Whether your Fourth of July celebration is a family affair, a neighborhood gathering or a party with friends, you’ll want to enjoy great food as well.  This mix-and-match menu will help you get everything planned for a great party!

Pick one or two options from each section and you’re all set.

Appetizers

• Chips and dip: onion or spinach dip,  fresh salsa, 7-Layer Dip or guacamole
• Vegetable platter

Main Courses

• Anything on the grill: hamburgers, hot dogs, grilled chicken or Weight-Watcher-friendly kebabs
• For the vegetarians in the crowd, try the best ever vegetarian burgers
• Pulled pork especially if you’re in the south!

Side Dishes

• Pasta salad or a Make Ahead Layered Salad
• Potato Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette (video) or try Ed Livine's Potato Salad that's made with mayo and hard cooked eggs
• Corn on the cob
• Southern tomato pie, sort of like an eggless tomato quiche.
• Broccoli salad with black olives and feta
• Baked Beans
• Get the kids involved in helping you make deviled eggs

Very Berry Summer Pie, photo courtesy of Kelly Wright, Sass & Veracity blog

Desserts

• Fruit Salad: Try it in a smiling watermelon bowl!
• Watermelon
• “Patriotic” desserts, like the famous flag cake, made with white icing, strawberry “stripes” and blueberry “stars”
• Rhubarb strawberry crisp, made from local and healthy ingredients
• Very berry summer pie (pictured above): We found this recipe on Kelly Wright's Sass and Veracity blog. With a dollop of whipped cream, it’s red white and blue! Thanks Kelly, for letting us use your mouthwatering photo!
• Berry trifle, also with the colors of our flag
• Strawberry shortcake: quite simple when you use biscuit mix
• Ice Cream Sandwiches, frozen or no-bake pies

Drinks

• Make sure your friends and family stay hydrated with lots of water!
• Lemonade, limeade, or strawberry lemonade – the old-fashioned way
• Iced Tea
• Beer

I am going to demonstrate how to do this using asparagus. The same method would work for green beans, yellow beans, broccoli, carrots, and many other vegetables as well.

Wash and trim the asparagus.  (This link will also show you how to wash, trim and How to Cook Asparagus.)

I always blanch (and cook) asparagus in a frying pan. The spears fit better and they cook more evenly in a frying pan. Start by boiling a kettle of cold water and then pouring it into the frying pan.

Bring the water in the frying pan to a boil and add about one Tablespoon of salt to the water.

Using a pair of tongs, carefully add the asparagus to the pan.

Set the timer for 2 minutes. It may take a bit more or less time depending on the thickness of your asparagus. After 2 minutes, run one spear under cold water and then taste it to see if it is cooked to your liking. If you cook green vegetable too long they will turn a very “muddy’ green color (YUK!).

Have your “ice bath” (which is just a bowl of icy cold water) and a clean dish towel ready for when the timer goes off.

Using a pair of tongs, lift the asparagus out of the boiling water and put it directly into the ice bath.

This totally stops the cooking process, and the color stays that nice bright green. After a minute or two, lift the asparagus out of the icy water and onto a clean dish towel to drain.

If you are cooking more green vegetables, you can use the same boiling water that you cooked the asparagus in to cook the other vegetables.

Green beans will only take about 1 minute and 30 seconds to blanch.

For a change of pace try blanching some vegetables when you serve your next Vegetable and Dip Platter (video).

Enjoy!

No-Bake Chocolate Cheese Cake Pie

All beginner cooks are terrified of making a pie. If you have zero experience at pie making, a frozen or "no-bake" pie recipe (using a pre-made crust) is a good place to start. (The ten no-bake pies listed below are all perfect recipes for a beginner cook!)

Buying or Making The Crust

Many ice cream pies or no-bake pies call for a graham cracker crust. You can buy a graham cracker pie shell in the baking section of the grocery store or try making a graham cracker crust yourself. (These cracker crusts can also be made with many other sweet cracker/cookies like oreo cookies, ginger snaps, vanilla wafers, etc.)

Or you can buy a ready-made pie shell, usually found in the freezer section of the grocery store.

These pie shells will have to get baked and cooled before filling them.

