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Avoiding the Food Rut: Tasteful Ways to Keep Your Meals as Colorful as You Are

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One of my favorite “secrets” of great cooking isn’t really much of a secret… it’s far too simple to qualify as a secret. It’s simply this – Keep things interesting and keep things flavorful.

I know how easy it is to fall into a cooking rut but food and meals are far too important to slip into such a rut. You want your loved ones to both enjoy your meals and to remember them – after they’ve walked away from the table.  Which is why it’s a shame that any of us (and, let’s be honest, we’ve all been in the rut before – whether we set up camp or crawled immediately back out, none of us can say we haven’t laid eyes on the tasteless food rut!)

Below are just a few quick ideas to help you avoid the culinary pit of misery (nothing dilly dilly about it):

  1. Try new international cuisines. You could make one night of the week the one where you try new recipes – they might just become your favorites. When I home-schooled our three daughters, We’d “eat” our way through whatever country we were studying at the time. Friday nights were chosen to try different favorite ingredients and recipes from the region of the moment.  We often, understandably “Americanize” many cuisines of the world – but if you delve into the ingredients used IN these countries and the favorite foods of their people, you’ll uncover a whole new world of flavor. Literally. Find recipes online or check Amazon for regional cookbooks. Mark Bittman has a wonderful cookbook appropriately titled “The Best Recipes in the World” and it would be an IDEAL place to start.
  2. Try new sauces and seasonings. When my husband and I visited a favorite restaurant, I tried a sauce they had on the table (it’s the Cajun Power Garlic Sauce pictured to the left). It was so wonderful I checked Amazon then and there for it. Fortunately I found it right off the bat, tossed it into my cart, and had my own bottle on its way to my house before we even left the restaurant. Ahhh, technology.  I also recently came across a new favorite seasoning (Cavender’s Greek Seasoning) and I’ve been putting it on everything from Greek Fries to pork. Spend a little more time in the grocery store than usual – really look around (yes, beyond the salt, pepper, and garlic powder!). Try new seasonings, spices, herbs, produce, sauces, etc. It’s delicious fun AND it’ll make you a better cook.
  3. Watch the Food Network and Cooking Channel for inspiration. Okay, before going any further, I have to get this off of my chest: I miss the Food Network of old! I miss Emeril, Rachael Ray’s 30 Minute Meals, Good Eats, and Mexican Made Easy. Thank goodness for Farmhouse Rules and The Pioneer Woman – they’re two of the only actual “cooking shows” left. Everything these days is some sort of a competition or contest… and every contestant seems to speak in questions! Yes, I am the sort of nut that notices things like that – but, check them out. They do. “I’m going to make a roast? And it will have onions? And carrots? I love carrots?”  I honestly can’t even watch these shows, I spend more time arguing with them (Stop ending everything as a question! You either know or you don’t!) than is healthy. Sigh. Anyway, I miss actual cooking shows that are entertaining. However, if you can find Pioneer Woman and Farmhouse Rules (or elusive reruns of others), watch them for entertainment and inspiration. You can also find endless cooking videos online, of course. You can get a lot of ideas as well as good old-fashioned know how from watching others.

Quick and Easy Greek Fries

Greek Fries

If You Don’t Like Ghee, It’s Only Because You Haven’t Had the BEST Ghee: Ancient Organics

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.Ancient Organics Ghee

Ancient Organics Ghee

I have a couple of confessions to make.

  1. When I first tried ghee, I thought it was horrifyingly bad. So bad that I was certain I’d never touch it again.
  2. I am a complete and total Ghee addict.

So how did I get from bullet point number 1 to bullet point number 2? I tried a different ghee!

As someone who has to eat gluten-free, I read a lot of Paleo articles, use Paleo cookbooks, and stalk the Paleo crowd on social media. While I don’t follow the Paleo diet exclusively, I do incorporate it into my cooking and eating.  Paleo cooking uses A LOT of ghee, so I figured it’d be worthwhile to simply try a different brand rather than completely throw ghee out the back door (something that my store-bought ghee had me tempted to do).

My husband ordered a jar of Ancient Organics Ghee on Amazon and, as soon as it came, we tested it out.

What a difference a label makes! Seriously, I cannot even begin to figure out how Ancient Organics Ghee gets it so deliciously right when other ghees get it so frightfully wrong.

Maybe the description below will give us a little insight…

Product Description from Ancient Organic’s Amazon Page:

Ancient Organics Ghee is a premium cooking oil celebrated for its taste, nutritional benefits, and medicinal qualities—it is unlike any other ghee on the market today. Our Ghee is hand-crafted over an open flame and made in small batches, ensuring you will always get the freshest Ghee. With an uncompromised commitment to quality and an obsessive attention to detail, we guarantee you won’t find a more pure, better tasting Ghee. Ghee is the complete distillation of butter— the end result of a long, slow, careful clarification process that removes all the moisture, lactose and casein, making it completely shelf stable AND a perfect choice for people who are lactose intolerant. The difference between Ghee and clarified butter lies in their flavor and shelf stability: Ghee is superior on both counts Ayurveda recognizes ghee as an essential part of a balanced diet and is considered to be the very best oil one can eat. It has been used for centuries as a digestive and elimination aid, for energy, sexual vitality, skin and eye health, as a lubricant for the joints and for alkalizing the blood. Comprised of full spectrum short-, medium-, and long-chain fatty acids, Ghee contains Omega 3 and Omega 9 essential fatty acids along with vitamins A, D, E and K. Our Ghee is one of the highest natural sources of CLA (Conjugated Linoleic Acid) because we use only the highest quality organic butter of pastured cows. Our golden Ghee has a delicious caramelized and nutty taste that will enhance the flavor of any culinary creation. It has one of the highest flash points (485ºF) and it is simply the best choice for high temperature cooking. Substitute our Ghee for olive oil, butter or vegetable oil in or on anything from soups, potatoes, rice and vegetables, with eggs, pancakes, oatmeal, smoothies or popcorn—the possibilities are truly endless. Try it—you will love it!

