80 don with the canned Recipes

pork spare rib cuts (normal spare ribs cut across into 2), spicy italian pork sausage - cut into inch long chunks, plain canned tomato sauce or 2 tbsp canned tomato paste, chopped garlic, wine glass dry white vermouth, hot chili flakes or red pepper flakes (or to taste), anchovy fillets - drained, a cup pitted green olives - bashed with the flat side of a cleaver, capers- rinsed and drained, water or light unsalted chicken stock, level tsp sugar or to taste, olive oil

canned diced tomatoes, red onions or 1/4 cup white onion, chopped, tomato paste, water, garlic powder, fresh cilantro, chopped, ground cumin, salt, sugar, canned diced tomatoes, jalapeno peppers (optional)

sliced frozen okra, boiled cooked chicken (with liquid reserved) or 1 rotisserie-cooked chicken (and 1 can broth) or 1 lb cooked chicken breast (and 2 bullion cubes), sausage (preferably andoulle), onion, diced, bell pepper, diced, oil (as needed), ro-tel diced tomatoes with peppers (optional), salt, pepper, cajun seasoning (tony s)

whole wheat flour (i used whole grain pancake flour i found at whole foods, or you can use whole wheat pastry flour), eggs, low-fat buttermilk, artificial sweetener (i used splenda), baking powder (heaping), baking soda, unsweetened applesauce, flax seeds, ground (i used golden) (optional)

muffin pans, a special metal baking pan , sometimes referred to as a muffin tin, with 6 or 12 cup-shaped depressions. most often this pan is made from aluminum., muffin cups are, standard muffin cup is about 2 1/2 inches in diameter and holds 1/4 to 1/3 cup batter., giant or texas-size muffin cup is about 3 1/2 inches in diameter and holds 5/8 cup batter., muffin cup is about 1 1/2 to 2 inches in diameter and holds 1/8 cup or 2 tbsp batter., muffin-top cup is about 4 inches in diameter but are only 1/2 inch deep ., substituting a different size muffin cup, substitute another size muffin cup for original size listed in recipe. if substituting a larger size muffin cup the recipe will yield fewer muffins and if using smaller size muffin cup the recipe will yield more muffins. the bake time will be changed also. bake a larger muffin longer than the original time and smaller muffins a shorter time., tips on baking muffins, grease muffin cups by spraying each cup with no stick cooking spray or using a paper towel dipped in shortening to grease each cup., use paper liners in muffin cups for easy clean-up., if muffin cups are filled more than 3/4 full the muffins will have flat, flying saucer tops. if sufficient room is not allowed for muffins to expand before reaching the top of the cup the muffin will flatten on top., if some muffin cups will remain empty during baking , put 2 to 3 tbsp water in the unused muffin cups to keep the pan from warping., if baked muffins stick to the bottom of the muffin cup, place hot muffin pan on a wet towel for about two minutes., source : land o lakes, all about muffins, are you eating muffins or cupcakes, hot breads are always a hit and muffins are 1 of the easiest to make. they are more quickly and easily made than biscuits and no kneading, rolling or cutting is required. they can be a savory, last minute dinner muffin or a sweet delicious breakfast muffin. made using whole-wheat flour, wheat germ, bran, honey, fruits and nuts they can be very nutritious. but like the healthy granola craze which turned into candy bars, muffins also can quickly turn into cupcakes. eating cupcakes for breakfast is your choice, but don tsp tell yourself you are eating healthy