Try These Old Fashion Vegetable Casseroles For Some Great Side Dishes

Side dishes are an important part of the meal even though the main course gets most of the attention. Here are some old-fashion recipes for some great vegetable casseroles to use as side dishes. Try these soon: Crumb Topped Baked Eggplant, Spinach Casserole, or Donna's Scalloped Carrots.

CRUMB TOPPED BAKED EGGPLANT This recipe is from an old church cookbook I found in my mother-in-law's things.

1 medium eggplant
1 medium onion, chopped
3/4 cup condensed cream of mushroom soup
1/3 cup milk
1/2 cup cracker crumbs
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

Cut and cook eggplant in salted water until tender. Drain eggplant and combine with the soup, onion, and milk. Put into a buttered baking dish and sprinkle the cracker crumbs and grated cheese over the top. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Serves 6.

SPINACH CASSEROLE This recipe was found in an old Midwestern cookbook.

3 boxes frozen chopped spinach1 cup sour cream1 pkg onion soup mix4 tbsp butter1/2 cup bread crumbs1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Cook and drain the spinach. Mix sour cream and onion soup mix. Toss with the spinach until well coated. Empty into a lightly greased casserole dish. Melt the butter and add the bread crumbs and cheese. Add to top of casserole. Bake at 325 for 30-40 minutes or microwave 8 to 10 minutes on high.

DONNA'S SCALLOPED CARROTS This is another old recipe from the midwest.

1 sm onion (grated)
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt (I recommend using less!)
1/4 tsp mustard
1/8 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp celery salt
2 cups milk
12 carrots, sliced and cooked
1/2 lb sharp process cheese, grated
3 cups buttered crumbs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large skillet saute the onion in the butter until onions are tender; add flour, seasonings, and milk. Cook until mixture is thick. In a 2 1/2 quart casserole dish (I recommend a light spraying with nonstick cooking spray), arrange a layer of carrots and a layer of cheese. Repeat layers until all the carrots and cheese are used, ending with cheese. Pour the hot sauce over all. Top with the buttered crumbs. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings.

*You can substitute 1/4 pound of American cheese for half the sharp cheese, if desired.

Enjoy!

How To Make A Perfect Chinese Soup - The Secret Tips Yet Simple

Tips in making good quality Chinese soup:

1. Fresh and less fat ingredient is important. Example like skinny meat, fresh fish, shrimp, skinless duck meat or chicken, winter melon, bitter gourd, white carrot, yam, Chinese yam, tomatoes, seaweed, spring sprouts and others are good option for less fat ingredients.

2. Right selection of Chinese herbs since different herbs have different nutritious effects, the best is to understand the nature and effect of the herbs and what our body is lacking off. Example: If our body feel like very heat, ulcer inside the mouth or lips, pimples on our face, we should use some of this ingredients like green beans, seaweed, bitter gourd, lotus seed and etc as the ingredients in our soup. If we always catch cool, cold palm or cold feet symptoms, we should take more "Yang" type of herbs like dried "longan", ginger, ginseng, and others into our soup ingredients.

3. The water for soup making is advise to use mineral water for the best quality and taste.

4. When preparing the poultry for soup making, you must rinse and boil it in hot water for 5 minutes just to get rid of all the cloaked blood, fats and some dirty particles that stick on the surface or inside the bones. This will contributed into a better and sweeter soup at the end.

5. The fire or heat control in cooking soup is the most critical step. The same ingredients can have different taste and effect if the heat control is not properly handle. There 3 type of heat control - the big/high heating (fire), medium heating (fire), and small/low heating (fire). If the soup is always put in high heating position the protein in poultry will be destroyed. When in low heating, you are not allow to open the cover of the pot or add in extra water into it, as this will mix up the proposition of ingredient and water, also the temperature in the soup changed half way and impact the protein dissolving from the meat into the soup, hence impact the taste of the soup.

6. Only add in a dash of salt after the soup is ready to serve, else it will also causing protein in the meat hard to dissolve into the soup, and makes the soup tasteless.

7. For cooking fish soup, the best cooking duration is around 1 hour. For cooking chicken or pork spare ribs based soup, the best cooking duration is around 3 hours.

Just follow these tips, very soon you will master the Chinese Soup cooking skills and be your family big chef in Chinese soup master.

Regional Cuisine: As American As Apple Pie

We love baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet - or so an old ad for Chevrolet tells us. Apple pie is as American as… well.. apple pie. If baseball is the All-American sport, then apple pie is the all-American dessert. And while the internet and book stores have spread the recipes far and wide, there are classic apple desserts in every region that are characteristic of the cuisine for that area. Wherever Johnny Appleseed spread orchards, there are recipes that make use of other regional ingredients and traditions to create unique desserts with apples and - whatever!

If you think of apple pie as having two crusts and a filling of apples combined with sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg, some of the regional variations may surprise you. Apple cobbler, apple pandowdy, apple puff, apple crisp, apple brown betty are all variations of apple pie in different regions. The prevailing apple recipes for any region may be affected by the variety of apple that's hardiest and most popular in that area, as well as the style of cuisine that's prevalent.

In New England, for instance, most apple recipes call for Pippins, Granny Smith's or other firm fleshed, sweet varieties of apple that cook up well and lose little moisture when being baked. In Maine, it's not uncommon to find blueberries in your apple pie. In Massachusetts, cranberry apple pie is a favorite. In Vermont, the apples may be sweetened with honey or maple syrup. And in many restaurants on Cape Cod, rather than vanilla ice cream, your piping hot slice of heaven will be served topped with a slice of melting cheese.

