Best tips and recipes that your family love?

11 years ago

I want to thank all the wonderful folks in this forum who gave generously their recipes. There's a great tip from Arley (see below) who advised to cut a slit along the bone in the chicken thigh, so they cook better.

That tip saved my family from getting gross out with red blood inside chicken thighs. It's a healthy tip ... thank you, Arley! Also thank you, Annie, for all the great recipes you gave, including how to make bread crumbs.

From Annie: "To make dry breadcrumbs, spread coarse or fine breadcrumbs on a baking sheet and bake at 250Ã¯Â¿Â½F until dry, about 10 to 15 minutes. One slice of bread makes about 1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs or about 1/3 cup dry breadcrumbs."

I re-post what Arley wrote below ... great tip & fast recipe:

Ã¯Â¿Â½Posted by arley (My Page) on
Tue, Jan 1, 13 at 14:48

I learned how to make 'fried' chicken thighs from a recipe by Jacques Pepin. I find that the 14" nonstick aluminum skillet from Sams Club (around $27) will hold a five pound value pack of chicken thighs (usually less than $6).

1. Take a chicken thigh, skin on, and place it skin side down on a cutting board. Make incisions about a half inch away from the bone, about a half inch deep, parallel to the bone, on either side of the bone. This flattens the piece of meat somewhat.

2. Sprinkle the flesh side of the chicken with seasonings. Be generous. Pepin uses salt & pepper, and that's fine; I've used chipotle powder in addition to or instead of the pepper, Penzeys' granulated garlic, Montreal Chicken spice mix, lemon pepper (Penzeys' salt free lemon pepper blend, 'Sunny Spain', is excellent) and what's really terrific is Penzey's southwest seasoning 'Arizona Dreaming'.

3. Put the thighs skin side down in a cold nonstick skillet. Cover the skillet and turn the heat to high. When the meat starts to sizzle, turn the heat to medium to medium high. Cover and continue cooking for about a total of 16 to 18 minutes.

4. If after 18 minutes the flesh side still looks not quite done, flip the thighs and fry them flesh side down for a minute or two. Remove from fat and serve.

That's it. About 30 seconds to prep each thigh and about 20 minutes to cook them. Bon Appetit! "

What are your best tips and recipes that your family love? Thanks in advance.

This post was edited by Strawberryhill on Wed, Sep 25, 13 at 19:31

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Comments (4)

dcarch7 d c f l a s h 7 @ y a h o o . c o m
11 years ago
OK, here is one new one from me:

Celery can be very stringy, how do you remove the stringy fibers?

This can make it easier.

1. slice the stalks in half lengthwise, and cut the halves in sections about five inches long.

2. microwave a few minutes to slightly cook the sections.

3. after the sections cooled down, crack the sections in half and at the same time pull the stringy fibers out.

Cooking the celery slightly softens the celery and the strings can be pulled out in whole without breaking.

dcarch
strawchicago z5
Original Author
11 years ago
Hi dcarch: That's a great tip, thank you!

I throw fresh tomatoes in the freezer. In the winter, I take frozen tomatoes, soak them in hot water .... and the skin comes right off.

I make my own Kimchi and pickled cabbage. The top always get moldy. Then I read a tip of putting water into a sandwich bag, seal it ... put that flex-pouch on top of the pickled veges. That pouch push the veges down beneath the salty water, so veges don't get exposed to air and become moldy.

