Tuesday's Tip - Chicken Stock

"I love chicken. I would eat chicken fingers on Thanksgiving if it were socially acceptable. "

What a cute quote and I have to admit that I too love chicken.  Especially today, as I'm home sick and nothing sounds better than chicken noodle soup.  I don't have the energy to make a pot of it but I thought discussing chicken stock would be a great tip for today.  One of the best money saving tips I have learned in cooking so far is that of making your own stocks.  It is much cheaper to buy the whole chicken, use what you need for your meal and save the bones for a stock to be made at a later date.  Not only is it so much cheaper it is also a lot healthier, you can moniter the salt and fat amounts and adjust according to your diet.  Since learning this I don't throw anything away. 

Emails...

"Day, n.  A period of twenty-four hours, mostly misspent"

If you're anything like me time is something you never feel that you have enough of.  However, when I do have time to do the simple things like read, cook, and sip a cup of coffee (or hot tea my newest obsession), I often forget something until I no longer have time to do it.  So in order to help everyone out I decided to make my posts available via email, that way you don't have to worry about coming to the blog and checking to see if something new is up, you'll get it in an email form.  I've attached the form below and can't wait to see how it works out.  If you have any problems with it please feel free to let me know! By the way I had to use the "You've Got Mail" logo, I just love that movie, you always leaves you feeling good.

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Tuesday's Tip... Cooking with Love

“There is no spectacle on earth more appealing than that of a beautiful woman in the act of cooking dinner for someone she loves.”

cute little cake stand from etsy

Today is the husband's birthday and in honor of that I am going to discuss one of the most important cooking tips I've ever learned.  I think I may have learned it from my grandmothers or maybe even my mom, but as cliche as it may sound love is one of the most important ingredients you can add to your spice rack.  There's something about cooking in a non-selfish way, whether it be for someone down the street or your own family.  When cooking is selfish we have a tendency to get an attitude of "I made it, you'll eat it" but when the cooking is all about the other person even in the imperfections we can still feel pleased with what we make.  Not only that but it is such an easy way to please your husband, children, neighbor up the road or friend in need.  So this week's tip is to try your hand at catering a whole week worth of menus around other people, attempt to make their favorites and show them how much they mean to you.  

For my husband's birthday he had one request for me to make Airline Chicken.  I know it sounds like something you would get aboard a plane but I promise it isn't. 

Friday Interview

Last week we had an interview with a line cook for Seasons52 and this week we are going to go a different route with an interview from a Wellness Educator for a local Tampa hospital.  Bethany used to be my roommate and she is definitely my "fitness-extraordinaire" friend.  Bethany has been a nurse for a few years and was just recently promoted to wellness educator.  Her perspective is one from a busy yet fit lifestyle focused on making good choices and eating less processed food.  I hope you enjoy her healthy perspective as much as I do!!! Oh, and if you like what you read from her check out her healthy blog at www.FitRN.blogspot.com

Tuesday's Tip - Slow Cookers

“The time to relax is when you don't have time for it.”

I couldn't find a picture of a turquoise slow cooker but this recipe is so easy you can sit back and sip your coffee while it cooks.  So, I thought the coffee maker would be appropriate.  Plus it was just too darn cute to pass up!  On a side note make sure you take time weekly to relax.  Cooking shouldn't be a chore or a stress maker, think of it as a stress reliever.  Turn on your favorite music or your favorite TV show and enjoy them while you cook.  Pay attention to the repetitiveness while you chop and don't let the small "mistakes" stress you out.  A mistake for you might just turn into a wonderful new recipe.  Today's tip is for slow cookers. If you are married you probably have one somewhere as I know I was given 3 at my wedding showers.  So the first tip is to find the slow cooker if you never use it and clean it up.

First Friday Interview

Here's my second surprise of the week.  I personally love different cooking styles from different people and I wanted to be able to share that with you.   Although I'm glad you enjoy reading my perspective on what I like I also wanted to be able to give you a different perspective on cooking from others that might cook differently than me.  This could be a challenging undertaking some weeks so bear with me as I get started and try to update this portion weekly.  For the first interview I decided to ask someone who I go to with questions when I want to know how to cook "properly".  Allison is my youngest sister and let me tell you she knows her cooking.  While I may be one who likes to expiriment she is definitely the one who likes to follow the recipe exactly but really put good technique to use.  While my dishes may taste great and not look so hot her dishes always come out immaculate!  I mean who else do I know that peels her celery sticks so that you don't have that stringy gross stuff!!!  She's pretty much amazing at that!  After High School Allie attended Le Cordon Blue for culinary school.  After graduating with her culinary degree she went on to work for the Ritz Carlton in Naples, FL and eventually Seasons52 in Orlando.  I hope you enjoy her perspective as much as I do!!!

Tuesday's Tip

 

I don't like gourmet cooking or "this" cooking or "that" cooking. I like good cooking.

I have decided to start a new weekly post.  I've decided to post it on Tuesdays... thereby earning the name of "Tuesday's Tip".  Basically this will be a weekly tip I've learned about cooking.  For those of you who are looking for simple ways to make cooking more efficient this will probably be one of the posts that you'll find most helpful.  Over the past few years I've learned that if I make sure to follow a few simple guidelines when I'm cooking it helps prevent "lost dishes".  You know those dishes were you end up messing them up when you tried so hard and you finally get to the point where you just tell the husband to "order pizza"?  So here goes the first tip... one of my favorites... zesting.