Having Fun With All Kinds Of Recipes

A new recipe can add spice to the dinner table, enhance a meal that a regular at your house, or add to your wonderful, growing collection of recipes for meals at a later date.

A recipe consists of two or more ingredients blended together. Some recipes require too many ingredients, making organization very difficult. The instructions can be as simple as mixing two things together, or as involved as several different steps to get to the ultimate step of putting the meal in the oven for final cooking. The fact is the more effort that goes into the recipe to get it right, the better it will be.

Some cooks keep a collection of spices, herbs, and other ingredients that they use on a regular basis in a certain part of their cupboard. These items are always available, as they are signature to the tastes of the meals of that particular cook. It might be Greek oregano or Mexican chili powder, or Jamaican jerk. Then there are items bought, never to be used again. But they were an absolute necessity for that one special dish that was to be prepared on that special occasion.

When you become really experimental, you may try recipes from different countries. You may want to try your hand at Chinese food. A Caribbean meal may be challenging. Or you may try something with saffron and rice from the Middle East.

The spices, you will find, are the biggest difference when you begin to cook meals from other countries. You will see, also, that certain types of meat and vegetables are used in other regions, as well. India, for example, uses a lot of lamb in theirs, whereas Mexicans use mostly beef, and Chinese have many using chicken.

And if you like collecting books and magazines, there is a never ending supply that you can encounter on-line, in stores, and at flea markets and thrift outlets about cooking. There are cook books about burgers, casseroles, and shell fish. You will find others on crepes, and one-pot meals, and thirty-minute dishes. There are books that only include cooking for Christmas, or stir fry, or deep frying. And the list goes on, and then there are magazines.

You will encounter all types of collectable cook books at thrift shops, book stores, used book stores, yard sales, and on line. There are many types of collectible books like this, such as collections that have been placed in binders from someone who became a member of a cooking club. These people have received them each month, sometimes for years. There are cook books that have annual collections in them for the year. There are magazine collections in binders, too. And still other people collect their recipes and then write them on index cards and put their favorite ones into an index box. If one is organized, it will not drive you crazy. At least you will not need to worry about the cook book closing up on you while you are cooking from a recipe in it.

You can collect healthy recipes forever, but the very best cooks do not even need them.

Healthy foods can be difficult to prepare these days. Eggs make both healthy and nutritious breakfast, while being easy to prepare. For more easy recipes please visit our website.

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Which Tomato Gravy Recipe Is Right For You

Comfort foods were developed through the ages by cooking with what we had on hand. Tomato Gravy is a good example of this. During hard times, the times we need comforting foods, we cook meals using whatever foods are readily available. The dishes are often simple, but always filling. Simple meals filling big, simmering pots on top of the stove would warm the family.

Perhaps that’s why certain foods make us feel good. Even if we don’t remember hard times like our parents or grandparents did, we sat at the table with these family folks eating the comfort foods from their youth, and it became our comfort food.

When it comes to varieties in recipes, Tomato Gravy is at the top of the list. There are as many variations as there are cooks. We make simple tomato gravy during the winter with whatever we have on hand – if I have canned diced tomatoes, that’s what I use. If I have tomato sauce, I use that. If the garden is ripe, I pick tomatoes. If I have onion on hand, I might throw some in. The basic flour and oil thickened tomatoes recipe has a lot of room for tweaking.

Most people who make Tomato Gravy agree that you start with the roux. That is the oil and flour mixture that is cooked together to form a thickener. This roux takes a bit of practice and fearlessness. If you are afraid to let the mixture cook and brown a little, you will end up with a floury tasting mixture. Let it cook that flour taste out and you’ll have the base for an excellent tomato gravy. If you like, you can use a mixture of oil and butter, but never use butter alone as it will burn very easily.

Tomato gravy can form the main meal or serve as a side dish or light lunch. Serve tomato gravy over some freshly made buttermilk biscuits for a nice warm lunch or snack. If you’re serving a fried chicken dinner, add a pile of smashed potatoes covered with tomato gravy for a filling meal. You can also use tomato gravy to add flavor to other vegetables, like green beans or collards.