In the Southern states, with their predilection for creamy, lightly spiced foods, the most common apple pie recipes include Apple Cream Pie (made with sour cream) and Apple Bourbon Pie, with raisins soaked in bourbon. Raisins soaked in rum are another popular addition to 'apple pie' in the South, especially in New Orleans. Other additions include rhubarb, diced peaches and walnuts.

Midwestern Apple Pie is the classic apple pie - two flaky crusts packed with thick, sweet, juicy apple slices mounded high and vented to let the fragrant steam escape. In Kansas or Missouri, your apple pie will satisfy any purist - served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream that melts into the syrupy filling and adds the perfect touch of creaminess to the mix.

In the South and Southwest you'll find deep-fried apple pie, a variation that matches melt-in-your-mouth flaky fried crust with sweet, diced apples in a syrupy sauce. And in Pennsylvania, the home of the Pennsylvania Dutch, Apple Crumb Pie and Apple Pandowdy take the place of Apple Pie a la Mode on most restaurant menus.

As American as Apple Pie … from coast to coast, Americans have done what they do best - taken a classic and adapted it to suit the ingredients and tastes that surround them. Whether you top it with a sprinkle of cinnamon, a dollop of whipped cream or a slice of sharp cheddar, there's no other food that comes close to being the All-American dessert.

How to Make the Best and Easiest Bread and Butter Pudding

This recipe has been tried and true and taste like a dream of days gone by. It is best served warm with ice-cream or even whipped cream. This is the perfect recipe to use that less-than-fresh bread that you have lying around your kitchen.

This recipe is easy enough that children can make it with minimal supervision.

6 slices of stale or day old bread

5 tsp of butter

1 1/2 cups of milk

3 eggs

1/2 cups raisins (divided)

1/2 pecans or walnuts (divided)

1 tsp vanilla

1 tbsp of cinnamon

1 tbsp sugar for topping- I use brown sugar

Take the bread and butter generously, Place 3 slices in the bottom of a greased and ovenproof baking dish.

Beat the eggs slightly and then add them to the milk. Add the vanilla at this time. Again stir gently.

Sprinkle 1/4 cup of raisins and nuts over the buttered bread. Add half of the milk and egg mixture. Sprinkle 1 tsp of cinnamon on the milky mixture.

The second layer is a repeat of the first and finishes off with the milky mixture. As well as the cinnamon, you will sprinkle 1 tbsp of sugar as you get ready to place dish in the oven. As mentioned I use brown sugar but white also works.

Put the dish in your preheated oven and leave for 45 minutes or until a knife comes out cleanly.
Serve warm with ice cream and you have a remnant of ages past.

Bread and Butter pudding has been around since first bread was made. It is a comfort food and uses up your leftover bread. This is a simple to follow as well as foolproof method to make one of the yummiest puddings around. Let the kids help and have a family time of it.

Nuts Health Benefits - How Edible Nuts Can Increase Your Health

With the many varieties of edible nuts on the market are you limiting yourself to only a few? Each nut has its own benefits so you should be sure to get many kinds into your diet. The most common nut that is eaten by people is peanuts. The peanut has been shown in studies to reduce the risk of heart disease, however you shouldn't limit yourself to this one type of nut.

Walnuts are high in Omega-3 fatty acids. This nut is one of the best plant based sources of this oil.

Omega-3 fatty acid is an unsaturated fat. This is the good fat that your body requires to function properly. Saturated fat is the bad fat that you find in most meats and butter. That is the type of fat that you should avoid.

Nuts will also increase your good cholesterol and lower your bad cholesterol. The nuts health benefits from this alone should get you to thinking about eating more nuts.

Other types of nuts that you should try to incorporate into your diet are good at lowering your risk for coronary artery disease.

Here are a few common ones:

1. Almonds
2. Hazelnuts
3. Pistachios
4. Macadamia

If you are looking for a nut to help you control hunger between meals, the pecan is very high in fiber.

Fiber gives you that full feeling that helps you to not eat as much during a meal and keeps you full longer. Fiber also boosts your digestive system into overdrive and causes it to burn a lot of calories to digest your food. This will help you to meet your weight goals by making your body burn more calories.

These are some great reasons to start adding more edible nuts to your diet.

Don't waste any time finding our more nuts health benefits and how they can help you.

Three Delightful Rump Roast Recipes

Rump roast or round steak is very easy to prepare and great for serving a large group of people. Rump roast can be served with just about any side dish you can imagine and is very versatile. It is also very tasty and has a very low fat content but it can also be tough if not prepared properly. By using a few different cooking techniques you will learn what methods and recipes you like best. The following three recipes are simple to prepare and will leave your guests wanting more.

Baked Rump Roast

This is about the easiest recipe you will find for rump roast but it turns out very good. Simply use about a four pound rump roast with one can or packet of french onion soup and a few tablespoons of vinegar. After placing the roast in a pan, pour the vinegar on it and set it an a preheated 350 degree oven. After the roast has cooked for an hour, add the onion soup to the pan and place back in the oven for about three more hours.

Italian Rump Roast In The Crock Pot

This is a very unique and tasty recipe that is also easy to prepare. Add a couple cans of tomato sauce, Italian seasoning mix, and a large jar of spagehhti sauce to a three or four pound roast. Put everything in your crock pot and season with garlic salt. Now top the roast with about a half cup of chopped onions and cook for a bout seven hours on the low setting. Serve over rice or pasta.

Grilled Rump Roast

This is my personal favorite and if you are short on time, this will be your best bet. You will need a four or five pound roast, a packet of onion soup mix, and a quarter cup of both mustard and water. The first thing you will need to do is brush the mustard on to the meat. Then you will drizzle the onion soup mix on the roast and then roll the meat in aluminum foil. Now simply grill the roast for about two hours over medium heat and you are ready to serve.

All three of these recipes are delicious and easy to prepare. You will just need to decide which one suits your taste.

