Hand Made Chocolate Confections

Nothing is better than hand made chocolate confections! Yummm. I found a site that has the most scruptious looking edibles!


Corina's Confections

Here you will find Cookies, Brownies, Chocolate Covered Pretzels, Favors for that special occassion, Theme Tins, Cookie Club and you can even purchase Gift Cards!

How 'bout a Spot of Blooming Tea?

I came across this awesome product I have to tell you about! Full Bloom Tea!

To quote the website, "Our hand tied Artisan teas "bloom" before your eyes into amazing drinkable floral bouquets. We use rare Silver Needle White Tea and premium flowers rich in antioxidants."

Each of these unique tea blooms are hand tied and wrapped in protective packaging that helps to keep moisture, light and air out, and locks in freshness, taste and aroma.

When you steep the ‘bloom’ in boiling water, the tea bloom twists, turns, moves and appears to “bloom” right before your eyes into a floral bouquet! Talk about a unique way to make tea!
According to the site they contain the finest rare Silver Needle White Tea leaves rich in antioxidants and are infused with beautiful dehydrated flowers such as Jasmine, Globe Amaranth and Marigold just to name a few which give additional flavors and health benefits.
These are mild teas and each tea bloom can be re-steeped up to 3 times each. And once you are done steeping and drinking, you can put the used bloom in a clear glass bowl with clean water and enjoy it as a centerpiece for an extra day or two.

They offer a really cool unique gift idea as well as a wholesale option for those with retail establishments.

I can hardly wait to order my own bloom!

Adapting Standard Recipe's to a Crock Pot

Here are some suggestions for best results when taking a standard recipe and using it in a crock pot.

• Remember that liquids do not cook away like they would if on the cook top. Use half the amount of liquids called for in the standard recipe. Also, add liquids last, after meat or vegetables have been placed in the cooker.
• It is not necessary to brown larger pieces of meat unless you need to cook off some of the grease before adding the remaining ingredients. For example, browning ground beef, sausage or bacon first and draining the fat is recommended.
• Milk, cream and sour cream should be added during the last hour of cooking to prevent curdling.
• Do not remove the lid except to add ingredients. It takes up to 20 minutes for the heat to build back up to the proper temperature.
• Spices intensify during long cooking times so use half the amount and add during the last hour of cooking.
• To thicken sauces after cooking the meat, you can add quick-cooking tapioca or a paste made of flour or cornstarch and water and cook on HIGH an additional uncovered 10 minutes.
• Most vegetables should be thinly sliced or placed near the sides or bottom of the cooker. They cook slower than meats.
• Cut whole chickens and any meats in half that are over 2 lbs to be sure they cook thoroughly.
• For safety, always cook meat and poultry dishes on HIGH the first hour to speed up the time it gets to get to a safe cooking temperature for meats. Then reduce to LOW for the remainder of the cooking time.

My Favorite BBQ Sauce!

You won't find a much better line of BBQ sauces and spices than Cookies. They have perfected the right blend!

We ordered a case of 4 GALLONS of the original and split it between ourselves and my son. It was his idea! He came over one day and asked me "Mom, where can I buy Cookies bbq sauce around here?". Well we live in PA now and its not out here, so we hit the net and found the website for Cookies. Voila, we placed an order and in less than 5 days we had a huge heavy box of 4 gallons of our favorite bbq sauce on the doorstep!

Give it a try! You'll love it too.

7 Layer Casserole

2 cup thinly sliced red potatoes
1 cup thinly sliced onion, separate rings
1 cup thinly sliced carrots
1 can green beans, drained
1 lb raw ground beef OR 1 lb of chopped ham
1 can cream of mushroom or celery soup
1/2 can water
Salt & Pepper

Lightly grease a 2 qt casserole dish. Layer the items in the order listed, lightly salting and peppering each layer as desired. Cover and bake 2 to 2 1/2 hours at 350 degrees. Uncover the last 10 min if you want the top browned.

Ingredient Substitutions

Here is a fantastic list of ingredient substitutions! I have it in a .doc format for you to click on as it is a very long (5 pages) in Word, this way you can open it and print it out to keep handy!

Ingredient Substitutions

Kitchen Gadget Review ~ Innovative Measuring Cup

This innovative measuring cup has:

~ Patented angled surface makes is so you can read measurements from above
~ Standard and metric markings
~ Soft, non-slip handle
~ Dishwasher safe
~ OXO products have a satisfaction guarantee

Click the measuring cup picture or HERE to see more details!!

