Food Recipes: Varying from the Norm
I love to cook. I love to eat. I love to try different things. I love to learn.
The Internet has a virtual library of food recipes that I want to explore. I've tried a few here and there, but I want to try some more. After all, Variety is the Spice of Life.
This lens will mark my food recipe explorations from books, magazines, experimentation, and Internet resources.
What is a Recipe?
A recipe is a set of instructions that show how to prepare or make something, especially a culinary dish.
Modern culinary recipes normally consist of several components:
*The name (and often the locale or provenance) of the dish,
*How much time it will take to prepare the dish
*The required ingredients along with their quantities or proportions
*Equipment and environment needed to prepare the dish
*An ordered list of preparation steps
*The number of servings that the recipe will provide
Some recipes will note how long the dish will keep and its suitability for freezing.
Earlier recipes often included much less information, serving more as a reminder of ingredients and proportions for someone who already knew how to prepare the dish.
Recipe writers sometimes also list variations of a traditional dish.
Step Outside of the Box!
My favorite cookbook can be found in a cabinet above my pantry. It's the Betty Crocker Cookbook (pictured below). I love this cook book, not because of the recipes, because of the notations by my Nana--the world's greatest cook.Nana was my grandmother. She taught me how to cook. You can read more about the experience in Cooking Hamburger Helper Outside of the Box - Just like Grandma Used to Make.
From those early experiences I realized that food recipes are not written in granite. Recipes are meant to be changed and improved upon.
Nana's Betty Crocker Cookbooks
My Favorite Cookbook!
Betty Crocker Cookbook: Everything You Need to Know to Cook Today, New Tenth Edition
Amazon Price: $19.77 (as of 09/08/2008)
List Price: $29.95
Used Price: $3.00
Some of my own Simple Food Recipes
Pictured right is my Garlic Toast. You can make it your self to go with any pasta dish.What you need:
Fresh whole French Bread
Margarine
Pam Spray
Garlic Salt
Parsley
Parmesan (fresh works best)
Putting it together:
1. French Bread sliced into 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick, thicker is better.
2. Butter both sides of your bread with Margarine.
3. Sprinkle a garlic salt and Parsley mix on one side (I like Lawrys Garlic Salt, it already has the parsley and it has no MSG).
4. Frying pan heated to medium high heat (Pam sprayed to prevent sticking).
5. Throw in your bread to begin browning the salted side.
6. Sprinkle some Parmesan cheese on the uncooked side. (You do not have to have the Parmesan. The Garlic toast is good without it too.)
7. Flip the bread to brown the other side.
8. Serve warm.
I like to include food recipes in my Internet articles when I can, if I feel it is appropriate. It's also a nice tribute to good old home cooking. For instance, at the end of A Comparison of Del Monte Sloppy Joe Sauce Vs. Hunt's Manwich Original Sloppy Joe Sauce you will find my own Sloppy Joe recipe.
I included a recipe for my Cracker Baked Chicken at the end of A Comparison: Clover Valley Cheese Snack Crackers Vs. Sunshine Cheez-it Brand Crackers.
Cook Books to Peruse
The South Beach Diet Supercharged: Faster Weight Loss and Better Health for Life
Amazon Price: $15.57 (as of 09/08/2008)
Hungry Girl: Recipes and Survival Strategies for Guilt-Free Eating in the Real World
Amazon Price: $12.21 (as of 09/08/2008)
Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food
Amazon Price: $16.47 (as of 09/08/2008)
Skinny Bitch in the Kitch: Kick-Ass Recipes for Hungry Girls Who Want to Stop Cooking Crap (and Start Looking Hot!)
Amazon Price: $10.17 (as of 09/08/2008)
Hello, Cupcake!: Irresistibly Playful Creations Anyone Can Make
Amazon Price: $10.85 (as of 09/08/2008)
Picked Fresh From My Peach Tree!
Cooking Recipes from the Net: Peach Cobbler
I wanted a simple recipe without a lot of ingredients or preparation involved. I found a Fresh Peach Cobbler Recipe on Recipe Zarr that fit the bill.
The ingredients are things you can probably find in your pantry right now. A real treat for me because we live so far from a grocery store.
Here's how the Peach Cobbler Recipe turned out for me:
With some Vanilla Ice Cream on top, we're talking heaven in a bowl. This one is not tart and not overly sweet.
I think the next time I make it I'm going to add a bit more nutmeg and perhaps some cinnamon.
Kudos to the creator, MizzNezz! (It looks like she's got some other stuff I may have to give a spin in my kitchen.)
Show Your Cooking Pride
Cooking Recipes from the Net: Portabella Mushroom Burgers
Take a look at how my attempt came out:
This recipe was a stretch outside of our norm where burgers are concerned. My husband and I both love mushrooms so we decided to give it a try. The results were fantastic. Our youngest even liked them!
You really could not tell you were eating a mushroom. The marinade truly makes the mushroom juicy and meaty tasting. We will do this one again and again. We broiled the pictured burgers, next time we're grilling them.
Recipe Keepers
If you are anything like me, you read magazines. Some magazines are geared toward food and recipes. I really like Woman's World for their food recipes, tips, and tricks.Woman's World has a recipe card section that highlights four recipes per issue. On one side is an image and recipe title on the other is the how to.
I found these nifty small photo albums at Dollar General. They hold and protect 100 cards. Call me crazy, but sometimes food recipes need to be held in your hand.
I have a large photo album for full page recipe layouts. These albums all rest aside of my Nana's Betty Crocker Cookbook. I'll say it again, Variety is the Spice of Life! In the case of cookbooks and recipes, the more the merrier for me.
Food Recipe Album
More Recipe Keepers
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Cooking on Google
- a day in the kitchen
- That used up the half red cabbage that I bought on Saturday, and 2/3 of the cooking apple lurking in the veg drawer; Thai veg curry (recipe here), using half the butternut squash, courgette, half the green beans, a couple of carrots, ...
- Pennsylvania Dutch Cooking by Unknown
- Language: English.
- Worst Cooking Day Ever….Plus Recipe!
- Today may have been my worst cooking day ever. It started off with an attempt to make ?lemonade sugar cookies? ? cookies made with thawed frozen lemonade concentrate. I knew from the get-go they probably wouldn't be great, ...
- Ground fennel?
- ... salt, pepper, minced garlic and/or onion if you want it. otherwise, just sprinkle directly on the meat or fish with salt and sear. if you're cooking with it in soups and stews, add it near the end of cooking. like a lot of spices, ...
Cooking Gear
Fetching new data from eBay now... please stand byDo You have a Food Recipe to Share?
Tell Me about it Here!
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CleanerLife
My mom had a Betty Crocker cookbook like your Nana's, and it had to be replaced with another Betty Crocker cookbook when it was lost -- it's the one she uses the most! Posted August 10, 2008 |
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poddys
Nice recipes and ideas (well except for the mushrooms... yuck! LOL). 5***** for a good lens. Posted July 31, 2008 |
Go Back to...
- What is a Recipe?
- Step Outside of the Box!
- Nana's Betty Crocker Cookbooks
- My Favorite Cookbook!
- Some of my own Simple Food Recipes
- Cook Books to Peruse
- Picked Fresh From My Peach Tree!
- Cooking Recipes from the Net: Peach Cobbler
- Show Your Cooking Pride
- Cooking Recipes from the Net: Portabella Mushroom Burgers
- Recipe Keepers
- Food Recipe Album
- More Recipe Keepers
- Cooking on Google
- Cooking Gear
- Do You have a Food Recipe to Share?
- You Can Build Your Own Cooking Lens!