Delectable Sweet Pastries For Everyone

The delightful small sized sweets such as the brownies, cookies, and muffins are the pastries we all know and love. Served in diminutive sizes, yet they are baked the same way as other sweet pastries. These mini sweets are great selection to serve during diverse occasions; their design is diverse and can be customized.

These sweet pastries placed in frosting types and artworks can provide infinite varieties or flavorful mixes. Most are prepared from the premium ingredients like tasteful flavor of customary pastries. Sweet treats can also be edible celebration gifts to your loved ones, mainly for sweet toothed persons; and these molded chocolates can make charming final touch. These treats can also be centerpiece adornments because of its miniature size, which can be from one to three inches in diameter, with adorable designs can liven up tables in any occasion or party and they can be also seat decors bearing the guests' names. It is an ideal tailored and time-saving dessert.

You can reorganize a variety of pieces together to create designs for your baked cookies. For instance, put collectively eight muffins that resembles flower. If you want to create a train design for your children's party, you can collectively place together five to six blocks of brownies. Baked sweets can also be designed in resemblance of adorable animals that kids will like. It can even form the shape of fruits like strawberries, apples, or mangoes. For romantic events like anniversaries, heart-shaped cookies are incredibly passionate while you can put a letter per cookie, muffin, or brownie on top to shape the words you deem to declare. A lot of brownies and muffins variation and appearance proffer fewer disarray and no leftover. They will be bringing along sugary and exciting bit through its solitary serving size. There is no hassle in storing these depending on the person’s ingenuity.

These small, delectable delicacies are usually wrapped in brittle cellophanes when given out as Christmas gifts. These baked goodies can make grand giveaway too, such as in weddings, baptism, and other lively ceremonies. They can be given out to guests after the celebration as souvenirs as they are packaged in attractive boxes with handles. The buffet fashion cookies, brownies, and muffins are already frosted and pre-cut with enjoyable flavor like the more popular flavors of chocolate, cheese, oatmeal, caramel, and other varied fruits. These pastries also come in mini Swiss rolls, mini spring rolls, butter crisp, milk flake, cupcakes, pies, biscotti, and donuts tarts. Each and every pastries can be given out in packs of twelve or more as it can also be served in huge party of fifty to seventy pieces. Diverse varieties are filled in separately designed trays and boxes according on their capacities.

Try to match up one large cake with just one tasteful aroma against a lot of petite pastries with diverse flavor. Certainly, the flexibility of the sweet treats has definitely loved by a lot of people. Baked goodies are beautiful and tasty. A variety of designs and flavors is what's great about these tiny delectable that every people will surely like.

Do You Want To Know Italian Food Eating Style

When it comes to talking about Italy, food is everything - sitting around a table after a long day working or at the beach, it is food that brings the family together. Discussions about life, family matters, Italian politics and the world as a whole are quite popular during meal times when extended families sit for hours.

Italians love sitting down to eat with their immediate family, the whole process is different than that in England. There may be family members sitting around a table, but it’s not the same experience. Meal times are a fairly relaxed affair in Italy; there is no urge to eat your meal down as quickly as possible, to rush off to do something else. The food is brought to the table at a relaxed pace and eaten slowly; afterwards, of course, the family talk follows.

In case of a big family gathering, the preparations start hours in advance of the arrival of the first guest and continue till much later, as the hosts usually prepare much more food than needed. The event gets underway only when everyone arrives – it is like an un-written rule that until all the guests arrive and all food is prepared, no one gets in the mood to enjoy. Children, however, are an exception to this rule posted at mexicanfoodsrecipes.com, as they tend to get past watchful eyes of adults, and pinch salami and cheese from the table.

Finally, when you do sit down for the meal, it is a very long, relaxed and drawn out process. Generally, Italians can sit down to a ten-course meal, eaten for over three hours pointed out by italianfood-recipes.com. There will be more courses if the family gathering is bigger, as everyone usually brings something with them to add to the table - a good traditional homemade Italian food. The courses are generally rather small and are usually served on large platters in the center of the table, within easy reach of everyone at rentbarcelonaapartment.co.uk/planning_europe_vacation.htm. If you are new to this experience; remember, not too get so full on the fist few courses that you regret not having space for another course further down the line.

There is never ever anything like a quiet Italian dinner table something is always going on! The older men sit at the head of the table discussing the old days, the women usually rush back and to from the kitchen with more trays of food, the younger generation, compete to be heard when all sit around the center of the table discussing the state of the world and the children do all that children normally do.

Even as the meal reaches it’s grand finale, most members stays around the table with conversations going on for hours, or maybe a game or two of scopa. The event gets underway only when everyone arrives – it is like an un-written rule that until all the guests arrive and all food is prepared at Chinese website chinesefoodsrecipes.com, no one gets in the mood to enjoy. Children, however, are an exception to this rule, as they tend to get past watchful eyes of adults, and pinch salami and cheese from the table. A traditional Italian card game – though a few people may saunter off to relax!

The 5 Best Cookies For Kids!

Both young and the old ones love and enjoy the sweet treats brought by cookies. Children most especially are hooked with these little bites of sweetness. Different terms and names are given to these delicious cookies. Spaniards name them as galletas while English people termed them as biscuits.

Germans name these small goodies as kels whereas people from Northern part of America name them cookies. Earliest forms of cookies actually were just tiny cakes known as koeje, a simple Dutch term for small cakes. This term koekje later developed and become cookie. Regardless of the label or name given to this delicious and aromatic flavor, they remain good treats for all children.

Usually, children love sweets or cookies which are bought commercially. In a report given by www.timeforkids.com, there were five in demand brands of cookies in the market.

