Protein is a key nutrient that helps build muscle and provide energy. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recommends5.5 grams of protein per day for someone on a 2,000 calorie/day diet. Many people may think of getting protein from meat, poultry, and fish, but there are many other options for those who wish to add variety to their meals. Foods like beans, nuts, and tofu all contain protein and can be substituted for meat in many dishes. In fact, plant-based proteins can be healthier alternatives to certain meat products. For example, beans are low in saturated fat and contain many nutrients. Check out some of the recipes below for ideas about how to add beans or tofu to one of your meals this week.
Quick and Easy Dessert Recipes !
After eating the main course, it is always nice to end the meal with some desserts. You can save ice cream or coffee or you can do something better by serving other quick and easy dessert recipes.
The first one is called cherry chocolate bark. The ingredients that you will need are a bag of semisweet chocolate chips and crushed cherry flavored candy canes. When you have the ingredients, line a 9×13 inch baking pan with aluminum foil.
Now melt the chocolate chips in a microwave-safe glass or ceramic bowl in 30-second intervals, stirring after each melting, until smooth, 1 to 3 minutes. Don’t make the mistake of overheating the chocolate because you could burn it.
Using a spatula, quickly spread the melted chocolate evenly in the prepared pan until the bottom of the pan is covered. Sprinkle the crushed candy evenly over the chocolate, and pat lightly with a clean spatula to help the candy settle into the chocolate. Put the pan in the freezer for half an hour to cool then remove the pan and remove the foil then serve.
A lot of people can’t resist eating a cheesecake. To do that, you will need crushed graham crackers, melted butter, cream cheese, white sugar, milk, eggs sour cream, vanilla extract and all purpose flour.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees because you will need this to cook the cake that will be placed in a 9 inch spring from pan.
Using a medium bowl, mix the mix graham cracker crumbs with melted butter then press this into the bottom of the pan.
In a larger bowl, mix the cream cheese with sugar until it is smooth then blend in milk and eggs so the mixture will incorporate. Now mix sour cream, vanilla and flour until it is smooth then pour this into the prepared crust.
Bake this for a little over an hour and then let it cool in inside the oven for about 5 to 6 hours closed as this prevents cracking. Then transfer to the refrigerator to chill until it is ready to be served.
Still want more chocolate desserts? Well here is another and this one is called Peppermint Bark. This is very similar to the cherry chocolate bark and the only difference is that you will be adding peppermint candies and white chocolate to the recipe.
You start by lightly greasing a 9×9 inch pan with waxed paper, smoothing out wrinkles then setting it aside.
For this recipe, you will need to use the double broiler. The first time you will use it is to melt semisweet chocolate and a teaspoon of canola oil. When the chocolate is melted, stir a quarter teaspoon of the peppermint extract.
Then you pour the melted chocolate into the prepared pan, and spread evenly over the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle half of the crushed peppermints over the chocolate layer then refrigerate until completely hardened for about 1 hour.
The second time you will use the double broiler is to melt white chocolate. Both times, you should stir frequently and scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula to avoid scorching.
Once it is melted, pour the white chocolate mixture over the semisweet layer and spread evenly. Sprinkle crushed candy on top and refrigerate until it hardens. Remove from then pan and break into small pieces before serving.
There are a lot of quick and easy recipes to serve as dessert at home. Do some research and then serve it with the rest of the household.
Quick & Easy Chicken Dishes !
Chicken is one of the all time favorite food. Both kids and adults enjoy having chicken whether in their sandwiches, salads, pasta, as appetizers, and as full meals. On the plus side, it is relatively inexpensive and can be quite easy to prepare. It is a good source protein, zinc and iron and depending on the preparation and cooking is relatively healthier than red meat. You can have a fulfilling meal with just quick and easy chicken dishes. There are several of these recipes which you can easily buy off the shelves of bookstores or even read on the internet.
Don’t worry too much on the chicken parts you are using. Believe me when I say that you won’t run out of recipes for each chicken part. All you need are the right ingredients and you can have a delicious meal in no time. You can combine these simple recipes with some useful cooking techniques which will make the whole process even easier and the resulting dish much tastier.
For example, when baking or grilling chicken, it would be best to leave the skin on first to make the meat tastier. You can remove the skin afterwards when you serve or eat it. Most of the fat of the chicken is stored in the skin. You can have a low fat chicken dish just by removing the skin. When you do prepare chicken dishes, I would suggest sticking with baking, broiling, and grilling. As much as possible, avoid frying the chicken. There are a lot more delicious and healthier ways to prepare and cook chicken aside from frying so let’s do that.
Let’s see, you can cook a tasty chicken dish with cream of mushroom soup. What you do is place sliced and skinned chicken on a pot and mix a can of cream of mushroom soup. Add another can of mushrooms but make sure the water has been drained. Add water and onion soup mix into it. You can cook this in low fire until the chicken is tender. Add salt to taste. And that’s it. Although, this recipe may take longer since you will have to cook the chicken in low fire to get that taste but the recipe is easy and the preparation is simple.
If you’re craving for pasta, you can add chicken into it to have a fuller meal. What you do is cut boneless and skinless chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces and sauté it together with garlic, green pepper, some onions and mushrooms. Make sure the chicken is cooked already when you add the vegetables. In a few minutes the vegetables should be done as well. At this point mix in your tomato or spaghetti sauce. You can cook your pasta while you’re doing this so by the time you’re done with the chicken, the pasta is firm and ready to be served. Sauce your pasta and top with grated cheese or parmesan cheese.