For those of you ready to tackle the pie dough making challenge, our friend Heidi at the Ward Street Bistro has a wonderful pie crust recipe that does not require "rolling out" the dough.

This "Press in the Pan" pie dough recipe looks great for anyone intimated by a rolling pin!

Easy Pie Recipes:

Ice Cream Pie
You can concoct a very simple pie without a recipe. Buy a ready-made pie crust (or make a graham cracker one) and a tub of ice cream or frozen yogurt. Set the ice cream out to soften. Once you can scoop it easily, fill the pie crust, smooth the top and add any toppings you want (nuts, whipped cream, chocolate sauce). Then put it back into the freezer until serving time.

Pudding Pies
Similarly, you can make a custom pie with pudding and fruit. Just buy a box of pudding mix – chocolate, vanilla, or another flavor – follow the directions, and pour it into a ready-made pie crust. Top it with sliced bananas, strawberries, or whatever you like. Refrigerate the pie until you are ready to serve it.

Frozen Lemonade Pie
The folks over at Baked Perfection tried this recipe (from the Food Network show Down Home With the Neely’s) for a Fourth of July party and fell in love with it. Set in a graham cracker crust, its sweet, lemony filling calls for frozen lemonade concentrate, whipped cream and sweetened condensed milk. An easy alternative to a baked lemon meringue pie!

Nutter Butter Frozen Pie
Hello, peanut butter fans? It’s your dream pie calling. This one has a crust made of crushed Nutter Butter cookies (but feel free to substitute a pre-made one) and a frosty peanut butter and cream cheese filling.

Frozen Oreo Pie
The name says it all!

Frozen Blueberry Pie
This pie is not frozen in the sense that it sits in the freezer; it’s a baked blueberry pie that calls for frozen blueberries and a frozen pie crust. I’m including it because summer is the time for blueberries (even frozen) and this is a very easy version of your typical fruit pie that calls for crust made from scratch.

Chocolate Fudge Pie
One bite of this decadent pie and you'll never look at silken tofu the same way again. It's one of the keys to this pie's creamy fudginess.

No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Banana Tofu Pie
Here's another recipe that involves tofu. This pie uses either a homemade or store-bought graham cracker crust to hold an intense filling. It takes about 15 minutes to make, then goes in the fridge or freezer for a couple of hours.

No-Bake Mango Pie
Anything mango is great in the summer. This one contains mango puree (which the author found at an Indian grocery store), whipped cream and mascarpone cheese.

How to Peel a Mango

No-Bake Key Lime Pie
A can of frozen limeade concentrate is what gives this simple pie its lime flavor.

Easy Coconut Banana Cream Pie takes just 20 minutes to make! This pie will need 4 hours in the refrigerator to set. It's worth the wait!

My No-Bake Chocolate Cheese Cake Pie (shown above) is a rich chocolaty cheese cake pie that will quickly become a family favorite. It does involves whipping your own heavy cream. (For a quick review on whipping cream, check out my post on How to Make Whipped Cream)

startcooking.com's Avocado Soup

Cool summer soups are a great way to beat the heat and can be a nice alternative to eating a salad.  They can also be a surprisingly hearty and satisfying meal.  Many recipes require little or no cooking.  Raw ingredients often just get pureed in a blender and that's it!

The key to a substantial summer soup is to make sure it includes more than just vegetables and herbs. There are various ways to give it a rich taste and texture:

• Add beans or dairy products; a dollop of sour cream or yogurt  will make it more filling
• Incorporate fat in the form of olive oil, nuts or avocados
• Try adding grains like rice, barley, or bread

So are you ready to give cold soups a try? Here are some that will tantalize your palate and soothe your (too hot) soul!

