Cooking Delicious Meals With Beef Recipes

Beef recipes can help you make variations on your favourite meals. Rather than cooking from the same recipe, you can add variations to make the meal much more interesting and unpredictable.

It is easy to change the taste of the beef, by adding sauces, marinating and sprinkling with garlic, minced onions, herbs and spices. Many people know how to reduce the fat in beef. All one needs, is to cut out all the fat and voila! You have lean beef. You can even buy lean beef, helping you cut down on your meal preparation time.

Many beef recipes take a long time to prepare and cook. The slow cooker helps, by cooking while you are at work and the meal is ready by the time you arrive home. But there is a long preparation time, where you have to cut the vegetables and meat, into small manageable pieces, so they cook much quicker.

These days, you can purchase pre-cut vegetables and small pieces of beef. It is easy to buy your pieces of beef at your favourite meat shop. But, if you need to cook a quick and easy meal, then you can buy small pieces of beef, to cut down on your cooking time, as the smaller pieces of beef cook much quicker. You can add pre-cut vegetables. Many food stores now sell pre-cut vegetables, to help you reduce your preparation time, spending less time in the kitchen.

The less time you spend in the kitchen, cooking your meals with beef recipes, the more time you will have for yourself and your family, to help you recover after a long day at work.

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How To Buy Frozen Fish

Frozen fish are available in many food stores. Some fish are wrapped in plastic and some people may doubt the freshness of the fish. I always buy my fish from a specialist fish retailer, who sells frozen and live fish.

Before a fish is filleted, I always like to choose the fish. You may see already filleted fish, but one may not be sure if the fish filet is correctly labeled. If I can choose the fish, and the fish is filleted for me, then I know I am getting the right fish.

Another option is to buy a whole fish, rather than a fish fillet. Buying a whole tuna, is rather large and difficult to cut at home, just like buying a whole lamb. After I choose the tuna, I always request the fish to be gutted and then sliced up. It is often cooked the same day, or the next day the latest.

I always like to buy the tuna for special occasions, like a dinner party, a graduation or a birthday event. It feeds my whole family and we often have some left over for the next day, unless it is all eaten by the guests. The fish is always delicious.

If you develop a good understanding with your fishmonger, then you will get quality fish, even if it is frozen fish.

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Stocking Up On Cheap Food

Cheap food is available in many stores these days. When food shopping, one does not need to buy the same brand of their favourite food product every time. If the same food product is available from another manufacturer but at a reduced price, then you should try it out and take advantage of the lower price.

For example, you may like to buy your favourite cheese from the same manufacturer, but there may be the same type of cheese from a different manufacturer at an almost giveaway price.

You should try this out and see if the quality is the same as the cheese you normally buy. If the quality and taste are similar, then you saved yourself a few dollars.

Another tip to help you stretch your dollar further you should look to buying food in bulk. Some foods like rice and pasta can last a long time. So, the next time you are food shopping, you could look at buying in bulk and always be on the alert to take advantage of reduced prices for cheap food.

When you are shopping, always be on the alert for special discounts to find the best prices. Many food stores have a one day, or weekend sales. Quite often, there are catalogues delivered to your door detailing all the special prices. If you want to stretch your dollar further, then you should take advantage of these special offers.

In many food stores, there are now plain wrap food products, which are sometimes the same products you normally buy, but without all the graphics on the label and often made by the same manufacturer. You should try out these plain wrap products and see if they meet your requirements.

For example, I often see plain wrapped flour, placed next to the normal flour I usually buy. I now buy the plain wrapped flour as I was not able to detect any difference in quality to the normal flour. I can still see all the nutritional information, I normally see on normal food products, but without all the fancy graphics.

Being on the lookout for discount prices, does not mean you will lose on quality when buying cheap food.

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Cooking Delicious Meals With Low Fat Chicken Recipes

Low fat chicken recipes are popular these days. You can even order a low fat chicken meal at many restaurants. If the low fat meal is not on the menu, ask the waiter to inform the chef that you like the chicken to be low fat. All the chef has to do is remove the skin and voila!, you will be served low fat chicken!

Taking up a low fat diet, does not mean you cannot eat chicken anymore. As most of the fat is in the skin and if you remove the skin, then you will have lean meat. You can now cook your favourite chicken recipes with low fat chicken and do not feel guilty about eating delicious chicken with your low fat meals.