1. Oreo which sells around $519 M (million) annually
2. Chips Ahoy sells around $347 M (million) annually.
3. Chips Deluxe earns $160 M (million) per year.
4. Newton gets $137 M (million) in one year.
5. Fudge Shoppe earns around $127 M (million) in one fiscal year.

Even if kids enjoy cookies which are bought from stores, children still love the ones made from their homes. Children enjoy baking while the parents find quality moments with their children in this activity.

When you want to give your children some freshly baked cookies at home, here is a list of the most popular and tasty cookies which children love.

1. Gingerbread Flavor Cookies: Gingerbread always brings delight to all children because these tasty treats usually are baked in numerous figures and designs. Plus, frosting is being used also to decorate these delicious cookies adding to their appeal. The ingredients are: flour, butter/margarine, sugar (granulated), soft butter, cinnamon powder, molasses, baking agent, ginger powder, crushed cloves, salt, grated nutmeg and leavening soda.

2.Double Choco-Chip Cookies: Double choco-chip flavored cookies are a favorite of most children. Ingredients are: sugar, salt, flour, butter, eggs, vanilla, leavening soda, cocoa (powder unsweetened), buttermilk and partially sweet choco-chips.

3.Peanut Butter cookie: Undoubtedly, this flavor is very much liked by children. You may enhance the flavor by using known brands such as: Jiffy, Skippy or Peter Pan peanut spread. When you want, you may combine it with choco-chips. You may also make your cookies healthier by using peanut spread that has no preservatives. The ingredients are: brown or unrefined sugar, eggs, peanut spread, butter/margarine, flour, shortening, leavening agent, salt, sugar (granulated) and baking agent.

4.Choco-Chip Cookies: Choco chip cookies are really famous to children. They feel soft, moist and chewy. You may consider the usual choco-chips, milk-choco chunks and gourmet choco-chips. Any of them would be a sure hit with your children. The usual ingredients are: eggs, melted unsalted margarine or butter, brown or unrefined sugar, flour (all-purpose), white or refined sugar, salt, vanilla, leavening agent and lastly partially sweet choco-chips/chunks.

5.Sugar-Flavored Cookies: This flavor of cookies is sweet and delicious. Plus, this cookie may be cut in various figures and designs. Ingredients are: margarine/ butter), sugar (granulated), flour (all-purpose), leavening soda, eggs, salt, vanilla and cream of tartar.

Children enjoy and love the sweet and delicious taste of cookies - that is why offering them these treats will surely give them much delight.

Potato Salad Recipes - How to Prepare Cold Dishes in the Chinese Vegetarian Cuisine

Before we come to the potato salad recipes, it is necessary to talk about potatoes first. Potatoes are one of the five big substance that human being live on. They are indispensable from the diets of both the East and the West.

In my opinion, potatoes are so popular on the dinning table because they can be cooked in various ways. They can be steamed, toasted, stir-fried and even made into salads. I made a challenge of living on potatoes for one whole week without repeating recipes. I found out that countless potato recipes are available if you really look into them. You can see a spot in the potato salad recipes that we are going to talk about below.

To make salads, the ingredients should be edible at first. That is why fruits are often used for salads. However, potatoes can not be eaten raw. So they have to be made edible in advance. There are two methods that can be used to do this in the Chinese cuisine - steaming and scalding.

In my opinion, steaming is the easiest way. All that we need to do is washing the potatoes clean, putting them into a steamer, placing the steamer on a pot containing some water and turning the heat on. However, scalding involves boiling some water, shredding the potatoes and straining the shreds.

After the potato is done, we need to cut the steamed potato into any shape that we like and then season them in order to complete the potato salad recipes. In this step, you can just rely on your preferences for tastes and flavors. I like such seasonings as soy sauce and soy bean paste.

Mouth Watering Vegetable Recipes For the BBQ Any Time of Year

Everyone knows that vegetables are an essential part of a healthy, balanced diet. Unfortunately, many people have a pre-conceived idea that veggies taste bad, or that they lack flavor. In fact, numerous adults and children do not eat even close to the daily recommended amount of veggies because of these pre-conceived ideas, or because they have no idea how to prepare them to bring out all their flavor.

There are some really innovative ways to cook veggies, on the stove top, in the oven, and even on the barbecue using nearly any outdoor grill or smoker. One such product, the Rib-O-Lator, allows home cooks to prepare delicious veggies using a rotisserie system.

Unlike traditional rotisseries, the Rib-O-Lator can effectively be used for cooking nearly anything. The system utilizes four trays that mount on your grill's existing rotisserie rod. Each tray has a solid bottom and side walls to hold food in place and prevent tasty juices from dripping away. This design makes the Rib-O-Lator perfect for preparing vegetable dishes. It is also very simple to use.

Other veggie cooking options on the BBQ include grilling baskets and skewers to kabob your food. The grilling baskets are excellent for smaller pieces of meats and vegetables because they are designed to allow you to flip or stir the food without fear of it falling through the grill. Using skewers to create veggie kebabs works well for larger chunks of most vegetables. The following recipe is just one of the simple and tasty options that you can make on the grill.

Rotisserie Eggplant Mixed Grill

2 TBSP Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 TBSP Balsamic Vinegar
2 TBSP Chopped Basil (Fresh)
2 TBSP Chopped Oregano (Fresh)
2 TBSP Chopped Parsley (Fresh)
1 TSP Salt
1/2 TSP Black Pepper
6 Cloves Minced Garlic
1 Red Onion
18 Trimmed Asparagus Spears (if doing skewered veggies, you might substitute Zucchini)
12 Mushrooms (try Crimini for extra special flavor)
1-1lb Eggplant
1 Red Bell Pepper
1 Yellow Bell Pepper

1. Cut the onion and bell peppers into wedges. Remove the stems from the mushrooms, and slice the eggplant into 1/4 inch thick rounds.

