HOW TO BAKE

“If you can cook, money isn’t a problem. If you can cook — you can whip together a tasty, wholesome meal in a few minutes, that’s cheaper than anything you can get at MacDonald’s.” –The Naked Chef

 

The other day, while shopping at the Mall, I overheard a mother tell her children, “C’mon. we’re going to MacDonald’s.”

One of her children said, “I don’t want to go to MacDonald’s!”

To which she replied, “Well, we’re going. I’ve got coupons.”

 

With the current financial Recession, MacDonald’s sales — as well as those of other Fast Food Outlets — have increased big time. Business is good — it’s just the fat-rich, nutrient-poor “product” that is not.

But any professional cook will tell you this: “You can prepare an easy, fast meal for your family that is nutritious, delicious — and cheaper — than any fast food meal out there.”

Chefs will tell you that for years they’ve been hearing their kids’ friends saying, “Wow! You’re always having these fantastic meals at home — how can you afford it?”

And the chef will reply, “Actually — these meals are cheaper than any meal you can buy out there — fast food joints — TV dinners — you name it.”

IF YOU CAN COOK AT ALL — YOU CAN CUT DOWN YOUR MEAL COSTS DRASTICALLY — WHILE INCREASING THE NUTRITIONAL QUALITY… YOU CAN DO IT ALL!

I’ve been a pro cook for over 30 years, and I’ve been doing just that.

So — if you want to impress family or friends — or if you have a hot date, maybe that special you-know-who you just met on WUVING.com  or somewhere and you want to prepare  a romantic dinner…  For you — here are a few of my favourite easy recipes that have also been Family Favourites:

 

–Mexican Shake & Bake Chicken–

1 Chicken, cut up

4 Cups Flour

2 Tsp. Cayenne Pepper

1 Cup Bran Flake Cereal (crushed)

2 Tbls. Parsley Flakes

2 Tsp. Garlic Powder

1 Tbls. Onion Powder

2 Tsp. Chili Powder

2 Tbls. Taco Seasoning

1 Tsp. Ground Pepper

1 Tsp. Curry Powder

1 Tsp. Basil

1 Tsp. Oregano

Mix together well. Preheat oven to 400F

Dredge the chicken pieces in above mix. Melt 1/4 cup butter in a shallow 9 x 12 baking pan. Place chicken skin side down and baste top with melted butter from the pan. Bake uncovered for 25 min. Turn skin side up, reduce heat to 350F and bake until tender; 30 – 35 minutes.

 

You can serve Mexican Shake & Bake Chicken with:

– Red Chili Beans and Rice–

2 cups Uncle Ben’s long grain rice (cooked)

1 – 16 oz. can Red chili beans in chili gravy

1 teas. Chili powder

1/4 teas. Cumin

Dash garlic salt

In saucepan, heat beans without letting them boil. Stir in chili powder, cumin and garlic salt. When piping hot, add warm rice and gently mix.

1 Chicken, cut up

4 Cups Flour

2 Tsp. Cayenne Pepper

1 Cup Bran Flake Cereal (crushed)

2 Tbls. Parsley Flakes

2 Tsp. Garlic Powder

1 Tbls. Onion Powder

2 Tsp. Chili Powder

2 Tbls. Taco Seasoning

1 Tsp. Ground Pepper

1 Tsp. Curry Powder

1 Tsp. Basil

1 Tsp. Oregano

Mix together well. Preheat oven to 400F

Dredge the chicken pieces in above mix. Melt 1/4 cup butter in a shallow 9 x 12 baking pan. Place chicken skin side down and baste top with melted butter from the pan. Bake uncovered for 25 min. Turn skin side up, reduce heat to 350F and bake until tender; 30 – 35 minutes.

 

You can serve Mexican Shake & Bake Chicken with:

– Red Chili Beans and Rice–

2 cups Uncle Ben’s long grain rice (cooked)

1 – 16 oz. can Red chili beans in chili gravy

1 teas. Chili powder

1/4 teas. Cumin

Dash garlic salt

In saucepan, heat beans without letting them boil. Stir in chili powder, cumin and garlic salt. When piping hot, add warm rice and gently mix.

Serve the above two with nachos, and you’ve GONE MEXICAN!

