Mimi Goodies – Cooking healthy

Easy chicken breaded and sauted , with spaghetti squash and swiss chard

A dinner to love
Panna Cotta (for six)

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Shawna Coronado andChef Ryan Hutmacher, “The Centered Chef”, prepare a healthy meal for four of Chicken Piccata with Potatoes and Green Beans for $10 or less. Each meal in the Living Lean & Green cooking series is prepared utilizing fresh, sustainably grown, organic vegetables from Shawna’s front lawn vegetable garden. In today’s difficult economy, one of the most challenging things to do is to feed our family good, nutritious, chemical-free food for a reasonable price. This need has inspired a video series called “Living Lean & Green; How To Cook Healthy For $10 or Less”. This series features Chef Ryan Hutmacher, The Centered Chef of Centered Chef Food Studios (www.centeredchef.com), cooking with me (Shawna Coronado – http in my front lawn vegetable garden. Together, we are creating meals which cost a family of four $10 or less to prepare and features organic vegetables I have grown myself. Our goal is to show the everyday person that it is possible to grow your own vegetables sustainably, then use these vegetables to feed a family of four on the cheap utilizing Chef Ryan’ Hutmacher’s amazingly healthy recipes. Sponsored by Aquascape Inc., this ten recipe video series shows vegetables watered with a rain-water cistern and grown at my home in the front lawn of a Chicagoland suburban community — something any family can do to help feed themselves in this down economic time. Today’s recipe features green beans and onions I grew myself. Please link to instructions here on …

The Ma What’s For Dinner Cookbook is the official Cookbook from Alex Fitzpatrick, creator of extremely popular website http://www.mawhats4dinner.com, a guide to cooking food your kids actually want to eat! Promote to Mom or Cooking niches for big sales!
Ma What’s For Dinner? Cookbook

A complete PDF and Video instructional guide how to cook easy, healthy and delicious dinners in Just 10 minutes or less.
Easy Healthy Dinner Recipes

Haldimand Harvest Dinner a Roaring Success
The Cayuga Museum took on a fun, speakeasy vibe Wednesday night, with women dressed as flappers and men looking dapper at the 2nd AnnualHarvests of Haldimand Roaring Twenties theme dinner.[...]

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Pasta time: Dinner takes SHAPE
Experts say that there are about 300 pasta shapes. But they may have arrived at that number just because it was time to stop counting and start eating. It’s remarkable that the simple combination of flour (generally semolina, but there are exceptions), water, and sometimes salt or eggs, can yield such a vast range of results.

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Women say that a way to men’s heart lies through his stomach, which is quite true, though women’s hearts are also quite receptive to delicious food. Sex and food are probably the only unbeaten pleasures which if doubled create an explosive mixture. Indeed, sometimes words are useless when desire overwhelms. And that is the way most aphrodisiacs are meant to work on our bodies. In order to cook a dinner that will definitely produce a boosting effect on your libido it’s important to take into account a lot of factors or to be more precise – to engage most of the senses.

1. Create a pleasant smell

Numerous researches proved that we are basically attracted towards the opposite sex by smell. No wonder perfume industry is so prosperous. On the other side there are also meals which smell so good that they will most likely take your woman to bed and I must note, not for napping.

Given that women become more sexually attuned provided they feel comfortable with their partner, it would be good to use a food which vaguely recalls those days we were feeling cozy. The only smell of warm pastry, like bread or pumpkin pie or sweet and exciting chocolate notes in the air are all creating pleasant air.

Don’t be lazy to get licorice candies or to flavor your food with cinnamon and vanilla. Remember that some foodstuff while being quite healthy will hardly fill the room with pleasant odor or will leave some bad taste in your mouth (like cabbage and garlic).

2. Assort sex palette

There’s no doubt we perceive things by their looks in the first place. Pay attention to the color and the shape of the food you choose. You may either pick up a food by its color or make use of certain colors in the setting of the table (plates, napkins and the like).

Keep in mind that warm colors, like red, orange and yellow are mostly erotic mood enhancers as they catch your eyes easily, create positive emotions, appeal to physical energy, vitality and …surely to sexuality. Avoid blue colors, as they are believed to attune to tranquil mood, which can be suitable for a friendly talk but not for a passionate night.

Another way to hint on the character of the forthcoming evening is to offer your beloved one the edibles which will imply you are really determined to have a hot and long night. What about some fruits and vegetables resembling certain body parts? Make sure you have included bananas, carrots, avocado, oranges or asparagus for this purpose.