What is Ghee?

Ghee is a healthy alternative to cooking – far better than vegetable oil. Ayurveda, the ancient medical science of India, recognizes Ghee as a very important part of a healthy diet. It also considers ghee to be the best fat one can eat.

Ghee is as easy to implement in your cooking and eating as it gets. Use it in place of olive oil, vegetable oil, or butter. Ancient Organics Ghee is so delicious we even have an after-dinner routine we’ve followed for over a year. We spread a little ghee on a small square of dark chocolate, then sprinkle Pink Himalayan Salt on top.

It is outrageously delicious. Trust me.

Eggs fried in ghee are also out of this world good.  The high-temperature quality of ghee performs beautifully in sautes and stir fries.

I’ve even added a little ghee to soups and oatmeal and found that it gives a rich flavor that brings out the best in every other flavor.

Heck, it even takes popcorn up a couple of notches. Last summer I popped some popcorn for an afternoon baseball game. Instead of melting butter, which I’ve done for popcorn for 112 years, I reached for the ghee and melted a tablespoon of it. OMG. I have not used butter for popcorn since.

But here’s the thing – it has got to be Ancient Organics Ghee. Has. Got. To. Be. The rest I’ve tried are nowhere near as good. I can’t explain it but I can darn sure taste it.  This particular brand occasionally runs out on Amazon (which tells you all you need to know about how great it is). Before we learned to stock up, we’d every now and then find “not available” or “In stock on… (insert later date)” on the Amazon page. This led to the need to order other brands and/or experiment with store-bought ghee.

Seriously – they don’t even taste like the same thing!

I hope you’ll try as soon as you can. You’re going to love it. If one size is temporarily sold out, buy the other size. If you get a “In stock on..” message, throw it in your cart and wait!

Yes, it’s costlier than some other ghees, but it is infinitely worth it.

Ancient Organics Ghee

Infographic: 15 Easy Ways to Make Food Taste Better

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The infographic below (from British friends of the food blog… hence yoghurt instead of yogurt!) includes some great tips for making your food taste even better. I love these tips – several of which I personally swear by.

Below are a few quick tips from my own kitchen:

  1. When making a dish with multiple food components (stew, soup, salad…), chop the individual foods as small as possible. Sure, it’s more work (unless you use a food processor) but each bite will provide more flavor. After all, the more foods that can fit on a spoon or fork at once, the greater the flavor punch.
  2.  Ground Chuck simply tastes better than ground beef. There is no getting around it.
  3. In addition to Kosher salt and black pepper, a few seasonings I keep on hand at all times (as in I’m apt to run out of just about anything before I ever run out of them) are: Cumin, Montana Mex Chile Salt (as well as their Sweet Seasoning Blend), Garlic Powder, Cayenne Pepper, Red Pepper Flakes, Pink Himalayan Salt, Seasoned Salt, and McCormick’s Montreal Steak Seasoning. Experiment with seasonings – go bold! Just do so a little at a time, because you can always add more, you can’t add less.
  4. Use herbs often and use herbs generously. I love growing my own herbs – even though there is a Battle Royale between me and raccoons – and they’re winning. Good thing they’re so darn cute! Rosemary, chives, parsley, and cilantro are my favorites but Basil and Oregano are fast-becoming members of the “in crowd.” Add parsley to scrambled eggs, cilantro to any and all Mexican-inspired dishes, rosemary to soups, and chives to everything else. Well, almost. Chives snipped onto fresh from the oven baked potatoes make all the cares of the world slip away.
Courtesy of: Quid Corner


Baked Potatoes with a Salty Crust Make PERFECT Loaded Baked Potatoes

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Loaded Salt Crusted Baked Potato
Loaded Baked Potato (Salt-Crusted)
True Story: I love baked potatoes so much you’d think I invented them. In fact, I love ALL potatoes so much you’d think I founded the beautiful state of Idaho.

I wish I had founded Idaho – what a cool story to tell your grandkids.

Potatoes are the very reason I lasted all of 2 hours when testing the waters of the Paleo diet. It just kind of hit me, “No potatoes? No way. I’m out.” Never looked back.

Salt Crusted Baked Potatoes
Salt-Crusted Baked Potatoes
While I don’t want to ruffle any feathers, I have to say that if you aren’t baking your potatoes in the oven, you’re short-changing yourself. Can you nuke them in a microwave? Yes. If you put enough butter and sour cream on top, are they passable? Absolutely. However, a baked potato straight from the oven is next level.

I can understand the argument of not wanting to heat up your kitchen. I can also see nuking them if time is an issue. If (at 4:30) you decide you want a baked potato with supper (at 5:00), you don’t have a choice… unless, of course, it’s the world’s skinniest and smallest potato – then you might have a shot.

See: Perfect Baked Potatoes in the Oven

Again, at the risk of ruffling feathers (What’s with me today? Girl, hands off people’s feathers.), if you wrap your potatoes in foil, you are actually “steaming” them more than you are “baking” them. If you prefer them that particular way – go for it! However, next time, try baking them (without wrapping them in foil blankets) and see what you think about the texture of a truly baked potato.

