Anyone need help with menu planning?
For a nominal fee I can create a healthy, easy, economical, kid-friendly, family-friendly weekly menu that will save you big bucks at the store.
I'll tell you where to shop, and how to shop to get the very best value. Send me your special requests (including food allergies, etc.) and I can develop a personalized plan for you.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Fun Contest - Win Free Food & How-to Video
Contest
Want to learn how to cook something that seems too difficult?
Can't wait to impress your boss/Your date/Your friends?
Desperate to satisfy a picky eater?
Need ideas for leftovers?
On a strict budget?
Send me your request!
Winner will receive a customized how-to Video
AND a grocery order to try it out at home...
PLUS a week of easy menus
Entry: Only $1.25 through PayPal
Pay through email: cuisinequeen17@gmail.com
Delivery only valid in the Continental United States
Alternative arrangement will be made for other regions
Want to learn how to cook something that seems too difficult?
Can't wait to impress your boss/Your date/Your friends?
Desperate to satisfy a picky eater?
Need ideas for leftovers?
On a strict budget?
Send me your request!
Winner will receive a customized how-to Video
AND a grocery order to try it out at home...
PLUS a week of easy menus
Entry: Only $1.25 through PayPal
Pay through email: cuisinequeen17@gmail.com
Delivery only valid in the Continental United States
Alternative arrangement will be made for other regions
What's for Dinner???
Is Dinner Ready Yet???
You've had a monstrous day. It's Monday. Your boss was cranky. You were late to work because you were stuck in traffic. You were late home because you were stuck in traffic. The baby threw up all over your new outfit, and the cat pooped on your bed to lodge her disgust at being left alone after everyone was at home on the weekend.
And there they are again: hanging in the air like week-old laundry. Those three little words that can make even the most ardent foodie among us go weak at the knees!
W H A T'S F O R D I N N E R ?
I have been cooking since I was seven years old, and am generally at my happiest churning out tasty food of all shapes and sizes to suit all palates and diets. But I must confess: there are those rare occasions when I just want to reach for the peanut butter, or grab a box of cereal and be done with it!
And doesn't it always happen when you're at your lowest ebb? Right about the time your entire family unanimously assumes that you've suddenly gone deaf, bombarding you with their plaintive cries of "How long until dinner?" and "We're starving..."
It's enough to make you want to go back outside again, for the relative calm of the honking traffic. At least that will subside eventually, and you can ignore it until then! Or worse still, you could be dealing with something really serious. But there they all still are, like chicks in the nest, just clamoring to be fed. So what's a weary person to do?
You've got to have a plan. The best defense is a good offense - and that's where I come in.
Now, I don't claim to be perfect, and my husband swears he has time to go for a run each time I respond "Give me five more minutes - it's almost ready..."
But over the years, if I've learned one thing it's this: keep a well-stocked pantry, and you'll always have a quick and easy meal to fall back on if you're short of time, or the chicken you took out of the freezer yesterday still resembles a rock.
Even if you live alone, or only cook on the odd occasion, it's always nice to be able to whip up something hearty and tasty with minimal time and effort. Who knows, maybe you'll want to invite someone for supper, or an old friend stops by on Saturday for lunch. Spaghetti carbonara has to be one of my all-time favorites for times like this. You can have that on the table in 15 minutes flat. Add a little garlic bread, and you're in carbo heaven!
Seriously, though, there are loads of items you should always have on-hand, including butter, milk, cheese (plus parmesan), cream, eggs, bacon or pancetta, and good olive oil. You can do a lot with that. The pantry list is much longer, and will follow shortly. So even when your mind goes blank, and you need to come up with something quick but satisfying, you'll be able to cook up a wholesome meal, with little work and no hassle.