2. Combine olive oil, vinegar, basil, oregano, parsley, salt, pepper, and garlic in a large re-sealable plastic bag and mix well. Add onion, eggplant, bell peppers, mushrooms and asparagus (or zucchini). Seal the bag tightly and shake gently to ensure that the marinade covers all the vegetables. Place the bag in the refrigerator for about 2 hours. Turn the bag over occasionally.

3. Preheat the grill to a high heat setting. If you are using the Rib-O-Lator, make sure you have it in place during the heating stage. Lightly grease the trays. If you are using vegetable baskets, it is advisable to lightly grease a grilling basket and place the veggies inside it. Wooden skewers, which would work great for the above recipe, should be soaked prior to skewering the veggies to keep the wood from catching fire.

4. Once the grill is heated, put the vegetable mixture in the trays, and turn on the grill's motorized spit or rotate the spit manually. Allow the vegetables to cook for 6 to 8 minutes, or until they are tender. If using a grilling basket, you will need to flip your veggies halfway through cooking, and skewers could require even more attention since they are closer to the open flame. Depending on how hot the grill is, less cooking time may be required.

To add even more flavor to vegetables, why not try a grill smoking system? Pre-flavored wood chips (think flavors like apple, pecan, cedar, hickory) are readily available in stores and via the web. Adding these flavor enhanced wood chips in the grill create even more rich, unique taste sensations. Rotisserie cooking and cooking with flavoring accessories are perfect methods for preparing fresh vegetable dishes that are delicious as well as healthy.

You Don't Need Sodas: Try These Healthier Options

I think I've been addicted to sodas ever since I was a kid. It was my favorite thing to drink at the age of five, and it's still my favorite drink over 30 years later. There's some kind of fix that a soda satisfies that other drinks simply can't.

The sweetness of soda can't be beaten in my mind. Some of my favorites, like cream soda, give me just the right amount, and a unique sense of satisfaction. As I get older, though, I fully acknowledge the fact that it's a habit I'd be better off putting an end to.

I can go on for hours about all of the reasons not to drink soda. Many experts believe that it's one of the leading contributors to obesity, and I'm not surprised. Unfortunately, I've gone on a soda hiatus. Surprisingly, it hasn't been as bad as I thought it would be.

If you're at a loss for what to drink in its place and can't come to terms with the idea of drinking water all day, any one of these drinks might do the job for you.

Go for a seltzer if you still need some bubbles in your life. Sure, it won't be as sweet as soda, but they make flavored versions that you might enjoy some more. The best thing about seltzer is that it has no calories.

Some people simply need a little more flavor in a drink. If that's the case, try out any of the carbonated juices offered by Izze or Fizzy Lizzy. These are both great treats that have become wildly popular during the last few years.

Yet another possibility is green tea. This will give you a more holistic experience, but there are some great health benefits that come with the drink. If you don't like the thought of drinking something hot, make some iced green tea.

All it takes is one substitute, and you'll be well on your way. Try out each of these in the hopes that you enjoy one of them as much as I do.

How To Make a Chocolate Cake

Do you want to start making birthday cakes but don’t know where or how to get started? You can stop worrying now as this article will provide you with the basic steps on how to prepare the best birthday cake!

Similar to cooking different styles of cuisine for special occasions, making birthday cakes also requires skill, effort, time, and a budget. If you want to prepare a chocolate cake to surprise your best friend or relative on their special day, you need to make sure you are prepared so that it doesn’t become a stressful event.

Chocolate cake is often a favorites with many people in the UK and America and there are many varieties depending on the ingredients that you use and the baking times.

Therefore before you start preparing a chocolate cake, you really need to find out the utensils needed, the recipe as well as the procedure to get it done well.

The Utensils for baking chocolate cakes includes:

9 inch Pan
A Large Bowl
A Cooking Spoon
Measuring Cups
Tooth Pick

Below is the Recipe of Chocolate Cake:

All-purpose flour – 11/2 cups (375ml)
Granulated sugar – 11/4 cups (300mil)
Coca -1/2 cup (125ml)
Baking powder – 1 tsp. (5ml)
Baking soda – 1 tsp. (5ml)
Salt – 1/2tsp. (5ml)
Hard Margarine – 1/2cup (125ml)
Large Eggs – 2Vanilla – 1 tsp. (5ml)
Hot Water – 1 cup (250ml)

For you to successfully bake your chocolate cake, the procedure below can aid you

Measure all 10 ingredients in a large bowl base on the order given. Beat on low speed until moistened. Then beat on medium for about 1 minute, scraping down sides of bowl, till it gets smooth. Have your pan greased. Bake in 350F (175C) oven for about 35 minutes and then stick the tooth pick in and out the until tooth pick comes out clean. Cool in pan for 5 minutes, before icing. Have it sliced into 16 pieces.

A Pecan Pie Recipe That Is Both Healthy And Delicious

Why does everybody assume that every healthy dessert is uninteresting? Here is a prime example of a deceivingly simple pecan pie recipe that is just perfect for the health-conscious people of todays world. This pecan pie recipe is guaranteed to be healthy for you while being absolutely delicious at the same time. Besides the obvious benefits of pecans (they happen to be full of nutritional food values and make great healthy dishes), this pecan pie recipe was handed down for generations, so you know its got that old-fashioned home cooked goodness about it!

There is no way you could not love this pecan pie recipe, which is a lot of peoples all-time favourite! And anybody who gets their hands on it is extremely lucky. So now, here is a pecan pie recipe passed down for generations that tastes just as good on special occasions as any other time of the year a pecan pie recipe that everyone will love and only requires around 15 minutes to create.

