Vegetables Stir-fried

Ingredients

* 4 oz. fresh green beans

* 2 carrots

* 1 sweet red or yellow bell pepper, seeded

* 1/2 small cauliflower, in small florets

* 1 large broccoli stalk in small florets

* 2 Tbsp. canola oil

* 1 red onion, thinly sliced

* 3 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped

* 1 small Japanese eggplant, thinly sliced

* 2 Tbsp. grated fresh ginger

* 4 oz. sugar peas, topped and tailed

* 1/2 Tbsp. soy sauce

* 1/2 Tbsp. Mirin (see Note)

* 1/4 tsp. sugar

freshly ground pepper

Slice beans and carrots on the diagonal. Cut pepper into 1-inch squares.

In a large pot of boiling water, separately blanch beans, carrots, cauliflower and broccoli, just until tender-crisp. Using a slotted spoon, transfer vegetables from water to a colander and immediately rinse under cold running water to prevent further cooking. Drain thoroughly.

Heat about 2 tsp. oil in heavy skillet or wok over medium heat. Add onion and 1 clove garlic, and stir-fry 3 to 4 minutes. Add eggplant, some ginger, more garlic and stir-fry briefly. Add peas and stir-fry 3 minutes longer, adding more oil if necessary.

Add as many of the blanched vegetables, along with some of the garlic and ginger, as you can stir-fry at one time. If pan is full, transfer vegetables to baking dish and keep warm in an oven preheated to 250 degrees.Combine all vegetables in large serving bowl. In small bowl, mix together soy sauce, Mirin and sugar. Mix soy mixture into vegetables. Season to taste with pepper and serve.

Mirin, found in the Asian or specialty foods sections of many supermarkets, is a sweetened, mild Japanese rice cooking wine with a negligible amount of alcohol that evaporates in cooking. Chicken or vegetable broth, along with a pinch of sugar, can be substituted. By jaffar

Spicy Chicken With Rice

This is a very simple recipe and takes just half an hour to prepare a delicious, filling and impressive meal. A nonstick frying pan is essential.

Ingredients (for 2 persons)

2 chicken breasts
1 cup of parboiled rice
1 tablespoon of olive oil (or any oil you commonly use)
Salt, pepper, oregano and boukovo


Method for the Chicken

Chop each chicken breast in 4 slices so that you got 8 slices in total.
Salt and pepper the slices. Add a pinch of oregano and a teaspoon of boukovo.
Put a tablespoon of oil into the nonstick pan and wait for 3-4 min to get heated. Wiggle lightly the pan so that the oil to cover the whole pan surface.
Place the slices in the pan

--Tip1: when placing each slice, try to dip it in a small amount of oil that already is in the pan surface

Fry the chicken from both sides using a wooden ladle and after 15 to 20 minutes it will be ready.

--Tip 2: to make the meat getting a nice red color you can pour 1.5 ounce of water while the frying the chicken. This will cause steam to rise and will give instantly a nice red color to the chicken.

Method for the rice

Use a sauce pan and ad 22 ounces of water. Wait until it reaches the boiling point. Add a teaspoon of chicken (or vegetable) powder base or 1 chicken (or vegetable) cube base (alternatively you can you a teaspoon of salt, a pinch of pepper and a pinch of curry powder (if you got some). Put the rice inside and boil it for 20 min. (You can prepare this cooking at the time you place the chicken in the pan, and so you will have the rice ready at the same time with the chicken)

You can serve it as I suggest you in the photo above…

Good appetite… yum-yum… By Jim Dell

Tips of Cooking Meat in the Microwave

Summer is here and if you are anything like me, you don't want to turn on your oven or stove unless absolutely necessary. I do most of my cooking in the microwave during the summer months. It helps keep my home cooler and cuts down on my cooling bill.

I have found that many people don't like to cook meat in the microwave. I was once one of those people. Chicken would come out like rubber and I always worried that ground beef didn't cook thoroughly. I have since found that the trick is to use the right cooking utensils.

There has also been some hype about how it’s not safe to use plastic to cook meat or anything else in the microwave. This is only half true. Certain types of plastic have chemicals that are activated with the extreme heat of the microwave and these chemicals can get into your food. For more details visit to www.cheese-cake-recipes.com Hence, the key to cooking in your microwave is, once again, to use the correct cooking utensils. Basically, use containers that are specifically designed for cooking in the microwave.

