Easy Cooking Recipes Are Not A Cop Out, They Are A LifeStyle
Easy cooking recipes are basically the only way to go. Why would anyone want to spend hours of time and sweat equity in the kitchen to come up with the same dish and no better than what an easy cooking recipe would deliver. Now mind you, easy cooking recipes are not the equivalent of sub standard recipes. Or recipes that don’t measure up or don’t taste good.
No way! Easy cooking recipes are just that, easy. A lot of how the recipe turns out is the cook. If you are able to follow directions and you love cooking and you have some flare and enjoy ingredients, then they will turn out fantastic. That is exactly what this website is all about.
I love cooking. I love baking, I love experimenting with ingredients and coming up with my own slant on things while in the kitchen. But I really love easy cooking recipes because I have little time.
Like most of you dear readers, I am short on time. I have many demands on my day but the fact is I love to eat and so does my husband. And a fast trip to the fast food joint is not going to cut it at our house. So after playing with the recipes and food ingredients I have mastered being able to manage my time and be able to cook enjoyable dishes.
So if you also enjoy being in the kitchen but don’t have all the time you would like, you might benefit from my efforts. I have some of my own recipes I hope to share with you, and I have been looking around the web finding great ideas and putting my own spin on them. I’ll share those too.
Easy cooking recipes are not a cop out. They are a life style. I hope you will enjoy them.
Chicken Pot Pie, Healthy Eating
You know it is that time of year that we all want to make changes for the better in our diets. All of a sudden a need for healthy eating recipes comes to the foreground. Well I think one of the reasons so many fail is that they set themselves up for failure by trying to eat food that doesn’t taste good or is so far removed from anything they are used to that they just can’t take it.
Well I say, foods that you love can be revised to be lower in fat and calories, delicious and fun and something that you will enjoy eating. Why make it so drastic? Keep it simple. Healthy Eating does not have to be a drudgery or punishment.
This is a recipe from Food Network by Elle Krieger. You know, she is the nutritionist chef on food channel. Well you just won’t believe how simple and delicious this chicken pot pie recipe is. Enjoy!
Strawberry Lemonade Recipe
I am crazy about Strawberry Lemonade. And I love to make it homemade. I have a great Strawberry lemonade recipe that is a go to recipe for summer at our home. But it is just your basic recipe. What I really like to do is spice it up. And sometimes I really do like to try some different spices.
While I was web surfing, I came across this terrific Strawberry lemonade recipe that actually adds the spice, basil. I knew I would love it. And the addition of vodka may be right up your alley. But you could also think about rum or a number of other liquors that would taste great too. Give this a try. Follow the link for the recipe.
Strawberry Basil Lemonade
How many of you like lemonade? Do you make your own or buy the powdered kind from the store. I for one prefer to make my own at home. Just this past week my parents brought me about 10 pounds of fresh lemons from a friends tree in Tucson, AZ. They were HUGE! I mean giant, huge lemons. And you know what they say… when life hands you lemons… you should make strawberry basil lemonade (alcohol optional!)
It has seriously been 80 degrees this week in LA. Its perfect spring/summer weather for me. I am fairly certain that I have improved my tan by at least 2 shades this week just from my runs and driving with the windows down. It’s pretty amazing to say the least. I guess this is why I pay an obscene amount of money for rent. But whatever. It is what it is! I don’t know about you, but when I think of sitting outside and just the summer time in general, I immediately start thinking about refreshing cocktails or other drinks. I just automatically think of sitting with my girlfriends on the beach in Mexico with cocktails. They key to a refreshing spring/summer time cocktail is making sure it isn’t crazy strong because you want to be able to have a few, and you want it to be refreshing and light!
read the rest of this article and get the recipe here.
Gotta Get This Mug
Strawberry Lemonade Mug by MendiSue on Zazzle
Chunky Tomato Soup Recipe
My Friend Correen has managed to make a wonderful Chunky tomato Soup recipe. It is extra fun because she took a well known and well loved soup recipe from a restaurant and successfully downsized the recipe to a more manageable home portions. And it is delicious!! Tomato Soup is my Favorite Soup and having such a delicious easy cooking recipe right on hand is the best!