Salt-Crusted Baked Potatoes

While a good old-fashioned baked potato (without a “salty’ attitude) is all kinds of delicious, adding a salty crust somehow makes it extraordinary. It looks fancy and high-brow  too, which never turns me off.

The following recipe (below the beauty on the St. Louis Cardinals red plate) is for “Salt-Crusted Baked Potatoes with Kosher Salt.” This version of a salt-crusted potato calls for an all-over salty crust (trust me, it does not taste too salty – you just wouldn’t want to add any more to the top – unless you’re one of those rare birds that don’t eat the potato skin, that is). If you still (even after my multiple pleadings) think this is too much salt, simply only salt one part of the potato.

* Whispers in your ear: “It will not be too salty.”

I often use another means of coating the potato with salt which involves coarse Kosher salt (I use Morton Coarse Kosher Salt)- and trust me, it looks gorgeous. You don’t add as much salt to a sea salt-crusted baked potato. In fact, when making baked potatoes with coarse sea salt, I don’t rub them in the salt, I simply pat it on – pushing in very lightly.

Loaded Salt Crusted Baked Potato
When turning your baked potatoes into Loaded Baked Potatoes, the following toppings are, in my book, the way to go:

  • Real butter – always, always, always use real butter (in just about everything actually, but especially with a baked potato.. it wouldn’t deserve any less).
  • Sour Cream.
  • Shredded Cheddar (Gouda is also out of this world).
  • BACON. BAAAAY-CON! If you know you’re having baked potatoes for supper, make extra bacon at breakfast. Otherwise, just fry some up while the potatoes are cooking.
  • Chives or chopped green onions.
  • Sauteed mushrooms are also great on loaded baked potatoes. Saute’ sliced mushrooms in a little butter and add them with the other ingredients.
  • Briefly sauteed broccoli (in butter) is also great on a really cheesy baked potato.

One more tip from the potato fiend: Save any leftover baked potatoes for the next day. Leftover potatoes is main reason I only prepare (as in cut open and butter it to distraction) potatoes as they go right onto the plate. Others are left untouched on the stove. The following morning, a leftover baked potato can be warmed and topped with butter, a fried egg, and bacon for a fantastic breakfast or brunch. If several are leftover, scoop out the flesh and mash it with a little butter and sour cream. Fill the potato skin with the mixture, top with shredded cheddar and bake at 350 degrees until warm all the way through. Top as desired (bacon, green onions or chives, black pepper….)

One more idea and I promise I’m through – Sloppy Joes on an open baked potato. Trust me.

Okay, the potato fanatic is through.

For today…

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Baked Potatoes with a Salty Side

Salt Crusted Baked Potatoes

Ingredients

  • Russet Potatoes
  • Olive Oil
  • Coarse Kosher Salt
  • Black Pepper
  • Toppings

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Wash and dry the potatoes.
  3. Place the olive oil in a dish and the kosher salt on a plate. How much of each? Here's a guide to go by: For each 2 Russet potatoes, use 1/8 cup oil and 1/8 cup Kosher salt. 4 potatoes = 1/4 of each.
  4. Does it have to be Kosher salt? Yes, please. It's the salt I have always used for salt-crusted baked potatoes, so I cannot say how another salt will behave.
  5. Using a pastry brush (I'm all about my silicone pastry brush), brush each potato well with olive oil.
  6. Roll each oiled potato in the salt. Coat well - do not worry about them being "too salty." They will be divine - I promise.
  7. Pierce the top of the potatoes with a fork a couple of times.
  8. Bake for 45-60 minutes. It really depends upon the size of your potatoes.
  9. You can test for doneness one of two ways: Use an oven mitt to give the potato a slight little squeeze. If there’s a bit of “give,” the potato is done. If there’s no “give,” return it to the oven.
  10. You can also take the potato's temperature - the internal temperature should be 210 degrees F.
  11. To check baked potatoes with a fork or knife, simply insert your tool of choice. You want it to "go in" without resistance. Me? I always use the oven mitt test.
  12. Cut your potatoes open, but not until you're ready to serve/eat them. Don't cut all the way through - just enough to pack with butter (I pack mine like you wouldn't believe).
  13. Add a little fresh black pepper. If you coated the baked potatoes with salt, you don't need to add any more salt at this point - unless you're one of those rare birds who don't eat the potato's skin. If that's the case, you'll definitely want to salt the inside of the potato.


Keli’s Teriyaki Sauces: Don’t Even Think of Going Into Grilling Season Without Them

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Keli's Gluten-Free Teriyaki Sauces
Keli’s Gluten-Free Teriyaki Sauces and Chicken

For some people, grilling season never officially ends – but for most of us, the weather dictates a clear-cut beginning and ending for the delicious season. Now that the weather has warmed up here in Kentucky, we’ve fired up our grill and are reaping the yummy rewards.

The first thing we usually grill is hamburgers and hot dogs, but this year chicken had Opening Day Honors. We used Keli’s  Hawaiian Luau Teriyaki on some of the chicken and Keli’s Ginger Garlic Teriyaki on the rest. Both of these Teriyaki sauces are gluten-free and both are out of this world delicious.

The reason I wanted to try both at once was simple – I couldn’t decide.  I did the “fingertip taste test” and couldn’t decide which to go with…. so they were both invited to lunch.

After sampling the chicken, we still couldn’t decide – they are very different in flavor, but are both simply out of this world delicious. So we’re going with a tie. In fact, when you buy your first bottle of Keli’s, I’d strongly suggest buying BOTH of these flavors.