1. Gazpacho (video) is a classic cold soup that that can be made smooth or chunky.
2. Or for a less-traditional gazpacho, try this watermelon-based one.  Hot chili peppers give this cold soup a bit of a kick!
3. Bring the flavors of the farmer's market to your table with this warm Spinach, Shrimp and Avocado Soup.
4.  startcooking.com's Avocado Soup (shown above) requires no cooking. That’s right, zero – just throw the ingredients in the blender and you’re on your way.
5. Raw Energy Soup features all sorts of green things, like cucumber, avocado, spinach, and herbs, along with some tomatoes and chicken stock.
6. Chilled Beet Soup is sweet and delicious.  A dollop of sour cream swirled on top adds a decadent touch and makes the soup look amazing!
7. Try a soup with a Thai twist, like this Coconut Corn Chowder. This one is a warm soup, but it takes advantage of the summer’s fresh corn, and its flavors are lightened up for summer with lime juice and coconut milk.
8. Martha outdid herself with this Spring Green Soup.  It is made with pencil thin asparagus.  (It was a huge hit at my last dinner party!)
   
   
   
   

   Martha Stewart's Spring Green Soup

9. Chilled Tomato Basil soup is delicious served with grilled garlic bread and a dollop of pureed avocado.
10. A Classic Vichyssoise is wonderful hot or cold, and is made with leeks, potatoes, onions, chicken broth and cream.
11. This Cucumber Yogurt soup is flavored with cumin and lemon juice. It would be perfect alongside pita chips and hummus or a bagel topped with cream cheese and lox.
12. This Green Goddess Zucchini Soup has four ingredients (olive oil, onion, zucchini and chicken broth) and is unbelievably easy to make.

Now that it’s officially summer, it’s time to get outside and grill.

What’s that?

You’re new to grilling?

You’re afraid to light a barbecue?

Well, have no fear. It’s not as complicated as it looks. If you’re thinking about buying a barbecue, we’ll break down the pros and cons of charcoal and gas grills. For those just finding their way around a grill, we’ll follow up with some of the first steps to throwing some food on the barbie. And for those who are already all fired up, we’ve got some recipes ready to go, as well as a slew of barbecue tips and tricks.  And even if you're a city slicker like Kathy, and outdoor grilling isn't an option, try  indoor grilling!

Which Barbeque to Use? Charcoal or Gas?

Despite what some fervent grillers say, one isn’t necessarily superior to the other. There are pros and cons to both grilling methods, so it’s really your call! Here’s a rundown of some of the pros and cons:

Charcoal Barbeque

• There’s a full range of prices: inexpensive grills are easy to find, and upscale models are available too (+)
• Gets very hot (+-)
• Needs to be manually lit and preheated for a minimum of 20 minutes (usually much longer) (-)
• Cleaning is more complicated due to ashes (-)
• Smoky flavor every time you grill (+-)
• Tough to keep a constant temperature (-)
• You get to play with real fire (+)

Gas Barbeque

• Typically pricier than charcoal, though inexpensive models are available (+-)
• A more complicated grill means more parts that can break (-)
• Easy to clean (+)
• Has the option of smoky flavor or not, with use of wood chips in a smoker box (+)
• Convenient (+)

For more details about the differences between gas and charcoal grills, check out chow.com’s objective and clear breakdown.

Get Your Grill On! (How to Use your Barbecue)

• If you’re using a charcoal grill, empty the ashes from your last grilling session.
• Both types of grills need to be pre-heated before you start cooking. Gas grills turn on easily (make sure the lid is open while you’re lighting the grill!), but if you’re new to lighting one, here’s a video demonstration. To light your charcoal grill, you’ll need a chimney starter. Please don’t light your charcoal with lighter fluid! It seems like a quick fix, but it can make your food taste “chemical.” Here’s a video demonstration for lighting a charcoal grill. Let the gas grill heat up for at least 10 minutes, and your charcoal grill for about 20.
• After your grill is preheated, use a brass-wire brush to scrape the charred goo and gunk off of the grate. You’ll need to give it a good scrape at the beginning of grilling season. Then, during grilling season, a quick brush before and after grilling should do. After you grill your last meal for the summer or fall, leave the grease on the grate to prevent rusting over the winter. (If you don’t have one of those brushes, you can use some aluminum foil to do the trick!)
• Once your grill is clean, oil the grate by grabbing an oiled paper towel with some long tongs, and wiping it over the bars. You’ll need to use an oil with a high smoking temperature, like canola oil.
• Now that your grill is hot and the grate is clean, your food won’t stick to it as much, and you’re likely to get those classic grill lines!