If you like a different approach, mix olive oil to your pasta instead of spaghetti sauce. That sounds interesting. When you combine pasta and chicken it seems that you can’t go wrong. Both dishes are very easy to prepare individually and combining the two is just simply mixing the dishes.
You see, by having some quick and easy chicken dishes in mind, you can save your family and yourself a lot of time in preparing your meals. Start reading and looking for those quick recipes.
Preparing Quick and Easy Recipe, Chinese style
Imagine this situation, you are at home during the weekends and you suddenly started craving for Chinese food. But then you remember that your favorite Chinese food that delivers is close during the weekends. You thought of going out and getting some Chinese food but the next restaurant is quite far and you just don’t want to make that trip for Chinese food. Now all this trouble might have been avoided if you only knew how to cook Chinese food. Knowing some quick and easy Chinese recipes can really make a difference.
Generally, the easiest Chinese food can be cooked in just 10 to 15 minutes. Most of the easy ones involve just stir frying the ingredients and before you know it you’re enjoying a hot meal with your chopsticks. What actually takes long is the preparation. Nevertheless, there are several cooking preparation tips that you can apply to make your life a lot easier.
To be able to cook a hot Oriental meal quickly, you should learn to prepare the ingredients before hand. For example, ginger can be peeled, sealed in a jar and place inside the refrigerator until needed and believe me you will need ginger almost all the time. It is one of the most used ingredients in Chinese cooking.
You could also do better if you have prepared the meat and vegetables ahead of time. Basically this means you are anticipating that you will crave for Chinese food anytime. If you like the food, I don’t see why this should be any problem. With meat you should cut them in uniform sizes so stir-frying them is a lot easier and they cook faster as well. You can cover the cut meat with a plastic wrap and store them inside your refrigerator. The same goes with vegetables. Wash, cut and store them.
I know that this is not an ideal practice but if you’re really out of time or you want that Chinese food really fast, an option for vegetables would be to use frozen and/or canned ones. You can find in your supermarket frozen vegetables that are already prepared for stir-frying. Canned Chinese vegetables such as bamboo shoots and mushrooms are also available in the market. There’s no substitute for fresh vegetables though.
Remember your sauce concoctions. You can use the same sauce recipes for other Chinese dishes. This way you save time from experimenting every time you cook. You can do a lot with a few tablespoons of soy sauce, oyster sauce, and even sugar. Or another option would be to settle with ready-made sauce or marinade. There should be several flavors to choose from.
Actually you’ll be surprised on what you can find in your supermarket’s shelves. There is an assortment of products which can make your cooking a lot simpler and easier. From canned vegetables and meat, to instant broths, marinades and sauces, you can have that Oriental flavor in a flash just by adding water, boiling or including the flavors in your cooking.
But one of the best tricks, if you find yourself in a pinch is learn to simplify the recipe. A quick and easy Chinese recipe involves simplifying your ingredients, preparation and cooking. Although, experimentation can indeed lead to some truly incredible meals, but when your in a rush and someone’s already waiting for their meals, it would be best to stick to the tried and tested recipes, at least for the now.
Healthy Soup Recipe – Quick & Easy !
Soup is not something you serve before the main course. It can sometimes be the main course. Here are a few quick and easy soup recipes you can try out.
The first is spicy clam soup and to make that, you need to know the ingredients. These include chopped onions, minced parsley, salt and pepper, strips of orange peel, red pepper flakes and the clams.
You begin by putting the clams in a large saucepan and bring it to a boil. Once the clams open, reduce the heat and discard those that did not. Now add the other ingredients and boil for 3 minutes. Divide the clam into 4 bowls and then top it off with orange peel and red pepper before serving.
A personal favorite is creamy bacon mushroom soup. To make this you can open a can of Campbell soup, boil and then serve. But if you want to make this from scratch, be sure you have bacon strips, some onions, minced garlic cloves, heavy whipping cream, chicken broth, Swiss cheese, chicken broth, corn starch, pepper, salt and water.
First, cook the bacon until it is crisp and then drain the excess oil using a paper towel. Sauté the mushrooms, onions and garlic while stirring the broth and cream. Gradually stir until the cheese is melted.
In a small bowl, mix water, cornstarch and pepper until it is smooth. When everything is ready, mix it together until it is thickened and then serve.
Craving for chicken? Well you can also make chicken and tortilla soup. To do that, you will need some skinless chicken breasts, olive oil, minced garlic, ground cumin, a can of chicken broth, frozen corn kernels, chopped onions, chili powder, lemon juice, salsa, tortilla chips and cheese.
To make chicken and tortilla soup, you have to sauté the chicken in oil for 5 minutes and then add the other ingredients. Afterwards, reduce the heat to low and simmer for about twenty to thirty minutes. Before you serve it, break some tortilla chips and put a few into each bowl. Pour the soup over the chips and then serve. If you want to add more flavoring, add cheese or sour cream.
Another great recipe you can try out is corn chowder soup. For this, you will need fat free margarine, diced carrots, all purpose flour, skim milk, frozen kernel corn, cream style corn, chicken granules, dried thyme leaves, black pepper and bacon bits.
The first step is to melt margarine in a large pot over medium high heat. When ready, add onions and carrots for about 5 minutes until these become soft.
Now sprinkle the sautéed vegetables with flour, stirring to coat. Add milk, frozen corn, cream-style corn, bouillon granules, thyme and black pepper then simmer over medium heat for 3 minutes. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 10 to 20 minutes. While the soup is heating, toast the bacon bits in a small nonstick sauté pan until crisp and add them to the soup.
Soup is great to have for any meal. It warms your stomach and makes you feel full after just a few minutes. So try out the different quick and easy soup recipes and see which one is your favorite. Just cut down on the ingredients if you are only serving yourself.