Ironically, before I even read that Keli’s sauces originated in Polynesia, I immediately identified the Polynesian flavor. Foodies know the taste of Polynesia when they taste it!

Grilled Chicken with Keli's Gluten-Free Teriyaki Sauce

Grilled Chicken with Keli’s Sauces

To use either sauce on your chicken – simply baste during the last 5 minutes of grilling. You can serve the chicken over rice or cut it up and throw it into a fantastic salad. I’ve actually enjoyed it both ways – if you go the way of a salad, know this – honey mustard dressing is AMAZING with the flavors of either of these.

Keli's Sauces

About Keli’s Sauces

Taste the flavor of the Islands with the tasty ginger garlic Teriyaki from Keli’s Sauces! Whether you’re looking to boost your BBQ seasoning, craft a gourmet meal, or get the perfect present for Mom and Dad, this bold brand has got your back. Geared towards gluten-free products? Keli’s Sauces whips up gluten-free, vegan sauces with no MSG or preservatives so you can serve up hot, Hawaiian or BBQ classics for friends and family!

Originated in the Islands of Polynesia, Keli’s Sauces was a recipe passed down from generation to generation. Before settling down to their regular jobs, Jim and Terry Morrisey travelled to the Marshall Islands. With no radio, television, or phone service, they made close friends with the people on the island, particularly to one Hawaiian family whose daughter was in Terry’s Kindergarten class. During their time in the Islands, they shared a lot of meals and fell in love with the island inspired flavors and sauces. In 1989 Penny, one of the Hawaiian family’s children from the island of Molokai, took an adventure to meet Jim and Terry on the mainland working at their small deli on the Oregon Coast. Together, the dynamic duo created a recipe for the delicious sweet ginger Teriyaki that the islands are famous for. Encouraging them to market these savory sauces, Penny helped them design the very first label. Forever indebted to Penny, Terry named the company “IPO,” which is Penny’s middle name and means “Sweetheart” in Hawaiian. Penny named the sauce “Keli,” which is Terry in Hawaiian.

Keli's Gluten-Free Teriyaki Sauces

A few ways Keli’s Sauces separate themselves from the rest:

  • Gluten-free
  • Vegan
  • Amazing flavor
  • No MSG
  • No preservatives
  • Low sodium
  • Low fat

Find great recipes on Keli’s website – there are recipes for chicken, ham, tofu, vegetables, sausage, shrimp, beef, fish, and even salad. Learn more about all of Keli’s sauces at https://shop.trykelis.com.

Keli’s Sauces are also on Amazon (see below). Click through any to find even more sizes and flavors.


Tantalising Tips for Impromptu BBQs

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Spring and summer bring ample opportunities for impromptu entertaining, and there’s nothing quite like an impromptu BBQ. Spring bank holidays are made for them. So long as the weather isn’t a complete wash-out, the first BBQs of the year can go ahead in all but the most turbulent of conditions.

If you have a multi-functional kitchen space to retreat to if the weather turns then all the better. BBQ food tastes just as good eating inside as it does eating in the great outdoors.

BBQs are notorious for taking an age to cook. Blackened on the outside, pink undercooked meat on the inside is a turn off for even the most hardy meat eaters. You definitely don’t want salmonella to become your BBQ special.

Nevertheless, BBQs are a really fun and relaxed way of entertaining and they don’t have to take a huge amount of organisation. Here are our top tips and recipes for an impromptu, bank holiday BBQ bonanza – inspired by UK kitchen specialists The Brighton Kitchen Company.

Make the call

You’ve woken up on a bank holiday wondering what to do with yourself. You fancy a lazyish day, but would love to spend time with your friends and family. Organising a meal out might not work. Short notice bookings for large groups on a Bank holiday are hard to come by. Besides, you fancy pottering at home.

Don’t procrastinate. The sun is shining and it’s time to bring out the garden furniture that’s been locked away all winter. Make the call to the nearest and dearest, knock on the neighbour’s door and let the cat out of the bag. The BBQ is coming out and everyone is invited.

Supermarket sweep

After a quick shower, slip into your new spring apparel and make a list. You need to make a trip to the supermarket, but there’s no time to waste. Having a list will keep you focused, save you time and save you money. Here’s a basic list to get you started:

  • Keep it simple. Wine (red and white), beers and Pimms
  • Sparkling water
  • Lemonade
  • Juice
  • Chicken drumsticks and thighs (lots)
  • Fish (mackerel is great for the BBQ)
  • Burgers (only good quality ones will do)
  • Halloumi
  • Peppers
  • Courgettes
  • Red onions
  • Mixed salad
  • Cucumber
  • New potatoes
  • Chives, parsley, thyme, mint (all fresh)
  • Burger buns
  • Sauces (ketchup)
  • Olives
  • Lemons
  • Oranges
  • Strawberries
  • Dips
  • Posh crisps
  • Cream
  • A couple of large frozen pavlovas (yes you need a pudding, but you don’t have time to make your own).
  • A bag of ice (for the Pimms and the beer bucket)

The best chicken seasoning ever

We love this recipe for magic dust and barbecue sauce (pimped up ketchup). It makes barbecue chicken taste fabulous. Rub the magic dust liberally over chicken before cooking. It works for rubbing over anything, including vegetables so making a jar before the spring arrives means you’ll be all ready to make the tastiest BBQ food without any fuss.