What to grill

Sure, everyone knows steaks and burgers can go on the grill, but did you know that it's also great for sandwiches and pizza? Here's a list of recipe ideas to get you started.

• Truly GRILLED grilled cheese.
• Vegetables are easy to grill when you use the “foil packet” method!
• Or try these vegetable kabobs if you prefer yours on a stick.
• Corn on the cob comes with its own “packet”… the husk! It’s perfect for throwing on the grill, once you have these simple directions!
• Grilled sweet onions wrapped in bacon would make a great appetizer or party food.
• Grilled pizza doesn’t have to be complicated!
• Beef tenderloin sandwiches with a garlic mayonnaise topper sound like a great lunch for a lazy summer day.
• Pork chops and caramelized onions are simple to make on your grill!
• You know how good the chicken is at fairs, right? This “roadside chicken” recipe will help you recreate the same succulent flavor at home, with any pieces of chicken you’d like to use.
• Chili beef skewers are flavorful kabobs, and this meal is even more special because it’s served up with a side of grilled watermelon. Yum!
• Grilled Alaskan salmon is truly indulgent. Leaving the skin on during grilling protects the flesh from overcooking and falling apart.
• Ribs seem to be made for the grill! This first-time rib chef turned out a perfect batch, even though she had to battle a few flames!
• Each Friday, Coconut & Lime posts a new grill recipe. June brought us pomegranate-mint pork chops made with pomegranate molasseses. Check back for more of Rachel’s unique and delicious recipes!

Barbecue Tips and Tricks

• To avoid losing juices during turning, always flip your meat or vegetables using tongs or a spatula, rather than a fork.
• Try to limit the flips. Ideally, you should flip each item once during the grilling process.
• Whatever you do, don’t press down on burgers or chicken (or anything) with a spatula while they’re grilling! This squeezes out the juices and once they’re gone … they’re gone! If you’re bored and need something to do with your hands, learn to juggle (but not too close to the grill, please!).
• For great smoky flavor, soak some wood chips (hickory, oak, or other hardwoods but not treated lumber!) in water for a while, then throw them onto your charcoal and cover the grill, or if you’re using gas, put them into your smoker box following the manufacturer’s instructions.
• To infuse grilled foods with herb essence, toss herbs directly onto the charcoal while you’re grilling. Or, if you’re using a gas grill, soak the herbs in water, and place them on the grate before putting your food on top of them.
• If you want to baste your meat or vegetables, save this step for last. That way the sugars in ,your marinade or sauce won’t have time to caramelize or burn.
• If this all sounds too complicated, or if it’s raining or cold outdoors, you can grill indoors with a contact grill or use a grill pan.
• For more recipes and techniques, as well as cooking times for different meats, check out Weber’s free downloadable grilling book.

This box mix requires NO cooking.

In addition to the box mix of taboule, you will need:

• 1 cup of chopped fresh tomato
• 1 Tablespoon of fresh lemon juice
• 1 Tablespoon of olive oil
• 2 Tablespoons of fresh mint (optional)

The box of taboule not only contains the wheat but also a separate spice packet.

Put the wheat and the contents of the spice packet in a large bowl.

Stir in 1 cup of boiling water.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Before chopping the tomato, remove the seeds by first slicing the tomato in half.

(The stem bit should be on the right or left of the knife when you are cutting it in half. If you cut it in half by slicing through the stem you will not be able to remove the seeds.)

Give each half a gentle squeeze or with your fingers poke out the seeds. (Throw away the seeds!)

Now chop the tomato. (Just set it aside for the moment.)

Stack about 7 or 8 mint leaves on top of each other.

Roll the stack into a log...

...and chop the mint into very fine ribbons.

Instead of or in addition to the mint, you could add extra parsley.  (In the comments below, many people said they add up to one whole bunch of chopped parsley!)

Now squeeze the juice from ½ of a lemon.  Be sure to strain away any seeds.

When the timer goes off, it’s time to remove the bowl of taboule from the refrigerator and add the chopped tomato, mint, lemon juice, AND 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Mix everything together.

