasn't until the Moorish conquest of Spain and the crusades of the 12th and 13th centuries that Arabic cooking practices slowly came to Europe.
The modern biscuit, however, is a French invention, and by the 14th century it was possible to buy little fruit-filled wafers on the streets of paris. The name of these comes from a corruption of the Latin bis cotum (baked twice) which became biscuit in English and biscotti in Italian. Traditionally, such biscuits are hard and dry in texture and they're know (and commonplace) from recipe books going back at least to the Elizabethan era.
In contrast, cookies are Dutch in origin. The name itself derives from the Dutch word 'koekje' (small or round cake) which represents the small pieces of dough that Dutch bakers used to place in their ovens to test the temperature. However, the classic cookie, the 'cocolate chip cookie' was only invented in 1937 by Ruth Graves Wakefield (1905-1977), of Whitman, Massachusetts, who ran the Toll House Restaurant. This type of cookie didn't reach nationwide fame until 1939 when Betty Crocker popularized it in her radio show. Today, however, the chocolate chip cookie is by far the commonest baked and eaten cake in America.
Below you will find a recipe for a classic British biscuit and a classic American cookie so that you can bake these for yourselves and appreciate both the similarities and the differences between these classic baked goods.
Fruit Shrewsbury Biscuits
This is a classic and easy to bake lightly fruited biscuit, ostensibly originating in the Shrewsbury region of England.
Ingredients:
125g butter
150g caster sugar2 egg yolks
225g plain flour
freshly-grated zest of 1 lemon
60g currants
sugar to dust
Method:
Cream together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy then add the egg yolks and beat together to combine.
Stir-in the flour, lemon zest and currants. Mix to a firm dough (add a little water if it's too stiff) then turn onto a lightly-floured surface and knead lightly. Roll out to about 5mm thick and cut into rounds with a 6cm pastry cutter with fluted edges.
Transfer the pastry rounds onto lightly-greased baking sheets and place in an oven pre-heated to 180°C, baking for about 15 minutes or until the biscuits are firm and only very slightly browned.
Remove from the oven and dust the top with coarse sugar then allow to cool on the baking trays for 10 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.
Chocolate Chip Cookies
This is the classic American chocolate chip cookie recipe made with brown and granulated sugars and hearkens back to the 1937 original.
Ingredients:
225g unsalted butter
150g granulated sugar
160g light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
320g plain flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
260g plain chocolate chips
120g walnuts or pecans, coarsely chopped (optional)
Method:
Cream together the butter and sugar in a bowl until light and fluffy. Mix the eggs together in a bowl then add a little at a time to the butter mix, combining thoroughly after each addition. Now add the vanilla and beat in to combine.
In a separate bowl sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the egg and butter mixture and beat thoroughly until completely incorporated. Add the chocolate chips (and the nuts, if using) about half way through mixing so that they're evenly distributed through the dough.
The dough should be fairly firm and if you find it too soft then cover and refrigerate for about 30 minutes (this will set the butter and make the dough stiffer). When ready drop about 2 tbsp of the mixture per cookie onto a lightly-greased baking tray, allowing at least 8cm between each cookie for them to spread. Place in an oven pre-heated to 190°C and bake for about 12 minutes, or until golden brown around the edges. Allow the mixture to cool for 10 minutes on the baking tray before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
I hope that you have learnt something about biscuit and cookie baking and that you will now want to know more about these baked goods.
Go back to grandma's recipe box and pull out these recipes for some delicious old fashion biscuits. You will be surprised what mayonnaise does for biscuits. And the homemade biscuit mix--with a biscuit recipe--makes some great old-time biscuits.
HOMEMADE BISCUIT MIX
8 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup baking powder
4 tsps salt
1 cup lard* for soft wheat flour or 1 1/2 cups lard for hard wheat flour
Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cut lard into flour mixture with a fork or pastry blender until the mixture has a fine even crumb. Cover and store in the refrigerator until ready to use. This mixture will keep at least a month in the refrigerator. Yield: 10 cups biscuit mix.