Monkey Bread

2 loaves frozen bread (thawed but not raised)
OR 4 tubes of refrigerator biscuits

½ c sugar
4 tsp cinnamon
Mix sugar and cinnamon in bowl

Take bread or biscuits and make walnut sized chunks and roll in sugar mixture. Place in 2 lightly greased (if needed) bunt pans.

Mix:
1 ¼ sticks melted butter
1 large package of butterscotch or vanilla NON instant pudding powder
nuts (optional)
raisins (optional)

Pour butter and pudding mix over dough.

If you used bread dough, let sit in warm area until raised up double.
When bread dough is raised bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 min.

If using biscuit dough, bake immediately at 350 degrees for 18 minutes.

Monkey Bread

2 loaves frozen bread (thawed but not raised)
OR 4 tubes of refrigerator biscuits

½ c sugar
4 tsp cinnamon
Mix sugar and cinnamon in bowl

Take bread or biscuits and make walnut sized chunks and roll in sugar mixture. Place in 2 lightly greased (if needed) bunt pans.

Mix:
1 ¼ sticks melted butter
1 large package of butterscotch or vanilla NON instant pudding powder
nuts (optional)
raisins (optional)

Pour butter and pudding mix over dough.

If you used bread dough, let sit in warm area until raised up double.
When bread dough is raised bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 min.

If using biscuit dough, bake immediately at 350 degrees for 18 minutes.

Lemon Angel Food Cake

12 egg whites
1 tsp cream of tartar
1/4 tsp salt

Beat at high speed until foamy. The whites are beaten enough when they start to slip when you tip the bowl.

Add 3/4 cup sifted powdered sugar, 1 T at a time until stiff peaks form. Fold in 1 T lemon rind, 3 T fresh lemon juice and 1/4 tsp vanilla.

Combine 1/2 cup powdered and 1 cup sifted cake flour, gradually fold in the egg white mixture. Spoon batter into a 10" tube pan. (Do not grease the pan!!)

Bake 375 degrees for 35-40 minutes. Invert pan onto the neck of a bottle or funnel until cooled.

The Original Devonshire Sandwich

Cream Sauce:
3/4 stick butter, melted
1 cup flour
1/4 pound Cheddar cheese, grated
1 pint chicken broth
1 pint hot milk
1 teaspoon salt

Melt butter in deep pan and add flour, stirring constantly. Add chicken broth and then hot milk, stirring all the while. Add cheese and salt. Bring to boil, then cook slowly for 20 minutes, still stirring. Cool to lukewarm. Beat with wire whip until smooth before using. This makes enough sauce for 6 Devonshire sandwiches.

For each sandwich:
1 slice toast, crusts trimmed off
3 slices crisp bacon
5 thin slices cooked turkey breast

Cream Sauce, recipe above

Melted butter
Parmesan cheese and paprika

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

In each flat, individual oven-proof casserole dish, place 1 slice of toast and top with 3 slices bacon. Add 5 thin slices of cooked turkey breast. Cover completely with cream sauce. Sprinkle with a little melted butter, then with the combined Parmesan cheese and paprika. Bake 10 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

This is a very rich coffee cake. It is awesome served warm with your morning coffee!

1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar

Cream together until very light and fluffy. Add 2 eggs and beat well again.

Mix dry ingredients together in separate bowl:

2 cups flour

1 tsp soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

Alternate the dry ingredients and 1 pint (2 cups) sour cream into the creamed mixture until well blended.

Place half the batter in a lightly greased 9x13" pan. Sprinkle 1/2 of the cinnamon mixture on top and spoon remaining batter on the filling and spread evenly. Sprinkle the remaining cinnamon mixture on top and pour over all of that 1 stick of melted butter. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 - 40 minutes.

* Cinnamon mixture:

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

You can add nuts to the top, diced apples (to center filling layer), raisins, chocolate chops, anything you like to add extra flavor!

Amish Macaroni Salad

1/2 lb macaroni or shell pasta, cooked and drained

1/4 cup finely chopped celery

1/4 cup finely grated or chopped carrots

1/8 cup finely chopped onion

3 hard boiled eggs, cooled and chopped

Once the macaroni is cooked and cooled, mix with all the above except the eggs. Set eggs aside until ready to add dressing.

