Gas prices aren’t the only thing that has gone up in recent months. With it has come a slow but steady increase in the cost of groceries as well, along with anything else that must be transported from one location to another. Everything from milk to meat has gone up and with it the amount of money we must allocate for groceries each month. Now is a great time to get into a few little habits that will add up to big savings at the cash register.
My husband is the baker in the family. I have never had quite the success that he has with cakes, cookies, ice cream, any dessert you name he can cook to perfection. He was kind enough to share with me some of his secrets to successful baking.
Posted in Articles, Cake Desserts, Cake Secrets, Dessert Recipes, Desserts, My Family Recipes 
Tags: Cakes, Desserts 
Comments Off By J. Fulton
This review is from: Smoke & Spice: Cooking with Smoke, the Real Way to Barbecue, on Your Charcoal Grill, Water Smoker, or Wood-Burning Pit (Paperback)
After reading the book almost cover to cover, and then reading most of the reviews, I felt compelled to correct some misunderstandings. First. many of the complaints are from people wanting more instruction on “how to smoke”. This is nonsense. There is no need for detailed instruction on how to smoke. What makes smoking a art and skill is being able to produce the right temperature in the smoker and this comes only from practice. Instructions on how much charcoal, wood, water, air, etc to use for each type of smoker, at every external temperature, etc. would look like statistics tables and be equally exciting. For this reason, the authors advise a temperature goal of about 200-220. With a five dollar thermometer and a little practice, anyone can figure it out.
Second, the smoking is a forgiving and inexact process, no matter what your experience level. Cooks used to following exact recipes so their soufle won’t fall will always be frustrated by smoking. Smoking requires some monitoring and adaptation. I may have used X amount of charcoal one day, but on a colder day need more.
If you are willing to experiment, and have 5-10 hours then you are ready to smoke, and for everything else, this book is fantastic. If you are from the microwave culture, then you will probably be frustrated with the whole process and no book will save you. To reemphasize the most important point, if you have the aforementioned patience to try smoking, then this book is outstanding.
First introduced in 1971, the Crock-Pot revolutionized the way we cook meals. The word Crock-Pot is actually trademarked by Rival Industries, but is used in every day conversations instead of the term slow cooker. Many recipes for the crock-pot require little preparation. The slow cooker can then safely be left to run unattended, making it a convenient cooking method.
Crock-pot meals can not only save you time in the kitchen, but they can also save you money as well. The reasons are as follows:
When it comes to the nightly meal of the day – dinner meals easily become a victim of repetitive entrees and side dishes. Some individuals and families find themselves stuck in a rut, preparing some of the same meals on a weekly basis – fish on Friday, Meatloaf Monday, Taco Tuesday, bland corn, white rice, and lifeless mashed potatoes. Many times we prepare the same meals because we know the family likes them. But there are many other things our family would eat, if we just tried something different. To keep dinner fun, fresh, and in many cases, exciting – there are plenty of ways to stop the boredom that comes with fixing and eating the same dishes. A few ideas include:
Now days, more than ever children should be eating healthier. For millions of children in America consuming junk food and increased inactivity has led to obesity and an increasing number of children being above ideal weight. Not only is it important to teach your child which snacks they should eat, but educating them during the early, formidable years may help them sidestep obesity and becoming overweight in the future when they are adults. Here are some tricks on tasty healthy snacks for children.
I enjoy cooking, I enjoy eating good food. I have a particular fondness for what I call “comfort food”. Comfort food to me means food that tastes like some love was put into it. Not that having your family eat healthy food means you don’t love them. You do and you care what goes into their bodies. I cared what went into my children’s bodies. My body is another matter.
If you are looking for healthy recipes: don’t look here. If you are looking for vegetarian recipes: don’t look here. If you are looking for chocolate, fried foods, cakes, desserts, family meals: look here! There will be a variety of good old fashion cooking ideas and recipes for your eating pleasure
Everyone enjoys a good rub! And I don’t mean the massage kind, although they are nice too. I am a fairly good cook and am always ready and willing to learn an easier way to prepare food. So when my son-in-law introduced me to rubs a few years ago, I became more willing to try something new, at least new for me.
Rubs have been around in cooking for centuries. Grill rubs are a blend of spices and herbs that are used to inject different flavors into meat before it is placed on the grill. You can purchase rubs at the grocery store or make your own using your favorite herbs and spices from your garden or cupboard.
As you have probably figured out by now, this blog has been undergoing some changes. If you haven’t noticed..that’s good. That means I did the transition well.
Also if you have read or looked into any of the recipes listed, you will notice a common thread. Food that is not necessarily low in calories is given a priority, the reason being is I like comfort food.
Comfort food to me means food that tastes like some love was put into it. Not that having your family eat healthy food means you don’t love them. You do and you care what goes into their bodies. I cared what went into my childrens bodies. My body is another matter.