The Ingredients:

1 unbaked deep pie shell or several smaller pie shells
3 eggs1/3 of melted butter
Between 1 and a 1 cups of pecan halvesteaspoon of salt
1 cup of maple syrup (pure)
2 teaspoons of molasses

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and then combine all of the ingredients above in a bowl until they are thoroughly mixed. Once done, add your pecan halves and continue to beat. Put your pie shell into your pie pan and lay it on top of a cookie sheet to prevent spillages that could damage your oven while baking. Once it is ready, carefully pour the resulting pie filling into the shell and place it into your oven. Be careful when placing it, though, since the mixture is a fairly viscous liquid that could spill. The pie will be finished in either 50 minutes or whenever you can insert a knife into it and pull it out without any residue left on it.One serving suggestion for this pecan pie recipe would be to serve the pie hot with some vanilla ice cream on the side, but you can serve it however you want and still find that no one can resist this wonderful pecan pie recipe. Plus, while the baking time may take around 50 minutes; the actual preparation time for it would only be 15 minutes. This pecan pie recipe is guaranteed to get you numerous compliments, so be sure to give it a shot! You wont be disappointed!

Hawaiian Host Dark Chocolate Macadamia Nuts

What's a Good Cup of Coffee?mauna loa chocolate covered macadamia nuts
Quality, not surprisingly, starts with the plants plants genetic makeup is one of the most significant taste important factors.

sicknesses is necessary for high quality production.

Elevation is typically say to steer the coffees taste significantly.
Temperature has effects on a beans development, which translates into an assortment of flavours.

Temperature is relative to nearness to the equator, and that being closer produces hotter temperatures. Does our coffee regions are at lower elevations than most other states.
Out of the field, a lot of the processing impacts quality. Wet processing taste different from dry processing. Forced air drying can do taste different own child drying. How long the coffee is aged for roasting will also play a part. These differences are neither good nor bad, they're just preferences.

Once the green coffee has left the farm, it is subject to the talent of the roaster. Once roasted, the coffee has a limited lifespan, and its quality will start to say no.
Exposure to oxygen is a major culprit staling process. The age at which a roasted coffee is no longer desirable depends, naturally, on the drinker. Particular drinkers can start to notice staling in about two weeks. However , most shakers possibly won't notice it for four to 6 weeks.
The final factor affecting the cup quality is how the coffee is brewed. Each method is affecting the taste in its own way.

6 factors produce a spread of unique tasting experiences :

- The particle size of the grounds
- The water temperature
- The water pressure during extraction
- The materials that boxes are made from : plastic, metal, glass, and so on.
- The contact time between the coffee and water
- the kind of filter

The continuous invention of gadgets and gizmos that serve, brew, store and celebrate coffee in the home suggests that folk experienced coffee in an intimate, private level.
Coffee means something to us and says something about us. The increased demand for express roast levels, origins and ethical coffees demonstrates an awarenesss of our senses. Coffee is not just coffee.

The infusion of coffee into our mental framework is best exemplified by the modern barista. 'Barista' is the Italian word for a bartender in an Italian-style bar. in English, a barista is the person making and serving the coffee, generally in a coffee-house. Some baristas take their craft gravely. Like sportsmen, they commit immeasurable hours to improving their talents. Some join the Barista Guild of America and take part in renowned barista competitions.
Coffee has become entwined with our collective psyche.

If you seem upset about the standard of the coffee you drink, then take your coffee drinking experience to a higher level and try one of many sorts of Hawaiian Kona coffee ; all heavenly, and all terribly cheap.

Teach Your Kids How To Bake Yummy Banana Bread

Baking is definitely one good way to bond with your children.They'll have fun stirring the yummy mixtures in your bowl (and putting their finger on it too so they can lick the leftover batter).

Admittedly, letting your children loose inside your kitchen with you could create a huge mess, but what's a little clutter and spill compared to a great experience that you will share with them? Not to mention if you end up baking delicious banana bread that you will share with your whole family.

The children will see how painstakingly you prepare the food that you serve them and they will appreciate the time and effort you spend in preparing their favorite treats. Plus, you could also teach your children how to take directions as you anticipate them of the succulent results that lie ahead.

Mashed up bananas give the bread its distinct light sweet flavor. It became a staple in American cookbooks, especially when baking powder and baking soda became immensely popular during the 1930s.

It was speculated that banana bread originated during the early 18th century. Because of the simplicity of the recipe, banana breads became more and more popular as time went by.
Indeed, there's nothing like smelling the aroma of sweet banana and cinnamon when you pull the bread out of the oven. The delightfully crisp crust, with its mouth-watering golden brown color, is absolutely one of the best in the world.

The quality of the bananas that you will choose in making the bread is a huge factor that contributes to the taste of the finished product.

Lots of people believe that the best bananas for the bread are the ones with flesh that already turned soft and skins that already turned brown. Normally, people would throw away these overripe bananas, but this can actually be used to create the perfect banana bread.

Here are the recipe ingredients that you will need for baking banana bread:

3-4 pieces of mashed up bananas 1.5 cups of flour 1/2 tsp of salt 2 eggs, slightly beaten 1 tsp of vanilla extract 1/4 cup of softened butter

Mix eggs, sugar, vanilla extract and butter together into your big bowl. Toss in mashed up bananas then stir well. Add in salt and flour to your bowl then stir them up until evenly blended. Be careful not to over-stir though.

Next, pour mixture into 2 well-greased loaf pans, making sure that it is evenly distributed. Now put the pans inside the oven and bake cake at around 350 deg. F for 45 mins. To check that the cake is ready, insert a clean toothpick at the center. If it comes out of your cake clean, then you can take it out of the oven.

Cooking Asparagus The Fun And Easy Way

Preparation is the key when you're going to cook asparagus. There are several methods of cooking boiling, grilling, steaming, or roasting. The microwave is also a good option when cooking asparagus. Cut the asparagus into sections and you can use it in stirfries you can also blanch the asparagus and use it in vegetable dips. Of course, there's nothing like steamed asparagus with butter, salt, and pepper.