The Prep

In no particular order:

  • Boil new potatoes. Drain and while warm, crush slightly. Add knobs of butter and chopped chives
  • Prep a salad
  • Put together some rustic halloumi kebabs
  • Make 2 large jugs of Pimms with lemonade, the obligatory chopped fruits, cucumber and mint leaves, and plenty of ice
  • Before you get distracted with the BBQ, take pavlovas out of freezer to thaw
  • Get your cheats BBQ meat in the oven (see below)

 

The BBQ

Your BBQ should be cleaned and oiled after every use, so hopefully there’ll be no issues for you to uncover it in its gleaming glory. Get your BBQ nice and hot before you use it to burn off any crud.

Cook your halloumi kebabs first and transfer to oven (just in case there are any vegetarians). Burgers are next. When burgers almost done, move to one side and put your cheats chicken on the BBQ (see below). Mackerel can go on last. It won’t take long. When the fish is cooked, sprinkle liberally with chopped herbs and serve with a wedge of lemon.

Cheats BBQ meat

You don’t want to spend hours slaving over the BBQ, so put your chicken pieces rubbed with magic dust onto a tray and cook in the oven. Time it right so they are just cooked, but not browned before you transfer them to the BBQ for finishing off.

Brush chicken pieces with the pimped up ketchup and place on the BBQ. Keep turning and brushing sauce on as required. Just as the sauce turns syrupy and the chicken skin gets crispy you are all ready to serve. Some blackening is OK, but try and keep that to a minimum. Let the chicken rest for a few minutes before serving.

Top 3 BBQ tips

  1. Don’t fiddle or poke and definitely don’t squeeze all of the lovely juices out of meat.
  2. Brush sauces on at the end. Marinating meats for the BBQ may seem like a good idea, but if the marinade has a high sugar content it will burn very quickly on a BBQ, leaving the glaze tasting bitter.
  3. Invest in a thermometer. Overcooking is just as sinful as undercooking. You’ll be able to check the exact temperature of meat, making sure meat is cooked through perfectly.

Oven tips

If you need to keep food warm as the BBQ turns out different offerings at different times, transfer barbecued meats to an oven proof dish and cover with foil or greaseproof paper. Pop in the oven at a setting between 140 degrees and 165 degrees Fahrenheit.

 

Vegetable Beef Secrets PLUS Explore Cuisine Organic Chickpea Spaghetti

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Best Vegetable Beef Soup with Explore Cuisine Organic Chickpea Spaghetti
Best Vegetable Beef Soup with Explore Cuisine Chickpea Spaghetti – Delicious!
I love soup like very few people love soup. I love to make soup… I love to eat soup. Over the years, I’ve experimented with my favorite soups and have hit upon what may well be the most delicious vegetable beef soup of all time.

Soups like this are kind of tough to give accurate recipes for for a few reasons:

  • Everyone’s favorite veggies differ. Where I add a crazy amount of asparagus, you may choose carrots. I won’t judge.
  • I don’t write anything down when making soup. I just go with makes sense to me whatever seems right at the time. Hmmm, sounds a lot like the way I live my life, but that’s another story.

Vegetable Beef Soup with Pesto
However, I’ll give you the basics, along with a few secrets for making the best Vegetable Beef Soup you ever dove into.

  1. I always start with a large can (or two if I’m making an obscene amount) of tomato juice. I’ve used V8 juice before and it was delicious, I just personally prefer tomato juice. What can I say? I’m simple.
  2. Ground chuck is the most flavorful way to go, in my opinion, but Grass-Fed Ground Beef is also great. When you brown the beef, just be sure to season it with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
  3. While I love onions, when it comes to soup that I know will be warmed-up and enjoyed the next day, I either use shallots, scallions instead of yellow or white onions. They have less of an attitude and don’t try to take center stage. Put another way, they play well with others. Essential in soups…. and salads, for that matter.
  4.  I use either a frozen vegetable mix or cans for the bulk of my veggies. It isn’t about cost and it certainly isn’t about laziness (I live in the kitchen, so a little extra effort doesn’t phase me). It’s all about flavor. When you eat soup that’s composed of huge chunks of vegetables, you get just that in each spoon – a huge chunk of a vegetable and some of the liquid. Maybe some meat if it fits. However, if you use the small pre-cut veggies, many fit onto the spoon at once -giving you layers of flavor in each bite. I dig layers of flavor like Scooby Doo digs Scooby Snacks.
  5. Toward the end of cooking time, tossing in a little torn kale is a boost of both flavor and nutrients. However, be warned that if you toss it in too soon (and for sure if you’ll be eating leftovers), the lovely green kale will not stay lovely or even green.
  6. Also, toward the end of cooking, I love to toss in asparagus. First of all, prepare the asparagus by snapping off the end (opposite the pretty little tip, of course) – take the asparagus in your hands and “feel” where the asparagus wants to naturally bend. It’s at this spot you want to snap… yes, even if it seems like a generous amount is coming off. Better that than bite into tough asparagus. Then, cut each asparagus spear into thirds and pop them all into the soup and stir.
  7. Okay, this is where you’re going to just have to trust me… At the end of the cooking process, stir in a jar of Basil Pesto. O.M.GEE. It takes a delicious soup and makes it otherworldly delicious.  When I first tried it, I did so because I wanted to have a little element of Italian flavor. Since then, I do it simply because the flavor is of the addictive variety.
  8. As for seasonings and flavors, I add salt/pepper/garlic powder/red pepper flakes/parsley to just about everything I make, and soup is no exception. If you add the jar of basil pesto at the end (and you should, you really really really should), you really won’t need much more seasoning than the ones mentioned. Also, although I took a picture before I did the deed this time, shredded Parmesan on top of the production is delicious.
  9. Okra is a necessity if your making the best vegetable beef soup possible. I buy frozen, but I’d imagine fresh would be great, too.
  10. This one isn’t a necessity, it’s just how I (personally) roll: I love to have something in my bowl that I serve my soup over. Why? No idea. It’s just one of my many, many quirks that I have (at this point in life) learned to embrace. Quirks are spouses… you can’t always explain them, but you can surely embrace them. My favorite “beds” for soup are pasta, mashed potatoes (use instant if you darn well feel like it), or rice. More about pasta in a minute, but each of these make the soup even more filling and give you that extra “bite” you might be looking for.