If you have your own favourite chicken recipes, then you can continue to use these recipes, all you need is to replace ingredients with low fat alternatives like skinless chicken. By taking part in a low fat diet, does not mean you need to learn your cooking skills all over again. All you need, is to replace your regular ingredients with low fat alternatives.

If you are not sure about the fat content of an ingredient, either read the nutrition information on the label, or buy your food from a health food store. Inform the staff you are on a low fat diet and state the type of food your family enjoys and they will be able to point out all the low fat alternative ingredients on the shelves.

There is no reason, for you and your family to miss out on low fat chicken recipes.

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Better Cooking Ideas With Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Broccoli cheddar soup is rather delicious and broccoli contains many nutrients to help you maintain your health, including many types of vitamins, fiber and isothiocyanates (ITCs).

ITCs are cancer fighters, helping to reduce the risk of bladder cancer and other cancers. You can help your body fight these illnesses, just by eating the right food.

Some foods like burgers and other processed foods include ingredients where a lot of the nutrients have been destroyed, just by the process of cooking. If you steam your vegetables, then you can retain all the nutrients to help you maintain your health.

Just by using broccoli in your meals, you will feel much more satisfied, knowing you are helping your body fight diseases trying to take over your body.

Many people do not know about the benefits of eating broccoli, but you may be one of the few that are in the know. Even our former President George W Bush, more than likely, did not know about the nutritional benefits of broccoli.

You can serve the soup at the next family gathering or serve it as one of the courses at a dinner party. This soup is especially delicious for cold winter nights, just make sure you warm it up before you offer the soup to your family. Do not forget to include a bread basket with plenty of multigrain bread on the table.

If you control what you eat by sticking to food with plenty of healthy nutrients and avoid fatty convenience foods like burgers and processed food, then you may be able to stop these diseases taking over your body.

You can give your body a fighting chance, just by cooking one of the better and more delicious food you can make, broccoli cheddar soup.

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Creating Your Own Blue Cheese Salad Dressing

Blue cheese salad dressing is quite popular these days. You can make your own salad dressing with your choice of ingredients, to add taste to your salads. You can even choose low fat blue cheese and leave out the mayonnaise, to create a low calorie version.

You can buy many types of salad dressings and there are also low calorie versions in many supermarkets, but if you need to make the salad dressing to meet your specifications, then it is easy to make your own. All you need is to buy the ingredients and add crumbled blue cheese and voila! you have a delicious salad dressing.

Some people are conscious of the high calorie count in many salad dressings, so you can purchase a low calorie version of your favourite dressing or when you are making your own low calorie salad dressing, use low calorie ingredients and low fat blue cheese.

If some of these low calorie ingredients are not available at your favourite supermarket, you should head to a health food store.

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Better Party Food For Your Guests

Party food for your guests, can be rather predictable. If you want to please your guests, then you can place a variety of savories, on a couple of tables, towards the side of the room. You may notice a lot of the guests gravitating to these tables. Different guests may require different types of food.

For example, if you have a small number of friends to see the Super Bowl on your large HD screen, then you can place their favorite choice of chips, dips and beer. But, if you are having a formal dinner party, then you may need more food planning, to ensure all your guests are able to eat the food. Some of your guests may be vegetarian, diabetics or on special diets.

If you are organising a childrens’ party, then you will need to ensure the party food will be enjoyed by children.

Just like you cannot have a party without Easter eggs during Easter. If you are having an Easter party, then you need to supply the traditional Easter eggs, as many of your guests will be looking for them when they come to your party. Especially children. Some of the children may even be looking for the Easter bunny to give out chocolate Easter eggs.

For my children, when it is their birthday, I get them an ice cream cake. The little one is a fan of Thomas The Tank Engine, so I got him a cake with Thomas The Tank Engine on it. It was delicious party food.

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Reducing Cooking Time With Better Meal Ideas

Meal ideas can be used to reduce your preparation and cooking time to make a delicious and nutritious meal. You do not have to spend hours in the kitchen, preparing a family meal.

Instead, you can pre-cook some of your main ingredients and another tip is to buy pre-cut vegetables and meat. Reducing your preparation time. You can reduce your cooking time, by ensuring you cook with small pieces of meat, as the smaller pieces cook much quicker.

