Thursday, September 30, 2010

My Favorite Crockpot Recipe

If you have an old crockpot gathering dust in the back of the cupboard, it is time to dust it off and get excited about slow cooking again. I think that you have possibly used your crockpots only once or twice to make recipes like soup or casserole yet are you aware that these crockpots can be used to make desserts too?

You can make all kinds of desserts in there, in fact, including rice pudding, sugar cookies, bread pudding, and cobbler recipes and even dump cake.

Cake Recipes from Scratch

You might want to make a crockpot dessert and a sauce on the stove to go with it. While the crockpot is still making your dessert, you will still have enough time to make a delicious homemade sauce or perhaps go to a nearby market and buy some ice cream or whipped cream.

Why don't you try making a crockpot an easy banana bread recipe? This is just so easy. You simply have to chop some fruits and then add them into the crockpot. Sprinkle over some oats, sugar, flour, melted butter and spices and cook until the fruit is hot and bubbly. This is wonderful with ice cream.

Recipes like these are ideal if you have a busy day lined up, because they mean dessert is one less thing to think about. You only have to prepare them in the morning then it will take care of itself for the rest of the time hence, you have more time to spend on other stuff.

Ingredients and Steps for Sweet Potato Cobbler

The combo of having sweet potatoes, nuts, orange, sugar, eggs, flour, and a lot more will definitely let you have the tastiest dessert. You may serve it alone or you could add a scoop of vanilla ice cream, orange sorbet or whipped cream.

What you will need:

18 ounces of canned sweet potatoes

1 tbsp of orange juice

1/2 cup - sliced pecans

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons melted butter

two tbsps - flour

2 beaten eggs

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons light brown sugar

2 tbsps - white sugar

1/2 cup evaporated milk

The procedure:

To start with, drain then mash the canned sweet potatoes then add the white sugar, 2 tbsps brown sugar, and 1/4 cup of the butter. While beating the egg, add in the evaporated milk and orange juice. Lightly butter the slow cooker and transfer the sweet potato mixture to it.

The flour, pecans, along with the remaining brown sugar and butter will then be mixed together. This mixture will be distributed on top of the sweet potato mixture. Cover the crockpot and cook for about 3 and a half hours on high. Serve hot.

Hence, crockpots are not just for making soups and casseroles. You can also make use of it for making delicious desserts.

Cooking with Chocolate for Newbs

Besides eating and drinking for pleasure, chocolate is also used for cooking and baking, although not all types of it are suitable for use in the kitchen so don't just shove it in your banana bread recipe. Chocolates make up the several most delicious desserts around the world however, using it when cooking could be quite a tough job. Prior to start cooking with this, let us first learn about the basic information about chocolate cooking success.

The Way to Bake Chocolates

Actually, chocolates regardless of what type, come from the seed of the cacao tree; their distinctions would depend on the way they are processed. As compared to candy bars sold in the market, they are more often used in baking since it contains more cocoa butter, around 50 to 58% concentration. This kind of chocolate, which is also termed as baking, bitter, or unsweetened chocolate, is created from hardened chocolate liquor. To obtain a liquor, the cacao beans will first be grounded and then will be liquefied. With the molds of bars, you will pour the liquid straight there and then wait for it to harden; when it is already hard, it will be wrapped and then sold as unsweetened chocolates. Baking or unsweetened type is what is used for making your cake recipe, brownies, and frosting, and is the chocolate of choice for most professional cooks. But, whenever you want them to be sweeter, there are also varieties of unsweetened chocolates.

What Makes Bittersweet different from Semisweet?

Bittersweet, semisweet or sweet types are made from adding sugar, vanilla, as well as lecithin to the unsweetened chocolate in accordance with the amount of sugar added. The standards for the amount of chocolate liquor to be added for sweetened types would vary depending on which country you are located at. According to the Manufacturers Association in the US, semisweet types has to contain 15 to 35 percent cocoa liquor, while bittersweet types has to contain at least 35 percent choco liquor. In most recipes, the traditional type of chocolate that you will be using are the unsweetened ones except when a certain recipe would specify that you have to have a sweetened, bittersweet or the semisweet type. Whenever the recipe do not specify the type of chocolate, you have to make use of the standard type since your product might be too sweet as sugar is separately added or might not have enough sweetness or flavor.

How to Melt Chocolates

It takes only minutes for it to melt, as you may have experienced when leaving a bar out in the car on a hot day. But in order for you to melt it perfectly and evenly, you have to place your full attention. In most cases, chocolates melt at the same temperature level with your usual body temp. Heating it too high will separate the cocoa butter and make clumps of mess, or simply, you can burn it. Expert cooks would tend to use a thermometer to melt the chocolate. For dark chocolates, it will be around 100F to 120F and for the white chocolate, it should not go beyond 115F. This makes for an excellent sugar cookies recipe.

What to Expect from a Superfood

 There are many superheroes that pop out every now and then. Some of them are Batman, Superman, Spiderman, and Justice League and so on that happen to family names within our times. Nevertheless, would you think that we even have "super meals?"