TO MAKE BISCUITS:
Add 1/2 cup milk to 2 cups Homemade Biscuit Mix. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently for 1/2 minute. Pat or roll to 1/2-inch thickness and cut with a medium size cutter or lip of a water or juice glass that has been dipped in flour. Bake in a very hot oven (450 degrees) for 12 to 15 minutes or until brown. Yield: 10 to 12 biscuits.
*Solid shortening may be substituted for lard if you prefer.
MAYONNAISE BISCUITS
2 cups self-rising flour
4 tbsp mayonnaise
1 cup milk
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Grease two six cup or one 12 cup muffin tins and set aside.
Stir all the ingredients together until well mixed. Divide dough evenly among the 12 muffin cups. Bake at 450 degrees until brown.
Enjoy!
Do your children like to spend their time making awesome mud pies or are they constantly stirring up some of their best grass soup? Then maybe it's time to let them loose in the kitchen with these fun kids cooking activities.
1. Allow your kids to create a new recipe. Pick out 5-7 ingredients that you think might go together and can be baked in a pie pan. For example, eggs, cheese, barbecue sauce, salt, flour, garlic powder, and corn chips can go together. The kids can also try a combination of cinnamon, eggs, flour tortillas, caramel sauce, and bananas. You may need to help them figure out "reasonable" amounts of each ingredient. There's no right answer; just have fun with it.
2. Start a Kids' Recipe Book. Everyone has recipes they love, including the kids. Have your child pick out 10 of his or her very favorite recipes. Either you or they can type the recipes out on the computer in a cool font with borders and some clipart. Print them out and "laminate" them with clear contact paper. They can then put the recipes in their very own cooking notebook.
3. Give your child an easy kid-friendly recipe to prepare on their own. Kids love to spread their wings and do things "all by myself." Give them the opportunity by handing them a super easy recipe and explaining how to do it. Depending on their age and skill, talk about kitchen safety and that you will be handling the oven/stove part of the task.
4. Have the kids take pictures of each other while cooking. They can make a small scrapbook filled with photos of their proud cooking moments. They will really enjoy this now, but also after they've grown up. Looking at the scrapbook and their kids' recipe book may remind them of good family times.
5. Decorate the cupcake challenge. Most kids have no problem creatively decorating a cupcake when given the proper toppings. Add a twist to the activity by getting out any possible toppings you can think of and asking them to decorate the cupcake to look like a cat or a flower. They'll come up with some decorative toppings you didn't think of.
All these kids cooking activities give you the chance to teach your kids the ins and outs of cooking. Your children also get the chance to learn many things in an atmosphere of fun. Give your child every opportunity to be creative in the kitchen and your child will thank you one day.
1- Drink lots of water and other beverages without calories
People sometimes confuse thirst and hunger. This can lead to taking unnecessary calories while a good glass of ice water would correspond to the need.
If you do not like water, Cynthia Sass of the American Dietetic Association suggests adding ice and lemon or prepare teas flavored with fruit, for example, have lots of flavor and no calories.
2 - Focusing on what can be added to the diet rather than on what should be eliminated
Start by focusing on 5-9 servings of fruits and vegetables that is recommended to take daily is worthwhile because it provides the fiber necessary and leads to feel more satisfied because of the volume of these foods, "says Chief Laura Pansiero. And that's not counting their profits to health are clear.
To succeed in increasing the number of servings, it suggests to prepare dishes of vegetables as a meal rather than simply serve as great company. It proposes to take advantage of seasonal vegetables to casserole, rissotos, pilaf, soups, etc..
3 - Wondering if we are really hungry
When you feel like eating, look for physical signs of hunger, suggests Michelle May, author of "Am I Hungry?"
Having the habit of taking reasonable portions helps to better identify the sensations of hunger and satiety.
4 - Choose carefully the evening snacks
Eating automatically occurs often in the evening, when tasks are completed and you sit down to relax.
"Sit in front of the TV with a bag of crisps or biscuits is one example of when you eat not by hunger but out of habit," says Malena Perdomo of the American Dietetic Association.
It recommends closing the kitchen after a certain time or afford a low calorie snack like a packet of biscuits to 100 calories or half a cup of low fat ice cream.
