MAKE TASTIER HAMBURGERS – Homemade hamburgers are easy to make and taste far better than the store bought variety. Make them with medium ground beef, an egg and bread crumbs or crushed crackers. Season with your favorite seasonings or add barbecue sauce for a smoky flavor. For juicier burgers, add one-eighth cup of ice water to your beef or turkey before forming burgers.
CHOOSE PERFECT POULTRY – When choosing poultry, the skin should be a light creamy color and it should be moist. It should also be unbroken with no dark patches. Fresh poultry should be stored loosely covered on a plate in the referigerator for up to 2 days.
FIX LUMPY SAUCES – Is your sauce too lumpy? Remove it from the heat immediately and toss it in your food processor to smooth out the lumps and blend the flavors. Add some hot water if necessary to assist with the removal of the lumps. Then reheat as needed and serve!
STOP WATER FROM BOILING OVER – To keep pans from boiling over when cooking, add a thin layer of butter around the rim of the pan. This works well for rice, pasta and potatoes.
1 tsp olive oil
1/4 lb hot italian sausage, casings removed
1 lg onion, coarsely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 lg green bell pepper, coarsely chopped
1 lg rib celery, coarsely chopped
1 (14 1/2 oz) can no-salt added whole tomatoes
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp hot pepper sauce
pinch of cayenne pepper
1 bay leaf
3/4 lb fusilli OR other short pasta twists
1/2 lb skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut across the grain into 1/4″ wide strips
in a lg skillet, warm the oil over medium-high heat. crumble in the sausage and cook until the sausage is no longer pink, 2-3 minutes.
add the onion and garlic, and stir-fry until the onion begins brown, about 5 minutes.
add the bell pepper, celery, tomatoes, salt, hot pepper sauce, cayenne, and bay leaf, and bring to a boil, breaking up the tomatoes with the back of a spoon. reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer while you cook the pasta.
in a large pot of boiling water cook the pasta until al dente according to package directions.
uncover the sauce and bring it to a boil over medium-high heat. add the chicken and cook, stirring frequently, until the chicken is just cooked through, about 5 minutes. remove the skillet from the heat.
drain the pasta and transfer it to a large serving bowl. remove and discard the bay leaf from the sauce, spoon the sauce over the pasta, and toss to coat.
serves 4
1 tbs olive oil
1 lg yellow onion, chopped
1 (14.5 oz) can crushed tomatoes
1/4 cup molasses
2 tbs cider vinegar
1 tbs prepared mustard
1 tbs tamari OR other soy sauce
2 (15.5 oz) cans navy beans OR other white beans,drained & rinsed
1/4 cup bourbon
1/4 cup frozen orange juice concentrate
heat the oil in a medium-size skillet over medium heat. add the onion, cover, and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
transfer the onions to a 3 1/2-4 qt slow cooker. add the tomatoes, molasses, vinegar, mustard, and tamari, stirring to combine. stir in the beans, bourbon, and orange juice concentrate, cover and cook on LOW for 4-6 hours.
serves 4
3 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/8 tsp allspice
1/8 tsp nutmeg
3 tbs unsalted butter OR margarine, at room temperature
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
3/4 cup dark molasses
1/3 cup water
5-6 oz hard red and white peppermint candies
in a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices. set aside.
in a large bowl, with an electric mixer, cream the butter until light, about 1-2 minutes. beat in the sugar and molasses. blend in the water. add the dry ingredients and mix well.
shape the dough into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap or aluminum foil. refrigerate for 45 minutes, or until firm but pliable.
preheat the oven to 350 degrees. line cookie sheets with aluminum foil. gently trace heart designs onto the foil, making the hearts about 5″ long.
divide the dough into thirds, then divide each portion into 10 pieces. roll each piece of dough into a rope between 1/4″ and 1/2″ thick and outline the heart shapes with the ropes of dough; pinch the ends together tightly to seal.
coarsely crush the candies between two sheets of waxed paper or in a sealed heavy-duty plastic bag, using a rolling pin, or crush them in a food processor. fill the insides of the hearts with crushed candy.
bake in the center of the oven for 4-5 minutes, or until the cookie dough is set and the candy melts. cool the cookies for 2 minutes on the cookie sheets, then carefully peel the cookies from the foil and remove to wire racks to cool completely.
makes 30 cookies
4 cups milk
4 or 5 eggs
3 tbs sugar
1 tsp vanilla
mix all ingredients together in order given. bake in lightly greased custard cups at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes.