Explore Cuisine Chickpea Spaghetti

Delicious New Gluten-Free Spaghetti I’m Excited About

I was recently sent a couple of boxes of Explore Cuisine Gluten-Free pasta in exchange for telling my food blog readers about them. The first one I tried was the one you see here, Explore Cuisine Chickpea Spaghetti. It was the PERFECT accompaniment to the Vegetable Beef Soup…. especially with the Pesto stirred in.

The first thing I noticed about the Chickpea Spaghetti, after cooking it, was that it is beautifully fat – like my favorite spaghetti noodles of old. Forget that skinny pasta, especially when it comes to serving with chili or soup, it has got to be FAT and this Chickpea Spaghetti is beautifully fat.  I also loved that it didn’t clump together the way a lot of spaghetti noodles do. In fact, there was zero clumping and that floated my boat but good.

The moment of truth, of course, was after tasting the pasta…. it was phenomenal. No strong flavor of chickpea at all, which is what I was initially concerned about. Sure, I love chickpeas but I don’t want them disguising themselves as pasta and trying to trick me. The pasta is just outstanding and I plan to buy it regularly.  It was spot on perfect with this soup and I’m just as anxious to try it with a great marinara sauce, in a cold spaghetti pasta salad, and (before the season gets away) with chili.

Explore Cuisine products are all vegan, gluten-free, non-GMO and made from organic ingredients. Loaded with protein, iron, and fiber, these pastas are the perfect alternative to other glutinous pastas. If you’re gluten-free, vegan, or simply health-conscious, I hope you’ll check out their lines of pasta. I’ll be reviewing another one of their pastas in a few days. I simply cannot say enough great things about Explore Cuisine. I’m beyond excited to try EACH and every one of their products asap.

You can find the Explore Cuisine Chickpea Spaghetti on Amazon. You will be blown away by this gluten-free pasta.

Explore Cuisine Chickpea Spaghetti

How Moore’s Original Marinade Can Take Your Grass Fed Burgers Up a Couple of Notches

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Hamburgers with Moore's Original Marinade and Sauteed Onions
Burgers (Marinated with Moore’s Original Sauce) and Sauteed Onions
If you, like a lot of people, have tried grass-fed beef (or have chosen to only eat grass-fed beef), you already know a few things to be true:

  • It costs more.
  • It looks different.
  • It feels different.
  • It tastes different.

I’ve read a lot of people say that they can’t deal with the taste difference, so they stopped buying it altogether. While it’s your own decision if you decide to buy grass-fed beef or not (see Is Grass-Fed Beef Really Better for You, The Animal, and The Planet?), I do want to tell you that I have zero problem with it. Do I wish it were less expensive? You betcha, but I wish a lot of things were less expensive (I’m looking at you, frozen fruit, shrimp, and salmon). When things cost more than you’d like them to, you have to simply decide if it’s worth it or not. For me, when it comes to grass-fed beef, grass-fed butter, and eggs from cage-free chickens, it is definitely worth it. I figure that, in the long run, I’m still saving money because I rarely eat out.

The reason I don’t have a problem with the taste is I don’t leave it as is. I’ve worked with it over the months that I’ve been buying it and I’ve found there are secret weapons involved.

Moore's Original Marinade and Grass-Fed Ground Beef
My tips for Grass-Fed Burgers:

  • Cast Iron Skillet – yes, it makes a world of difference.
  • Sauteed Onions.
  • Salt, Pepper, and Garlic Powder.
  • Marinades like Moore’s Original Marinade aren’t just for chicken, steaks, and pork – they add a lot of flavor to ground beef as well. A LOT!
  • Bacon is another delicious way to add flavor to grass-fed ground beef.
  • Never underestimate the deliciousness of an egg sitting on top of a burger.

Sauteed Onions in Butter
Onions, Sauteed in Butter, Make Everything Better. Everything.
If you read my food blog regularly, you know I had to give up gluten/wheat years ago (health reasons), so when I have burgers, they are often either served on gluten-free bread or wrapped in lettuce. Oddly enough, however, I usually simply doll them up and serve them on a plate.

Simply delicious.

I almost always saute (in butter) onions or shallots to serve with my burgers – sometimes even throwing in sliced mushrooms. Adding a slice of your favorite cheese between the burger and sauteed onions is, of course, the way to go.

Grass-Fed Beef with Moore's Original Marinade
Allow the Marinade to Mingle with the Seasonings and Beef at Least 10 Mins.
But I’ve gotten woefully ahead of myself – as is my way. The mind goes 150 miles per hour, the mouth goes 100 miles per hour, and the rest of the body is like, “Where’d they go?!” Before we can top the burgers, we have to make the burgers!

While the onions are sauteing in the iron skillet, I take the grass-fed ground beef out of the package, place it into a bowl and add a little Moore’s Original Marinade. Then I add salt, pepper, and garlic powder and work it all into the beef with my hands.