When buying asparagus make sure that it is fresh, the asparagus will taste much better and can be kept for two to three days when properly stored. Once you get the asparagus home and ready to prepare, you'll need to trim it. The easiest way to trim asparagus before cooking is to simply do it by hand by bending the stock until it breaks. If it will not break but only bends, it is probably old and will not be as fresh as you would like it. Some cooks prefer to peel the bottom of the stocks this is not really necessary but sometimes helps when the stocks are a little woody. Contrary to popular belief the thicker asparagus is actually more flavorful than the pencil thin variety that most people want to buy.

An easy way to peel asparagus if you decide to go that route, is to lay a stalk on the counter or a cutting board and use a vegetable peeler. Starting at the top of the asparagus peel all the way to the end. The main reason anybody would peel asparagus, as I mentioned above, would be to make the asparagus more tender. You don't need to completely peel the asparagus either, simply peel down one one side to allow moisture to enter the asparagus while it is cooking.

If you want to steam the asparagus here is a simple method. After you have timmed your asparagus to the size you need, and optionally peeled it, place them in a saucepan and about an inch of water. Another steaming method you can use when cooking asparagus is to stand them vertically. Make sure you tie the bundles at the bottom and the top so they don't fall over in the pan. They should steam for approximately 5 to 10 minutes depending on the thickness.

Boiling is a great way to cook asparagus also. You want to use just enough water to cover the asparagus but make sure all the stems face the same direction and are covered with water. The asparagus will take between four to six minutes to cook completely, but again that depends on the size.

One method I really enjoy is using the grill. Cooking asparagus on the grill either directly over the fire or on skewers gives a great smoky flavor. Depending how you like them, cook the asparagus for anywhere from 30 seconds to 10 minutes. Another great way to cook the asparagus is to wrap them in foil with a little bit of olive oil and salt and pepper and cook them on the grill for 10-20 minutes. You'll have a great treat.

On those winter days when you really don't want to cook asparagus on the BBQ, another great option is roasting. Simply heat the oven to 425° F, and lay the asparagus flat on a baking sheet lined with foil. You can put any seasoning you want on the asparagus when roasting; salt, pepper, lemon pepper or any other spice that you have on hand are good. You will be rewarded with a nice tender stalk with a roasted flavor in about two to three minutes.

Steps to consider when selecting authentic Indian restaurant for enjoying food

Are you thinking of taking out your family to an authentic Indian food to have a good taste of the authentic cuisines from the subcontinent. If you are in London, then there are many such restaurants that are specially catering to the food choices of the capital city people. In fact, you will find restaurants serving Indian food across the globe. But not all of them are authentic and you should consider these crucial steps to find out one such eating place.

Many restaurants are known for providing an Indian ambience. But do not be fooled by them as such a traditional decoration inside of them may be to cover up for the shortcomings in food quality and even in services. So, while the right ambience is always preferable and depicts the right intentions towards the customers, but do not take it as a guarantee of quality food.

It is always better to have a through knowledge about the authentic Indian restaurant of your choice in your locality. Go to its websites and see if the site is well laid out with lots of information about the food and services. Often, the seriousness of the restaurant towards authentic food and services can be gauged by having a deep look at the site. a non-serious restaurant is unlikely to have a great and professional website.

Get all the food details and the menu. A genuine site takes all the pains in telling you about its preparations that go in cooking the authentic Indian food. It will tell you in detail about the origin of the food in Indian and the ingredients that go into it as well as the cooking methods used by the chefs.

Talk about the authentic Indian restaurant to your friends who have visited it. If most of them recommend it, go enjoy the food. Get the details about the special Indian Food served in the restaurants so that you can order for it right away.

Do not enter a restaurant that does not pay attention to your needs at the table. If your online order or queries are not promptly met by the reception counter, then avoid it as the place is not seriously interested in you. Excellent services inside the restaurants as well as the right décor and ambience are the factors that you should pay attention to while selecting one such place for enjoying the food. Find out one such authentic Indian restaurant in your vicinity for genuine cuisines that are traditionally served in the subcontinent.

Best Chili Recipes-You Can Lose Weight Eating This Low Calorie Chili Recipe!

I love chili! I can eat it anytime of the year and never be unhappy with it! It is fast, and cheap like some of the girls I dated in college but that is another story entirely! Many people think that chili is fattening because of the carbs associated with it in the form of beans. Let me be the first to tell you that no one person has ever gotten fat from eating beans unless they bury them in fat and grease. Period! Chili, if done properly whether it is beef, chicken, or even pork can be a low fat, high protein shot that tastes great! The secret is to get the flavor you want from the ingredients and not from the fat! Believe me, this is not hard to do. Here is a low fat, high protein chili with all the benefits of helping one to lose weight and stay healthy and not have all the fat that can be associated with day to day chili. This chili recipe will serve 6+/- people. In this recipe I will use beef, but you can substitute whatever kind of meat protein that you wish. Chicken, turkey, pork or even tofu if you want to make this a vegetarian style of chili. There are also tofu products that are texturized like tofu sausage that is really excellent for chili recipes. So here we go with the ingredients.