Dressing:

1 cup miracle whip salad dressing (not mayonaise)

1 T brown mustard

1/3 cup sugar

Blend dressing well and fold into macaroni along with chopped eggs.

Cover and refrigerate until well chilled. Line a pretty glass bowl with curly lettuce leaves and spoon salad in, garnish with sliced eggs or parsley. Sprinkle a gentle amount of paprika on top.

Wrap It Up!

Gotta love soft tortilla shells for wrapping up a quick snack or meal.

You can pretty much wrap anything in these versitile shells. They come in 8" and approximatly 10" sizes.

Once you have placed your filling on the center, fold up one side about 1/8 of the way, this is the 'bottom', then roll from the side and voila! You have a wrap.

Some ideas of what to wrap:

~ Hot white chicken breast (cooked), drizzle ranch dressing and grated
cheese, 2-3 slices crispy bacon and wrap.

~ Any favorite chicken or tuna salad normally in a sandwich, spread on the
tortilla, fold and roll.

~ Peanut butter and Jelly for the kids!

~ Pizza wrap - 3 T pizza sauce, small handful of grated cheese, 6 pepperoni
slices. Fold end and roll. Microwave for 20 seconds or until hot. Do not over
heat as the edges will dry out.

~ Sprinkle grated cheese on the tortilla, spread on hot freshly scrambled
eggs, add chopped ham or crumbled cooked bacon and fold and roll.

~ Smores Wrap - Spread a thin layer of chocolate syrup or sauce on the
center, about 2" from the edges, sprinkle mini marshmallows and 1/8 cup crushed
graham crackers, fold and roll.

See what I mean? There are endless possibilities with a flour tortilla
shell! Let your imagination go wild!

If you have any other idea's for wraps please leave me comments with your ideas!

Drunk Chicken

1 stick butter (not margerine)

1 cup Blackberry or Apricot Brandy

1 cup water

3 boneless large chicken breasts

1/2 tsp salt

2 boxes Uncle Bens Wild Rice mix

Instructions

1 - Slice chicken breasts into strips about 1" wide. Set aside. In a heavy fry pan add butter, brandy, water and salt, let come to a simmer and add the chicken breast strips. Cover and simmer on low for 45 minutes.

2 - Remove chicken from brandy broth and if it has cooked down low, add 1/2 cup more brandy and 1/2 cup more water. You want there to be about 1 1/2 cups of liquid in the pan. Bring the liquid to a medium simmer.

3 - In 1/2 cup of cold water add 2 T corn startch and mix well, add to simmering liquid and stir until thickened to a heavy gravy consistancy. Lower heat to low and add chicken. Cover and let simmer while you prepare the rice.

4 - Prepare the rice as directed on the box.

You may serve the chicken on the rice and the gravy on the side or the chicken and the gravy on the side. Your choice!

Oriental Meatloaf

1 1/2 pounds ground beef - lean is best
1/2 pound ground pork
3 slices bread, broken up into small pieces
2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 small onion, finely chopped
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce

Topping:
1/2 cup hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons ketchup

In a large bowl, mix together the beef, pork, bread crumbs, eggs, onion, and celery. Add the soy sauce, ginger, and 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce. Pat mixture into a shallow 2 quart baking pan.

Bake in 350 degree preheated oven for 40 minutes.

Drain grease from pan.

In a small bowl, mix 1/2 cup hoisin with 2 tablespoons ketchup. Spread over top of meatloaf. Continue baking for 20 minutes or so.

Remove from oven, and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Applesauce Meatballs

1 cup applesauce
1 egg
1 cup bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon salt
dash of pepper
1 pound ground beef




flour
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
4 carrots thinly sliced
2 onions thinly sliced
3 cups tomato juice


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

Combine applesauce, egg, bread crumbs, and salt and pepper, with ground beef; mix until well blended. Form into medium-sized meatballs, and roll in flour.

Heat 1 teaspoon of oil in a large skillet over medium high or high heat. Cook meatballs, turning occasionally, until evenly browned but not cooked through. Lay in a baking dish and set aside.

In the same skillet, partially cook the carrots and onions over medium high heat until onions are transparent. Stir often so carrots do not scorch. Add the tomato juice, season to taste with salt and pepper, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, and simmer for 5 minutes. Pour over the top of the meatballs.

Bake, covered, for 45 minutes, or until carrots are tender and meatballs are cooked through. Uncover and bake for another 10 minutes before removing from the oven.