I allow mine to sit and mingle for at least 10 minutes. I allowed it to sit, once, for 1 hour and the flavor wasn’t any more pronounced than the 10 minute deal.

I’ve been a happy fan of Moore’s Original Marinade for quite a while, but I had no idea it would work as wonderfully with ground beef as it does. I always just associated it with steak, pork and pork. It’s amazing with each of these, by the way.

I also had no idea they’d added to their line of products so extensively.  They have a little bit of everything.

I was sent this bottle of Moore’s Original Marinade in exchange for telling you about it and my original plan was to work it into a grilled steak post. However, the good people at Moore’s would surely wonder where their post was if I waited much longer (I have zero pull with the weather, it seems).

Click through the links above to read more about this flavorful marinade, as well as their other products.

Hamburgers with Moore's Original Marinade and Sauteed Onions

Food Workshops: 3 Teambuilding Events to Make the Mouth Water

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Food, glorious food! Whether your company is looking for ideas for corporate events or days out, or a new way to approach team building exercises, turning to food based activities is a great way to engage everyone at work.

An opportunity to enhance social interaction between your staff members, with plenty of collaborative problem solving skills required, the kitchen can be an enjoyable place where everyone feels able to contribute something useful to the team.

Here are three food workshop ideas that are likely to be very popular with your staff team, as advised by Lloyd Wells – a dab hand in the kitchen and online, working with Best Venues London – a FREE venue-sourcing service designed to highlight the most unique venues in the UK.

Baking Class

Who hasn’t been inspired by The Great British Bake Off? Whether you’re a novice baker or expert patissier, there’s nothing like the smell of freshly baked goodies to put a smile on everyone’s face. If you’re looking to reward your team or raise morale, a corporate Baking Day out may be the perfect solution.

Under expert instruction, your team will enjoy spending a hands-on practical day recreating old classic recipes or testing their creative flair to produce new sweet treats – cakes, sweet pastry, biscuits, cupcakes – then decorate and serve.

Taught by professional pastry chefs, your group’s baking skills will come on in leaps and bounds, with plenty of motivation and praise, not to mention useful tips of the trade, provided throughout the day.

Why not finish off with a baking competition under the watchful eye of professional judges to see who is the champion baker of them all?

Sushi Workshop

Sushi is a Japanese delicacy that looks as good as it tastes, and you can learn how to make these mouthwatering mini dishes within a few hours. Teambuilding workshops are fun and light-hearted – no cooking experience required.

Far from being all about raw fish, sushi is any dish that is made with special sushi rice, often rolled in nori, a type of sea vegetable. With a wide variety of ingredients to choose from, including many fish and vegetarian options, every palate will be catered for!

Let an experienced sushi chef demonstrate the art of rolling sushi and discover some of the wonderful fresh and tasty Japanese ingredients you could incorporate into different types of sushi, such as futomaki and hosomaki, temaki and nigari.

Then put it all to the test in a hands-on session creating your own sushi rolls. How about a little Master Chef style competition to find out whose efforts are the most professional, followed by sampling all the delicious results?

Chocolate Making

Indulge your executives while bringing out their creative team spirit with a chocolate making workshop. A professional chocolatier will demonstrate the delicate art of handmaking and decorating exquisite chocolate treats, with plenty of opportunity to sample.

Learn about the history of chocolate, its near magical properties and myths, and send your taste buds on a journey of discovery as you tease your palate with a range of ingredients from raw cocoa nibs to 100% pure chocolate.

Then it’s your turn to try your hand at making your own chocolate ganache, piping techniques, chilling and decorating to your heart’s content. This is a perfect opportunity to develop camaraderie and team work techniques in a fun and stress-free environment.

And the best bit? Every member of your group goes home happy with their own box of chocolates to impress friends, family or colleagues.

Cookie Mixes from Krusteaz Makes Christmas Gift-Giving (and Baking) Quick & Easy

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Krusteaz Cookie Mixes

Some of Krusteaz’s Cookie Mixes

Since I am gluten-free (health reasons – body dictated/brain didn’t get a vote) and I write a lot of gluten-free reviews and recipes on Get Cooking, I always like to point out when a product or recipe is NOT gluten-free – in the vein of it’s always better to be overly safe than uncommonly sorry. These cookie mixes from Krusteaz are not gluten-free, although Krusteaz does have a great line of gluten-free products, including a gluten-free flour that is as big a staple in our kitchen as I am. More about their gluten-free products in the next post.

These beautifully quick & ridiculously easy cookie mixes are a dream come true for those who bake a lot at Christmas and throughout the year.

I received these cookie mixes for taking part in Krusteaz’s National Cookie Day promotion. As a human cookie monster, I had the day marked on my calendar and jumped at the chance.

While Krusteaz Gluten-Free flour is a constant in my life (even listed on the side under my “Can’t live without”s), I had NO idea they made so many mixes. This opens up a whole new world, if we’re being honest. Their gluten-free mixes are on my radar, now, so watch for reviews of them in the future.

As for the mixes you see in this post, they could not have been easier to make and bake. The thing that came to my mind was how IDEAL they are for both…

  • busy bakers with a million and one things to do
  • bakers who have eager “little hands” ready to help

These mixes don’t even require a mixer (you can use your hands AND put those little eager hands to work!). When you use mixes, it frees up the list of ingredients needed for the cookies – allowing you to go crazy with the decorating.

Decorated Christmas Cookies

Decorated Christmas Cookies

Little hands and big hands, alike, love getting artsy! When I’m decorating cookies, it takes me back to decorating them with my mom AND to decorating them with my own three daughters when they were little.