My preference in microwave cooking is Tupperware. Their cookware is specifically designed for the microwave so you don't have to worry about the chemicals. Their Oval Cooker is designed to retain the moisture of your meat so that your meat doesn't come out dry and rubbery. It also has a colander so you can brown your meat and let the grease drip to the bottom. That makes it easy to dispose of the grease drippings or use them for gravy. Tupperware also backs it cooker with a lifetime warranty so if it breaks I can just replace it with a new one, which seems like a good investment to me.

So the instructions I am providing below apply to the Tupperware Oval Cooker. If you feel confident using a different type of microwave cooker, of course, try that, but please make sure you follow the guidelines I stated above.

Cooking Ground Beef

Place the ground beef with your favorite seasoning in the colander of the cooker. Cover and cook for 6 minutes per pound. Let sit a few minutes then remove from the microwave. By using the colander all the grease will drain to the bottom of the cooker.

Cooking a Whole Chicken

If using the Oval Cooker you will need to use the extender piece for your average size chicken. Then place the chicken in the cooker. Pour about half a cup of water on the bottom of the cooker. For more details www.atkins-diets-recipes.com Sprinkle your chicken with your favorites seasonings. Place the cover on the cooker and cook for 6 minutes per pound. I think you will be surprised at how moist your chicken comes out.

Cooking Cut Up Chicken

After cutting up your chicken use the same instructions for cooking a whole chicken. Determine by how high the chicken stacks if you will need to use the extender or not.

Cooking Chicken Pieces

You can use the colander to cook chicken pieces. Cut the chicken into bit size pieces. I usually use chicken breast cutlets for this. Place the cutup chicken pieces in the colander. Season with your favorite seasonings. Place the cover on the cooker and microwave for 6 minutes per pound.

Cooking Pork

I have not yet tried cooking pork in the microwave. Pork is tricky and my family doesn't eat pork so that is one reason I have never tried cooking it in the microwave. However, there are plenty of beef and chicken recipes out there, so I hope the above suggestions will help you keep your kitchen cooler during the hot summer months. By seemameet

Different Terms for Cooking

Cooking can be very satisfying, and learning about the different ways to cook and finding new; different recipes to experiment in the kitchen is exciting. This had led to a bunch of television programmers appearing and even more cookbooks arriving to offer chefs tips, advice, and recipes. However, a good starting point for many wanting to get into the kitchen and to begin putting recipes into practice is to know the different terminologies used with cooking.

Learning the different cooking terminologies is important as a dish may be prepared in a number of ways, and each of the preparation methods can result in varying flavors. Here are just a few of the terms cooking recipes may require you to perform:

This is a more common term that many will already know, even if they don't often cook. When a recipe requires you to grill a food item, it will basically mean that you need to cook over an open flame, whether it is by gas or charcoal. Obviously the most ideal place to do food grilling is over a grill.

These are terms that are often confused, but they are actually quite different. Frying can be done using a frying pan and with oil or butter, whereas deep-frying on the other hand means that the food needs to be submerged in boiling oil until it is cooked. This can often be seen in fast food chains where the food is placed in a basket and submerged into the boiling oil, often to produce French fries, tender breaded chicken, and funnel cakes.

An alternative to frying is sautéing, to produce strong flavors from your food. To sauté? Food, cook quickly using a small amount of fat (oil or butter), and use a frying pan to receive best results when using this cooking method. This can often be seen in fast food chains where the food is placed in a basket and submerged into the boiling oil, often to produce French fries, tender breaded chicken, and funnel cakes.

When a recipe calls for the food to be broiled, it means that the food should be cooked by direct exposure to a flame or heat element. You may find the? Broil" setting on many ovens, although it is important to place the food on the top rack when using this setting.

For those that cook and prepare meals regularly or just beginning to become interested in cooking, familiarize you with the many different preparation and cooking terms. At least learn the basic terms so that you can prepare the food in the way that the recipe intended, and also, before you start cooking a new recipe or dish, firstly read through the recipe instructions so that you know the cooking terms and exactly how to execute them. This is especially important if you are cooking to time schedule. By ppsingh