 

–Top Chef’s Beef Cabbage Soup–

1 lb lean ground beef

1/2 head medium cabbage, shredded or chopped

2 ribs of celery sliced

1 small bell pepper (cut up into small pieces)

1 medium onion diced

1 16 Ounce can kidney beans

1 28 oz. can tomatoes (cut up the tomatoes if whole)

4 beef bullion cubes

1/4 tsp. garlic power

1/4 tsp. garlic salt

salt and pepper to taste

Brown ground beef and drain. Add to ground beef remaining ingredients adding 28 oz. of water using the 28 oz. tomato can. Bring to boil and simmer for at least one hour or until veggies are tender.

 

– Italian Fried Chicken–

4 lb. Chicken — cut up

3 cups Self-rising flour

1 cup Cornstarch

3 tbl. Seasoned salt

2 tbl. Paprika

1 teas. Baking soda

1 pk. Italian Salad Dressing Mix Powder

1 pk. Onion Soup Mix — (1 1/2 Ounces)

1 pk. Spaghetti sauce mix — (1/2 Ounce)

3 tbl. Sugar

3 cups Corn flakes — crushed

2 Eggs — well beaten

1/4 cup Cold water

Combine first 9 ingredients in large bowl. Put the cornflakes into another bowl. Put eggs and water in a 3rd bowl. Put enough corn oil into a heavy roomy skillet to fill it 1″ deep. Get it HOT! Grease a 9×12x2 baking pan. Set it aside. Preheat oven to 350~. Dip chicken pieces 1 piece at a time as follows: 1-Into dry coating mix. 2-Into egg and water mix. 3-Into corn flakes. 4-Briskly but briefly back into dry mix. 5-Drop into hot oil, skin-side-down and brown 3 to 4 minutes on medium high.

Turn and brown other side of each piece.

Don’t crowd pieces during frying. Place in prepared pan in single layer, skin-side-up. Seal in foil, on 3 sides only, leaving 1 side loose for steam to escape. Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes removing foil then to test tenderness of chicken. Allow to bake uncovered 5 minutes longer to crisp the coating. Serves 4. Leftovers refrigerate well up to 4 days. Do not freeze these leftovers. Leftover coating mix (1st 9 ingredients) can be stored at room temp in covered container up to 2 months.

 

Serve Top Chef’s Beef Cabbage Soup or Italian Fried Chicken with hot Biscuits:

–Quick Down-East Biscuits–

4 Cups Bisquick

4 Ounce Sour Cream

1 Cup Club Soda (room temp)

1 Stick Margarine

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix Bisquick, sour cream and club soda together. Pour onto floured surface and knead very lightly. Roll out to about 1/2″ thickness and cut with cutter. Melt butter and pour half into a glass casserole dish. Place biscuits in dish and pour remaining butter over top of biscuits.

If you would like to use less butter, do not put butter in bottom of the pan; just pour a little over the top. Also, make sure that the club soda has never been refrigerated and still has a lot of fizz. Bake at 375 degrees for about 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

It’s easy.

 

If you don’t have all of the ingredients at home, it’s worth the initial expense getting them.

Those ingredients will save — and so will you, because your family will be asking for more!

Enjoy!

- Brian Alan Burhoe  www.brianalanburhoe.com

 

 

Learn about the cooking equipment needed to make pumpkin spiced cupcakes in thisfree recipe dessert video on making pumpkin spiced cupcakes. Expert: Georgette Rampone Bio: Georgette Rampone is a chef, baker, and consultant. She is a much sought-after restaurant and bakery consultant who specializes in the development of unique signature recipes. Filmmaker: Louis Nathan

When you love to cook and bake, you probably know that although cooking and baking can be fun, and although the treats you make can be scrumptious, baking itself can be a difficult task because of all of the elements that are involved. Fortunately, with a few great accessories, you can make cooking and baking easy and fun again. There are plenty of ways that you can make cooking and baking easier, and having the right accessories is definitely something that you should do.

There are several different types of accessories that are important to have when you are cooking and baking. A good set of bowls is a great place to start. These should be glass bowls, so that they can be used in the microwave and for mixing. Good mixing bowls should be several different sizes, and if you can find ones that have lids, you will have even more luck with them. Next, you will need a set of baking pans. Again, glass works well because they are transferable, but you can also get a set of metal baking pans. For cooking, you will need at least two skillets of different sizes and at least two pots of different sizes as well.