Cover up the bowl again and put it back in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

When you are ready to serve the taboule give it a stir and then spoon it onto a bed of lettuce garnished (decorated) with slices of lemon and mint leaves.

Enjoy!

There isn't a single time of day that scrambled eggs don't taste good! Who knows, this simple meal may become one of YOUR signature dishes.

Here is a list of the equipment you will need to make scrambled eggs:

• A small cup to first crack the eggs into to check for shells
• A small bowl to put the eggs in for mixing
• A fork or whisk for mixing
• A small sauce pan or fry pan, preferably non stick
• A silicone spatula
• Measuring spoons

For 2 servings, or 1 ½ eggs per person the Ingredients are;

• 3 eggs
• 2 Tablespoons of milk
• 2 teaspoons of butter
• Salt and pepper to your taste

When you buy eggs in the grocery store, check that there are no broken eggs in the carton.

In the United States, by USDA requirement, eggs come already washed so you can use them straight away.

Begin by cracking each egg individually into the small cup. Check the egg to see that it looks okay and that there are no shells. Then add the egg to the mixing bowl.

Now add a sprinkle of salt and black pepper (to your taste), and 2 Tablespoons of milk to the eggs.  (There is some debate - see comments below - about when to add the salt - before or after cooking.)

Beat this mixture with a fork, or a whisk, in a vigorous elliptical motion until the yolks and the whites are all a nice bright yellow and completely blended together.

(Graydon, in the comments below, likes to skip all these steps and just mix everything up in the pan you are cooking in!)

Put the beaten eggs to one side, and melt 2 teaspoons of butter over medium low heat in a non-stick pan.  If you turn the burner up too high the eggs will cook faster, but you will end up with very watery, soggy tasting eggs. So be sure to keep the temperature at medium-low.

(Non-stick pans make cleaning up so much easier! However, Non-stick pans can easily be scratched with metal utensils. You'll need to buy a silicon spatula or scraper.  Caution: if you have an old fashioned rubber spatula and not silicone, it will eventually melt when you cook with it.)

When the butter has melted, add the eggs to the pan. As the eggs begin to cook, GENTLY move them around with the spatula so that they cook evenly.

GENTLY and slowly keep stirring otherwise the portion of the eggs on the bottom of the pan will be overcooked, while other portions on the top and won't get cooked properly.

Continue cooking the eggs until they are thickened but still soft.

Some people like really soft scrambled eggs, other people like really dry scrambled eggs. Just keep gently stirring the eggs until they look like what you think the perfect consistency is.

Transfer the eggs to the plate and serve them immediately.  (As Jon pointed out in the comments, the eggs continue to cook even when removed from the pan and will get rubbery if left in the pan.)

If you wish, you can add some extra ingredients while the eggs are cooking.  For example, try tossing in some chopped ham, sprinkling in slowly as you stir the eggs. Or you might try adding some shredded cheese, or chopped green onion or chives. My favorite addition is chopped parsley.

To find out even more about eggs, be sure to check out my post "How to: Eggs".

***

Five Second Rule lives! 

YIKES! When I was taking the photographs for this blog post I dropped my camera into the egg mixture! I scooped it out and wiped it off. The automatic lens sticks a little but my camera still works! Who knew?

(Although some of the photos do look a bit hazy!)

Enjoy!

What you need to know about lettuce is mostly how to wash it and to make sure that it's edible and attractive.

If you are unsure what type of lettuce to buy, check out my post "Salad Greens From A to Z".

The lettuce you buy from the supermarket may or not be packaged in some way, but it came from the ground and you can't just start eating it, unless you've bought the pre-washed kind.

When grocery stores started selling pre-washed lettuce I thought it was brilliant, until I bought a bag. I discovered that if I didn't use it within a day or two it was history (with a bit of a slimy edge). Granted, when I used it immediately, it was a huge time-saver. But, if you know how, it really only takes about 4 minutes to wash, dry and store lettuce.

Knowing how to wash and store lettuce (and other "salad greens") is not that big of a mystery, particularly if you have a salad spinner. And I do recommend that you get one. They are relatively cheap and they make washing lettuce a snap.

Salad spinners cost about $25. If you eat a lot of salad it is well worth the investment.

