Cooking Food Recipe

Meal Planning Saves Time And Money by Toni Scott

What's for dinner? It's the first thing I hear when my kids get home from school. On a bad day, I don't have a clue. I've forgotten to take the meat out of the freezer to thaw or I didn't have anything particular in mind for weeknight dinners when I bought groceries that week.

Things are much easier when I take the time to make a plan. The best way I've found is to make a "menu calendar." I start by asking my family what they'd like to eat that week. Inevitably the 9 year-old pipes up, "I want spaghetti!" The teenager always wants Fettuccini Alfredo, and my husband normally doesn't care (as long as there's meat involved!). Honestly, my kids would be thrilled if we had pasta every day, but personally, I'd like a little more variety.

I start with a list of my family's favorite meats, poultry and seafood (ground beef, chicken breasts, pork chops, and shrimp, for example). Then I match each to a favorite recipe, making sure the recipe isn't too time consuming (remember, these are mainly weeknight meals). A typical list may look like this:

Spaghetti and Meatballs Grilled Chicken Breasts Italian Meatloaf Pork Chops Veracruz Shrimp and Veggie Stirfry

Then, to round things out, I add in favorite side dishes and/or accompaniments that are easy, quick, and "mostly" healthy. Fresh veggies are great when they're in season, but good quality frozen veggies can taste just as good.

Spaghetti and Meatballs Garlic Bread Mixed Salad

Grilled Chicken Breasts Grilled Zucchini Rosemary Roasted Potatoes

Italian Meatloaf Mashed Potatoes Green Beans

Pork Chops Veracruz Brown Rice Glazed Carrots

Shrimp and Veggie Stirfry (It's all there--a one dish meal!)

I assign each meal to a day of the week. This can be handwritten or typewritten and attached to the fridge with magnets, or penciled in on a family calendar in the kitchen. Just make sure it's in a place where everyone in the family can see "What's for Dinner!"

Then I take a quick inventory of my fridge, pantry, and freezer, and add all of the ingredients that I don't have on hand to my grocery list.

Remember, you can adjust the meal calendar to the number of days you cook each week. Sometimes I only have time to cook three days a week, especially during the school year when the kids have lots of after-school activities. My kids love to see a "Take Out" or "Eat Out" day on the meal calendar.

This may seem like a time-consuming process, but I promise, once you get the hang of it you'll be able to knock all of this out in about 15 minutes. And you won't believe the time and stress it will save you in the long-run. No more last minute trips to the grocery store because you don't have the ingredients on hand for a meal.

Less wilted and ruined produce in the vegetable bin that you didn't get around to cooking. Besides, you only have to do this twice a month. Crank out two weekly menu calendars and alternate them within a month.

About the Author

Toni Tanner-Scott, Personal Chef and Cooking Coach. http://www.DinnerMadeSimple.com

Saving Money By Making Your Own Bread Is Easy!

by Susanne Myers


Have you seen the price of bread lately? It's enough to make one wonder if it wouldn't be cheaper to make your own. You know what? It is! For the cost of a typical loaf of bread (between $2-$4), you can make more than one loaf of homemade goodness. A large bag of bread flour can make quite a few loaves with a handful of other ingredients.

You'll need some yeast, salt, sugar, milk, water, oil and maybe an egg or two, depending on your chosen recipe.

When you're at the grocery store, take a moment to look at the flour aisle. You'll see cake flour, all purpose flour, whole wheat flour, and bread flour. Not all flours are created equal for every task. You may be tempted to grab the all purpose flour so you can use it for other recipes as well, but don't do it. If you're going to make bread, get the bread flour.

When making bread, there are a few things to keep in mind. Choose a basic recipe if you've never made bread before. Plan ahead. Read through the recipe a few times to familiarize yourself with the ingredients and the process. It is important to follow the recipe exactly.

Make sure all your ingredients are at room temperature before you start. Yeast likes a warm environment. The measuring of dry and wet ingredients is of utmost importance to create a tender, tasty loaf. Pre-measure your ingredients if you find that helpful.

Follow your recipe exactly. If it says to mix the ingredients in a certain order, do it. Making bread is a science as much as an art, and if you want your loaf to turn out the same way every time, follow the directions to the letter!

When all your ingredients are mixed, it is time to knead the dough. You will need additional flour to spread on your counter and to dip your hands in so the dough doesn't stick to you or the table top. Kneading is necessary to develop the gluten in the bread dough, mix in air for rising, and distribute the ingredients so the yeast can feed.

Yes, the yeast actually feeds on the sugars in the dough, and creates a fermentation process, which enables the dough to rise properly. The biggest rookie mistake in bread-making is not kneading the dough long enough. Use a timer if you need it. You'll want to knead the bread between 8-10 minutes.

When you are done kneading, form the dough into a ball and set in a greased bowl. Cover and let rest. Your dough will need to sit for 1-2 hours to rise. Make sure your kitchen is warm to aid the rising process.

At the end of this time, you'll want to uncover the dough, punch it down, shape the dough how you want it be when you bake it, and cover it for another rising session. When it is done rising, it is time to bake. Pre-heat your oven before baking. Once your bread is done, let it cool completely before slicing.

Once you've mastered a basic bread recipe, you can make artisan breads, French bread, herbed breads, rolls, and more.

About the Author

For some yummy homemade bread recipes to get started on your first few loaves visit http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/breadrecipes.htm and start baking today.

Cooking Food Recipe

Welcome to my new Cooking Food Recipe Blog, I will be posting articles and tips on all kinds of cooking food recipe very soon, so be sureto check back.

Thank You.

Fouzi