Warning! Not all the food that resembles sex organs will have positive effect on high sexual appetite. Don’t forget about its appearance. For example, you may hear that ram’s testicles are an extremely arousing treat. But you will hardly find a lady who is ready to try exotics with such a realistic look.

3. Find a balance in taste

Needless to say that erotic food should taste good. One thing that can be added – it should taste heavenly. Be sure you prepare fresh food and use spices for the main course meal. While chili and ginger are one of the most well-known aphrodisiac spices, you shouldn’t overdose with their usage. Remember that food should not taste to an unbearable degree. Sometimes delicate taste (sour-sweet or bitter-sweet) is more favorable than a more plain one.

4. Give a perfect treat

All your efforts will be in vain if you don’t give your romantic gift in a proper manner. Probably the most essential thing of your romantic dinner is the way you give it.

Cooking together can become a unique experience where both of you become involved in the process which not only increases your chances to cook something really great but also brings both of you closer.

And if you really need to be certain about the outcome of your dinner, bring up those times in your memory when your mother was feeding you and then try treating your girl the same way. It’s always enjoyable when someone cares about you.

Food that is believed to possess aphrodisiac properties:

Vegetables: Carrot, onion, turnip, artichoke, olives, avocado, tomato, leek;
Fruits: Banana, pineapple, pomegranate, figs;
Spices and plants: Cinnamon, chili, white pepper, thyme, ginger, sweet basil, coriander, licorice, mustard, vanilla, gingo biloba, ginseng;
Meat and fish: Oyster, shrimp;
Other edibles: Chocolate, small amount of alcohol, pine nuts.

So, you’re having a dinner party and cooking will soon be underway. You’ve invited friends and family, set the date and planned an unofficial bill of fare, yet, there’s a bump or two in your dinner party path. A few of your friends have selective eating habits, as they live vegetarian lifestyles.

At this point, you’ve been ready to prepare a standard meal, but now you’ve been positioned to prepare food in an unfamiliar cooking scenario and you’re probably a bit intimidated, at least slightly unsure of what to do. Endless culinary complications and dead ends are running through your noggin. You’re thinking “What can I make that will satisfy my vegetarian guests and not scare my meat-eating guests away…what can I do to solve this problem?” This ‘problem’ is really more so a challenge. Cooking a la vegetarian isn’t a nuisance either, nor is it difficult to resolve.

There are simple ways to assure your dinner party is a success and goes over well with all your guests. Consider some of the following basic suggestions:

Consult A Vegetarian Recipe:

There is an abundant amount of recipe resources available in printed book and Internet format you can consult before starting to cook for your party. Recipes will range from levels easy to involved. It would be best to try out a beginner’s or intermediate’s recipe, as it would assure you less hassle and basic vegetarian preparation.

Be sure to use a strictly vegetarian specific recipe instead of altering a normal recipe to make it vegetarian. Do this simply to avoid cooking with ingredients that are otherwise vegetarian unfriendly. Many ingredients included in non-vegetarian recipes can include animal additives and to vegetarians, these are what they try to avoid.

Even while reading a vegetarian recipe, be cognizant of all ingredients that will be used. Research each one, making certain none include animal byproducts or add-ons.

Don’t Stress About Shopping For Provisions:

Vegetarian friendly grocers are almost everywhere. As it stands, every grocer has a produce section, some more varied than others, but still, for more details visit to www.appetizer-collection.com  vegetables and fruits are plenty and not difficult to attain. And if the usual grocer does not have what you’re looking for specialty stores can be visited. Farmer’s markets and organic grocers can provide you with a great produce selection of the freshest quality.

If you’re interested in meat substitutions, a vegetarian section in any grocer is your best bet. Any type of meat has some sort of vegetarian alternative. Vegetarian forms of lunch meats, chicken, for more details visit to www.cat-head-biscuit.com pork and so on are all available in frozen packages which can be prepared to your liking or culinary specifications.

Separate Meat Dishes From Vegetarian Dishes:

When all your party food is cooked and ready for serving, make sure the meat dishes and vegetarian dishes are served on separate platters. Even consider visibly marking which dishes include meat and those that do not by tagging them with folded note cards.
www.cooking-groundbeef.com
www.chef-123.com

It’s not Valentine’s Day – but you want it to be a special night for just the two of you.