Homemade Chunky tomato Soup
Here is what she had to say:
While vacationing in Sunriver, Oregon my mom had lunch at The Village Bar and Grill with her friends. The tomato soup that mom had with her sandwich was so delicious that she asked the waitress for the recipe. Evidently the restaurant had this request a number of times because they had the recipe printed out and ready to hand out to customers. Mom was surprised by the simple ingredients in this soup, she thought for sure it was going to be more involved. Knowing that I love tomato soup, my mom has passed on the recipe to me
Get the rest of this article and chunky tomato soup recipe here.
Black Eyed Peas – What’s Not To Love
I have loved black eyed peas since I was young. My mother made them all the time. Sometimes with cut onion slices and cornbread like she used to serve red beans also known as Pinto beans.
And is there any more healthy food on the planet? These days they bother you about fiber so much it almost seems you just can’t get enough. Well beans are going to solve that problem for you. Excellent source of fiber.
But really back to the taste, I am very happy with black eyed peas in particular. I found a great recipe for Hoppin’ John, which as you will see is just some fancied up black eyed peas. Have a look and of course this is an easy cooking recipe as well.
Hoppin' John
This was the year I fell in love with black eyed peas. (The food. Already loved the band.) They have a wonderful flavor, almost smoky, even without bacon or ham. Earlier this last summer we put them in a salad with feta and spinach. So so good.
The dish that black eyed peas are most famous for is Hoppin’ John. No idea where the name came from. And depending on where you are from you might not even call it that, but simply black eyed peas and rice. Hoppin’ John is one of those classic Southern dishes that come with as many versions, stories and flavors as there are cooks. At its core, however, Hoppin’ John is rice, black-eyed peas (or field peas), smoked pork, and onions. Black eyed peas are supposed to bring you luck if you eat them on New Year’s Day, and it is traditionally eaten with collard greens.
So, for this new year, I offer you a hot plate of Hoppin’ John. May we all enjoy its good luck. Happy New Year!
A Fun Way To Write About Food is to Make a Squidoo Lens
Who Knew it would be a new found love of mine. I knew I loved writing about food But I didn’t realize it could also be profitable.
I have been a member of Squidoo for about three years now. I have always written about nursing or animals. But I only recently figured out that I could write about food.
Squidoo is a free website that helps you make your own websites, called lenses, by putting together modules. You can choose which modules you want to use and you can write about pretty much anything. And you get paid for your work.
Well Squidoo just introduced a new module called the recipe module. It was like a light-bulb going off over my head. Wow!! I love that. So I wrote two lenses about food, more specifically desserts. Have a look. The first one is called Quick And Easy Dessert Recipes and it is actually my best performing lens.
The other lens is called Edge Brownie Pan- A Brownie Baker’s Solution This lens is actually a marketing lens trying to get folks to pay attention to this very cool brownie pan that I saw on the Oprah Show.
Anyway, it is very exciting to me and I wanted to share. I hope you’ll have a look and if you like please leave a comment and let me know you were there.
Also if you are not with Squidoo already, here is my Squidoo referral link. I would appreciate your signing up with me.
Garlic Knots, Easy Yeast Bread
I love to bake bread, I really enjoy using my bread machine. But I also like to do it the way my Mom taught me. They didn’t have bread machine baking back in the day, but they sure had the best homemade bread ever.
And don’t be afraid of yeast. It is soooo not difficult. You hear all kinds of scary stories. I am not sure why people try to scare would be bakers. But trust me, it is simple.
I am always on the hunt for new recipes and delicious bread recipes is at the top of my list. I also happen to be a fan of soft pretzels. I really love them, but they are a bit more difficult to make. So I usually buy them.
Well I have found this very neat recipe that is sort of a combination of the two. Yeast rolls and pretzels and it is so good. You are going to love them and it is an easy cooking recipe to boot.
Here is the link to the recipe so you can see the step by step how to, with pictures for each step. Soft Garlic Knots
Here is a video that very simply shows how easy it is to activate your yeast. So stop fearing yeast and get to baking. Yummmm!!
