889 there done that Recipes

everywhere you look , there is a lot of emphasis on cutting the fat out of our daily diets, but who wants to cut out the fat if it means cutting out the flavor when it comes to baking, there is a way to cut down on your fat intake without changing the ingredients in your favorite recipes. if you switch to nonstick silicone bakeware, you can cut down on your fat intake with minimal effort. because the bakeware is nonstick, you never have to use butter, shortening, or grease on your pans or sheets to ensure easy food removal., first silicone items made exclusively for baking were small silicone mats that fit nicely on your cookie sheet and allowed you to bake cookies with out greasing the cookie sheet or worrying about the bottoms getting burned. these little mats were a huge success and stores were hard pressed to keep them in stock., as the popularity of these mats grew , manufacturers decide to explore the idea of making more bakeware from silicone. they began making spoons, spatulas, and whisks that could withstand high heats and could be used with nonstick cookware with no fear of ruining the coating. silicone utensils were the perfect choice for candy making or any other project that required a boiling and sticky liquid to be stirred., kitchen supply manufacturers also introduced silicone potholders and oven gloves. because they can withstand heats up to 500 degrees, they are the perfect insurance that you won tsp get burned when you pull a hot dish from your oven. they don tsp conduct heat the way that a cloth potholder does and they are much sturdier and easy to keep clean than traditional potholders. home canners fell in love with silicone baker s mitts because they could actually reach into a pot of boiling water to remove a hot jar of food once it was done processing. as an added bonus these durable potholders do double duty as lid grippers making opening jars a snap., once silicone hit kitchens in the form of baking mats , utensils, and pot holders, kitchen experts began to see the potential of this material in everyday baking. suddenly almost any type of bakeware that could traditionally be found in stainless steel, aluminum, glass, or stoneware was being offered in brightly colored silicone. stores began selling muffin tins, bread loaf pans, cake pans, and pie pans. the most popular pieces tend to be the specialty designed cake pans that allow you to make cakes shaped like everything from roses to pumpkins. they even have mini cake pans that make individual, fancy shaped cakes., popularity of silicone bakeware skyrocketed as cooks began to see the benefits of using this material in their kitchens. foods pop out of silicone pans with amazing ease. you never need to grease, flour, or even use cooking spray on a silicone pan and that adds up to lots of calories and fat grams saved with each meal. because silicone is very flexible, it is easy to bend and twist it so that cakes and breads pop out easily. you never have to force baked goods out of the pan, so they retain there shape and you don tsp see a lot of split and broken cakes., silicone is a bakers dream when it comes to making evenly cooked delicacies. the material distributes heat evenly, so you never end up with a cake that is burned around the edges and still not cooked in the middle. it also cools down quickly ensuring that your foods will not continue cooking and possibly drying out once you remove them from the oven., because silicone is nonstick , cleanup is a breeze. a little soap and water and any crumb left on your bakeware disappears. it is nonporous, so it never retains any odors from the foods you cook. completely versatile it goes from oven to table to freezer and can even be thrown in the dishwasher. once you are done cleaning it, storage is a snap. with its flexibility, you can twist it, bend it, fold it or mash it up so it can fit in the smallest of drawers or cupboards., if you haven tsp tried silicone bakeware , add a piece or two to your kitchen. you will be surprised at its quality and flexibility.