Once accustomed to feel satisfied with the low-calorie snack, try replacing it with a calorie-free tea, she suggests.
So, you live in the country and grew up loving horses. Now you are getting married and want to include horses in your wedding in some way. Great! There are a few ways to do just that. There is no reason to not include them if that is what you and your groom want to do. Just be sure that all the horses involved are okay with it, too. This would be an outdoor wedding ceremony, of course.
If you have horses available that will stand fairly still long enough, the entire wedding ceremony could take place on horseback. The minister or judge would ride up first. Next, the groom and the best man ride up, leading a pony with the ring bearer riding it, followed by the groomsmen. The bride's maids will ride up the aisle side saddle, as will the maid of honor and the bride, with the first one leading a pony carrying the flower girl. Once they are in place, the maid of honor will ride up, followed shortly by the bride. The ceremony will be much like any other except it will be on horseback.
If you don't want the entire wedding ceremony on horseback but still want horses involved, here is another option. The men in the bridal party can ride up to the canopy and dismount. One of the groomsmen can take the horse to a hitching rail to one side. Then the ring bearer and the flower girl can arrive in a small cart pulled by ponies to the aisle at the back, get out and walk up the aisle. Then the bridesmaids can arrive in a surrey to the same point and then walk up the aisle. The maid of honor can arrive in a smaller surrey and walk up the aisle. Last, the bride arrives in an ornate surrey to walk up the aisle.
Another take on this idea is to have the bride and her entire bridal party arrive in a stagecoach. Which ever way suits you, can go with it. You might even think of a little variation of your own.
Finally, for the wedding reception, a cookout would go very nicely with the theme. Barbecued chicken would be such a tasty way to feed your hungry guests. It could be served chuck wagon style with beans and cornbread or biscuits to go with it. The wedding cake could feature horses in some way, too, such as holding up the tiers. It would make a very different and very memorable day.
Often times, I'll eat in a restaurant and I'll enjoy a certain dish so much I'll want to duplicate the recipe at home. While often times my recipes will come out good, they are never quite as good as the restaurant version.
For those who like meatloaf, many have said the meatloaf served at Cracker Barrel is one of the best meatloaves ever. Those who have worked at Cracker Barrel say that the secret is in the bread crumbs. At the restaurant, they use their buttermilk biscuits in place of breadcrumbs. This will absolutely make a difference in the taste of the meatloaf.
What you might consider doing is making a batch of buttermilk biscuits and then using those in your meatloaf. It will help authenticate the taste of the restaurant recipe.
This recipe is enough for three loaves. It is perfect for small parties or even family potluck dinners.
10 pounds ground beef
30 ounces onion, chopped into 1/4-inch squares
1 pound diced green bell peppers
10 eggs
5 tablespoons salt
1 1/2 tablespoons pepper
1 1/2 quarts diced canned tomatoes
2 1/4 cups buttermilk biscuit crumbs or breadcrumbs.
This is one of those throw it all in a bowl and mix it up recipes. The restaurant uses a convection oven. Most home do not have a convection oven. I suggest cooking at about 350 degrees for about sixty minutes. After removing from the oven, invert each loaf to a cooling rack and spread a half cup of ketchup over each loaf. Cut and serve.
I did go to several sites to see if I could find a recipe for the biscuits. I found a few sites where people claiming to be Cracker Barrel employees listed the recipe. They all had the exact same recipe:
2 cups White Lily self-rising flour
1/3 cup shortening
2/3 cup buttermilk
It's just the three ingredients. Blend the flour and shortening together. Then add in the buttermilk. Mix for one minute, roll out and cut. Bake for eight minutes at 450 degrees. Once you take them out of the oven, brush with melted butter.
I have personally not used White Lily flour, so I wanted to find a recipe using products I've used before and I found what is being called a copycat recipe of the Cracker Barrel buttermilk biscuits:
2 ½ cups Bisquick
2 /3 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon melted butter
Mix the Bisquick, buttermilk and sugar together. Add the butter and mix until dough forms. Dust a board with flour and knead twenty times. Roll about ½ inch thick and cut into biscuits. Bake eight to ten minutes at 450 degrees. What was interesting was this recipe was very clear to not brush melted butter onto the biscuits after cooking.