When they were little, nothing. My youngest helped me with a batch just a few days ago. Girl talk over cookies… there’s nothing like it.

A Few Icing Suggestions:

  • If time is an issue, it’s perfectly okay to use icing from a tub. Vanilla or cream cheese are delicious on cookies.
  • Marshmallow Cream is fun and yummy on cookies (kids, especially, love it). It’s bright white color (Marshmallow Cream is on the cookie in the picture above with a Christmas tree in the middle) stands out in a crowd of cookies and, let’s keep it real here, it’s as easy as it gets. Open the jar, insert knife, spread. When icing with Marshmallow Cream, start in the middle of the cookie and gently spread outward.
  • I actually didn’t do it this time around, but you could easily use the Krusteaz Shortbread Cookie Mix and make a Quick & Easy version of Almond Scandinavian Bars. Simply bake the cookies and ice (Stir together 1 cup sifted powdered sugar, 1/4 teaspoon almond extract, and 3-4 teaspoons of milk. Drizzle on top of the cookies and top with chopped almond slices).
  • The Krusteaz Shortbread cookies have a recipe on the back for Raspberry Thumbprints that look as delicious as they are beautiful.
  • On the back of the Krusteaz Butter Vanilla Sugar Cookies is a GREAT recipe for icing (See Below). These cookies can be baked and cut with cookie cutters with a simple tweak to the recipe on the back. Complete, easy instructions are provided. While they make gorgeous cut-out cookies, these cookies couldn’t be any more beautiful than they are, as pictured on the front of the box.

Krusteaz Iced Cutout Sugar Cookie Icing: In a small bowl, stir together 3 cups powdered sugar, 3 TBS warm water, 1 TBS light corn syrup, and 1/4 almond extract until well-blended and smooth. If adding food coloring, start with a few drops until desired shade is achieved.

Krusteaz Triple Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Krusteaz Triple Chocolate Chunk Cookies – A Work of Art All By Themselves!

The Triple Chocolate Chunk Cookie Mix makes beautiful and delicious cookies that need no introduction or decorating. You could, of course, perch a reindeer, Santa, or elf on top to make them extra festive but.. personally… I love them just like they are.

Krusteaz Cookie Mixes
The Snickerdoodle Cookie Mix will be a sure favorite with everyone – Everything you need to make them is provided in the box. I added more red sugar to the coating mixture (cinnamon sugar) to make them even more festive.

Krusteaz Snickerdoodle Cookies
Kids Helping in the Kitchen

Kids love to help make Christmas cookies and the time spent with them will be among your most cherished memories. Naturally, adults should always supervise every step and keep little hands from being burned.  One of the first things I thought of with these cookie mixes were how simple they’d be for kids to make “all by themselves” (which of course means with adult eyes nearby!). Again, these mixes don’t even require electric mixers – and the measuring is as minimal as it gets.

Their favorite part might just be icing and decorating the cookies and adults should allow them complete freedom to decorate the cookies however they want. If their idea of “beautiful” is a polka dot haphazard mixture of colors you would’t personally have ever selected…. applaud them and tell them how proud you are of their creativity. Better yet, take pictures of their works of art and put them all over your social media!

Iced Christmas Cookies
Not only are there endless color options for icing, you can find a crazy selection of decorations these days. Take your time and look around at several different stores.  I found the adorable little green trees (pictured below) at Kroger and I threw just about every box into my cart. They’re just too cute perched on top of the Snickerdoodles.

Decorated Christmas Cookies
You’ll also want to grab a few icing in tubes for borders or swirly patterns.  Make no mistake about it, I’m all about the swirl.

Iced Christmas Cookies
As I said earlier, Marshmallow Cream stands out in a crowd! Maybe it’s just me, but I think it makes a gorgeous, shiny, icing.

Other fun ideas for topping cookies:

  • Crushed candy canes or peppermints
  • M&M’s (Mini M&M’s are especially cute on cookies)
  • Nuts
  • Colored Sugar
  • Dried Fruit (a bigger hit with adults than kids… trust me, here)

Decorated Christmas Cookies
 

A Few Extra Cookie-Baking Tips:

Whether you’re using Krusteaz’s great cookie mixes or a recipe, below are a few tips for smoother sailing.

  • Always read through a recipe or instructions entirely before beginning.
  • When softened butter is called for, be sure it’s really, really, really soft. IF you soften it in the microwave, be sure to do so in intervals of just a few seconds. Melted butter isn’t going to do you or the cookies any good.
  • If the recipe calls for butter, use butter… not margarine.
  • Always place cookie dough on cool cookie sheets. If you place them on warm sheets, they’ll spread like… oh, nevermind.
  • As a general Cookie Rule, place cookies containing leavening 2 inches apart on cookie sheets. Unleavened cookies can be placed 1-1/2 inches apart.
  • Unless otherwise instructed, remove cookies immediately from cookie sheets after they come out of the oven, as they will continue to cook if they’re allowed to hang out on the pan.
  • Cool cookies on a wire rack for the best air circulation.
  • When baking, use the middle oven rack.
  • I’ve become obsessed with using parchment paper – it’s a bakers best friend… okay, second, behind butter.
  • Pre-Heat your oven for at least 10 minutes before cooking.

Iced Cut Out Christmas Cookies
If you have to eat gluten free, thanks to Krusteaz Gluten Free Flour, you can bake any darn cookies you want. See my Gluten Free Cranberry Pecan Cookies for inspiration.

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