The ingredients you will need are:

1. 1 1/2-2Lbs of lean ground beef. It should be 10% or less if you can get it.
2. 4 garlic bulbs finely chopped.
3 tablespoons of either California or New Mexico chili powder.
1 dash of cayenne for added heat if you like. The thermogenics and metabolism boost from it is good too!
I tablespoon of cumin.
1 teaspoon of smoked paprika.
1 large can of fire roasted tomatoes diced up. These cans are either 26 to 28 oz.
2 15oz can of some kind of red bean either kidney or Louisiana red bean. Pinto beans will do in a pinch though.
1 large onion chopped fine. Either a brown or red onion the choice is yours.
1 1/2 of a cup or more depending on taste of canned diced chilie. The Hatch chilie variety is best in my opinion.
3 to 4 tablespoons of tomato paste.
1 or 2 dashes of worcestshire sauce.
1 one little dash of salt or sea salt or even season salt, or you can leave the salt out for your guests to add themselves. I know salt make you hold water, but is some cases you just have to have some to bring the flavors of your food out.

OK! Lets cook:

1. Get your hands on a large skillet of either the non stick, stainless steel or my favorite a cast iron skillet and take your very lean ground beef and brown it up. When the beef is browned and not burned, it is time for you to drain off the excess fat from the skillet. I usually put the beef in a bowl and then take another bowl and place it on top of the bowl with the beef and squeeze down and tip sideways over the sink and squeeze all that extra fat out of the beef. I leave what little grease is still in the pan and if there is too much I drain it out until only a slick remains.

2. Now it is time for you to put the beef back into your skillet and put the garlic, chili powder, and cumin in for you to mix together on a low medium heat. When the total ingredients in the skillet are hot and simmering as you can tell from the little bubbles on the sides of the skillet it will be time for you to add y our tomatoes, onions, chilies, beans, and tomatoes to the recipes and stir them together and let them blend. It is good to let this mixture cook for 2 to 4 hours on low simmer and you should check it every now and again with your spoon to see if you want to add anything to this recipe. About ten minutes before the dish is done add your worcestshire sauce, smoked paprika and salt. Keep on low for another thirty minutes and then turn the heat off and let the flavors marry to each other. When your guests arrive it is chow time!

Note: If you feel that this chili recipe comes out too loose and your want to maintain it's low calorie status, then you can thicken it up by adding 4 tablespoons of arrow root to 3 to 4 tablespoons of water. Mix these two ingredients together and then pour into your chili mixture and stir and this will thicken it up without any added calories or added carbs.

How to Boil Crawfish

Are you an avid crawfish fan or a one-man party planner? Here's how to make your next event into a full blown crawfish boil.

What you need:

- Boiling pot with burner and propane
- 35lb sack live crawfish(or about 2-3 lbs per person)
- Large Cooler to Clean(Purge) Crawfish
- Large Bag of Crawfish or Crab Boil (Louisiana, Zatarain's)
- Smoked Sausage cut up into large pieces (optional)
- Whole mushrooms (optional)
- Red Potatoes - small
- Corn on the Cob - cut into sections
- Also optional - Lemon, Garlic Heads cut in half, Newspaper to serve cooked crawfish on

Step 1:

First, you'll need to clean or 'purge' the crawfish. Some prefer to use salt to purge their crawfish. It's not necessary but whatever your preference is. Dump the crawfish into a Large cooler. Wash off the crawfish with water hose and rinse out the water until the water is no longer dirty. Be sure to remove ALL dead crawfish then let the crawfish sit in the clean water for at least an hour. You can now add saltto the water if you prefer.

Step 2:

Now, while your crawfish are soaking, you want to fill your boiling pot up two-thirds with water. Pour in the bag of seasoning, or wait to season the water after you cook your potatoes and corn if you don't like extra spicy potatoes and corn. Place the pot on the burner, turn the gas on a little, light the burner, then put the gas on high. Once the water boils put in the potatoes. Check the potatoes. They should cook completely in about 30 minutes. When they are halfway done put in the corn along with the potatoes. This is also a good time to add the optional ingredients like sausage, lemons, garlic, mushrooms.

When corn and potatoes are done remove them and other ingredients from the pot.
You can now fill your boiling basket with crawfish and add the crawfish boil seasoning to the water if you haven't already. Once the water returns to a boil put the basket of crawfish into the pot. Cook the crawfish until the water returns to a boil then remove them.

Step 3:

This is the best step. Spread out the newspaper and dump the crawfish out on it along with the corn and potatoes and other fixins' and you got yourself a genuine, bonafide crawfish boil! Enjoy!

How to Cook Corn On The Cob On The Grill

Here is a simple good guide about how to cook corn on the cob on the grill.

The first step you should do with the corn is to shuck off the husk of the corn.
To ensure the cooking is properly done in the corn you should make sure the husk is removed cleanly so that you will get the beautiful grill marks.
Wash the corn after you have removed the husk. You need to make sure that there isn't any "hair" left from the husk.
Put a paper towel on a plate and set the ears of corn on top of the paper towel. Try to get as much water off from the corn as possible.

Next it is time to make the spread that is going on the corn. Take a stick of butter but ensure that it is soft enough for spreading.
To test this, use the back of a fork and check if you are able to press the fork down through the butter without much strain.
Take 2 teaspoons of celery salt and add it to the butter.

Then, take a teaspoon of fresh ground pepper (regular pepper will work but it won't taste as fresh as the one that you grind yourself.)
Add in a pinch of basil to the butter mix. Then you add half a cup of fresh shredded Parmesan.
This is step is crucial as it will be the trick that makes your corn from okay to fantastic.
Don't use grated Parmesan either as that doesn't melt like the shredded Parmesan does.
Add all of these ingredients in with the butter and use the fork to combine them into an almost pasty butter spread.

Be very liberal with how much spread you put on the corn.
A big part of them will fall off during the cooking process so you want to make sure that a lot of it sticks to the corn.
I personally cook this at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes making sure you turn them over regularly so that the corn doesn't burn on one side but not cooked on the other.
Be prepared for flare up if you're cooking over a charcoal grill as the butter melts off and drops on the coals.
You will want this to be the last part of the meal you cook because this corn is best served hot.