Which fork? Which plate for what?

Confused as to how to set your table for a dinner party?

Basic place settings for a meal consisting of salad, bread, soup, beverages and a main course with dessert and coffee following are as follows:

Plates and Bowls

Dinner plates should be placed approximately 2 inches from the table's edge, centered on the placemat (if using placemats) or directly in front of each chair.

Soup bowls are placed on top of the dinner plate.

Salad plates are placed to the left of and just above the forks.

The bread plate should be placed to the right and slightly above the salad plate.

Another option is if soup will be served first, the soup bowl will be placed on top of the dinner plate and the salad dish will be brought out after the soup bowl and spoon has been cleared.

Silverware

Silverware should be placed on the table in the order it will be used; silverware that will be used first should be found on the farthest left and right sides of the plate.

Forks are placed to the left of the dinner plate; knives and spoons go to the right.

Knives should be placed with their cutting-edge toward the dinner plate, except the butter knife which should be laid flat on a bread plate.

Utensils should be about 1/2-inch away from the plate or each other, and they should also be lined up evenly from their bottoms.

Avoid placing more silverware than the meal calls for.

If you choose, the dessert silverware can be placed at the table setting before the meal and should be centered above and parallel to the dinner plate. Or if you choose, brought out when the dessert is served.

Cups and Glasses

Water glasses should be placed above the dinner knife, with other drinking glasses arranged neatly nearby the water glass.

Coffee cups and saucers may be placed on the table to the right of the knife and spoon.

Other Items

Napkins are commonly placed on the plate, to the left of the forks or inside of a drinking glass.

Place cards are always a good idea if your dinner party is large. Place the card above the dessert utensil, to the left of the drinking glasses.

Recipe ~ Baked Potato Soup

3 T butter
1/3 c flour

Melt butter over medium heat in a heavy saucepan. Add flour and stir with wire whisk rapidly till well mixed. Turn heat down slightly and slowly add 1 can of evaporated milk making a thick white sauce. (This MUST be evaporated milk or it will separate and look curdled)

Continue to stir and add 1 can of water. Keep heat high enough to cook the sauce so it thickens. Make sure it gets very thick. This will take time and patience and lots of stirring so you do not have a lumpy soup!

Once it is a thick consistancy, similar to a thick gravy, add:
a 1/2" 'slab' of Velveeta cheese
1 T Parmesan cheese
a scant 1/8 tsp of garlic salt
1 T of brown spicy mustard
3 T bacon bits

Stir till cheese is melted. Add bite sized peeled chunks of left over baked potatoes. Very well baked ones with lots of flavor are best. Cover and put in oven on very low or in a crock pot on low. Heat for about an hour till potatoes are thoroughly heated.

Serve with chunks of cheddar cheese or any favorite cheese on top.

This is enough for generous portions for 4 people.

Recipe ~ MK's "Ho-Ho" Cake

The chocolate cake layer may be a box mix cake if you choose or you may use my Dark Chocolate Cake recipe below. If you use a box mix, be sure to replace the water with an equal portion of strong coffee, cooled to room temp.

Dark Chocolate Cake(for 9x12 pan)

3/4 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup cream
2 cups sifted flour
1/2 cup cocoa
2 tsp soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup hot strong coffee

Cream first 4 ingredients till light in color. Sift together the dry ingredients and add to creamed mixture slowly and mix well. Add vanilla and coffee last and beat 3 minutes on High.

Pour into a lightly greased and floured pan. Bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees or until it tests 'done' with a toothpick. There should be gooey crumbs on the toothpick. You don't want to overbake it or it will be dry. Let cool before spreading the Creamy Filling on top.

Creamy Filling
1 cup sugar
1 cup white Crisco (Not the butter flavored)(Another shortening can be substituted but Crisco is best)
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk
1 Tblsp water
1 tsp vanilla

Put all ingredients into a large bowl and beat on high for 5 minutes. You want it to be fluffy. Add 1 cup powdered sugar and beat for another 2 minutes.

Spread the Creamy Filling on the chocolate cake and put in the freezer to set.

Chocolate Chip Frosting

In a heavy saucepan
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup milk
2Tblsp butter

Over medium heat bring to a boil, stirring often so it does not burn. Let boil for 4-5 minutes while stirring, be sure to turn down the heat if it is near boiling over the pan edges.