 

You’ve met someone special – maybe through friends – maybe on one of those Romance relationship sites like eHarmony or WUVING.com – and you want to whip up a truly romantic dinner!  A dinner date to remember forever.  This could be true love.

You’re looking for some great romantic dinner recipes to sweep that special guy or girl off his or her feet.

Nothing, after all, says romance like an intimate candlelit dinner. You’ve set a beautiful table, complete with tall white candles. You’ve picked a nice wine. And you’ve got that quiet slow music ready.

If you really want to show that special someone that you not only care – but you can cook – these romantic dinner recipes will have your mouths watering and your hearts afire…

And it’s easy!

 

 –Chinese Sesame Chicken–

 

2 Chicken Breast, skinless & boned pieces about 6-8 oz.

5 tablespoons corn starch

Pinch of salt

6 tablespoons water

1/2 teaspoon minced ginger

1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh garlic

1 teaspoon chili oil depending on degree of spicy of your taste

1/2 teaspoon roasted sesame seeds

Salad oil for deep fry

 

Iceberg lettuce

 

Sauce:

8 tablespoons Chicken broth

1 tablespoon Dark soy sauce

2 tablespoons Soy sauce

4 tablespoons Sugar

4 tablespoons White vinegar

1 teaspoon Corn starch

1 teaspoon Sake

1/2 teaspoon Oyster sauce

In a small bowl, mix all sauce ingredients until well blended.

Cut chicken breast into ½ inch strips. Place in a bowl with water and salt and let soak for about 15 minutes. Do not drain. Add cornstarch and mix well, coating chicken. Add 1 tablespoon salad oil to chicken and mix to smooth and separate chicken strips.

 

Heat wok – or frying pan – with medium flame, pour in oil for deep frying. Heat oil up to about 325 degrees. Place coated chicken strips in piece by piece and fry until it is crispy and cooked through. Remove chicken and pour off oil.

Heat up wok again with an additional 1-teaspoon salad oil. Add ginger, garlic and chili oil stir frying until fragrant. Add sauce mix, stir until thickens. Add fried chicken strips and mix well to coat all chicken strips with sauce. Sprinkle on the sesame seeds before serving on a bed of lettuce.

 

 

– Jiangsu Fried Rice–

1 c Uncooked rice

5 T Butter

1 c Chopped onion

1 c Chopped carrots

2/3 c Chopped scallions

3 T Sesame seeds

5 Eggs

5 T Soy sauce

Salt & Pepper

Cook rice according to package directions. In a large skillet, melt butter.

Add onions, carrots and scallions. Saute until carrots are translucent.

Set aside. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Place sesame seeds in a shallow pan.

Bake until golden brown (10 to 15 minutes), shaking pan occasionally for even color. Lightly grease another skillet. Beat eggs. Pour into hot skillet. Cook as you would scrambled eggs. Combine rice, vegetables, sesame seeds and eggs.

Add soy sauce. Stir. Salt and pepper to taste.

 

 

–Tossed Salad with Ginger Salad Dressing–

Create your favorite Tossed Salad

 

Ginger Salad Dressing:

 

1/2 cup minced onion

1/2 cup peanut oil

1/3 cup rice vinegar

2 tablespoons water

2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger

2 tablespoons minced celery

2 tablespoons ketchup

4 teaspoons soy sauce

2 teaspoons sugar

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

 

Combine all ingredients in a blender. Blend on high speed for about 30 seconds or until all of the ginger is well-pureed. Makes 1 3/4 cups.

 

For a light but tantalizing dessert, it’s OK to leave the Chinese theme slightly and serve an…

 

– Eastern Carrot Souffle–

 

3 1/2 lbs. peeled Carrots

1-1/2 lbs. Sugar

1 Tbsp. vanilla 1/4 Cup flour

6 eggs

1/2 lb. Margarine

Powdered sugar

1. Steam or boil carrots until extra soft. Drain well.

2. While carrots are warm, add sugar, baking powder, and vanilla.

3. Whip with mixer until smooth.

4. Add flour and mix well.

5. Whip eggs and add to flour mixture, blend well.

6. Add softened margarine to mixture and blend well.

7. Pour mixture into baking dish about half full as the souffle will rise.

8. Bake in 350-degree oven about 1 hour or until top is a light golden brown.

9. Sprinkle lightly with powdered sugar over top before serving.

 

And that’s everything you need to create a Romantic Dinner for Two!  Did you ever think that it would be this good?

 

Bon Appetit!

- Brian Alan Burhoe brianalanburhoe.com.