However, let's begin with the "but I don't have a salad spinner" approach.

First, cut the head of lettuce away from its root with a knife. (You can also just do this with your hands - the root should break off easily.) Then, separate the leaves.

To wash iceberg lettuce first remove the core with a paring knife.

Then break it apart with your hands. (Some heads of iceberg are much firmer than others!)

Fill a large bowl with cool water and gently place the lettuce leaves in the bowl giving them a gentle swish as you drop them in the bowl.

After about 30 seconds of floating in the water the sand or dirt will sink to the bottom. Gently shake the water off each leaf and place them one at a time on paper towels or a clean dish towel. Blot the lettuce dry with some more paper towels.

OK, that's the manual way. Now let's use the salad spinner.

A salad spinner is a great little tool for both washing the lettuce and getting the excess water off. It comes in three parts - the bowl, the colander (the bowl with the holes in it) and the lid.

You begin the same way by cutting off the root and separating the leaves. But now, you place the leaves inside the colander, which is sitting inside the bowl.

Fill the spinner with water. All the sand on the lettuce leaves should sink to the bottom.

Lift the colander (with the lettuce in it) out of the bowl, pour away the water, and then replace the colander in the bowl. Finally, put the lid on.

Now you can spin the lettuce by turning the handle. The spinning action will force the water off the lettuce, and help it to dry.

Storing lettuce

If you're not going to use the whole head of lettuce, then lay out the washed leaves on paper towels...

... and roll them up and put them in a plastic bag.

To save money, you can use the plastic bags from the produce section of the grocery store.

When lettuce is washed and properly stored, it stays fresh in the refrigerator for about 5 to 6 days. However, note that lettuce that you've washed yourself and stored properly will last longer then pre-washed lettuce.

Let me begin by stressing that all microwaves have different strengths. They range in power from 500 watts to over 1500 watts. Just inside the frame of your microwave door there should be a label indicating the strength of your microwave.

Knowing the strength of your microwave is very important. Otherwise you may be following cooking directions exactly and still end up with burnt popcorn or an under cooked baked potato! I have an 850 watt microwave oven. All of my directions are based on that wattage.  (Here is a great microwave wattage conversion chart.)

Hot dogs are already cooked when you buy them. All you need to do is heat them up. Place 1 to 4 hot dogs on a paper plate or a microwave-safe dish with a paper towel. (If you are cooking more than 4 hot dogs, do it in stages.)

With the tip of a sharp knife, pierce the hot dog three times; on one end, in the middle, and on the other end. You only need to break the skin. This allows the steam to escape so they don’t explode!

Cover the hot dogs with another paper towel.

Cook on high for 35 seconds. That should be enough to heat them through, but you may have to add another 10-15 seconds.

Remove the hot dogs from the microwave.

Wrap the bun in a paper towel and zap it for about 15 seconds.

You only want to warm the bun. If you over cook the bun in the microwave it will get very hard and chewy as it cools.

I don’t recommend putting the hot dog in the bun and heating everything at once. The steam from hot dog makes the bun very soggy.

For a real treat try toasting the hot dog bun under the broiler. It will make the bun a bit firmer and able to hold all the extras you’re going to pile on!

I like my hot dogs with ketchup, mustard and relish...hold the onions please!

I love baked potatoes, and have already written about how to bake them in the oven! Unfortunately, I often don’t have the time to wait for up to an hour for my baked potato to cook in the oven, even though they definitely taste better that way.

So, like lot of people, I often zap potatoes in the microwave. In less then 10 minutes, they get cooked, covered with sour cream and bacon, and I’m ready to turn on the TV!

Here’s how to cook a potato in the microwave oven.

First, wash the potato under running water (no soap!). You can scrub it with a vegetable brush or just rub it with your hands. Then pat it dry with a paper towel.

Puncture about four holes in the potato, with the tip of a sharp knife or a fork. This is important, as it allows the steam to escape. Otherwise the potato may explode when you cook it. (Seriously! If you don’t puncture it, the potato will go SPLAT all over the inside of you microwave!)

If you are baking potatoes in the oven, you can rub a small amount of oil on them so that the skin gets nice and crispy. It is not necessary to rub oil on potatoes you are cooking in the microwave oven.

