Last week I was in Italy visiting cheese companies. I learned more than you can ever imagine about cheese and how it’s produced. The quality of the cheeses was so amazing that I don’t think I will ever be able to eat a mainstream, mass-produced cheese again. The first thing I did when I came home was make homemade ricotta cheese. I can’t believe I’ve never made it before… from beginning to end it took about 20-25 minutes....
Preparation For decades, your ultimate goal was to save enough for a comfortable retirement, working under the assumption that you’d be able to leave the workforce, and enjoy your golden years among family and friends. But the day to begin preparing for it is now, and that’s true whether you’re years away from retirement or if it’s coming up soon. Of recently surveyed retirees, only 72 percent said life in retirement was better than or the same as it was before it, according to the Nationwide Retirement Institute (NRI)....
Never fear, intrepid home cook! If you’re like most newbies, you’ll probably be thawing your bird in the fridge the night before you cook it. Or if you aren’t sure how, maybe you’re leaving it on the counter. Turkey-thawing rules can be a little tricky, so I’ve put together a guide with all the information you need. Cooking a turkey can be a daunting task, but it doesn’t have to be!...
Preparation Everyone knows and loves butter. It’s the ingredient that makes pie crusts rich and flaky, the key to irresistible buttermilk biscuits, and a staple that’s used for basic culinary building blocks like roux (a thickener made with butter and flour) or sautéing vegetables. Ahead, we explain why butter is so versatile for cooking and share two of our favorite ways to use butter when a recipe needs a little extra oomph....
This super-easy lemon cake is ridiculously moist and packed with lemony goodness! The frosting on top adds flavor and a rustic flair. It’s so good, no one will believe it came right out of the box. Bring this to your next potluck, and your friends will be shocked at how good you are at baking. Lemon Cake With Yellow Cake Mix Lemon cake with yellow cake mix: cake purists may frown upon the idea, but don’t listen to them!...
You can find a wide range of kitchen appliances on the market with many options to consider. However, this also brings up a question about which appliances are best. If you are choosing between a Magic Bullet or a food processor, then read about the differences between these two appliances and the purposes they serve. The information presented below can help you decide which one to use depending on your needs....
Layers of seasoned ground beef, corn tortillas, chiles, cheese, and corn make our Easy Mexican Ground Beef Casserole with Tortillas a winner any night of the week. It’s easy to make ahead of time and big enough for leftovers or a party! Best Mexican Recipes with Ground Beef I just love Mexican recipes with ground beef. They make for easy and tasty weeknight meals my family enjoys. This Mexican corn casserole recipe is one of my favorite dinners to make of all time....
Preparation Looking for ways to increase your emotional wellness? Getting outside can do wonders, even when it rains. According to Dr. Anisha Patel-Dunn, D.O., psychiatrist, and chief medical officer of LifeStance Health, a provider of virtual and in-person outpatient mental health care, these moments spent outdoors are critical to our wellbeing. “It may sound simple, but things like sticking to a routine, eating nutritious meals, spending time with loved ones, and getting outside every day are all helpful tools to ensure we’re taking care of our overall mental health,” she says....
Preparation When thinking about where to start cleaning in your home, you’ll want to look under your feet: pet hair, food crumbs, and other debris accumulate all day long, every day. If you are trying to figure out how to clean your carpets or hardwood floors in a snap and on a budget, turn to Macy’s Friends and Family Sale, happening right now. The deals include deep discounts on top-rated vacuums, such as the Tzumi ionvac SmartClean V2 Robovac with Gyroscopic Smart Mapping Navigation ($134....
I’ve been seeing these poke cake recipes all over the internet in the last couple of years. As much as I bake, you would think that I’ve surely baked one of them. Nope! This was my first poke cake ever. And it was a grand success. The recipe comes from a new cookbook by my blogging friend Jamie Sherman (she writes the blog, Love Bakes Good Cakes). The book is called, The Poke Cake Cookbook: 75 Delicious Cake and Filling Combinations....
