Food

Halloween Food Tips & Tricks

Halloween is the first in a series of holidays just around the corner.  So where do you think I'll be when it comes to finding new food ideas?  I'll be hanging with my buds on the Food Network.

New recipes, food costumes, expert tips from the likes of Alton Brown, Duff Goldman, Paula Dean and the rest.  Their Halloween tips are impressive and numerous. 

After the last goblin has passed through our door we'll be seriously looking into what to do with all the leftover Halloween candy.   Then it will be time to start thinking about the Thanksgiving feast that will be following a few weeks later.

Yogurt's Probiotic Bacteria Helps Build Up Your Immune System

Yogurt is good for your digestive system.  The reason? Probiotics (or good bacteria) keep your innards working right.  Just beware of yogurts that add additional stuff to increase the probiotic content.  It's not necessary, as probiotics are naturally part of yogurt.  

Watch the sugar and fat content too, because some yogurts run high increasing the calorie count.

Now take all that nice lean healthy yogurt and go make a batch of buffalo wings or a tall fruit smoothie.  After all, yogurt will help you fight off the flu bug too.

Crock Pots Are Popular Again As Both Time & Money Savers

Crock pots became popular back in the 70's.  Since those early years, many have been relegated to the rear most shelf position under many a kitchen sink. 

Now with everyone in the household working to make ends meet, it's time to bring the master of tender meat back out onto the counter!

Crock pots are back, and they are becoming more popular than ever.  With new bells and whistles like automatic keep warm features that can be set to cut back the temperature at a certain time, crock pots are great for the "I had to work late" situation.

Don't forget, a crock pot can also save you money, since it uses only pennies of electricity when compared to the standard oven.  

Every Tailgate Party Needs Brats On The Grill

What's better than all the tailgate parties going on in the parking lot of a football game? 

There's nothing like a cool fall afternoon to bring out the grills and coolers all surrounded by fans.  Not only fans of football, also but those rooting for their favorite parking lot chef with their latest cuisine.

Tailgate party fare can range from the super elaborate down to simple brats on the grill.  The kind of food isn't that important, but lesson one in how to throw a tailgate party is to bring more food than you expect to need.

Not just a little more, but huge amounts.   If it's any good, you'll be feeding party crashers from all over the parking lot!

Awesome Blender Drinks Begin With A Quality Blender

Blenders are good for far more than just making crushed ice. 

Nothing says party louder than setting up the blender and some nice tall glasses.  Looking for a fruit smoothie or ice cream malt?  Or is something more adult with alcohol to your liking?

Whichever way your thirst is taking you, the first step is a quality blender that can handle the job of crushing your ice.

Personally, my favorite beverage from the blender is a nice thick old fashioned chocolate malt -- just like they used to make down at the malt shop.  Complete with what the tall glass can't hold held in reserve in the frosty stainless mixing cup.  The tall glass topped with a shot of canned whipped cream with a vanilla wafer cookie stuck in to finish off the tasty treat. 

Using Your Jack-o-Lantern To Make Pumpkin Pie

As Fall progresses, we finish up with Halloween and start thinking about Thanksgiving. 

Soon visions of roasted turkey and pumpkin pie will come to mind.  There's no better time than now to start gathering ideas and recipes to make your Thanksgiving feast special. 

Making use of your soon to be obsolete Jack-o-Lantern will make your pumpkin pies truly made from scratch!  Even better if you grew them in your own backyard garden.

Of course this proud fellow looks like someone just told him he's the key ingredient today. 

Live Green With Reusable Grocery Tote Bags & Composting At Home

Save a tree.  Conserve oil.  No longer is paper or plastic an acceptable choice.  Today, the environmentally correct choice is to bring your own collapsible tote bag or reusable grocery bag when you hit the local farmer's market or grocery store. 

For years, I've used plastic grocery bags to handle household trash.  Without a reoccuring supply, my habits have changed.  Like Rachel Ray, using a food waste bowl makes good sense.

When the bowl is full your kids can compost it with the grass clippings in the back yard.  Get them in the habit when they're young and they'll do it as adults.

Guy Cooking Doesn't Require A Double Boiler

Melting fine chocolate, making delicate sauces require special attention and the use of a double boiler to gently melt and blend to perfection.

At the opposite end of the cooking spectrum is the Guy Grub Guy whose kitchen looks like it belongs in a handyman's garage.  If a gentle touch is required, he reaches for the 1-pound hammer instead of the 10-pound sledgehammer. 

I think most men are more comfortable outside being king of the grill wearing a "Kiss The Cook" apron.  After all, isn't that their rightful domain?

How To Use Up Leftovers & Small Quantities To Limit Food Waste

No one likes to find a mausoleum sitting at the back of the shelf in the refrigerator.  Saving leftovers hoping to make use of them before they go bad is only a good plan when you actually use them. 

There are a number of ways to extend the useful life of foods to prevent waste, the freezer being one of the most important ones.

Having a good source of recipes designed to make use of leftovers and small quantities is another way to use food up before it goes bad.

Preparing a meal with just enough so there are no leftovers is the best plan of all.

The Perfect Recipe Organizer: Google Docs... It's FREE!

Following is an update on my search for the perfect recipe organizer...

I've actually tried quite a few different recipe programs. For example, MealMaster and MasterCook were my longtime favorites, and they served me well (in a very basic sense) for many many years.  But it was time to start looking for a recipe organizer that fit my needs better.

After trying it free for 30 days, then buying the Big Oven software ($29.95) and using the full program for a short time, I realized that BigOven wasn't exactly what I was looking for either. (See the "update" at the end of that article and my comments.)

Yes, Big Oven is a fairly sophisticated program, and there's a lot that it can do. But the biggest thing that I, personally, wanted in a recipe program was the ability to access (and edit) all of my recipes from any computer at any time.

For example:

• On my laptop in the kitchen -- when I'm cooking at home
   
• On my desktop upstairs -- when I'm importing and sharing recipes
   
• On my mom's computer in a different state -- when I decide on a whim I want to cook up something special for her when I'm visiting
   
• On my computer at work (back when I used to work outside the home) -- when I simply wanted to browse all of my recipes and find an interesting one I hadn't fixed in awhile

You get the idea... I never know when or where I may want to access my recipes. So the #1 priority for me was to be able to view (and edit) my recipes on the fly, no matter where I was.

After exploring all of my options and not feeling satisfied with any of the professional recipe programs created specifically for organizing recipes, I decided to think outside the box a bit and move all of my recipes, one by one, from Big Oven into Google Docs.

While I hadn't heard of many people using Google Docs for organizing recipes before, I knew that Google Docs would serve my purpose well -- from a practical standpoint. Still, I figured it was going to be a rather "archaic" way to store and view all of my recipes. As it turns out, Google Docs is a fairly sophisticated way to organize recipes!

Continue reading: Google Docs:The Perfect Recipe Organizer!