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.
3. Wash, drain, core and slice cooking apples. Tart apples like granny smith are the best for pies. To keep from turning brown, drop sliced apples in a solution of 2 tablespoons of salt and two tablespoons of vinegar to one gallon of water. Do not let fruit sit in the solution more than 20 minutes. Rinse thoroughly before packing.
4. Add rinsed apples to the syrup. Bring to a boil. Cook for five minutes.
5. Pack hot fruit in clean jars. Do not pack too tight but don’t waste space.Leave 1/2 inch head space. Remove air bubbles using a non metal utensil sliding it along the inside of the jar. Wipe rim with a clean hot cloth to be sure it is clean. Add lids.
6. Put filled jars in a canner or pot large enough to be able to cover jars with 2 inches of water above the lids.Leave a space between the jars. Bring fruit to a boil. Boil for 20 minutes from the time the boiling starts.
7. Let jars cool. Check jars for seal, take off the ring. If you can hold jar by the lid it is sealed.
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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
The first step to making a superior sandwich is to purchase quality ingredients. Select crisper lettuce leaves. Opt for a thicker cut of bacon and a cured vaiety of lunch meat like prosciutto, coppa or capicolla. A sharper cheese like gouda, gruyere or aged cheddar will add a bold flavor.Choose a sturdy bread like cibatta for a no-tear sandwich. A panini grill is great for a beautiful, professionally pressed crust. When using the frying pan or the grill let your bread cook long enough to build up a good, solid crunch. Taking the time to roast the tomatoes in a pan or the oven, can loft a simple lunchtime sandwich into a memorable meal. Toast the bread, no matter what sandwich you’re serving. Just one minute will make it taste fresher. Spritze both sides of the bread with cooking spray and always heat the separate bread slices cheese side up to ensure a crispy outside and an ooey-gooey center for a tasty grilled cheese.Be creative don’t be afraid to play around with the fixins.
There is nothing like a stir fry for a quick and tasty meal. This beef with broccoli stir fry recipe is a must for any recipe collection.
Sauce
Combine:
2 Tablespoons of soy sauce
2 Tablespoons of rice vinegar
1/2 teaspoon of white vinegar
1 teaspoon of cornstarch
Set aside while preparing other ingredients
In a stir fry pan add:
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
1lb of flank steak thinly sliced into strips
2 cups of broccoli pieces
5 green onions cut into 1 inch strips
1 tablespoon of ground ginger
4 cloves of minced garlic
Stir and cook for 2 minutes
Add sauce, cook until sauce thickens and covers the vegetables
Using the back yard grill is a year round event for the die hard grill master. As the weather gets cooler standing outdoors, grilling large amounts of food, can be a chilling experience. Grilling large roasts is a great way to cook for a crowd without watching to make sure that the steaks don’t get overdone. The secret to grilling large pieces of meat is to sear the outside of the roast then cook it on low for a long time. Veggies can be wrapped in foil and slow cooked along side of the meat.A grilled roast dinner will be a hit with any crowd.