Once you have the bowls, pans, skillets and pots, you need to move onto the items that you will use to create, mix, and stir food. Several wooden spoons, a good flat spatula, and a whisk are important elements. Also, you will need measuring cups, measuring spoons, and a knife, at least one good one, to do your cooking with.

These are the bare basics of items that you should have in your cupboard and drawers to make cooking and baking easier for you. However, there are some other things that you will want to consider as you are cooking. Something that is good to have is a selection of items to keep and store food with, and to use in cooking. Aluminum foil, plastic wrap, zipping sandwich bags, and wax paper will come in handy and be used often. An assortment of flower will be needed as well, and a non-stick cooking spray to use when you are baking and cooking. Don’t forget that you will also need to have an excellent selection of things to actually cook with!

To start a kitchen, and to make baking and cooking much easier, you’ll want to begin with a basic set of spices. Spices make food taste better, and aid in all of your cooking and baking. Some good ones to have on hand include oregano and basil, but there are many others, such as rosemary, sage, and red pepper. Curry is another favorite, along with turmeric and other spicy spices you’ll enjoy. The best way to get a good selection of spices is to start with a pre-filled spice rake of your very own. Then, as you cook more frequently and make more interesting things, you can add to the types of things you are keeping in your spice rack.

There are some other things that you should always have on hand when cooking and baking. These include vegetable oil, shortening, vinegar, and salt and pepper. For baking, basic flavors like vanilla are useful, as is baking powder, baking soda, and self-rising yeast. If you stock your cupboards with these things, you’ll have an excellent time cooking and baking.

Perhaps the most overlooked accessories for baking include the things that you actually use to cook and bake with. You might not have a choice over the type of stove and oven you have, but you can buy things like toaster ovens, blenders, vegetable choppers, and electric mixers to help you make cooking and baking easier and more fun. Also, you might want to consider a flat skillet for cooking things like pancakes and grilled cheese.

Perhaps the most important accessory that you are going to need to make cooking and baking easier is simple: space. Many people overlook this when they are putting their kitchens together and end up crowding their countertops with just too much stuff. This leads to big problems because it means that there just is not room to actually cook. When you are cooking, you need counter space, to chop vegetables, or to lay out ingredients for something you are baking. You’ll need room to cut things, separate things, and mix things. Also, you will need space to put things when they are finished, in order to cool. Therefore, when you are planning on ways to make your cooking and baking easier, don’t forget that something you will always need is going to be space.

Not all metals have the right properties to be used for the manufacturing of baking pans, since cooking usually requires heat conductivity and lack of chemical reaction with food. Unfortunately, the problem that has made the challenge of many generations was that of finding a metal that is both conductive and non-reactive; the best solution in the past was that of making the baking pans of a reactive material that was afterwards coated with a neutral one. Present day technologies make it possible for baking pans to be safe to use and extremely efficient for cooking, and aluminum, cast iron, stainless steel and carbon steel are the materials we should be grateful for.

Aluminum baking pans were considered great for a long period of time, particularly due to their exquisite thermal conductivity. Such pans heat immediately and evenly, without creating any hot spots. Aluminum raises no corrosion or rusting issues, nevertheless, the problem with such baking pans is that they react with certain acidic foods, influencing the taste of the dishes. Egg yolks, asparagus and artichokes are the right examples to give here. However, aluminum baking pans should not be banned from our kitchens, since in the anodized and cast forms, they are perfectly safe.

Classical baking pans were made of tinned copper; they were great in terms of heat conductivity and pretty safe when it came to chemical reactions with acidic foods. The only problem with such baking pans is that quality models are pretty expensive nowadays, since they truly provide the most even type of heating. One other disadvantage related to the use of tinned copper baking pans is that of the tin layer thinning which requires periodical re-tinning. If you want to purchase copper baking pans, it would definitely be a good idea if you turned to the models with stainless steel linings rather than tin ones.

Stainless steel and carbon steel baking pans are other examples of cookware that we widely use on a daily basis. Stainless still is an alloy that is immune to corrosion or chemical reactions with acidic foods. Nevertheless, the only disadvantage here is that steel baking pans do not conduct heat evenly; however, a solution was found for this problem in the use of an aluminum or copper core in the internal pan structure. Carbon steel on the other hand heats rapidly, but not as well as other materials; yet, certain baking pans require different cooking temperatures like woks for instance, and for such cases carbon steel is simply perfect.