Tag: Salads

Cooking for Sunday Dinner

From as far back as I can remember there have been special church occasions when dinner on the church grounds was the order for the day. Far too many times I watched as person after person walked in with store purchased fried chicken. Whether the reason for this was lack of time, lack of planning, or lack of ideas I was never quite certain. I was certain however, that this was not isolated to my church alone.

It may seem odd but I have traveled all over the country and lived in many different areas of the culture. One thing that seems constant no matter where I live is that someone inevitably brings fried chicken from a local restaurant or deli as his or her potluck offering. There is nothing wrong with this of course, but there are so many great recipes available for Sunday dinner cooking that it seems odd that so many would resort to this tired old tradition rather than spicing things up with a spicy taco casserole or sweetening the deal with some delightfully delicious and simple to make dessert.

Sunday dinners obviously aren’t the only time when cooking a casserole or making a dessert is a good decision for the day. They are, however, the most common from my childhood, which is why I often refer to them. There are also ‘pitch ins’ at work that require a contribution and these are an excellent opportunity to make coworkers envy your culinary talents. Even for those who are health conscious however, there are many wonderful types of salads that can be prepared for occasions such as this that will provide you with a guilt free entre at the event for which you are preparing your offering.

You do not have to choose calorie or fat filled dishes for your Sunday dinner cooking. In fact, when you are doing the cooking you should cook the things you enjoy eating. Most of us are much more likely to put our best efforts into preparing the foods we enjoy rather than those that feel as though they are a chore for us to make. The same holds true when cooking for potlucks and such. Just be careful that you do not prepare the exact same dish every time or people will think that it is the only dish you can prepare.

I recommend checking out casserole recipes online and in your favorite magazines. Even magazines that offer healthier eating options often have a casserole, large salad, or even a healthy dessert you can prepare for these events. My personal solution has always been to collect recipes over time that I would like to try out and use the potluck audience as my recipe guinea pigs. This way if my family or I do not like it, we won’t be stuck with leftovers for a week and if we do like it, we can put it into our rotation of recipes for use at home.

Sunday dinner cooking doesn’t have to be nearly as stressful as many of us make it out to be. Many wonderful crock-pot recipes can actually be prepared while you sleep. Just load your slow cooker with the proper ingredients and turn it on before turning in. You should awaken to the wonderful aroma of whatever delightful dish you have prepared and still manage to get ready for church in record time. This tried and true technique is a great way to make Sunday dinner cooking quick and easy.

Even if you are one of the many who have very limited culinary talents it is quite possible to wow your friends, relatives, and fellow church members with the correct ‘simple to make’ recipe. Desserts are by far the best way to go in this effort and can also be made the night before (in many cases) and stored in the refrigerator. Desserts are almost always a good bet and very few people ever complain about them regardless. The Kraft foods website offers some fabulously easy to make and delicious desserts if you are in need. The next time it is your turn to join in on the potluck preparation don’t resort to fried chicken. Dish up something that will truly turn heads instead.

PPPPP

711

Rachel Ray Cooking – You Can Do It

Rachel Ray cooking is a type of cooking that even a brand new cook can manage. And rather than just end up with something okay, even a new cook can get awesome results right away. That’s because Rachel Ray’s recipes are designed to be easy and fast.

Her 30 Minute Meals is a top television show. It rocketed her to stardom, first on the Food Network as a chef, and then as a product spokesperson, magazine publisher and talk show host. It seems that everyone likes Rachel Ray, and even if they don’t, they know who she is.

There are dozens of top chefs who have shows on the Food Network. They all have best-selling cookbooks, their own cooking tools, their own food items and other things that they sell. All these chefs specialize in something.

One is an expert on making foods for parties, while another cooks down-home Southern food. Other shows demonstrate exotic European recipes. And Rachel Ray’s shows feature recipes that anyone at home can make without needing to go to specialty shops or take cooking lessons.

There’s no one type of food you’ll be cooking with Rachel Ray. She demonstrates Italian foods, American specialties like cheeseburgers, sandwiches, salads, Greek Food and almost every type of food. The only thing she specializes in is recipes that are delicious and easy to make.

Something that attracts people to her show is the ability to create a great meal in just a half an hour. It’s certainly not impossible to make your own meal in 30 minutes. Especially if you open boxes and cans and only have to add a few ingredients to the pre-packaged items.

But this is far from a healthy way to eat. And by Rachel Ray’s advice, if you read the label and can’t pronounce something on it, you probably should not be eating it. Her recipes feature natural foods that you’re familiar with and probably already buy.

Since she feels this way, her 30 minute recipes have ingredients that are all basic and healthful. And by using her recipes to make great meals, you won’t have to deal with harmful additives and the tons of sodium and fat found in pre-packaged foods.

Even in her recipes that might call for a jarred or canned ingredient, it’s easy to make sure it’s super healthy. Just choose the brand with the most natural ingredients. If the recipe calls for prepared pasta sauce, for instance, choose an organic brand, or at least one without things like high-fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated oils.

Rachel Ray’s cooking certainly won’t call for ingredients like that. And a great side benefit of following her 30 minute meals is that you get trained to do it on your own. After you’ve been following her recipes for a while, you’ll have your own ideas.

You may suddenly see how to turn a complicated recipe into something simpler, and faster to prepare. So while it’s fun to watch Rachel Ray cooking on TV, you’ll soon be making your own 30 minute meals without even looking at her recipes.

Chinese Vegetable Recipes

Chinese vegetable recipes are very popular these days because everyone is always on a diet. With the right recipes on hand, you could easily drop a few pounds a month by eating delicious Chinese food a couple times a week.

Many people immediately think of things like bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, and bok choy. While these are common Chinese vegetables, not that many recipes use them.

They are just usually prepackaged in the frozen food section with anything that says Chinese on it. There are many more vegetables you can use to give your recipes a distinctly Chinese flavor.

Chinese cabbage is one of the best tasting and useful vegetables you can buy. Its not as tangy or large as normal cabbage and has a great flavor.

You can use this in salads, soups and stir fry to add a more authentic Chinese taste and look to your food or improve any standard Chinese recipe. It doesnt hold up well under high heat so it should always be added last.

A great way to make your Chinese recipe really special is to add a handful of fresh snow pea pods. These are very sweet and are commonly found in soups like won ton. They can really add something special to any stir fry and go great with seafood.

Every grocery store has a section that will have some Chinese vegetables. If you like the taste of ginger, it can be used to spice up almost any recipe you have.

It can be overpowering though. You will also see many things that look like leeks and green onions. If you dont know what they are, it doesnt hurt to buy some, take it home and find a recipe for it. You might find a new favorite vegetable!