Cooking is a priceless skill that can improve your life in many ways. Not only is homemade food tasty and nutritious, it also helps you economize.
When serving salad to guests, leave the dressing on the side. It is much better to let guests add the amount of dressing that they prefer according to their needs. Also, give a variety of different dressings.
When you plan on using wooden skewers for cooking, soak them in water for 30 minutes prior to cooking. If you do this, the skewers won’t burn on the grill. Try using two skewers parallel to one another instead of just one skewer.
Always store baking supplies such as baking mixes, flour, and sugar in airtight containers. These containers do two things to keep your food fresher: they keep bugs from entering them, and they keep air exposure to a minimum. These containers can be bought at just about any store.
Dark greens are healthy to eat, but they are a pain to prepare. Removing all the tough stems is a chore. To make things easier, have the leaf folded in half lengthwise, then from the middle break out the stem. Particularly tough stems can be sliced out of the leaf with a knife. Once you unfold the leaf, your greens will no longer have a stem, but will be in otherwise-perfect condition.
To maintain the flavor and freshness of spices and herbs, make sure you keep them stored in someplace that is cool and dark. Avoid storing them in places that may become warm, such as cupboards located above a stove. This will cause them to lose their flavor, and the money you spent on them will essentially be wasted.
When you make chicken stock make as much as you can. When you prepare stock, make a large amount, so it can be frozen for later use. Homemade chicken stock adds great flavor to everything from soups to casseroles. Once your stock is finished, cool it and put it in heavy freezer bags.
When you want to add a bit of protein to your diet, tofu and beans are a great source of it. Both of these protein-rich foods are available at most grocery stores. Frying the tofu in a low-sodium soy sauce is a tasty alternative to eating meat for dinner! Beans can always be cooked with some spices and herbs for a meal full of flavor and protein.
You can make cinnamon rolls much simpler to slice. After you have cut the cinnamon rolls to be baked, sometimes it is hard to slice before baking. To make easier cuts, put a piece of thread beneath your roll in the place where you will your cut. Next, bring your thread (or fishing line, thin wire, etc) around either side of the roll, crossing the thread as if you’re about to tie your shoes. Then, quickly pull down equally in either direction. This will make your cinnamon roll slices perfect.
If you are looking for new ideas for meals to prepare for yourself or your family two great places to look are the library and the internet, where you can find a vast array of options. Try some recipes and be patient as you develop your skills.
Using these tips, you can cook healthy and enjoyable meals at home very easily. You will find that home cooked meals will save you a lot of money and usually take less time then going to a restaurant. In addition, the entire family can benefit from the healthier lifestyle that home cooking inspires. There is no better time to start preparing your own meals than right now.