You'll notice that I always recommend using the most natural ingredients you can find easily, but you don't have to discard everything you already have to replace it instantly. As you run out of items, that would be the time to look at more healthy alternatives, if you choose to. However, I do recommend that you take a quick look through your existing pantry, and toss anything that's drastically out of date. It may be rancid, and you don't want an otherwise tasty dish to be "funky"! Herbs and spices can lose their potency and therefore their flavor relatively quickly, and it's recommended that you replace them every six months. But those things can be expensive, and they seldom go "off". So open them all up, give them the old sniff-test, and use your best judgment!
In this and subsequent blogs, I'll be sharing recipes, ideas, and tips, tricks & tidbits that will be useful not only in the kitchen, but also in the laundry, the bathroom, and elsewhere in your daily lives. I read a lot, and have travelled around the globe a couple of times, so there is a wealth of information buzzing around my brain, and I'm looking forward to tweezing it out into a coherent format for others to use, or to pass along. Do join me!
You've had a monstrous day. It's Monday. Your boss was cranky. You were late to work because you were stuck in traffic. You were late home because you were stuck in traffic. The baby threw up all over your new outfit, and the cat pooped on your bed to lodge her disgust at being left alone after everyone was at home on the weekend.
And there they are again: hanging in the air like week-old laundry. Those three little words that can make even the most ardent foodie among us go weak at the knees!
W H A T'S F O R D I N N E R ?
I have been cooking since I was seven years old, and am generally at my happiest churning out tasty food of all shapes and sizes to suit all palates and diets. But I must confess: there are those rare occasions when I just want to reach for the peanut butter, or grab a box of cereal and be done with it!
And doesn't it always happen when you're at your lowest ebb? Right about the time your entire family unanimously assumes that you've suddenly gone deaf, bombarding you with their plaintive cries of "How long until dinner?" and "We're starving..."
It's enough to make you want to go back outside again, for the relative calm of the honking traffic. At least that will subside eventually, and you can ignore it until then! Or worse still, you could be dealing with something really serious. But there they all still are, like chicks in the nest, just clamoring to be fed. So what's a weary person to do?
You've got to have a plan. The best defense is a good offense - and that's where I come in.
Now, I don't claim to be perfect, and my husband swears he has time to go for a run each time I respond "Give me five more minutes - it's almost ready..."
But over the years, if I've learned one thing it's this: keep a well-stocked pantry, and you'll always have a quick and easy meal to fall back on if you're short of time, or the chicken you took out of the freezer yesterday still resembles a rock.
Even if you live alone, or only cook on the odd occasion, it's always nice to be able to whip up something hearty and tasty with minimal time and effort. Who knows, maybe you'll want to invite someone for supper, or an old friend stops by on Saturday for lunch. Spaghetti carbonara has to be one of my all-time favorites for times like this. You can have that on the table in 15 minutes flat. Add a little garlic bread, and you're in carbo heaven!
Seriously, though, there are loads of items you should always have on-hand, including butter, milk, cheese (plus parmesan), cream, eggs, bacon or pancetta, and good olive oil. You can do a lot with that. The pantry list is much longer, and will follow shortly. So even when your mind goes blank, and you need to come up with something quick but satisfying, you'll be able to cook up a wholesome meal, with little work and no hassle.
You'll notice that I always recommend using the most natural ingredients you can find easily, but you don't have to discard everything you already have to replace it instantly. As you run out of items, that would be the time to look at more healthy alternatives, if you choose to. However, I do recommend that you take a quick look through your existing pantry, and toss anything that's drastically out of date. It may be rancid, and you don't want an otherwise tasty dish to be "funky"! Herbs and spices can lose their potency and therefore their flavor relatively quickly, and it's recommended that you replace them every six months. But those things can be expensive, and they seldom go "off". So open them all up, give them the old sniff-test, and use your best judgment!
In this and subsequent blogs, I'll be sharing recipes, ideas, and tips, tricks & tidbits that will be useful not only in the kitchen, but also in the laundry, the bathroom, and elsewhere in your daily lives. I read a lot, and have travelled around the globe a couple of times, so there is a wealth of information buzzing around my brain, and I'm looking forward to tweezing it out into a coherent format for others to use, or to pass along. Do join me!
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