My Mother’s Best Pancake Recipe
There is no way you can not love pancakes. I have eaten pancakes since I was a toddler. I mean every kind of pancake you can think of. Peanut butter and banana pancakes, peanut butter and jelly pancakes. sweet pancakes, bread pancakes. It really doesn’t matter, they are all so good.
My Mom made really delicious pancakes. I remember them in my school years. Yes, I had the type of Mom that would make breakfast for us everyday before the school bus arrived. We loved it.
Anyway I have written an article about it and it includes the most fabulous recipe and easy cooking recipe around. Just read it and follow the steps. No problem.
Here is an excerpt:
Mom Made the best pancakes for Us Back in the 50′s and 60′s, when Food was Real.
You know how they say breakfast is the most important meal of the day? Well turns out they were right. But why? You may ask.
Well I’ll tell you. You just have to know how to make it. I am going to share with you the very best pancake recipe ever. No matter where you come from or how many pancakes you’ve eaten. This recipe is from my mother, from back in the 1950′s. You can not beat it. So just take notes and give this a try.
You’ll need three large eggs, separated into whites and yolks.
You’ll need either butt… From: The Best Pancakes Breakfast Recipe My Mother Ever Made I Mean It
Homemade Caramel Corn- Can’t beat that!
I am crazy about Carmel Corn. Every time my husband and I go to Frankenmuth, a small German town in this great state of Michigan, we buy Carmel Corn. There is a little shop up there that has specialty popcorns. I mean they have everything! Cinnamon corn. Peppermint corn. Chipotle corn. Bacon corn. You get my drift… everything you can think of it.
But the big thing for me is the Caramel corn. For me it is a snack, a treat, even an appetizer for friends when they are coming for dinner and they have some time to wait, why not give them some carmel corn around for their enjoyment?
I have written an article at Factoidz about a great recipe for Carmel corn. It could be an easy appetizer recipe or simply a snack that you might like to try. No reason to drive to Frankenmuth when you can make it in your own kitchen. Here is the article, I hope you enjoy it.
Do you like to go to the movies? I do. And what is the number one thing most people buy when they go to the movies? That’s right! Popcorn! I love popcorn. In all kinds of forms and styles. But my favorite of all is Caramel corn. It is simply the best. A combination of sweet and salty. How can yo beat that. And when you add peanuts you have a snack fit for a king, or maybe I should have said Queen.
There is a shop near where I live that sells so many kinds of popcorn that you absolutely can not decide what kind to get when you go in there. Most people have to buy some of several. They even sell little taste packages for those of us that can’t decide. It is very fun. From:Home Made Caramel Corn Recipe – Why Wait Make Your Own
A Great Cookie Dough Recipe Can Just Make You Smile
I ask you…Who of us doesn’t love cookies? I find them to be comforting and entertaining. A great snack for company or card playing, and almost always an easy cooking recipe. And a great cookie dough recipe is the best kind of cookie out there. Something fun in the kitchen to grab when you need a snack. They can be healthy or crazy, I just love cookies. And you don’t have to spend hours slaving away in the kitchen to be able to enjoy the fruits of your labor.
I have tons of ideas for cookies, in fact I am eating a cookie as I type this. My mom used to just walk into the kitchen a make up a batch of cookies. Right out of her head, no recipe! She was just that gifted in the kitchen. I still need a recipe for baking. But then I usually put my own spin on it. I love to doctor up whatever recipe I am working with and make it more of a “Susan recipe”. I love cooking and I love cookies.
A friend of mine, Beverly Mucha, who is the Winona Cooking examiner over at Examiner.com, is always sharing remarkable and always free recipes with us all. And this week she has a really great one it also fits into the category of easy cooking recipes and it is a cookie recipe! They are called Thumbprint Cookies and they are made from scratch, and talk about a great cookie dough recipe, this is it. And they are the old fashioned kind that has the chocolate kiss in the center. Can you beat that? I hope you’ll enjoy this recipe as much as I do. And let Beverly know you visited.