breakfast muffins. a recent magazine article revealed some muffins available in new york delicatessens were claimed to be low fat, but actually contained up to 23 g of fat. that s more fat than two egg mcmuffins., what is the difference between muffins and cupcakes, some say cupcakes have frosting. a basic formula for muffins is 2 cups flour, 2-4 tbsp sugar, 2 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 egg, 1/4 cup oil, shortening or butter, 1 cup milk. when the fat, sugar and egg ratio in a recipe reaches double or more than this, you have reached the cake level., other technical difference between muffins and cupcakes, method of cooking is different for muffins and cupcakes. the muffin method is by far the fastest and easiest. flour, sugar, baking powder and salt (all the dry ingredients) are mixed together. this is where the leavening can be uniformly dispersed into the flour. sugar is mixed with the flour to prevent the flour from lumping when combined with the wet ingredients., making and baking muffins, in a large bowl, oil (or melted butter) and egg are beaten together to form an emulsion to disperse the fat more uniformly. then the milk is stirred in. this much mixing can be done ahead and held. the two are combined just before baking., combine, cut and fold liquid into the dry ingredients. mix only to combine. batter will be lumpy but no pockets of dry ingredients should remain. the general rule is only 12 strokes., bake as soon as it s mixed. when filling cups, do not mix batter between scoops. excessive mixing causes loss of leavening., cake method for making muffins, sometimes muffins are made using the cake method , i.e. cream the fat and sugar, add eggs, add the dry ingredients and milk alternately. this is more time consuming but produces a lighter, more tender, cake-like muffin., perfect muffin, perfect muffin has a thin brown crust , a slightly rounded top with a pebbled appearance and a moist, even interior. there should be no peaks, no tunnels which are usually caused by excessive mixing and too much liquid (muffin batter should not be fluid)., more leavening is not better, just because a recipe is in print does not mean that it is in balance. a guide for leavening 2 cups of flour in a recipe is either 2 1/2 tsp double acting baking powder, or 4 tsp fast acting baking powder, or 1/2 tsp soda plus 1 cup buttermilk (for the acid) and 1 1/4 tsp baking powder. excess baking powder and soda taste bitter., here are a few tips for altering muffin recipes, substitute 2 egg whites for 1 egg in the recipe. if these are stiffly beaten and folded in at the end it will produce a lighter muffin with less fat., use non-fat milk instead of whole milk ., use salad oil in place of butter. in place of the fat in the recipe , use 1-fourth of the oil and replace the other three-fourths with fruit puree such as applesauce. jars of baby food fruits provide a quick choice of purees other than apple. adding non-gluten grain products (bran, germ, oatmeal, corn meal) for part of the flour makes a more tender muffin., create your own taste sensations, begin with the basic formula and change 1/2 cup of the flour to corn meal, bran, wheat germ, rye, oatmeal or leftover cooked cereal. add 1/2 to 1 cup chopped apple, dates, prunes, raisins, apricots, figs, blueberries, cranberries, cheese, nuts., make your favorite muffin mixes by measuring the dry ingredients twice (or more ) into two separate bowls. use 1 and package 1 with the list of wet ingredients to be added when mixing at a later date.

