If your family doesn't run to the table, maybe it is time to take an honest look at your cooking routine and see if you have fallen into a menu rut. Generate some mealtime enthusiasm and put a smile on your family's faces with some fresh new ideas that are sure to please.
Keep a food thermometer around. It is always best to stick your meat when cooking when you are not sure if it is done for food safety. Poultry should be cooked to 165 degrees F, Ground Beef, Fish, and Shellfish to 158 F, and Pork to 150.
After cooking meat of any kind, it is very important that you let it sit a while before cutting. If you cut too soon, the juices will spill out onto the cutting board, leaving the meat dry and with less flavor. Letting the meat sit allows time for the juices to retract back into the meat.
To caramelize roasted veggies, heat your oven up as hot as it will get, and then place an empty roasting sheet inside for 10 to 15 minutes. Meanwhile, toss the veggies with olive oil and seasonings. Place them on the heated pan and the high temperature will caramelize the vegetable sugars quickly.
To reduce prep time as well as wear and tear on your blender, freeze your smoothie fruit instead of using ice. Not only does using ice water down the flavor of your smoothie, but if you freeze your fruit first the step is entirely unnecessary. As an added bonus, frozen fruit blends much easier than ice.
You don't need to use all that much water when boiling pasta. Your pasta does not need to swim. Add enough water for the pasta to swell up, but it takes much longer to bring a big pot of water to boil than it does for half of that amount, and your pasta will still be soft and pliable when you're done.
When you are baking in the oven and some of the food splashes into the bottom of the oven save yourself time on using over cleaner. After removing the food from the oven coat the spot of the spill with salt. The food will lift right off of the bottom once cool.
Easily cut cinnamon rolls. When you have prepared the cinnamon roll, it is sometimes difficult to cut into slices before baking. To easily cut the dough, place a strong piece of thread under the roll where you want to make the cut. Bring the thread up around the sides, cross the thread at the top, and quickly pull the ends in the opposite direction. This will ensure perfect cinnamon roll slices!
Learn to enjoy brussels sprouts. Not many people enjoy brussels sprouts if they are cooked in the traditional manner of boiling them. Sprouts can be delicious if you try different methods of cooking, such as roasting them with carrots and parsnips for a delicious side dish. They are delicious if pan-fried with bacon. These cooking methods give them a nutty flavor. Always choose small brussels sprouts, as the larger ones tend to be very bitter.
Don't boil your vegetables - steam or stir fry them! Lengthy cooking processes such as boiling remove many of the important nutrients found in vegetables. To preserve their healthy reputation, choose quick cooking methods such as sauteing or steaming - or better still, enjoy them in their natural, raw state.
Vegetables are just better all-around the faster they are cooked. Slow cooking, and overcooking, vegetables will destroy their nutritional content and flavor. These quick cooking techniques will produce generally, healthier vegetable sides. It is worth it to take the time to use cooking methods that preserve the most nutrients.
If you took an honest look at your mealtime offerings and decided that they could use some help, start with the fresh ideas in the article above and you will have your family running to the table in no time. These practical tips will get you on your way to success.
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