Barbequing 101- Ideas to Making a Juicy Pork chop

A table of bbq times is of necessity only approximate. While you can spent money on fancy thermometers and grill testers, it isn’t always as clear cut as you might think. There are other variables, less easily tested, that can make two seemingly identical cuts of meat grill at different times - exact thickness, texture, age, and temperature of the raw meat. That being said, BBQ timing is everything. There might be only a minute or two between a moist and tender steak and dry, tough shoe leather.... Read more »

Recipes - Healthy Snacks

In today’s hectic life style it probably feels like there is no time for healthy eating, or you simply can’t find recipes that are both healthy and quick to make. As a result it is tempting to reach for the quick and easy snacks such as potato chips or candy. Do you ever run out of healthy recipes for snacks, or find them to time consuming? Snacking is a major part of our lives, especially when it comes to kids. This article looks at why healthy snacks are important for all the family... Read more »

Healthy Rainbow Foods for Kids

Nutritionists and the USDA Food Pyramid all provide nutritional guidelines that suggest that offering a variety of nourishing foods to your children will help insure that they eat a healthy diet. In fact, they state that by choosing foods from the range of colors found in the rainbow you can generally obtain most of the necessary vitamins and minerals recommended for a healthy diet. “Rainbow” colored foods are easily found in the fruits and vegetables that are available in our grocery... Read more »

The Delightful Health Benefits of Chocolate

Some call it a food group. It just means that much and tastes that good. While it’s not the healthiest food in some ways there are many health benefits to eating chocolate too. Dark chocolate is of course the best, as it has the most cocoa and therefore the flavonoids, which provide the benefits. The flavonoids have antioxidant properties, which have the potential to help prevent cancer, heart disease, and stroke. Natural cocoa powders are the best, and when you’re shopping for chocolate... Read more »

Healthy But Fun Party Snacks

When you’re trying to live a healthier lifestyle, choosing party snacks can be a real problem. The classic ones just aren’t that healthy and you don’t want to bore everyone else by putting out nothing but fruits and vegetables. Now, there’s nothing wrong with having a solid fruit or veggie tray out at a party; in fact, I recommend it highly. A little dip will make people more enthusiastic about the vegetables. Get a little creative with the kinds of fruits and vegetables offered.... Read more »

Seafood On My Mind!

Vacation meals should be fun to prepare and delightful to eat! In addition, leisure meals should be easy to prepare! I’m pretty sure that’s a law in most parts of the country, especially on the Gulf Coast. No one wants to spend their vacation time slaving over a hot stove. Dinner is even more difficult when you have to serve twenty or more people. Each year our extended family gets together for a family reunion of sorts, sharing the costs of renting a couple of houses on a beach somewhere.... Read more »

Chocolate Chip Cookie Secrets

Chocolate chip cookies are a wonderful treat for the entire family and really easy to make. The right ingredients can make the most of whichever recipe you prefer to use. First, always stick with real butter. Margarine just doesn’t work as well and it has trans fats. The real butter is in many ways better for you. It is definitely better for chocolate chip cookie recipes. Butter should be melted carefully. Softening it at room temperature works well enough, but better is to melt it in a double... Read more »

Throw That Fish on the Barbeque

Summer is a great time to take advantage of your barbeque. But when you want to eat a little healthier, hamburgers, hot dogs and ribs just aren’t going to cut it as barbeque fare. It’s a good thing that fish can cook quite well on the barbeque too. One of the most important things you need to do before grilling fish is to thaw it out if it has been frozen. Frozen or partially frozen fish doesn’t grill very well. It dries out excessively due to the added cooking time. When choosing... Read more »

I Love Apalachicola Bay Shrimp

Most of the shrimp we eat speak a foreign language. Like most folks, I’d never really given a lot of thought to where the shrimp I eat come from. During my last trip to my favorite fishing grounds, Apalachicola Bay and St. George Island, Florida, I learned quite a lot about shrimp! Before this I was just happy to be able to eat all the shrimp I wanted and not care where they had spent the night before! My family and I were preparing a huge pot of shrimp that we’d bought from the back... Read more »

T Bone Steak Cooked in a Clipstone and Japanese Style

Clipstone is a small village in North Nottinghamshire. Many of the villagers experiment with recipes gathered from around the world. This is my recipe that was published in the village newsletter. Recipe for T Bone Steak Japanese Style Ingredients: T Bone or Porterhouse Steak per person. (The Porterhouse contains a larger portion of the tenderloin than does the T-bone and thus is even more mouth-wateringly tender.) Teriyaki Sauce (most Supermarkets sell this) Fresh Button Mushrooms Packet/ready made... Read more »