Making a simple tin foil dinner is just that…simple! First, lay out sizable sheets of heavy duty aluminum foil (or double up on thinner foil). If you are making multiple dinners, wash, chop, trim, and slice all of the meat and vegetables first and lay out in buffet fashion. We like onions, green beans, ground beef and potatoes in our dinners. We’ve been putting this classic combination to use for years now.
Choosing a gourmet cheese can be very overwhelming if you’re just beginning to indulge in this delicious genre of food. It can even be overwhelming if you’re not a beginner and are simply faced with a large selection! I’ve made it easy for you to choose some definite crowd-pleasers for the next cheese plate you create by spelling out some of my all-time favorites. You won’t want to miss these tips!
While I’ll always be a sucker for a sweet, little Chinese takeout box, it is fun to package treats a little differently every now and again. After I made a second batch of fleur de sel brownies, I decided to package them up for a few friends. I challenged myself to only use things I had on hand as it is always a temptation to go out and buy fun, new supplies. I used a few sheets of fantastic French-inspired tissue paper (I love this pattern!), sandwich bags I use in my daughter’s lunches and simple kitchen twine. I added in some labels I picked up in France and an extra fine Sharpie to complete the look. Here is how they turned out!
Sources:
Recipe - click here.
Kraft brown bags - found at Harmons, but Whole Foods may carry them as well.
Kitchen twine- IKEA (but your regular grocery store likely carries it too)
Sandwich papers- Orson Gigi (in SLC)
Labels (similar in visual appeal as ones below) - Paper Source
Pen - standard grocery store or art supply store (locally Reuels has a lot of pens)
Steaming rice is simple and takes very little time. It’s easy enough that you really don’t need to buy a rice cooker, although they are convenient as all you really do after washing the rice is press a button. If you’ve ever been afraid to cook rice on your own before, now is the time. And I mean real rice, not parboiled or instant, but the kind that comes in burlap or paper sacks at your nearest asian store. When you make your own rice, you have even more options than those available in small printed boxes mixed with seasonings and spices. Do you have a favorite rice dish? (more…)
To me, homemade is always the best route. When you think about it, everything homemade is always better. Homemade bread, cookies, cakes, ice cream, you name it. I’ve been wanting to make homemade yogurt for a while, and never got around to it until I spotted a yogurt maker at a local discount store. I quickly snagged it up and decided to give it a try.
I’m sure glad I did! The yogurt came out thick and creamy, and delicious! And, the best part about it was that I was able to control the ingredients added! Now-a-days store bought yogurt is so full of sugar and who knows what else. I substituted agave nectar for sugar, and made a nice yogurt, even using organic milk!
With a few easy steps, you can be well on your way to making homemade yogurt too!
Béchamel Sauce, (pronounced bay-shah-mel) or white sauce is one of the mother sauces of French and some Italian cuisine. It is typically used as a base for other sauces, and is traditionally made whisking scalded milk into a roux, or butter and flour mixture.
The origins of the sauce can be sketchy, but as far as we can tell it was invented by Louis de Béchameil, and it was an improvement of a sauce imported from Italy to France during the reign of the queen of France, Italian Catherine de Medici.
There are so many different types of eating lifestyles out there, and it seems that a growing number of people are associating themselves with various groups. Vegan, raw, gluten free, dairy free, or just an all around food lover. Whatever the reason for your culinary affiliation, you make the choice that is best for you and (hopefully) your body. Eating clean is a food lifestyle I recently heard about and it’s not a new way to eat, in fact you may find that you are a bonified clean eater without knowing it. When a friend described it to me I realized that I’ve been eating pretty “clean” for years. (more…)
My sweet baby girl will be starting solids in the next few days and I’ve been researching and talking to people who make their own baby food. It was the topic of discussion at a group I attended with other mom’s in my neighborhood, and my brother in law is a stay at home dad who used to work as a chef, he gave me a few “recipes” for baby food that I will be trying. Baby food is easy to buy, but it’s just as easy, cheaper, and healthier to make at home. You may think you need special equipment like a food mill or a baby food grinder, but you can use your own dinner fork for some foods.
Here are a few things I’ve learned. (more…)
Puff pastry is a delicious, light flaky pastry made from dozens of layers of specially prepared pastry dough. The beautiful dough “puffs” when baked, causing the layers to separate.
You can make pastry dough from scratch, which can take a full day. Or, you can cheat a little like me, and buy it in the freezer section at your local grocery store.
Puff pastry is always a show stopper. You can make anything take on some instant fancy when you use puff pastry.
Here’s a few Tips and Recipes for using puff pastry.
And, who knows? Maybe this will be on your table tonight for the big New Year countdown?!
Photo credit - Fimb
The holiday season is now in full swing. I don’t know about you, but the holiday season means lots of food. Not only is there the large Thanksgiving and Christmas meals, but there is everything else in between that can get us all in trouble. The treats from neighbors, Christmas candy, New Year’s hors d’oeuvres… It seems like at this time of year, we are being constantly tempted. So how to we enjoy the food of the season without gaining an extra 10 pounds?
Here are a few hints to help keep you on track this holiday season while still enjoying the things around you. (more…)
