How many times have you dreaded going into the kitchen to make breakfast, lunch, or dinner? You might need a new perspective. Cooking can be enjoyable and relaxing if you try to see it in another way. Here are a few cooking tips that are sure to get your taste buds tingling and entice your inner chef to come out.
Leafy greens, like kale, collards and mustard greens, have many health benefits. However, they can be a little difficult to prepare at times. Taking out the tough stems may be tedious. There is a way to make preparation much more easy. All you need to do is fold a leaf in half then break or tear the stem from the center. You can also slice the stem out using a knife. When you open up the leaf, a neatly de-stemmed green is the result.
Here is a fresh perspective on pumpkins. First, cut your pumpkin in half from top-down. Lay each half on it’s own cookie sheet with the cut side facing down. Sprinkle the baking sheet with water, and bake the pumpkin for an hour at 350 degrees.
If you are going to be making chicken stock, it is best to go big or not at all. Make a giant pot and store what you don’t use in your freezer. Homemade chicken stock adds great flavor to everything from soups to casseroles. To store your homemade stock, let it cool, pour it into a freezer bag, and stick it in the freezer.
Preparing healthy vegetables can be easy if you choose to saute them in chicken broth. The broth adds flavor to them, while reducing oil that is usually used for sauteing. You will love this cooking style if you just give it a try!
In a lot of cases, burgers will become stuck on the grill, and forcibly removing them will make them all misshapen. Try brushing a thin coating of vegetable oil on the grill or pan to keep food from sticking.
When chopping fresh herbs, try shaking a small amount of salt on your cutting board first. Not only does this add a little extra flavor, it keeps the herbs you are chopping where you want them – on the board. If you add the salt to your cutting board, reduce the salt in the recipe by the same amount, so that you don’t add too much salt to your dish. The salt will stick to the herbs, adding some extra flavor to your dish.
You must start your soup or stew with a stock or broth that is fat free, and then you can make the entire dish basically fat free. Vegetables and lean meats are also good ways to enhance the content and flavor without adding much or any fat. When it is finished, chill the soup before serving it. Excess fat will rise to the top and congeal. Then just take a spoon and scoop off any hardened fat to throw away. For each tablespoon of fat that you remove, you will have removed approximately 100 calories.
If you are cooking dried beans, wait until they have softened before adding any seasonings like garlic or salt. If you add salt or garlic too early, the beans might stop softening, particularly if you are cooking old beans. Hold off on seasoning until you have gotten the beans partially cooked.
Implement these tips into your meals. Once you start tasting, you’ll realized that cooking is a good thing after all. Preparing attractive, tasty meals may even become a hobby you enjoy. You will look forward to trying new recipes and cooking techniques. Give cooking a try!