Taking advantage of these meal ideas, will help prepare delicious meals in a very short time. Especially when you arrive home, after a long tiring day at the office. The last thing you need is to spend two or three long hours in the kitchen every night.

You do not have to eat at expensive restaurants or go to a fast food outlet, when you can prepare your own delicious meals within a short period of time, by using these meal ideas.

Take advantage of these meal ideas, helping you reduce up your preparation and cooking time, will help to feed your family quick and nutritious meals.

Now you know how to prepare nutritious and quick meals using meal ideas.

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Happy Customers With A Better Food Service

Food service at many restaurants is quite good. There are some restaurants where the service can be shocking, but this may be rare, as these restaurants do not last long in such a completive industry.

There can be reasons why you do not receive satisfactory food service. It may be a complete menu change, where your favorite meal is no longer available. It may even be new staff, adjusting to a new job, like a new chef, who cooks a different variety of meals.

All these reasons may be acceptable for one visit, but if you are not satisfied with the food service over a number of visits, then you should lodge a complaint or look at eating in another restaurant.

Even though another restaurant is much further away from your home. You may have to travel further, but the meal and the service, may be much better. You should always be ready to accept changed circumstances, as many things do not always stay the same.

A lot of changed circumstances can be found out when you are making a booking for a restaurant. You may ask about the menu, the staff, the chef, before you finally make the booking.

There are many ways to receive satisfactory food service.

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Losing Weight With Low Fat Low Carb Recipes

Low fat low carb recipes are easy to use. You may not have to cook with brand new recipes, in order to cook with low fat and low carb ingredients. You can look at your favorite recipes and substitute your regular ingredients with alternative ingredients that will meet your diet requirements and still have a delicious meal.

For example, if you use red meat, you can cut out all the fat and you will have lean meat. Alternatively, you can use fish or skinless chicken. There are many ways to include lean meat in your cooking to make a delicious meal. If you need to include a sauce, look for the low carb version.

Many people like to add some cheese and a salad dressing in their salads, to improve the flavor. You can use low fat cheese and low carb salad dressing as alternative ingredients to help you lose weight and look great.

Now you know why it is so easy to cook with alternative ingedients. You do not have to drastically change your cooking methods, when cooking with low fat low carb recipes, just substitute the ingredients with low fat and low carb alternatives.

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Enteratining Your Family With An Ice Cream Machine

Ice cream machine allows you to make ice cream whenever your heart desires. You may eat ice cream as a dessert after a meal, or you may offer it to friends visiting your home as a relief from the heat of summer.

You may even offer it to children at a childrens’ party. There are many times, when you can enjoy ice cream. The best and most delicious ice cream, is the ice cream you make yourself, with your choice of favorite ingredients.

When you buy ice cream from the store, you may realise, it is bland and rather tasteless. As the manufacturers try to appeal to a wide audience as possible, they try not to offend too many segments of the market, by making ice cream so bland.

My solution is to make the ice cream myself, with my choice of ingredients, using my favorite ice cream machine.

We now make ice cream for all our childrens' parties. Whenever there is a birthday party, or a simple get together with some of the children, out comes the electric ice cream machine. I even make ice cream desserts for some of the adult dinner parties, especially during the summer time.

Many people have never seen home made ice cream, and do not realise how easy it is to make your own ice cream. You can get ice cream recipes, and make different types of ice cream with delicious flavours. I especially enjoy the ice cream desserts. There are usually ice cream recipes enclosed in the box, when you buy an ice cream machine. You can also search for ice cream recipes online.

It is so refreshing, especially during the summer, to enjoy delicious ice cream you have made with an ice cream machine.

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Shopping For Better Holiday Gifts

Before you begin shopping for holiday gifts, take a deep breath and relax. Now, spend a moment pondering the essence of the person you're buying for. Is this person a reader, a writer, an artist, a workaholic, a coffee lover, a pet lover, a world traveler or a high-tech guru? Try searching for hobby-related gifts and accessories for a thoughtful purchase.

Also, ask yourself what this person values. Is it time, money, a simplified lifestyle, relaxation or staying connected? Lastly, ask yourself if this person has dropped any hints this year. If you're really stumped over Christmas day gifts, here are some suggestions of top 2009 gifts.

Choosing holiday gifts for in-laws can be nerve wracking, especially if you're a little strapped for cash this holiday season. You can try a magazine subscription like Readers Digest, GQ, Esquire, Cosmo, Vanity Fair, National Geographic, Newsweek or The New Yorker.

Music CDs are another Christmas present idea for under $25 that could show thoughtfulness. You can try opera, holiday albums, ancestral folk music or oldies, to play it safe. Audiobooks could be a safer bet if you're really not sure what your in-laws' interests are. If they're particularly computer savvy, sites like www.audible.com offer monthly subscriptions and unlimited downloads.

Gourmet coffees, gift baskets, Christmas plants or edible arrangements also make a nice treat. Spa certificates can pamper your in-laws and are something they wouldn't usually buy for themselves. At www.amazingclubs.com, you can send monthly wines, cheeses, ice creams, beers and a number of other goodies in the mail, although this is a little more expensive.

A 2008 study by Home Electronics Journal found surprising similarities in affluent holiday gifts lists and the under $100,000 income bracket lists. A quarter of those making more than $100,000/year are hoping to receive flat panel plasma TVs this Christmas season. Another quarter would like a laptop and 25.1% would like a DVR/TiVo.

For those making less than $100,000, the preferred gifts are flat panel LCD TVs (31.4%), laptops (27.2%) and flat panel plasma TVs (23.9%). "Consumers have more interest than dollars to spend," says Roy Weiss, publisher of Home Electronics Journal.

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Thanksgiving And Maintaining Your Diet Goals

If you're cooking this Thanksgiving and there are people in your family who are diabetic, on a diet or are suffering with a bad heart, then perhaps you should skip the butter basting this year and opt for something healthier.

According to www.atkins.com, you can have a sumptuous Thanksgiving dinner, sacrificing the calories without cutting into the taste. Of course, not everyone will be interested in the roasted cauliflower and almond cream soup, but see if they even detect that your stuffing is made from reduced-carb bread, low-fat maple-flavored sausage and apples! Pumpkin pie with pecan crust sounds too delicious to fit into the Atkins diet, but it's true!

Sometimes, it's our eating habits that sabotage us on Thanksgiving. For instance, many people will starve themselves the morning of Thanksgiving, and will keep busy cooking or entertaining, without even giving it a second thought. Then, when the food comes out, they overeat.

Instead, you should be eating a healthy snack like veggies and a low-fat dip prior to the meal, says dietician Bonnie Taub-Dix. She also recommends that you aim for 3½ ounces of protein, which is the size of a deck of cards, for your Thanksgiving meal. Next, serve up 1 cup of starches, or the size of two computer mice, and check to be sure that fills up half your plate.

Fill the other half with healthy vegetables, unless, of course, you've been stocking up on cheese cubes, pepperoni and other snacks prior to the meal. Then you'll have to cut back on your turkey a little. She says we can still indulge in our favorite Thanksgiving dinner items, like mashed potatoes, stuffing and bread, but only if we can fit those items into a cup-sized portions.

Thanksgiving and dieting may seem like an oxymoron. If you've got your heart set on all the festive dishes and can't pull your thoughts away from that pecan pie or that homemade stuffing, then consider trying a little of everything with proper portions, and add exercise to your week.

If you're not cooking, then portion sizes and bringing a healthy dish are your best recourses. If you're cooking Thanksgiving dinner, then you've got a little more leeway to play with recipes.

A quick google search will find you all the Thanksgiving recipes you could ever hope for and www.atkins.com naturally has some options for the low-carbers in your family. You can mix-and-match low-fat with regular items to accommodate everyone and perhaps try a few recipes in advance before the big day.

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Cooking Classes With Barbeques Galore

If you live in Arizona, California, Texas, Hawaii, Georgia or Florida, then you're likely familiar with the Barbeques Galore chain, which specializes in barbecues grills, stainless steel barbecues, custom barbecues and more.

What began as a small garage project in the suburbs of Sydney, Australia in 1972 has since become a large enterprise that includes 40 retail locations in the United States as well. Though the company has suffered from the economic downturn, stores in California, Arizona and Texas are still booming.

In addition to perusing the newest selection of grills, Barbeques Galore is a great place to begin daydreaming about your outdoor kitchen and custom island barbecues. For the entertainer, the "Yosemite" island comes with a 38" Grand Turbo infrared rear rotisserie burner, a Grand Turbo side burner, natural gas installation, dual drawers, paper towel holders, a raised bar for seating, footrests, solid granite surface and an optional beverage center or refrigeration unit.

The "Avondale" island offers a sophisticated, high-class look with its stacked stone facade, steel frame, ceramic tiles and stucco finish, not to mention double doors, Turbo STS burners and recessed footrests. Whether you want to buy barbecues that are massive and impressive or to create a backyard bar oasis, you'll find everything you need in the units at this top-selling retailer's website (www.bbqgalore.com).

In addition to selling world-class barbecues propane and barbecues charcoal, Barbeques Galore also offers cooking classes for aspiring backyard chefs. Whether you want to gain skills to be an expert entertainer or just learn the secret to the best BBQ recipes ribs, you'll leave your class with an in-depth knowledge of skewering, rubbing, smoking, marinating and grilling.

Expert chef Richard Schmitt offers his cooking classes in San Diego, California for $50 to $65 and focuses on topics like Decadent Dining, Prime Steakhouse, Entertaining Envy, Grilling Seafood, Fast & Fabulous Summer Menu and Wild Game. For more information, be sure to visit www.cookingschoolsofamerica.com/bbqgaloresandiego/index.php?flag_menu_index=reservation_php#314.

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Different Types Of Coffee

When you walk into a coffee shop or coffee house you may be surprised at the variety of drinks that are available. This plethora of options may have something to do with the fact that these coffee shops are springing up everywhere.

The owners may be trying to come up with new types of coffee drinks that will set their location apart from the rest, while still selling the better known standard drinks as well.

The first one most people know is the cup of black coffee that is normally either made by using a French press, percolated or drip brewed, and served with no milk, or straight. The caffè latte has one shot of espresso that is put into the steamed milk making the ratio of milk compared to coffee approximately 3 to 1.

Another type of coffee drink is the Americano; this actually came about as an insult to Americans who were not able to handle drinking full espressos. This is one shot of espresso put into about 7 ounces of hot water.

The café Breva is actually much like a cappuccino but instead of using whole milk, half and half is used. Since half and half is more difficult to make foam than milk and since it is time consuming, not all coffee houses will serve them.

A cappuccino has equal parts of frothing milk, espresso and steamed milk and many times this type of coffee drink will have flaked chocolate pieces or cinnamon served on top.

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Better Beef Barbecue Recipes For Family Summer Time

Summer is the time for cookout and there's no shortage of special holidays to accommodate, from Memorial Day to Father's Day to the Fourth of July. If you're looking for beef barbecue recipes, then a good place to start is www.allrecipes.com, where there are 300 selections from Brontosaurus Burgers to Herb-Garlic-Butter Steak.

Of course, finding good steak, burger or brisket BBQ recipes is just the start to a great meal. You'll also need to know a few techniques to ensure your meat comes out cooked just right.

Bobby Flay offered up one of his signature beef barbecue recipes for your consideration: the Blue Burger. First, you cook 8 slices of double-smoked bacon (1/4-inch thick), sautéing in a pan over medium heat until golden brown and crisp, about 3 to 4 minutes per side.

Next, divide 1.5 pounds of ground chuck (80% lean) and form into four six-ounce portions, making a deep depression in the center with your thumb. Season both sides of each burger with salt and pepper, and then cook the burgers either on barbecues grills or in a pan using 1.5 tablespoons of canola oil.

Then top each burger with 1/2 cup of crumbled blue cheese during the last minute of cooking. Place the burgers on the bun bottoms, top with two slices of bacon and chopped parsley.

If you're new to beef barbecue recipes, then a good place to start is www.beefitswhatsfordinner.com, where you'll find a helpful grilling chart, with estimated cook times for all types of beef BBQ recipes. You can also get preparation tips and get an idea on what is suitable for dry rub and what is suitable for marinade.

You'll also get hints on what kind of beef to buy at the store; which cut, which size and which grade. While you're there, you can learn how to make Garlic-Thyme Steak, Sweet Hawaiian Mini-Burgers or Steak and Grilled Ratatouille Salad.

While beef has received much criticism from the health community, there are still many benefits to eating this type of meat. Rich in essential nutrients, there are, in fact, 29 cuts of beef with less than 10 grams of fat.

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