Category — Drinks

Strawberries are a delicious way to add more antioxidants and fiber to your diet.  According to the California Strawberry Commission, a serving of strawberries, just 8 berries, contains more vitamin C than an orange, and 2 grams of fiber!  What’s even better, is that a cup of strawberries contains just 50 calories.

I’ve found that the best and fastest way to get my daily intake of fruits and veggies is to make a power-packed morning smoothie. Here’s a strawberry smoothie recipe to get you started.  It also contains blueberries–another superfood!

Strawberry & Blueberry Smoothie

• 1/2 cup frozen blueberries
• 1 cup frozen strawberries
• 1 banana, peeled
• 1-1/2 cups milk
• 1 individual size container of yogurt

Combine all ingredients in a blender, or smoothie maker, and blend until mixture reaches desired consistency.  To add a little zip, replace some of the milk with orange juice.  Yogurt can be any flavor, depending on what you like.  I’ve also added a handful of uncooked quick oats to this recipe for increasing my whole grain intake.

Election Day is almost here!  After nearly 2 years of political ads, and seemingly endless months of pundits weighing in, Barack Obama and John McCain are finally reaching the end of the campaign trail.  Regardless of your party affiliation, a sweet treat on  Tuesday night will certainly hit the spot.  After all, it could prove to be a long night.

American Flag Cake

• 1 yellow cake mix
• 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 2 tbsp. water
• 1 tsp. light corn syrup
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 pint fresh strawberries, washed and dried
• 1/2 cup fresh blueberries, washed and dried

Cake: Prepare cake mix in a 9×13 cake pan according to directions.  Place on cooling rack. If you wish to serve this cake on a platter, remove cake from baking pan after 5 minutes of cooling.

Frosting: Mix together powdered sugar, water, corn syrup, and vanilla with a hand mixer until well blended.  Apply frosting to top and sides of cooled cake.  Arrange whole blueberries on cake to resemble the starred section of the American flag.  Slice strawberries in half lengthwise, and place end to end to form stripes on cake.  Remember to dry fruit before placing on the cake.

Here’s a buttery recipe for homemade yellow cake if you don’t want to use a cake mix. Here’s another variation of the flag cake recipe that includes gelatin.

Although it’s hard to beat the taste of food cooked on an outside grill, sometimes you need something that’s convenient and weather-proof for making grilled vegetables, or juicy burgers in a hurry.  I’ve used two different indoor grills over the past couple of years, including a George Foreman grill.  I’m surprised at how many times I’ve reached for them when I need to cook something fast.  I use my indoor grills most often for pork chops, steaks, burgers and veggies.

This George Foreman indoor grill features removeable plates for easy cleaning.  It also has a 1-inch floating hinge for accommodating thicker cuts of meat.  What I especially like about the George Foreman grills is that they cook from both sides simultaneously- which cuts the cooking time in half. And, the tilted design lets grease drain away from the food quickly.  The George Foreman Grilleration indoor grill is available at Boscov’s for $99.

After I saw Gwyneth Paltrow and Chef Mario Batali talking about their favorite kitchen gadgets on Oprah a few weeks ago, I thought maybe I should check into getting a  Gaggenau food steamer like the one Gwyneth talked about.  (You know, because if you see it on Oprah…well you gotta have it.) Turn’s out that Gwyneth’s Gaggenau steamer is a bit –ok a lot–out of budget for me, but there are alternatives.

I like this layered food steamer by Deni, which would allow you to cook a main entree and side dishes at one time.  It has a 90-minute timer, a water level indicator, and an option for keeping the food warm when it finishes cooking.  The Deni 7550 steamer is available at Cookware.Com for $49.99.

Did you know that cooking with steam rather than boiling or frying retains as much as 50% more vitamins in the food you eat?  Here’s an interesting article which includes the benefits of steaming.

Did you know you can use electric griddles for much more than just pancakes and eggs?   Although I do use mine for breakfast sometimes, I use it more often for dinner meals, including fajitas, and grilled onions for hot sandwiches. When I make fajitas, I leave the fajita meat (and veggies) on the griddle set on the lowest setting, so they stay warm for the entire meal.

The electric griddle above is made by Presto, and it is large enough to cook 12 pieces of French toast at one time.  It also has a stay-cool border around the outside to prevent burns.  I especially like the tilt and drain feature of this griddle.  The back legs are slightly taller than the front ones, allowing any fat to drain into the collection container.  I found the Presto Tilt’nDrain Stay Cool griddle at Absolute Home for $50.95.

If you’re pressed for kitchen storage space, or you just like keeping things simple, you should take a look at some of the new blenders on the market that also double as a food processor.  On these models, the blender pitcher, and a food processor attachment interchangeably use the same power base.

The Cuisinart blender shown above comes with a 40-ounce glass blender jar, and a 3 cup food processor.  I especially like that the motor has a special ice crusher setting, because if you try to crush ice in a blender that’s not made for it, you can easily ruin it.