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
1 lg onion
2 med zucchini
2 cups sliced mushrooms
2 tbs vegetable oil
6 tbs soy sauce
4 tbs butter
salt
pepper
2 tsp lemon juice
3 tsp sesame seeds
6 cups bean sprouts
ON THE SIDE:
mustard sauce (recipe follows)
ginger sauce (recipe follows
before you begin cooking, be sure that the chicken, onion, zucchini, and mushroom have been sliced into bite-size pieces. for the onion, slice it as if you were making onion rings, then quarter those slices. for the zucchini, first slice them into long, thin strips, then cut across those strips four or five times to make bite-size pieces that are 1″-1 1/2″ long.
spread 1 tbs of oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. spread another tbs of oil in another pan over medium-high heat.
begin by sauteing the sliced chicken in one of the pans. add 1 tbs of soy sauce, 1 tbs of butter, and a dash of salt and pepper to the chicken.
add the onion and zucchini to the other pan. add 2 tbs soy sauce, 1 tbs butter, and a dash of salt and pepper. saute the vegetables as long as the chicken is cooking, being sure to stir both pans often.
when the chicken has sauteed for about 2 minutes, or when it appears white on all sides, slide the meat to one side of the pan, pour lemon juice on it, then add the mushrooms to the other side of the pan. pour 1 tbs of the soy sauce over the mushrooms, then add 1 tbs of butter plus a dash of salt and pepper. continue to stir both pans.
after 6-8 minutes, or when the chicken is done, sprinkle 1 tsp of sesame seeds over the chicken, then mix the chicken with the mushrooms. spoon the chicken mixture in four even portions on four plates next to four even portions of the vegetables from the other pan.
pour the bean sprouts into the same pan in which you cooked the vegetables, and cook over high heat. add 2 tbs soy sauce, 1 tbs butter, and a dash of salt and pepper.
cook the sprouts for only a minute or two, or until they have tenderized. just before you serve the sprouts, sprinkle 2 tsp of sesame seeds on them. serve the sprouts next to the chicken and vegetables with mustard sauce and ginger sauce on the side.
YOU CAN ALSO MAKE A HIBACHI STEAK. JUST FOLLOW THE CHICKEN RECIPE, SUBSTITUTING A 16-OZ SIRLOIN STEAK FOR THE CHICKEN. ALSO ELIMINATE THE LEMON JUICE AND SESAME SEEDS FROM THE RECIPE.
KEEP IN MIND THAT YOUR SLICED BEEF WILL LIKELY COOK IN HALF THE TIME OF THE CHICKEN, DEPENDING ON HOW RARE YOU LIKE IT.
serves 3-4 as an entree
MUSTARD SAUCE (for chicken and beef)
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup water
2 tsp oriental mustard
2 tsp heavy cream
1/2 tsp garlic powder
combine all of the ingredients in a small bowl and mix until well combined. chill before serving.
makes 2/3 cup sauce
GINGER SAUCE (for veggies and seafood)
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 oz gingerroot (a nickel-size slice), peeled & chopped
juice of 1/2 lemon (2 tbs)
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp white vinegar
combine all of the ingredients in a blender and blend on low speed for 30 seconds or until the gingerroot and garlic have been pureed. chill before serving.
makes 2.3. cup sauce
1/2 cup softened butter
1 cup sugar
2 (1 oz) squares unsweetened chocolate
1 beaten egg
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup flour (packed)
1 1/2 cups dry oatmeal (either quick-cooking OR old-fashioned will do)
preheat the oven to 325 degrees with the rack in the middle position.
in a large bowl, mix the softened butter and the sugar until it’s fluffy.
unwrap the squares of chocolate and melt them in the microwave according to package directions. add them to the butter and sugar mixture and mix well.
feel the bowl. if the mixture is cool enough, add the beaten egg, mixing until it is thoroughly incorporated.
mix in the baking powder and the salt.
add the flour, mixing it in thoroughly.
mix in the oatmeal and stir until the mixture is completely blended.
drop by teaspoonfuls onto greased (or sprayed with pam or other nonstick spray) cookie sheets, 12 cookies to a standard-size sheet.
bake at 325 degrees for 13-15 minutes or until slightly brown.
let the cookies cool on the cookie sheet for 2 minutes and then remove them to a wire rack to cool complelely.
makes about 3 dozen cookies