Either way, the key seems to be in using crumbled buttermilk biscuits instead of bread crumbs when making the copy cat meatloaf recipe.
Scrambled Egg Biscuits
1 pk biscuits (I use premade biscuits found in the dairy case)
6 eggs
1/3 cup Half/half, (can use coffee cream, milk whatever you have on hand)
Meat (chopped up) optional such as Precooked sausage link, pre cooked bacon, pepperoni
1 ½ cups Cheddar cheese
Salt & Pepper to taste
-Take 1 biscuit and flatten out to cover bottom of muffin pan (it should go up the sides just a little). Do this with the rest of biscuits.
-Take a palm size scoop of cheese and put on biscuit.
-Scramble the eggs, cream, salt & pepper to taste. Pour over cheese & biscuit.
-Top with bits of Meat if desired.
Bake in preheated 400 degree oven for 20-25 minutes or until brown. Scoop out with spoon. Enjoy!
Chili Biscuits
1 pk Biscuits
1 Can Chili
2 cups Cheddar cheese
-This is optional but I put a little cheese in each muffin pan first.
-Take 1 biscuit and flatten out to cover bottom of muffin pan (it should go up the sides just a little). Do this with the rest of biscuits.
-Then put ¼ c of chili on each biscuit.
-Top with scoop of cheddar cheese.
Bake in preheated 400 oven for 20-25 minutes or until brown. Scoop out with spoon.
Pizza Biscuits
1 pk busicuits
Pizza sauce
2 cups mozzarella cheese
Pepperoni or Sausage Optional
-Take 1 biscuit and flatten out to cover bottom of muffin pan (it should go up the sides just a little). Do this with the rest of biscuits.
-Put scoop of pizza sauce on each biscuit.
-Top biscuit & sauce with Meat (if using)
-Top with scoop of cheese
Bake at 400 degree oven for 20-25 minutes or until cheese browns.
If you are looking for a small or miniature size dog that is easy to get along with and has a cheerful personality, then you should consider getting yourself a Pomeranian. Pomeranians are perfect if you live in a small apartment but they are also great if you have a spacious farmhouse. The Pomeranian enjoys going for walks as well as being a lap dog.
The size of a Pomeranian is often in the reason people choose this pet. Males are usually between 4 and 4 1/2 pounds and female Pomeranians are usually between 4 1/2 and 5 1/2 pounds. There is not much variation in the weight and height of these dogs.
It is thought that the Pomeranian originated in Germany but since it is a member of the Spitz family it could have Arctic Circle origins. In the 18th century the Pomeranian was originally introduced in several different countries throughout Europe. It became very popular among the elite members of the European Society. During the early times of the Pomeranian breed it was a much larger dogs and some weighed up to 30 pounds, by 1900 and British kennel club only allowed certificates for dogs under 8 pounds.
The feeding recommendations for a Pomeranian are one to 1 1/2 cups of dry food or a combination of half a can of food combined with some biscuits. Because this breed of dog is so small it does not require very much food on a daily basis, but that makes it even more important to provide high nutritional food with the amounts the dog eats.
The Pomeranian enjoys lying on its owners lap and relaxing, they are perfectly happy living a pampered dog's life. If the Pomeranians owner is an active individual these little dogs have no problems keeping up on long walks. Don't be afraid to let these little dogs get lots of exercise, they enjoy the activity.
Pomeranians are definitely not the dogs for someone who cannot take time out of their schedule for grooming. Because the Pomeranian actually has two coats of fur they need special care to keep their coat looking good. Pomeranians have a short undercoat that is fluffy as well as a longer topcoat that this straight. After wetting the fir, make sure the moisture has soaked through both layers of their coat, and then use a stiff brush to smooth out their fur. Start at the head of your Pomeranian and part their fur brushing it forward from roots to the tip, continue this process until finished.
If you are looking for a small dog for your family or just for yourself the Pomeranian is a great choice. These happy kindhearted dogs enjoyed being around others and will quickly become a great part of your family. The only major downside to the Pomeranian breed of dog is the daily upkeep of their coat, but even this only requires about 10 minutes per day.