An old family recipe for tomato gravy is nice, but if you don’t happen to have one, check out the internet resources or cookbooks you already have. You are bound to find several recipes for tomato gravy. The recipes may vary so much that you get confused which one to try, so just choose the one that’s the simplest at first. You can tweak the recipe to suit your own taste as you go along, but even a basic roux and tomato sauce recipe will taste wonderful to your hungry family.

One heads up about making tomato gravy. You may see pictures of cooks making this dish in a cast iron skillet. I can’t recommend that you do that because tomatoes are very acidic and will quickly strip the lovely coating from your favorite cast iron skillet. Save your cast iron pans for pot roasts and fried chicken.

Harvesting and gathering simple foods that were readily available to us is how we created comfort foods. Taking only a couple tomatoes and blending them with a roux creates one of the most simple comfort foods we know – tomato gravy. The next time you want a little comfort, whip up a warm and wonderful Tomato Gravy and treat your family to a real labor of love.

It’s easy to learn how to make tomato gravy with a few simple recipes. A good old fashioned recipe doesn’t have to be difficult when you learn the basics – and the results are delicious!

Perfect Potluck Solution – Pasta Salad

Oh no! The potluck’s tonight! Sound familiar? I’ve been there a few times myself. There I am, with about an hour to get to the potluck, and no idea what I’m going to bring. What to do, what to do.

Time is ticking and you feel like you only have three options: 1) Don’t go and miss out on a really good time. 2) Go without a dish and admit that you forgot. 3) Go home and get one of your nice bowls and stop at the deli on your way to the potluck to fill it up.

You don’t really have to resort to any of these options if you keep a few simple ingredients on hand; pasta and salad dressing. The rest of the salad depends on your imagination, and what you have in the kitchen. Let’s start by looking at the two main ingredients.

Your pantry should always include a variety of pastas like linguine, penne, ziti, rotini, and macaroni, just to name a few. Mix and match any of these pastas to form the basis of your salad. Be sure to cook like-sized pastas together and pastas that are vastly different in different pots. In other words, don’t expect a big, thick pasta like penne to cook the same as a thin spaghetti noodle.

You’ll be able to create just about any pasta salad if you have at least one of the basic salad dressings in your kitchen; Italian and Ranch. These two are very versatile. However, if you like to make your own homemade dressing, go right ahead. Use your favorite recipe or just whip up some olive oil, balsamic vinegar, or apple cider vinegar, mustard, salt, pepper, and whatever herbs you have on hand.

So, what do you do once you have the pasta cooked and drained? First, pick out the dressing you’re going to use. Then, put the pasta in a big bowl and, while the pasta is still warm, pour the dressing over the pasta, mixing to combine. Be sure to do this while the pasta is warm so it will absorb all that good flavor. Don’t pour in too much dressing; you’ll want to taste as you go and add more if needed.

Now comes the creation. Look around your kitchen to see if you have any ingredients like tomatoes, broccoli, peas, parsley, celery, onion, mushrooms, cheese, canned garbanzo beans, black olives, or anything that sounds good to you. Even green olives or marinated artichokes would work. And don’t forget to add a little extra crunch with nuts or croutons.

Add leftover chicken or open a can of tuna if you like. The trick is to taste as you go. Just take a little pasta and dressing mixture out of the big bowl and put it into a little bowl. Add your ingredients, a little at a time, and taste as you go. Once you’re satisfied put it all together in the big serving bowl, slip on a cover, and you are good to go!

The next time you are invited to a potluck and you stand there staring into the pantry and refrigerator, don’t panic. There’s only one thing you have to remember: Pasta Salad to the rescue!

Are you a mom who likes to play rather than cook? If so, you won’t want to miss FreeQuickRecipes.com where youll find quick easy snacks for mothers and others.