Home Cooking Gadgets

There’s nothing better than a hot sandwich on a cold day. A grilled cheese sandwich and a steaming bowl of tomato soup is a classic combination. Use a sandwich grill to toast your cheese sandwich to perfection. As far as the tomato soup goes, the canned version will work just fine.

Gooey Grilled Cheese
~ 2 slices sourdough bread
~1 slice American cheese
~1 slice Swiss cheese
~1 slice Provolone
~2 tbsp. butter or margarine

Liberally butter one side on each piece of bread. Use the rest of the butter to coat your sandwich grill. Turn the grill on to the medium setting. Toast each side until the bread is golden brown and the cheese is gooey and melted. Serve how with a bowl of tomato soup.

Whether you prefer your crust chewy, crispy, or a little of both, cooking the perfect pizza crust makes the pizza taste all the better.  I’ve found that for a chewier crust, it’s best to set your oven on a low temperature, and place your pizza directly on a greased cookie sheet.  For a crispy crust, I prefer to use a pizza baking stone, which ensures the crust on the bottom becomes nicely toasted.  I also recommend setting the oven for a higher temperature, and cooking the pizza for less time (just be careful not to burn it!). 

Whatever you prefer, make sure to be careful taking your pizza out of the oven.  If you are using a pizza baking stone, be mindful that the stone will retain heat for a long time, and could still be hot even 15-30 minutes after it comes out of the oven. 

I’ve found the best way to make tasty sandwiches for breakfast, lunch, dinner, even midnight snacks is with a Panini grill.  For some reason hot sandwiches with the contents just a little melted always taste better than a cold sandwich, and even cold sandwiches taste better if they’ve been grilled!  Before I bought my Panini grill I found myself always wanting to go out for meals, but now that I can make Reubens, grilled cheese, even breakfast sandwiches at home, it’s saved me a lot of time and money. 

I also use my Panini grill to cook steaks, and it drains out the fat.  If you get one like mine, you can remove the cooking plates and throw them in the dishwasher too.  I don’t even have to clean up!

Scientists are currently researching the use of oleocanthal, obtained from extra virgin olive oil, as an anti inflamitory. Inflammation is how the body reacts to injury and infection. It is not recommended that you drink glasses of olive oil, but making it a daily dietary choice could be helpful. Heating and long storage can lessen the medicinal qualities. It is recommended that when purchasing extra virgin olive oil be sure to check the dates. Whenever possible add the oil after cooking the pasta or chicken. 

Fall is here. The fruits and vegetables are being harvested. There is nothing better than fresh salsa, a colorful salad or a healthy stir fry made from the fruits of your labor. Slice them or dice them, the superior flavor is almost better than candy. A set of razor sharp stainless steel knives kitchen scissors and a chopping block is what you will need for easy preparation. Get chopping and enjoy.

Nothing says fresh like ripe, summer vegetables straight from the garden. Reaseach from popular seed companies indicates more people are planting vegetable gardens. The increase in grocery prices and the interest in cooking shows may be the reason for the trend.

If you are growing your own vegetable or purchasing them at the local market you will need time-saving kitchen helpers. A versatile food processor is a must to lessen the slicing and dicing time, for a fresh fast meal. Prepare those juicy vegetables on a nonstick indoor grill for a healthy, mouth-watering meal the whole family will enjoy.

A fall activity the family can enjoy together is going to an orchard and picking apples. Canning the apples will let them enjoy the fruits of their labor all year.

You will need:

21/2 lbs of apples per quart

A flat plastic itensil long enough to slide along the inside of the jar

2 large  stock pots

Long handled spoon

2 tablespoons salt

2 tablespoons of vinegar

5 cups sugar

Canning jars and lids

1. Clean and sterilize the canning jars by putting them in boiling water.2. Make a syrup 1 cup of sugar to 4 or 5 cups of water. Cook until sugar disolves. Keep syrup hot until used. Don’t let mixture boil down.

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Cooking as a college student can be a challenge. Imagine it’s your first attempt at creating a concoction in the kitchen since Mom and Dad dropped you off at school. There’s no blender, strainer or frying pans in the dorm. It is hard to maintain good eating habits, especially if you have no prior cooking experience. Having the right gadgets to use, in the kitchen, can help you create some great healthy concoctions.

Useful kitchen tools, other than a microwave, would be a toaster oven and an electric frying pan. Gadgets have developed a reputation for looking useful on a display but these items have multiple uses and can be helpful for the inexperienced cook.

A six slice toaster oven or larger allows for toasting, baking and broiling. They cook fast and the food gets browned like cooking it in the oven. You could even bake up a few cookies. An electric frying pan is great for cooking meat, potatoes, stir fries and don’t forget a hearty breakfast.

The most importat thing is don’t think you are too busy to cook. Eating healthy will help you maintain stamina for studying and you can reminisce about home while enjoying the savory smells of your cooking.

In today’s health-conscious world, it isn’t popular to admit how much you like to use an electric deep fryer—but they help make some delicious recipes.

Homemade doughnuts, French fries, fry bread, onion rings, turkey, potato skins, homemade potato chips…for those days when you just want some carbohydrates and aren’t going to apologize for it, break out the deep fryer!

This salad is easy for the whole family to eat and boasts a color palate that will appeal to everyone at the table.

Recipe Ingredients:
1 romaine lettuce heart
4 to 6 slices thick-cut bacon, cooked until crisp, cool and chopped
½ pint grape tomatoes, halved
2 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 English cucumber, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
½ cup chopped walnuts
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Salad dressing of choice

Chop the lettuce heart into 1- to 2-inch pieces with a professional cutlery set.  Combine it with the bacon, nuts, and other vegetables in a large bowl.  Toss mixture well.  Keep the salad refrigerated until serving time.  Toss it again with enough dressing to lightly coat the vegetables, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.

Serves: 6