green beans (i used a combo of green and purple beans) trimmed and cut into 2 inch pieces, diced pancetta, (if you don tsp have pancetta , you can use bacon), extra virgin olive oil, onion, diced, whole tomatoes, peeled and diced (you don tsp have to peel them, but i like them better without the peel. if they are especially seedy, go ahead and remove the seeds otherwise, i would just leave them in. also, i peel my tomatoes by holding ad turning them, on a long fork, over an open flame until they pop, peel with a knife, the peel comes right off), dried italian herbs, red pepper flakes, salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

any liquid can be reduced just by heating it - but why would you want to do that, answer comes back to two of our old friends, flavor and consistency (texture)., by reducing any flavored liquid you intensify its flavor and at the same time thicken it. you can continue this process until what you have left is a syrup if it contains sugar, or a sauce if it does not., this is 1 of the most important tools in the kitchen , believe it or not, because a great sauce can rescue an indifferent meal., literally any liquid can be reduced ., a few uses, wine is frequently used in cooking , both as a marinade and as an addition to sauces for meat., there are some problems with it though, 1 of which is that you need a really good wine and quite a lot of it to produce a reasonable sauce for, say, six people., on the other hand , if you use pure grape juice and reduce it to a syrup, that syrup, added to any sauce (or gravy if you prefer) will lift it into the realms of gourmet ., more , you don tsp have to make your reduction on the night you prepare your meal. you can reduce a liter of grape juice at any time to the consistency and flavor you want; then just store it in the fridge., you can do the same thing with any fruit juice - prune is sensational - and store it until needed. just about all of them will do things for ice cream, pies or tarts that will have your guests demanding the recipe, pork with apple sauce use a carton of fresh apple juice from the supermarket and reduce it. and if you want a real sensation add in a glass of apple brandy during the reduction process., are you getting an idea of how simple this is, take any carton of fresh stock straight of the shelf and reduce it. you will transform it into something even the manufacturer won tsp recognize. but beware, you need to start out with good quality in the first place, because when you reduce a liquid you intensify all the flavors, and not just the good ones., if it s salty to start with, for example, it will be salty beyond belief by the time you ve reduced it even by half. so if you are going to use a supermarket stock, make sure it s an extremely good 1., believe me when i tell you that stock cubes should not be used for reduction sauces., thickeners, because you will be tasting as you go (won tsp you ), you may find that you get the flavor you want before the desired consistency is reached., a couple of hints right now for your sauces., sweet ones can be thickened successfully without loss of color by adding in liquid glucose early on in the reduction process. surprisingly, this will add little in the way of sweetness and produces a beautiful velvety sauce when whisked., if you get it wrong and add too much, no problem. stir in a little extra water to thin it., reduction pans, reductions need to happen rapidly in serving to preserve flavors. and the greater the surface area of the liquid the faster the water will evaporate., however you may want to whisk something into the sauce while its cooking - such as butter or olive oil for example - and for that i find a small wok is best; 1 with a handle., a wok is less likely to reduce so fast that the sauce is burnt while your back is turned. but try both methods and see which you prefer. you may even end up using something totally different., no magic to this. whatever works for you, that s what you should use, in this and everything else to do with cooking., just bear in mind that what you re after is speed and ease of use. as well as a great tasting result, of course. :>), keeping, if they should dry out , simply add a little water and heat through., sauces containing meat juices of any kind must be frozen if you re going to keep them, and should be brought to boiling point before being used again. there is no need to thaw them out to do this, in fact it s better not to. simply drop the frozen cubes into a saucepan, melt them over a gentle heat, and then bring swiftly to the boil., why do you do this to avoid food poisoning, that s why. you are making sure that any bugs introduced into the sauce during the preparation process are killed off., worry , this will not be because of anything you have done wrong (i hope!), but because bacteria are part of our everyday lives and they exist in every kitchen, however clean., in fact your food , and especially your meat, is crawling with wildlife that you will never see. don tsp worry about them. careful handling and simple precautions will ensure that these miniature monsters can never multiply enough to harm either you or your guests.

flour tortilla (per pizza), land o lakes roasted garlic butter spread, grated parmesan cheese, drained roma tomatoes (approx. 2-3 tomatoes) diced 3/8, fresh basil cut in 1/8 julienne strips, lobster meat cut in 1/2 - 3/4 chunks, italian six-cheese blend, red pepper flakes (to kick it up a notch, if you don tsp like spicy, you can make the pizza without this ingredient)

chicken breast halves, water, carrots (1/4 sliced ), celery ribs (1/4 sliced ), onion (chopped ), garlic (minced ), salt, white pepper, black pepper, cayenne pepper, cumin, fresh cilantro (chopped ), rotel tomatoes (mild ), heavy whipping cream, canned corn (or fresh ), count) package corn tortillas, monterey jack cheese (fancy shred)

butter or 2 tbsp margarine, all-purpose flour, chopped peeled onion, chopped seeded green bell pepper, garlic cloves, crushed, canned tomato sauce, chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, whole bay leaf, crushed dried thyme, salt, ground black pepper, water, orange roughy fillets (see note )

butter (1 stick), onion (diced fine ), potatoes, cubed and cooked about 4 large potatoes, half-and-half, evaporated milk, clam broth, canned whole kernel corn (drained but save the juice), creamed corn, old bay seasoning, fresh crabmeat , hand picked maine crab meat

green beans, drained, onion , medium sized, thinly sliced, garlic, 2 tsp minced, crushed red pepper flakes, olive oil, soy sauce, red wine vinegar or 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar, water, salt and pepper

sliced potatoes, chopped onion, chopped green pepper, paprika, salt and pepper

lean ground beef, mccormicks broiled steak seasoning, onion, diced, bell pepper, diced, tomato sauce, ketchup, white vinegar, brown sugar, worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, ground mustard, hamburger buns or roll