any liquid can be reduced just by heating it - but why would you want to do that, answer comes back to two of our old friends, flavor and consistency (texture)., by reducing any flavored liquid you intensify its flavor and at the same time thicken it. you can continue this process until what you have left is a syrup if it contains sugar, or a sauce if it does not., this is 1 of the most important tools in the kitchen , believe it or not, because a great sauce can rescue an indifferent meal., literally any liquid can be reduced ., a few uses, wine is frequently used in cooking , both as a marinade and as an addition to sauces for meat., there are some problems with it though, 1 of which is that you need a really good wine and quite a lot of it to produce a reasonable sauce for, say, six people., on the other hand , if you use pure grape juice and reduce it to a syrup, that syrup, added to any sauce (or gravy if you prefer) will lift it into the realms of gourmet ., more , you don tsp have to make your reduction on the night you prepare your meal. you can reduce a liter of grape juice at any time to the consistency and flavor you want; then just store it in the fridge., you can do the same thing with any fruit juice - prune is sensational - and store it until needed. just about all of them will do things for ice cream, pies or tarts that will have your guests demanding the recipe, pork with apple sauce use a carton of fresh apple juice from the supermarket and reduce it. and if you want a real sensation add in a glass of apple brandy during the reduction process., are you getting an idea of how simple this is, take any carton of fresh stock straight of the shelf and reduce it. you will transform it into something even the manufacturer won tsp recognize. but beware, you need to start out with good quality in the first place, because when you reduce a liquid you intensify all the flavors, and not just the good ones., if it s salty to start with, for example, it will be salty beyond belief by the time you ve reduced it even by half. so if you are going to use a supermarket stock, make sure it s an extremely good 1., believe me when i tell you that stock cubes should not be used for reduction sauces., thickeners, because you will be tasting as you go (won tsp you ), you may find that you get the flavor you want before the desired consistency is reached., a couple of hints right now for your sauces., sweet ones can be thickened successfully without loss of color by adding in liquid glucose early on in the reduction process. surprisingly, this will add little in the way of sweetness and produces a beautiful velvety sauce when whisked., if you get it wrong and add too much, no problem. stir in a little extra water to thin it., reduction pans, reductions need to happen rapidly in serving to preserve flavors. and the greater the surface area of the liquid the faster the water will evaporate., however you may want to whisk something into the sauce while its cooking - such as butter or olive oil for example - and for that i find a small wok is best; 1 with a handle., a wok is less likely to reduce so fast that the sauce is burnt while your back is turned. but try both methods and see which you prefer. you may even end up using something totally different., no magic to this. whatever works for you, that s what you should use, in this and everything else to do with cooking., just bear in mind that what you re after is speed and ease of use. as well as a great tasting result, of course. :>), keeping, if they should dry out , simply add a little water and heat through., sauces containing meat juices of any kind must be frozen if you re going to keep them, and should be brought to boiling point before being used again. there is no need to thaw them out to do this, in fact it s better not to. simply drop the frozen cubes into a saucepan, melt them over a gentle heat, and then bring swiftly to the boil., why do you do this to avoid food poisoning, that s why. you are making sure that any bugs introduced into the sauce during the preparation process are killed off., worry , this will not be because of anything you have done wrong (i hope!), but because bacteria are part of our everyday lives and they exist in every kitchen, however clean., in fact your food , and especially your meat, is crawling with wildlife that you will never see. don tsp worry about them. careful handling and simple precautions will ensure that these miniature monsters can never multiply enough to harm either you or your guests.

red beans, diced onion, diced celery, diced bell pepper, chicken broth, andouille sausage, water, cooked white rice, salt and pepper, mrs. dash seasoning mix

coarse ground chuck, onion, chopped, chili seasoning mix (medium), chili powder, red bell pepper, chopped, crushed tomatoes, undrained, russet potatoes, peeled and diced, chili beans, undrained, salt and pepper

mayonnaise, freshly grated parmesan cheese, white sugar, spring lettuce mix, freshly grated parmesan cheese, grated carrot, cauliflower florets, bacon bits

pumpkin , not pie mix, evaporated milk, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, butter, melted, duncan hines butter recipe cake mix, pecans, chopped, cream cheese, powdered sugar, cool whip

vegetable oil, fresh lemon juice, garlic cloves, minced, salt, pepper, grated parmesan cheese, romaine lettuce, around 1 lb. each, chopped tomatoes, a red onion, sliced thinly, shredded mozzarella cheese, grated parmesan cheese, bacon , crisp and crumbled, crouton

lean ground beef, garlic salt, pepper, tomato sauce, egg noodles, cream cheese, sour cream, green onions, minced, minced green pepper, grated cheddar cheese, pam cooking spray

moist yellow cake mix, vanilla instant pudding mix, eggs, margarine or 1/2 cup butter, softened not melted, water, brown sugar, packed firm, almond extract , pure, vanilla extract , pure, nutmeg, cinnamon, water, chopped fresh pecans, brown sugar , packed, canned condensed milk, margarine or 1 tbsp butter, vanilla extract , pure

cream cheese, softened, mayonnaise, worcestershire sauce, onion salt or 1/2 tsp minced dried onion, garlic salt, chili sauce, milk (optional)

olive oil, butter, onion diced, red bell pepper diced, roasted green anaheim chilies or 4 cans medium green chiles, hot pepper sauce, black beans drained, salt and pepper

crystallized ginger, unsalted butter, softened, brown sugar, egg, molasses, baking soda, cinnamon, ground black pepper, unbleached all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, for dipping

banana, banana yogurt (or any other fruit yogurt), berry yogurt (or another fruit flavor yogurt), milk, ice cubes, cream, drizzle honey, mint leaves

there are , sad to say, many parts of america where pudding is a nearly-forgotten dessert. but in the south, where cooking tradition is more valued than cooking trends, pudding still remains a necessary sweet. banana pudding is especially favored in the south, where it is always made with vanilla wafers and served either swirled with meringue or crowned with whipped topping, as in this blue willow recipe., flour, sugar, salt, eggs, beaten, milk, vanilla wafer cookies, bananas, sliced, topping (or, if you must, whipped cream!)

quick oats (not instant ), butter (don tsp use shortening) or 3/4 cup margarine (don tsp use shortening), sugar, vanilla

ground beef , or to taste, taco seasoning mix , or to taste, water, chicken-flavored ramen noodle soup, mexican-style stewed tomatoes, water, sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese

dry mustard, white vinegar, turmeric, salt, mixed italian spices, sugar, eggs