One Dish Dinners Made Easy

One dish dinners are the most ideal solution to weekday meals when time is at a premium. If you're a beginner, you will find these meals a boon, while those with simple dinner notions will appreciate the fact that not too many work is required by way of utensils and cookware.

Find these recipes that you can make from your fresh or frozen as well as storecupboard ingredients and leftovers. This is a made-in-minutes main course with vegetarians in view.


Pasta Twists with Mushrooms and Tomatoes

Ingredients

- 2 cups dried whole-wheat pasta spirals
- 2 tsps olive oil
- 4 tbsps corn oil
- 1 onion
- 21/2 cup mushrooms
- 4 large tomatoes
- 31/2 ounces process cheese slices
- 4 tbsps minced fresh parsley
- salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup heavy cream

Procedure

Grease a fairly deep casserole. Preheat oven to 400F.
Bring a large saucepan of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and olive oil and cook for about 10 minutes or until just tender. Drain pasta. Set aside.

Chop onion. Wipe mushrooms and slice thinly.

Heat half the corn oil in a large skillet. Add onion and saute' for 5 minutes or until softened or pale gold. Stir in rest of corn oil. Add mushrooms and saute' for 3 minutes more.

Cut a small cross in each tomato. Put into a heatproof bowl. Cover with boiling water.
Let stand for 1 minute. Rinse under cold water. When cool enough to handle, slip off skins. Slice tomatoes.

Layer prepared dish with pasta, sauteed onions and mushrooms, sliced tomatoes, half the cheese and half the parsley, sprinkling salt and pepper between the layers.

Trickle in the cream, top with remaining cheese slices and bake uncovered for 20 minutes. Garnish with rest of parsley and serve at once.

For non-vegetarian, serve with broiled bacon or sausages.

The Healthy Terracotta Cooking

Terra Cotta is a clay pot. Knowing that wet clay is a porous material, a slow evaporation of steam from within the pores of the clay happens when the pot is saturated with water and put into the oven. This allows the food to produce its most natural juices that cannot escape during the cooking process. As soon as the pot becomes dry, your food is cooked.

Because wet clay does not become as hot as metal once put into fire, it is important to cook at higher temperature (450F instead of the usual 350F). The manufacturers of clay pots recommend to always put the pot in a cold oven.

The benefits of Cooking with Clay Cookware are understood by many cultures from around the globe. But Italian made Piral terracotta cookware with its easy clean glass-like cooking surface is easily the most versatile and beautiful.

Clay Pot Cookware carry Elegance

Clay Pot Cookware Today Comes in Attractive Colors

Now, more than ever, a large section of society seems to be embroiled in the issues of healthy eating. While the fast food industry reels from a salvo of criticism, mainly from the health and medical professions, an old-fashioned cooking method is quietly but steadily gaining in popularity.

Big Holiday Promotional Prices for Chef's Knives at Your Smart Kitchen

I always put so much time watching out for big promotional sales for kitchen items just before the holidays of every year, and it makes me excited about finding the best picks for gifts we can give away.

One of my favorite online stores Your Smart Kitchen where I've actually bought some of my kitchen pieces hasn't came back to full operation yet, most probably the site is undergoing some improvements, but I was so keen about finding it's latest offers and thanks heavens I was among its newsletter subscriber, I found about their latest holiday surprise!

Profession Chef's Knife 6.3 inches
The retail price which was normally close to $100 offered at $85, now only $62.00

Perfection Chef's Knife 6.3 inches

Typical retail over $100 being offered at $88, now price is $65.00

They also offer a holiday Profession and Perfection Duos of two Fissler cutlery lines that you should take a look:

Profession Duo
Carving Knife 7.9 inch

Chef's Knife 7.9 inch

Retail $263 Promotional price $185.00


Perfection Duo
Carving Knife 7.9 inch
Santoku Knife 7.1 inch
Retail $282 Promotion price is $198.00

Since Your Smart Kitchen web site is not operation in the meantime, to order these products you can use one of two processes:

1. Order direct through Pay Pal with payment going to yogiwan@gmail.com State in the comments section which product you are ordering and your shipping address. Pay Pal will take all credit cards.
   
   Email your request to chef@yoursmartkitchen.com and include payment and shipping information.

I don't know if you have as much excitement as I have for these promotional offers, it's just that there's nothing like spending time and money in a store that's worth your click, and it's always best to share the things I feel like worth sharing. If you're like me, this could be your chance to enjoy them too!

