Do you ever think that your kitchen feels boring? But taking up cooking as a hobby changes that. Your kitchen then becomes a place where your time spent leads to yummy meals that everyone can enjoy anytime. The tips below will get you started.
Store your dry goods, like sugar, flour, baking mix, and so forth, in airtight containers. You can protect your food from bugs and keep them fresher using an airtight container. These containers can be bought at just about any store.
Add a squirt of ketchup to the batter when making fried foods. You can not only dip foods in ketchup, but you can also use it to dip foods in before you coat them with breadcrumbs. Ketchup will add a spice and dynamic to foods that you never thought about before.
Experiment with everyday vegetables like corn to get your family excited about eating them. Experiment with adding coconut flakes into the corn if you want a Thai-flavored dish that your whole family will love.
If you decide on using fresh herbs, gather them in bunches and snip the stems with scissors. This is perfect for flavorful herbs like dill and parsley. This practice does not get herbs wet like chopping would, and makes them generally fluffier and lighter.
You should limit the amount of seasoning you apply to meat until you have tried it. Different meats including meatballs and meatloaf need to be seasoned carefully. Do not cook all of the meat immediately after seasoning. Take a small portion and cook it so you can give it a taste before your final seasoning. If the flavor of the sample is to your liking, you can procede with seasoning and cooking the entire quantity of meat.
Replace the standby liquids of milk and water in recipes to mix things up. If the recipe has called for water, you could easily use chicken broth, beef broth, or juice when suitable. Substitute sour cream, buttermilk or even yogurt in place of regular milk. By using different liquid ingredients in your side dishes, you can increase their flavor and nutritional value.
Get creative to make cooking fun. Use recipes as guidelines rather than step-by-step instructions. With a little resourcefulness in adding extra ingredients, reducing or altering the amount of spices, or substituting one type of meat or vegetable for another, you can often create a meal that tastes far superior to the original. Turning a simple recipe into something that is uniquely your own is the sign of a true cook.
After eating turkey, whether for Thanksgiving or otherwise, do not throw away the leftovers. Instead, cut them into smaller pieces, and put in some airtight containers that will go in the freezer. This will keep the turkey fresh for a month or more, and can be easily thawed to use in sandwiches, soups, and salads.
To reduce the fat content of your soups or stews, try starting with low-fat or fat-free broth in the beginning. You should next add ample vegetables and substitute your meats for leaner cuts to trim the fat from your pot of soup. Let the soup rest in the refrigerator for a spell once it is fully cooked; you want it quite chilled. This will cause the fat to congeal and rise to the top. Remove these clumps of fat and toss them out. For each tablespoon of fat that you remove, you will have removed approximately 100 calories.
Use these ideas for generating your own. Focus on creating meals that your family and yourself will enjoy like savory meals that everyone will rave about. Cooking can be a recreation that is enriching to your diet as well as your life. Make your kitchen the core of your house.