Place the potato on a microwave-safe dish. Check the small print on the back of the dish to be sure. Then place it in the microwave oven. (By the way, microwave ovens do not have to be preheated.)

Many microwaves have moisture sensors inside so that all you need to do is press the button that says ‘potato’ and just wait for the microwave to beep at you.

If your microwave doesn’t have a potato button, a general rule is that one 7-to-8 ounce Idaho potato takes about 7 minutes to cook. 2 will take about 11 minutes.

The microwave will often say REST. That means the potato, not you! You need to just let it sit for a couple of minutes, for it to actually finish cooking.

But remember, each microwave oven is different, so you need to stick a knife in the potato to see if it is done. The knife should slide in easily and you should be able to squeeze the potato without too much resistance.

To open a microwave ‘spud’, it needs a bit of a bash first to break the fibers apart.

First, slice the top with a knife.

Then place a folded paper towel over the microwave potato. Using the bottom part of your fist, give it a bash. Be really careful as the potato will be very hot.

Now if you give it a squeeze it should be nice and fluffy.

You can now top it with your favorite topping.

As my Irish grandfather used to say, “I’ve never met a potato I didn’t like!”

Here are a few more startcooking.com potato posts:

Baked Potato Toppings

Baked Potato with Salsa

Mashed Potatoes

Oven Baked Potatoes

Roasted Potatoes

Sweet Potato Casserole

How to Choose and Use Potatoes

Enjoy!

Microwave Potatoes Ingredients:

(4 Servings)

• 4 medium baking potatoes

The great thing about pasta salad is that you can make it ahead of time and refrigerate it. Then when you get home in the evening your dinner is all ready!

Depending on what you have put in it, pasta salad will usually stay fresh in the refrigerator for about 2 days. Like any salad, add what YOU like and omit what you don’t!

I’ve already shown you how to cook pasta. For this dish, you really can use any shape pasta that you like. I think these bow ties (farfalle) are fun!

So let’s startcooking!

After you have cooked and drained 1 pound of pasta put it into a large mixing bowl.

Cut the rind off about 6 ounces of sliced hard salami, then cut the salami into thin strips. You might see these referred to as julienne strips, but that just means long thin strips like this.

Add the salami to the bow ties. (Wait until the end to mix everything together. Sometimes too much stirring turns a recipe to mush!)

Drain 1 small can of pitted olives and add them to the bow-tie pasta as well. You could use fresh pitted olives instead of the canned ones.

I love olives, but my husband hates them, so I usually skip putting the olives in this salad. It works just fine without them.

3 green onions, sometimes called scallions, need to be sliced.

Cut off the hairy root end, and trim the top as well. The green part has a milder taste than the white part. Cut the onion into about ¼ inch thick slices...

...and add that to the pasta.

One pint of cherry tomatoes needs to get cut in half. Otherwise they always go flying across the plate when you try to stab them with your fork!

Now add 4-6 ounces of crumbled feta or goat cheese

GENTLY mix everything together. This salad is looking really good! When you are ready to serve this beautiful salad pour 8 ounces of Italian dressing over the pasta.

I like using a rubber spatula for this. You can also use a big spoon. If I had some fresh basil, that would be a nice addition to this salad.

Mixing bowls are great for mixing things but not so great for serving. If you have a nice bowl be sure dig it out of the cupboard and use it. Also fresh parsley always makes a great garnish.

Enjoy!

This recipe also calls for macaroons. They are a coconut cookie that is soft and very moist and often sold in a flip top can. Each one measures about 1 ½ inch by 1 ½ inch. You can also buy them fresh at some bakeries.

For this recipe you will need:

• 12 Macaroons crushed into small pieces
• ¼ cup of packed brown sugar
• 1 pint of dairy sour cream or plain yogurt
• Assorted fruits
• Fresh mint, optional

Put the macaroons in a medium bowl and with your (clean!) hands crush them with your fingers.

Measure ¼ cup of brown sugar. Be sure to pack it into the measuring cup.

Add it to the macaroons. Add 1 pint of sour cream or yogurt

Fat-free Greek style yogurt is a perfect substitute for sour cream. It is a lot healthier than sour cream, and it is much thicker than regular yogurt.