risotto with sausage and cranberry beans, make risotto , you absolutely must use a specific type of rice called arborio rice (carnaroli and vialone nano are also used, some say superior, but are more difficult to find). these types of rice release starch when stirred in a liquid; it is this process which makes risotto, otherwise you just have a starchy mess of mush. these types of rice are identified by their fat round grains and pearly appearance. they can be used to make other sorts of rice dishes, such as pilaf, but other types of rice cannot be used for risotto. arborio is no longer that much of a specialty product; it can be found in most large, well-stocked grocery stores in the italian section. or sometimes, misguidedly, in the asian section., okay , so now we have the rice. you will also need some good, low-salt stock or broth - it should be low-salt not for health reasons, but because a good deal of it will evaporate, leaving its salt behind, and i like to have more control over the salt in a dish. it can be homemade, but i m not going to be a snob about it because, in truth, we go through gallons of store-bought stock in this household and i don tsp see that changing anytime soon. furthermore, risotto is actually a dish which can be whipped up out of thin air when it seems as though you have nothing to eat, as long as you have butter, rice, stock, maybe a few herbs, and some leftover parmesan. i like the kind of stock purchased in tetrapak cartons, because they are resealable and can be put in the fridge and used as needed. if you really want to use homemade but you don tsp have time to make stock or don tsp like the aroma of roasting bones in your house (i don tsp blame you), you can buy really great stock at north market poultry and game - it is expensive, but can be diluted with a 2- or 3-to-1 ratio of water to stock, so it stretches. my general guideline is to plan on 1/4 cup dry rice per person, and about 4 cups of stock to 1 cup of rice. of course, this isn tsp exact and will vary depending on your elevation and the phases of the moon, but it s a good place to start. i usually just use 4 cups of stock and then dilute with water or wine (or sometimes beer, if that s all i have) if i feel i m going to run out., well, we have rice and stock covered, now we just need our setup: place the stock in a saucepan on your rear burner, bring to a simmer, and leave it there with a 6-8 oz ladle in, and place a large, wide saute pan (must be really large, plan that your rice will at least quadruple in size) or dutch oven on the burner in front. get out your favorite wooden spoon and flex your stirring arm., nice thing about using sausage is it s so full of flavor you can leave out the usual onion/garlic/shallot/celery nonsense if you re tired and don tsp feel like chopping. furthermore, sausage goes from the freezer to the pan without suffering too much. okay, let s go, risotto with sausage and cranberry beans - serves 4, links italian sausage , or 1 lb bulk (or hot, or a combination - definitely with some fennel), casings removed, cooked cranberry beans or 1 can white beans, drained, arborio rice, beef , chicken or vegetable stock, butter, freshly, finely grated parmesan cheese , plus more for garnish, an oz) flat-leaf parsley, chopped finely, lemon juice , or juice from 1/2 lemon, salt and black pepper to taste, red pepper flakes to taste, optional, good balsamic vinegar , optional

pillsbury breadsticks, egg, beaten, kosher salt (or you can you poppy seeds, or even grated parmesan, use your favorite pretzel toppings, i prefer ju), velveeta cheese (i like spicy ), dijon mustard (you can add more if you want more tang), dark beer (if you don tsp want to use beer, you can use milk, but the beer to me just really adds a nice flavor), grated onion, diced bacon , sauteed (optional as a garnish)

fruitcakes get an awful lot of bad press , especially the mass produced varieties, but a rich homemade version can be incredibly delicious., fruitcake is a mixture of fruits and nuts with just enough batter to hold them together. when wrapped in cloth and foil, saturated with alcoholic liquors regularly, and kept in in tightly closed tins, a fruitcake may be kept for months or even years, have it your way ..., if there are certain fruits you don tsp like , you can always include more of another, or some of your own favorites. dried fruits cooked in juice can take the place of candied fruits, and seeds can replace nuts. to convert a favorite dark fruitcake recipe to a light fruitcake, leave out the dark spices, use light colored fruits (golden raisins, dried apricots, etc.), and replace dark corn syrup or molasses with light corn syrup

baking chocolate (nestle or any brand of flavored morsels. it can be peanut butter, butterscotch, white chocolate, dar), eagle brand sweetened condensed milk, salt, vanilla extract (but you don tsp have to just use vanilla, add any flavor you like), extract (not just vanilla, such as, mint, peppermint, fruit flavors, almond, you can also use liquors such as), nuts, candy cane, pieces, marshmallow, candied fruit, toffee pieces, cookie , pieces, candy bar, pieces, fruit preserves (not jam or jellie)