Turn off heat and add 1 - 6 oz bag of Milk Chocolate Chips. (I prefer Hershey's)

Stir until melted and smooth. Let cool slightly but still pourable. Pour over Creamy Filling and let it set up. This won't take long as the cake should already be cold.

Recipe ~ Frozen Peanut Butter Pie

Crust: You may cheat and use a pre made chocolate crumb crust, or....take the time for my Oreo crust.

Oreo Crust
1/2 package of Oreo cookies - split and the filling removed
1/4 cup soft butter
2 T sugar
Crush the cookies into fine crumbs and mix with the butter and sugar. Press into an 8" pie pan and set aside.

Peanut Butter Filling
1 cup creamy or crunchy peanut butter
1 8 oz package of soft cream cheese
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup milk

1 1/2 c Cool Whip topping - set aside

Beat the first 4 ingredients well. For about 4 - 5 minutes on medium is good. You want it to be well blended and fluffy. Beat in the whipped topping on LOW till well blended. Spread evenly into the crust and cover lightly with plastic wrap.

Freeze till solid.

Spread a 2" layer of whipped topping on the frozen pie and garnish with Oreo cookies cut in half circles. If you are not going to serve it right away you may freeze it again after garnishing.

Enjoy!!!!!!

Recipe ~ Salmon Loaf

1 - 12-13 oz can of salmon, drained (you can use tuna if you prefer)
2 cups fresh bread crumbs *
1/2 cup milk
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 tsp dill week or 1/2 tsp lemon pepper
1/4 tsp salt
3 eggs - beaten

Mix well together and place into a lightly greased loaf pan. (approx 8x4")
Bake at 375 degrees or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

Serve with creamy pea sauce over the top.

Creamy Pea Sauce:
In saucepan over medium heat, melt 2 Tablespoons butter, stir in 2 Tablespoons flour and 1/2 tsp salt. Stir with whisk until blended and slowly add 1 1/2 cups milk, stir constantly until mixture becomes a thick sauce. Reduce heat to low and add 1 cup frozen peas. Stir until peas are thawed and hot.


* to make fresh bread crumbs, take several slices of bread and run over a cheese grater, be careful to not scrape your fingers!

General Equivalents

3 teaspoons = 1 tablespoon
2 tablespoons = 1 liquid ounce
4 tablespoons = 1/4 cup
5 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon = 1/3 cup
8 tablespoons = 1/2 cup
16 tablespoons = 1 cup

1 cup = 8 fluid ounces
2 cups = 1 pint
4 cups = 1 quart

4 quarts = 1 gallon
8 quarts = 1 peck (dry)
16 ounces = 1 pound

Recipe ~ Dark Chocolate Cake

3/4 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup cream

Cream together well beating on high for 2 minutes.

Sift together:
2 cups sifted flour
1/2 cup cocoa
2 tsp soda
1 tsp salt

Add to creamed mixture, beating well.
Add:
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup hot coffee (strong)

Beat on medium for 3 minutes.

Pour into greased and lightly floured 9x13" pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until it tests done when a toothpick has gooey crumbs on it.

Do NOT overbake!

VERY rich cake!

Recipe ~ Monkey Bread

2 loaves frozen bread (thawed but not raised)
OR 4 tubes of refrigerator biscuits

½ c sugar
4 tsp cinnamon
Mix sugar and cinnamon in bowl

Take bread or biscuits and make walnut sized chunks and roll in sugar mixture. Place in 2 lightly greased (if needed) bunt pans.

Mix:
1 ¼ sticks melted butter
1 large package of butterscotch or vanilla NON instant pudding powder
nuts (optional)
raisins (optional)

Pour butter and pudding mix over dough.

If you used bread dough, let sit in warm area until raised up double.
When bread dough is raised bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 min.

If using biscuit dough, bake immediately at 350 degrees for 18 minutes.

Once A Month Cooking

Once-a-month-cooking (O.A.M.C.) or Bulk Cooking is a very old concept. Your mom's and grandma's perhaps practiced it without really knowing they were starting a trend!

And maybe even you have done it! Have you ever been making a meatloaf or a pan of lasagna and decided to make two? Freeze one and bake the other for that night? Well that is basically the concept of O.A.M.C. It is a fantastic way to keep food costs down and can help to cut back on the number of times that your family may eat out each month because there is always something easy to make at home.