So, happy shopping and Happy holidays from my family!

Cutting Edge

Did you know that the knife is the most important tool in the kitchen? It's hard to prepare a recipe without a slicing and chopping, just two of the main actions that a well-sharpened knife can take care of. If your repertoire requires deboning, filleting and pairing, that's where your need to decide to whether get yourself a good set of a cutting edge.

Let's talk about the most basic knives your kitchen must have:

A chef or a cook's knife - most suitable for your slicing and chopping needs. This knife is usually between 8-2 inches long that has a wide blade.

Pairing knife - is a small knife about 2-4 inches long that is basically used for smaller cutting actions. An example of this is peeling fruits and vegetables.

Bread knife - if you are very fond of serving bread, this long knife with a serrated blade is very ideal for cutting through the crust and delicate body of your loaf breads.

In choosing a knife, I suggest that you always get one with a one-piece construction from tip of the blade to the end of the blade, for a very durable choose. Choose one that you find comfortable in your hand. To make your knives last, keep them in a knife holder with slots. Do not use your knives for opening cans or bottles, as this can break the tip of your knife's blade, and most of all always cut on a chopping board.

I hope I have given you the best basic tips from choosing to handling your knives.

Planning The Holiday Budget

If the most symbolic item on the menu for Thanksgiving is the turkey, perhaps this can also be great for the joyous season, Christmas!

Planning the holidays on a budget does not need to sacrfice flavor in your food. If you are wondering how to cook very juicy and moist turkey, or your favorite meats that can be trimmed of all fat, producing flavorful and even browned finish, without so much hassle, look no further than the clay baker. We know that when it comes to roasting tender dishes from poultry to fish, and even desserts, Mom said the clay bakers are our perfect companion.

Romertopf and Shclemmertopf are what I believe the two most leading brands of clay bakers. You can even think of converting your bread recipes for clay baking and get your own rise crunchy crusts too... There are many clay baker recipes online that can provide you with different dishes in different flavors.

The next thing is to stay away from non-seasonal items, they are almost always expensive. Don't be too impulsive in your grocery shopping. Farmers' markets are a good choice where you can buy seasonal produce in big quantities. They are cheaper and most importantly, fresher, so you can translate these foods to simple recipes that are more flavorful and healthy.

My Most Typical Cooking Range

Are you one of the 58% American households using electricity for cooking?... or you belong to homeowners who preferred the greener way of cooking food?

Manufacturers have taken the art of making efficient, economical and highly-versatile cooking range designs to meet the standards of pleasurable cooking. Some cooking range models run on gas, others run on electric ranges, and a few ones run in a combination of both. But among the traditional stoves, cooking ranges are the most convenient and energy-efficient.

Freestanding ranges for the most part are more economical to purchase than any other type of cooking range, it is perhaps a cooking lover's dream. It contains the highest power burner on the market, for the most efficient cooking experience possible. It works well for lighter cooking with its simmer burner which helps prepare the most delicate of sauces and soups.

I have felt for a long time that the double oven freestanding range is one of the best innovations. I think it's very practical. But my favorite range has long been the one handed to me by my Mom, a natural gas range top. It may have been old but perhaps I had my share of a greener cooktop since I've been cooking on this one. (Not so sophisticated though, but at least I always create good food.) I really enjoyed using the range, and even though I have it already, I really wanted to buy a sophisticated one for myself.

A gastronome meal always begin with a quality cookware. It is just basic.

Whether you use copper, aluminum, cast iron οr stainless steel, quality must be foremost. Thе cookware οf best quality wіll certainly take care of healthier meals, and no matter what you need to do, having professional quality cookware will mean that your pots and pans are up to the job. Perhaps you often accidently let things boil dry or boil over when you get distracted. You'll know that your pans will still give you the performance you need, every time.

Cooking a meal from fresh and quality products in a cookware with excellent cooking ability, is the secret to preparing quality meals. It's a lot easier if you have all the right tools before you start cooking. However, many people overlook the important role that quality cookware plays in helping make a dish go from good to great. Most refuse to see that the first factor to be considered in quality cooking, is the material in which the cookware is made.

No cookware may be considered as the most perfect, as each cooking preference vary from individual to indidual, but it still pays to choose quality cookware if you want quality meals, and if you want a set that can last a lifetime.