We know a lot about superheroes but we neglect to know about super foods that brought many benefits in our body. One of the "super foods" that we can consider is the wheat grass. Wheat grass could be pure or juice state. In recent studies, a lot of researchers are saying that indeed wheat grass has a lot of therapeutic benefits. Studies show that certainly wheat grass has fantastic therapeutic benefits. Among the array of therapeutic benefits, here are the top five benefits that we can gain from it.

Liquid Energy From the Sun - Chlorophyll

Chlorophyll comes from the sun. Chlorophyll acts as a blood in plants. In order to be healthy, the consumption of chlorophyll is needed for it is the basic elements of plants. Chlorophyll also has a power known to help the body therapeutic procedures. Additional, it can also be a fantastic assist to normal sugar within the body which leads towards the prevention of diabetes.

Rebuilding Dead Cells

Wheat grass is regarded as a wealthy in proteins simply because of it's a wealthy supply of amino acids; therefore, it extremely efficient when it involves cell regeneration and rejuvenation. In one way or another, it will make you feel and look younger. Wheat grass does not only give you benefit from reduction of a saggy pores and skin but also a lighter one that its anti-aging property gives you. Eating sugary foods kills your cells, even if you're using gramma's best banana bread recipe or your mom's easy cake recipes.

Promotion of red blood cell

In just 20 minutes, it can promote blood cell by taking it as food. You can mix it too with water in bathing. Thus, it can prevent anemia or any blood-related ailments. Therefore, it may prevent anemia or any blood-related ailments.

Flushing the Yuck out of Your Body

We can get toxins almost from everywhere; from polluted air and even in our food. Wheat grass can cleanse our body from toxins or even metals in our blood that causes diseases. Again, eating your favorite sugar cookie recipes will only do more harm than good.

Improves Digestion

Wheat grass wouldn't be tagged if it would not have any further abilities in helping our health. The best cure for difficulty in digestion is wheat grass.

Eating Healthy, Can it be Done?

When it comes to food, most people prefer it to be tasty rather than nutritious. Health is indeed a priority though some prefers taste over it. People are not fond of low Carbohydrate food because they do not taste very good. To maintain a healthy lifestyle, one should therefore prioritize nutritious and low carbohydrate diet over other things like banana bread.



Plan Carefully

High Protein and Low Carbohydrate Food is healthier and more nutritious than low protein and high Carbohydrate food in many ways. With high protein, you need not to take in heavy carbohydrate. This pair is healthy and well balanced. High carbohydrate diet renders a person restless as it takes lots of energy to burn those fats. In contrast, you will be able to produce more energy if you go for high protein diet. Find some literature to help you change your diet and adapt this type. Low car diet consist mainly of foods that do not have too much carbohydrates. Low carb diet has enough carbohydrates needed by a man. One classic example of low carb diet are fruits. The high protein food includes nuts, poultry, and fish, not those junk Christmas sugar cookies.

You can benefit so much from observing low carb and high protein diet. You can never go wrong with this diet as you are guaranteed a healthier and more nutritious diet option. Diabetic patients are always encourage to go for low carb diet too.

Change your diet to a High Protein and Low Carbohydrate Food. Making drastic changes by cutting out carbohydrates completely would not be a smart idea because your body is not use to low Carb food so you would want to start slowly. Don't rush in getting rid of those high carbo food. This will allow your body to adjust to the new diet, so its ok to bake some of your cake recipe. Make a difference in your life with low carb and high protein diet.

Saturday, September 11, 2010

What is Pizza?

There's no doubting that pizza is one of the most popular types of food in the world whether you're picking one up from your local Clapham takeaway or dining out a restaurant. Despite its popularity, it was only introduced in the UK after World War II.

Pizza is the most widely preferred food of today. Although the people of Europe and North America consume the most, every continent and country has a love of a good pizza over cake recipes. Asia occupies the third spot of the most pizza loving regions.

Toppings vary depending on where in the world you are and they typically reflect regional tastes and cultural preferences. People in India for example places pickled ginger and cottage cheese. The Russians like a fish combination of sardines, mackerel, salmon, red herring and tuna. Japanese people like a pizza topped with eel, squid, mayo, potato and bacon. In UK, people love to put extra cheese and pepperoni. These days, you can order pretty much any pizza to your liking.

The beauty of the dish is that no matter what your food tastes, there are many ways and unlimited topping combinations to ensure you can have a delicious meal with sugar cookies recipe. Although it may have a few variation, the only basic component of pizza is the bread base. The fun of eating pizza beings with choosing which ingredients to mix and match.

People also love pizza because of it being a healthy meal. Health conscious people particularly like pizza when topped with vegetables, spices, olive oil, tomatoes, and herbs. Fact is, Mediterranean pizza is considered as the healthiest. This is due to the ingredients containing antioxidants which help prevent chronic diseases such as cancer. Studies have shown the effect of pizza in relieving cancer.

Therefore, to you, what makes a great pizza? Accordingly, a good pizza is that which is made from Neapolitan breadbase. The best bread base is that which is chewy and handmade. Top it with a sauce made from the best crushed tomatoes, fresh mozzarella (from cow's milk) and basil. It is best cook in brick woodfired like banana bread oven set at 900 degrees. Carefully follow the guides and you will get the best pizza always. Excellent.