Food

Video Comparison: Do Restaurants' Frozen Dinners Taste The Same As Restaurants' Actual Meals?

Many well-known chain restaurants have expanded their market by offering frozen versions from their restaurant menu in the frozen foods section in supermarkets.

A few of them are:

• T.G.I. Friday's
• Claim Jumper
• California Pizza Kitchen
• Grandma's

The real question is do the restaurants'  frozen dinners sold at supermarkets measure up to what you get when you order the same meal at the actual restaurants? 

No, I'm not referring to some national chain, $3 frozen pizza trying to equal your locally owned specialty pizza shop. I'm talking apples to apples, oranges to oranges. Does the supermarket White Castle burger that you buy in the frozen foods section compare to fresh sliders that are hot off the grill and handed to you at the drive-up window?

This video shows a live taste comparison between some frozen dinners and fresh served entrees.  You may be surprised with the results. (I was!)

When you're stocking up on restaurant versions of frozen dinners, just remember to keep expiration dates in mind.  The longer you keep a product, the more likely the quality will be adversly affected.  A home chest freezer can save you money, but only when you avoid freezer burn.

Your Meals Can Look 4-Star Quality... There's A Kitchen Gadget For That!

Who doesn't love a new kitchen gadget? 

You can always use a new cutesy little device that's specifically designed to address a problem you never knew you had, right?

This was the case with one of the few kitchen gadgets I hold dear to my heart: the  egg slicer. Capable of raising your lowly salad to professional standards, I'm amazed that I got by without one for so long. 

I also use my egg slicer to make perfectly symmetrical egg salad.  Slice the egg, then turn it 90 degrees and slice it again.  Like magic, you have a perfectly diced egg!

The fact is late night Infomercials, combined with sleep deprivation, can have you ordering all kinds of special purpose devices like these quick top lids that turn soda cans into soda bottles. 

"If you call in the next 20 minutes we'll double your order.  Call right now, you know we can't be doing this all day." Yes, we're all familiar with that often-repeated sales pitch. 

Good news: In some instances, there really is a better tool or kitchen gadget that will truly help the average person attain success in the kitchen!

This video demonstrates some other kitchen gadgets that every home chef will find essential:

Become A Better Cook With These Quick Tips For Adding Flavor

Does supper always taste like just the same old stuff, no matter what you make? 

Maybe the problem isn't what you're cooking, but how you're cooking it.  Becoming a better cook isn't a hard thing to accomplish.  Often it's just a matter of learning how to add a little flavor and texture to what you're already preparing. 

Five Ways To Improve Your Cooking will get you started down the right path to flavor town.  There are lots of simple little tricks mentioned like:

• Kosher salt will bring out the flavor.  Don't skimp.  Your pasta water should taste like sea water.
• Water doesn't add any flavor.  Steam or braise with vegetable stock.
• A little acid can balance out the salt.  A squirt of lemon juice, a splash of vinegar, or a little wine may be what's missing.
• Real butter will add that creamy taste and texture.
• Crispy-crunchy skin or toppings give you a variation in texture that most people enjoy.

Another neat trick to cooking tender, super flavorful meats is using a pressure cooker. Don't be scared off, just because you haven't used one before.  Even if it's your very first time, using a pressure cooker is easy with the help of videos. 

Of course, there is always deep frying when you're looking to add texture and flavor.  The crispy-crunchy outside goes so well with the tender, juicy meat inside.  Watch this video to see how easy it is to make the perfect fried chicken!

Cooking Oils Explained - Cook Healthier With The Right Cooking Oil

Not all cooking oils are created equal.  In fact, there are some that can greatly improve your diet.

While all cooking oils contain about 120 calories and 14 grams of fat per tablespoon, choosing from these oils can improve flavor and, in many ways, benefit your health:

• Olive oil adds flavor and reduces the risk of heart disease.
• Canola oil has the lowest level of saturated fats and is the cheapest for frying.
• Peanut and sesame oils lower your cholesterol levels.
• Walnut and flax seed oils have the highest concentration of Omega-3 fatty acids.

6 Good-For-You Cooking Oils gives more detail on the many benefits of these healthy oils.

The next time you are looking to fry a nice day's catch of panfish, break out a deep cast iron skillet.  Once properly seasoned, the even heating qualities of cast iron can't be beat when cooking with oil. 

With a little bit of canola oil in a hot frying pan, your fish will come out nice and crisp.  Finish it off in the oven, and you can eat without worry -- because  you've chosen an oil that is actually healthy for you.

This video shows just how quick and easy a healthy meal of fish can be fried up, with just a little bit of canola oil:

Prepare Turkey The Manly Way... On The Grill Wrapped In Bacon!

Let's face it, cooking a turkey isn't rocket science.  Put the bird in a pan, place said pan in the oven, and wait a number of hours.  Generally speaking, except for seasoning, that's how the majority of people prepare turkey.

Leave it to the male ego to insist there must be a better way.  Check out these manly ways to prepare turkey.  You'll find lots of bigger, better, more flashy way to do it.  There are lots of examples from self-declared chefs who are endlessly looking to achieve a more moist meat, or a special flavor beyond what turkey was designed to be.

If added flavor is what you're looking for, try brining your turkey.  Like a marinade, it holds the moisture in the bird, while the salt brings out more of the natural flavor.

Finding new ways to prepare turkey will help make your festive occasions extra special.  This video shows the manly way to grill bacon wrapped turkey breast stuffed with chicken and onions:

Video: How To Start Your Own Container Garden & Get Free Seeds!

There's nothing better than fresh, out of your own garden, fruits and vegetables.  Growing produce from year to year can be even more satisfying, if you harvest your own seeds for the upcoming growing season. 

The expense of those little packets of seeds can quickly add up.  If you look at gardening the way past generations have done it, then you'll want to put aside enough seeds for next year's crop. That's how you perpetuate your food supply.

You don't need 40 acres of plowed field to keep fresh vegetables on your dinner table.  Urban gardening takes up very little space, and can even be done in containers on the small balcony off your downtown apartment.

Begin with something simple.  For example, my 2 favorites are tomatoes and squash.  Both are easy to grow and can be started well in advance of the warm summer days to come.  Harvest the seeds from your crop, and forever after you will have free seeds for your garden!

This video will show you how easy it is to start your own container garden: