Do you wonder how your family and friends make such wonderful meals? This article has some great tips to help you have a magnificent presentation of your own.
Prepare as much of your recipe as you can ahead of time. The wise cook prepares as much as possible before starting to cook. Sometimes even when the prep work is done, the deadline for when the meal must be completed can still loom large and become stressful. Having as much prep work done as possible will save you both time and frustration!
Make sure that you cut your meat extremely thin as well as on the bias for stir-fry. This can get a little tricky and does tend to take up some time. When you remove the meat from the freezer, it should be firm, not frozen. Slice across the meat’s grain while holding the knife at a 45-degree angle.
Consider freezing your meat a bit so that it will be easier to slice. This works well for Asian dishes, like Chinese or Thai. If the meat is partially frozen, a sharp knife will create perfect thin strips, as it will be less likely to tear or stretch the meat fibers. However, always thaw your food before cooking it.
While garlic imparts a delicious flavor to your cooking, it may also leave a residual odor on your hands. Rub your hands on the inside of a sink made of stainless steel after using garlic. Doing this will remove the scent from your hands, and keep it from spreading to the next food you touch.
Think big if you plan to make chicken stock. Plan on preparing a large pot of stock in order to freeze it for storing. There’s nothing better than homemade chicken stock as a flavorful base for casseroles, stews and soups. Allow the stock to cool, then split it up into heavy duty Ziploc freezer bags.
Lowering your oil amounts when cooking can help you have a healthier diet and lose weight. Adding unnecessary butter, oil and lard can increase your intake of fat. A nonstick spray for cooking provides many of the same results as oil; however, it does not add extra calories.
A super healthy, and tasty, veggie dish is simply sauteed veggies in some chicken broth. The chicken broth will make the vegetables taste a lot better, and you will be able to avoid using other oils that may add fat and calories. This is a wonderful way to cook, and enjoy, your vegetables.
To prepare pumpkins for baking, cut the standing pumpkin in half through the center. You then want to get two baking sheets and put the halves on their cut side down. Lightly sprinkle a bit of water over the pans, then bake the pumpkin for about one hour in an oven heated to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Always make sure you measure the cooking oil! You never want to pour oil straight from the bottle. Most oils are very high in fat, so when you measure them with care, you can keep the fat content lower. Measuring your oil instead of estimating allows you to closely approximate the fat content in your dish.
Make sure you use the advice provided in this article. Soon, your friends and family will be asking you what your cooking secrets are.