My Mom makes the best pork soup using pickled mustard greens, onions, pork, and tomatoes. Serve that over rice.
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Jess: Remember the puzzle over what cause our cravings for sweets ?? I still take Brewer's yeast (high in chromium, B vitamins, selenium) for my sweets-craving. I consumed Brewer's yeast for my immune when I was sick with flu-shot reaction, it took away my craving for sugar (despite drinking just lemons, no sugar). Now I cut down to 1/4 dose (only twice a week), just to supply chromium to stabilize my blood sugar. It does help with craving for sweets, see below excerpt: http://www.livestrong.com/article/101523-herbs-lose-weight/ "Chromium: This trace mineral helps metabolize carbohydrates. Some diabetics take it to help stabilize their blood sugar. It also can be used to curb cravings for sweets. Susan Brown, a certified clinical nutritionist in East Syracuse, New York. She recommended 200 micrograms of chromium four times per day to a woman who craved sweets. The woman was amazed at how quickly her cravings were tamed." *** From Straw: Months ago, I reported that eating eggs daily helped with my craving for sweets ... found that eggs are good sources of chromium: Foods High in Natural Chromium Beef Brewer’s Yeast Dark Chocolate Chicken Eggs Oysters Potatoes with the skin on Whole Grains Apples Read more: http://undergroundhealthreporter.com/sugar-cravings-how-to-control/#ixzz44hqTBlAK WebMD also reported that chromium helps with craving for sweets, see below: " June 3, 2004 -- A popular nutritional supplement may reduce serious carb cravings in people with depression. The supplement is chromium picolinate. John P. Docherty, MD, president of Comprehensive Neuroscience Inc., White Plains, N.Y., and adjunct professor of psychiatry at Cornell University, penned the report. Docherty's study enrolled 113 people with atypical depression. Two-thirds took chromium picolinate supplements for eight weeks, and one-third got a placebo. Researchers found that atypical depression patients who also had carb cravings improved with chromium compared to placebo. "In that group with high carb craving -- a third of the patients -- we had a very significant benefit from chromium picolinate," Docherty says. "Compared with placebo, it had a 2-to-1 advantage in reducing depression overall." http://www.webmd.com/depression/news/20040603/chromium-may-cut-carb-craving-in-depression?page=2 **** From Straw: I used to buy chromium supplement but threw that away, after studies linked that to liver-damage. Brewer's yeast is much better, since it has all B vitamins, along with chromium and selenium. Will have to find the amount of chromium and selenium in the dosage.
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annie1992
11 years ago
Strawberryhill, that's how my Aunt packed sauerkraut, she filled the bags with salt water brine, so if it leaked it didn't compromise the kraut, worked like a charm.

I also make "mixes", to avoid the preservatives and chemicals in the store bought ones. Pancake mix, brownie mix, biscuit mix, mix for enchilada sauce, all cheaper than store bought and far healthier.

Annie
strawchicago z5
Original Author
11 years ago
Hi Annie: That's a great idea to pre-mix your own pancake .... less salt than commercial ones.

The shopping tip I follow is, if there's only one item left on the shelve, then it's good stuff. I sent my husband to get Plantation molasses, he grabbed "Tree of Life" just because it's $1 cheaper ... My roses didn't like that brand.

I went another store, saw only a few bottles of "Wholesome Organic" molasses left, versus lots of thinner Plantation molasses. So I grabbed "Wholesome Organics" at $6 per bottle, and made "sticky-chicken" with that. It was SOO-GOOD that I kept it for cooking, rather than fertilizing my roses (NPK of molasses is 3-1-5).

I made ""sticky-chicken" before with Brer Rabbit, the taste was harsh, less nutrients: 30 mg sodium, 10% potassium, 2% calcium, and 6% iron.

The best-tasting Wholesome Organic Molasses, highest at 20% potassium (730 mg), 15% iron, 15% calcium, 0 sodium, and 10% B6. It's much thicker than Plantation Molasses 17% potassium, 20% calcium, and 10 mg of sodium ($5 per bottle)

Tree of Life brand has 15 mg of sodium, 500 potassium, 20% iron. I didn't taste this one, but used to fertilize my roses. Here's the sticky-chicken with molasses ... my family loves that dish, only if it's Wholesome Organic Molasses.

Grate 3 T. ginger, minced 2 T. garlic, set aside. Mix in a bowl: 2 T. molasses, 2 teas. turmeric, 1/2 teaspoon Chinese 5-spice powder, a dash of salt, 2 T. soy sauce, 2 star anise.

Trim fat off, but leave skin on 8 chicken thighs, make a slash along the bone to cook faster. Put skin down, cover, medium heat. Fry for 15 minutes in 2 T oil , turn over, fry for 5 minutes. Take cover off. Put minced garlic and ginger, fry until fragrant. Pour sauce, mix until thickens, about 5 minutes. Take star-anise out before serving with rice.

Here is a link that might be useful: What's really in the molasses by brand name?

Best tips and recipes that your family love?

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dcarch7 d c f l a s h 7 @ y a h o o . c o m

strawchicago z5
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annie1992

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Best tips and recipes that your family love?

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dcarch7 d c f l a s h 7 @ y a h o o . c o m

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annie1992

strawchicago z5Original Author

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