The motor of the blender/food processor combo has 7 speeds, including pulse.  For the food processor attachment, a chopping blade, and a reversible shredding disc are included.   I found the Cuisinart Duet blender at Cooking.Com for $89.95.

Here’s a list of food processor and blender recipes from Recipe Zaar.

Dutch ovens are a good way to bring out lots of flavor in your favorite stew recipes, or savory dishes like pot roast or chicken cacciatore. I’ve even used mine for desserts like baked apples. I have a cast iron Dutch oven, but they are available in other materials like stoneware and Calphalon.  If you’ve never tried cooking with a Dutch oven, you should!  It’s practically impossible to mess up, as they hold-in lots of moisture during the slow cooking process.

The Dutch oven above is made from enamel-covered cast iron, and it is part of the Mario Batali cookware collection.  It is oven-safe up to 500 degrees F, and it has a self-basting lid. Enameled cast iron is known for providing even and slow distribution of heat.  I found the Mario Batali Dutch oven at Sur la table, and it is available in 4 and 6 quart sizes.

I think the best thing about Dutch ovens is that you can take them straight from the oven to the table.   Here’s a long list of Dutch oven recipes you might enjoy.

Football practice and dance lessons make Monday nights at our house pretty crazy, so I’m always looking for easy recipes that will make a busy night just a little bit smoother.   Last night I made these easy enchiladas from a recipe my mother-in-law gave me.  They’re fast, and you can adapt the recipe to include whatever meat and/or cheeses you have available.

Monday Night Enchiladas

• 1 package of corn tortillas
• 2 cups of shredded cheese (Mexican blend, cheddar, mozzarella, or queso blanco will work)
• 1 big can red enchilada sauce ( approx. 28 oz.)
• 2 cups of meat, chopped or shredded (ground beef, chicken, or pork)
• 3 tablespoons olive oil

Brush both sides of each corn tortilla with oil, and place in 400 degree oven for 5 minutes, and remove.  Pour half of enchilada sauce in the bottom of a 9X13 baking dish, and smooth to coat.  When tortillas are cool enough to handle, fill with your desired combination of meat and cheese.  Remember to save some cheese for topping.  After filling, roll tortillas, fold under the ends, and place seam-side down in baking dish.

Top enchiladas with remaining red sauce and cheese. Bake at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes.

If you want to make vegetarian enchiladas, you can replace the meat in this recipe with black beans.  If you’re concerned about fat content, you can make skinny enchiladas by omitting the oil, and softening the tortillas with water.

This recipe got me thinking about making homemade tortillas with a tortilla press.  It’s definitely not a Monday night activity, but I’m still anxious to try it.

Lately, I’ve been shopping commercial-quality countertop kitchen mixers looking for an unbeatable deal.  In fact, every time I use my hand held mixer to whip something up, I usually mumble something under my breath about how I haven’t found one yet.

I really like the look of the classic KitchenAid countertop mixers,like the one above.  As with other high-end models, there are so many attachments available for KitchenAid mixers, that they really are more than a mixer.  For example, this model comes with a wire whip, a flat beater, and a dough hook, but you can also purchase a grain mill, a food grinder, a pasta maker, a roto-slicer…and the list goes on an on.

The classic KitchenAid countertop mixer runs around $400, and the attachments I’ve priced run between $50 and $100 each. You could easily end up with a sizeable investment in one of these mixers, especially if you purchased a few attachments.   But, for those who cook a lot, perhaps the one-time purchase of something that will do the work of many small appliances, and that will last for decades is more sensible than going through several cheaper models.

With the economy in crunch, many of us are looking for ways to save on food expenses.  One of the best ways to save a buck on meals without sacrificing quality is to dig out all your favorite casserole recipes, or find some new ones.

If you think casseroles are limited to boring tuna/vegetable concoctions like your mom used to make, you should do a quick search for casserole recipes.  It’s easy to find low-fat versions of old favorites, and ideas for satisfying even the most sophisticated tastes. Here’s a vegetarian casserole from Cooking.Com that I’m going to try this week:

Baked Rigatoni with Spinach

• 1 pound of rigatoni
• 3 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 (10 oz.) package frozen spinach thawed
• 2 cups ricotta cheese
• 5 tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 tsp. grated nutmeg
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. fresh ground pepper
• 1 1/2 cups grated fontina cheese

Preheat oven to 450 F.  Cook pasta until almost done, and drain.  Pour pasta into a large (9X13) casserole dish, and toss with 1 tbsp. of oil.

Next, squeeze all excess water from spinach, and place in a food processor with ricotta cheese, 3 tbsp of the Parmesan, nutmeg, salt, and pepper.  Puree.  Then, stir in half of the fontina cheese.

Stir the pureed mixture into the pasta. Top with remaining fontina cheese, Parmesan cheese, and oil. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until top is brown and bubbly.

The casserole dish shown above is the Emeril adobe clay covered casserole dish available at Holiday Decorations Direct. Com.