Mini Chicken Tostadas There are so many Mexican things we can’t get here in Australia. Mexican cheeses – like Cotija. Chipotle was really only introduced here a few years ago, and even today you have to go to speciality stores to get it. (Though I do note that Harris Farms has Chipotle in Adobo which is my current flavour obsession!). We don’t even have canned green chilies here! At least, not the type to use in Mexican dishes....
Preparation October is officially here, which means many of us across the country have one thing on our minds: Halloween. While you still have plenty of time to plan out your costume, it’s not too early to start stocking up on candy. Give trick-or-treaters their most spell-binding All Hallows’ Eve yet by selecting a few crowd favorite snacks. To help, candystore.com put together a map (see above) and list of the most popular Halloween candy by state, so you can get a better understanding of what the little ghouls and goblins in your area are craving most....
2 cups green beans 2 cups yellow wax beans 2 cups kidney beans 1 onion, sliced thin ¼ cup green pepper, chopped 2 tbsp parsley leaves 1 tsp celery seed Dressing: 1 cup granulated sugar 1 tsp salt 1 tsp dry mustard 1 tsp pepper 2 tbsp vegetable oil Heat dressing ingredients together in saucepan until sugar is dissolved. Set aside to cool. Toss together the other ingredients in large bowl and pour the dressing all over....
Preparation Over the month of December, and despite our best intentions to water it faithfully, a Christmas tree will inevitably dry out, leaving its branches browned and its pine needles fallen off. And when you go to remove that beautiful tannenbaum from your house, you may find a mess of needles trailing from your living room to the front door. Before you grab the broom or vacuum, know that you can recycle your Christmas tree and its branches....
Preparation When it’s time to pop a bottle of bubbles, most people instinctively reach for a traditional flute glass: the tall, narrow, stemmed drinking vessels we associate with New Year’s Eve toasts and wedding celebrations. But did you know that most wine professionals actually advise against using flutes for sparkling wine? Here, they explain why—plus, the type of glass they reach for instead. For 300 years, the style of glass commonly used to serve Champagne and other sparkling wines was the coupe: a wide, shallow bowl perched on a stem and enjoyed by French aristocrats (if you were dining with Marie Antoinette at Versailles, you undoubtedly would have been sipping from a coupe, as captured in the 1735 painting Le Déjeuner d’Huîtres by Jean-François de Troy, commissioned by Louis XV....
Because we all forget things at the store, right? Even when I have a list, I know something will get missed. It happens to the best of us. You’re halfway through making dinner and open the refrigerator or pantry for an ingredient and…uh oh. You don’t have it. You could’ve sworn you replaced that empty bottle of soy sauce last week. But alas, it’s not there. Luckily, this list will help you solve the problem so you can continue cooking!...
You can customize these versatile treats easily to suit all flavor preferences. Plus, you’ll make them with ingredients that are likely already in your kitchen. Most of them require cake mix, eggs, butter, and maybe a handful of other things. But that’s about it! If you can bake a cake from a boxed cake mix, you can make cake mix cookies. They might even prove to be your new favorite treat!...
3 ½ cups powdered sugar ½ cup cocoa ¼ tsp salt ¼ cup milk 1 tbsp vanilla extract ½ cup butter 1 cup nuts , chopped In a 1 ½-quart casserole, stir sugar, cocoa, salt, milk and vanilla together until partially blended (it will be too stiff to blend thoroughly). Put butter over top in center of dish. Microwave at high for 2 minutes or until smooth. If all butter has not melted in cooking, it will as mixture is stirred....
With the use of various spices – turmeric, coriander, cardamom, ginger, etc. – these foods have so much flavor. In fact, Indian dishes can be a little too rich for some, which is why it’s essential to serve them with sides. And that’s what I have in store for you today: 21 side dishes that are sure to complement your Indian main course. Serve these fabulous sides along with your tandoori, marsala, and makhani for a memorable Indian-themed celebration....
From coffee and Guinness to whiskey and Baileys, I just know you’ll want to try them all. St. Patrick’s Day is all about celebrating Irish culture, but I think we can all agree that there’s a fair bit of drinking involved too! So, expect lots of green, plenty of Irish cream, and even a fun shot or two. These St. Patrick’s Day cocktails are ideal for your next party, but feel free to serve them year-round....