You do not need special recipes to do this, all you need is to multiply ingredients from recipe's you already use 3-4x and have a good number of freezer safe containers to put them in or freeze them in disposable foil pans. Of course freezer wrap / paper is helpful to keep things from freezer burn.

Some recipe's you will only need to prepare parts of it to freeze as the other items such as noodles or rice will need to be prepared fresh.

Keeping precooked/preseasoned meats in your freezer can be just as time saving and cost saving as preparing the entire meal and freezing it. It all depends on what your lifestyle requires. You could also co-op with other busy moms and do your bulk cooking together in a weekend.

Getting Started:

The idea of O.A.M.C. can be very overwhelming when you first get started. The thought of cooking 20-30 meals in one day is a lot to do! Here you will learn exactly how to do O.A.M.C.
If doing one big cooking day is too much, then start off with 2 Saturday's in a row or a Saturday and Sunday. Cook one weeks worth of meals and call it once a week cooking. The practice of once a month cooking is to simplify your life - not to burden you down!

Remember: Plan, plan, plan.

The more you plan, the better prepared you will be. This includes planning your time, your menu and most importantly your grocery list.

Here are the basic steps to Once a Month Cooking:

1. Decide on a day or days to cook. Be sure you choose a day that is free of other obligations or activities. If possible, have things planned for the kids or have someone take them for the day so you can focus on cooking. Another option is to cook in smaller batches in the evenings once the kids are in bed. An entire day is best but not always possible. Pick a day when you know you will have few or no interruptions.

2. Find your local store ads. When you check the local groceries stores for what is on sale, you are working towards saving money. Plan your meals around the things you can get on sale.
Purchase lean ground beef in bulk, this saves you money because in the long run you pay for meat not the fat. Whole chickens are the most economical priced, however if you watch for boneless breasts to be on sale and stock up, then freeze it for future use, you will save money and time in the long run there too. (Be sure to wrap them in freezer paper and label before freezing!) Boneless pork chops can be found on sale at times and purchased and frozen the same way as the chicken breasts, for future use on your O.A.M.C. day. Pork and Beef roasts can also be purchased in bulk and wrapped carefully and frozen. Or you can crock pot cook them and freeze the cooked meat. This is great for pulling out say 1 lb to thaw and use for hot or cold sandwiches or for meat to put into a casserole. Cubed meats properly wrapped and frozen for stews, casseroles and stir fry's is a great time saver also.

3. Meal Planning. Use a notebook or calendar and plan out each months meals. Not every meal has to come from the freezer as many recipe's are not adaptable to being frozen for up to a month. List the favorite meals your family likes and list the ingredients as well.

4. Plan you Grocery Shopping List. As you go through your recipes one at a time list the ingredients that you will need to buy. Then compile a master list of the total amount of meats, noodles, potatoes, rice, onions, celery, etc. right down to checking your spice cupboard to be sure you have them all on hand as well.

5. Grocery Shopping. This should be done a couple days BEFORE cooking day. If you plan your shopping ahead of time, you'll have time to find the best prices and sale items!

6. Cooking Day. Think smart and plan. Combine steps for recipes if possible. How many chopped onions will you need? Do them all at once. How many pounds of browned ground beef will you need? Save a pan and do it all at once! Then you simply divide it up once it is cooked. Do you see the importance of planning in saving time?

7. Freeze your Meals. - Here are some common methods for freezing meals:
Freezer Bags - This is the main way that to store food. The bags lie flat on the shelves and they all stack up nicely on top of each other. It is very efficient use of freezer space!
Purchase bags that are specifically freezer bags. Remove as much air as possible before sealing. Particularly for meals that have a lot of liquids.

TIP: Seal (zip) the freezer bag almost all the way and insert a drinking straw in the remaining opening, suck out the air and seal the bag as you pull the straw out.
Vacuum Sealer - These are great because they help to protect your food from freezer burn allowing the food to stay really fresh tasting. Any disposable, or reusable containers that are for the freezer. If you want to go from freezer, to refrigerator to thaw then to oven, you will want to use heavy duty foil pans.

Label all the food that you put in the freezer. Using freezer tape and a permanent marker, write what the meal is and the cooking instructions. (Freezer tape can be found in the section where freezer paper is sold.)

Welcome to my 'Kitchen'

Welcome to MK's Kitchen. Here you will find recipe's, hints and tips for cooking and baking, meal planning ideas, entertaining ideas and product reviews.