Mix everything together and cover it with plastic wrap. Put it in the refrigerator for several hours to chill.

You could serve this in a bowl surrounded with fresh fruit, the same way you would a Vegetable Platter with dip.

Fresh Vegetables With Dip

Or make individual servings. Fresh mint is a perfect garnish for this dessert!

Enjoy!

Fresh Fruit Dip

Makes about 3 cups of dip

Mix together:

• 12 Macaroons, crushed into small pieces
• ¼ cup of packed brown sugar
• 1 pint of dairy sour cream or Greek style yogurt
• Assorted fruits
• Fresh mint, optional

Asparagus with Guy Kawasaki's Teriyaki Chicken

For dinner at home, with or without company, I like to serve asparagus. Fresh asparagus can get cleaned, trimmed and steamed in the microwave in less than 10 minutes. I steam the "spears" just to the point where they are tender but still have a bite to them. Then I just add a sprinkle of salt, pepper, and sometimes a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, and the asparagus is ready to serve.

Buy asparagus that has nice bright green stalks and doesn't look dry or shriveled. Depending on the season, you can buy asparagus that is pencil thin or stalks that are three times thicker than a pencil! I prefer slightly thicker stalks which I then peel. Many years ago my old friend Roger Bennet (from London, Montreal and St Remy) taught me the peeling trick. (See below.)

Asparagus is sold by the bunch. There are approximately 14-18 spears of asparagus per bunch. Count on about 3 to 5 spears per serving.

Make only what you are going to eat for dinner. Asparagus cooks really fast in the microwave so there is no point in making enough for leftovers.

If you are not going to use it immediately, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and store it in the refrigerator. It should keep about 3-4 days.

Preparation:

Wash one bunch of asparagus under cool running water.

Trim away the bottom 1/3 of the stalk. The tip of the asparagus is very tender, but the further down you go on the stalk, the tougher it gets.

If you bend the asparagus it will naturally snap at the point where it goes from tender to tough (which is usually about 1/3 of the stalk).

Leslie demonstrates this method in startcooking.com's post on Roasted Asparagus with Garlic Sauce.

You can now use the new shorter "broken" asparagus as a guide to cut the rest of the bunch.

Peel the stalks so that they are the same width as the tip. This ensures even cooking. Really thin stalks of asparagus do not need peeling.

Lay the asparagus two to three deep in a rectangular dish.

Add one Tablespoon of water.

Cover the dish with plastic wrap. Leave a small vent in the corner for steam to escape. (This also helps the plastic wrap from almost shrink wrapping itself over the asparagus. When that happens it's a lot harder to remover the plastic wrap. (Be careful not to get burnt from the hot steam!)

Set the microwave on high heat and cook the asparagus about 2 minutes and 30 seconds. If you want your asparagus to be more tender, cook it for another 30 seconds or so.

Be sure not to overcook asparagus. Overcooked asparagus not only turns to mush, but it develops into a very unappealing shade of green.

Asparagus is great served either hot or cold. If you are going to be serving it cold you need to get the cooked spears cooled off quickly or they will loose their bright green color. You can either put the hot spears in a bowl of ice water...

...or in a colander and run cold water over the spears.

For more startcooking.com tips on blanching vegetables check out Keep it Fresh: Learn How to Blanch.

Cheers!

Ingredients:

(Makes 3-4 servings)

• One bunch of asparagus
• 1 Tablespoon of water
• Salt and Pepper

Mother’s Day is traditionally one of the busiest days of the year at restaurants. Why? Because kids and dads want to “treat” mom to a good meal, but aren’t used to doing the cooking! Well, forget the restaurant this Mother’s Day and show your family’s matriarch you care about her by whipping up a home-cooked treat.

Breakfast:

Chocolate chip pancakes are the perfect start to the day. Small children can help measure and stir the ingredients while dad spoons the batter into the pan and flips the pancakes.  If starting from scratch is a bit daunting, you can alway try a making pancakes from box mix!

Pop some bacon  (video) in the microwave, pour some orange juice and you’ve got a meal fit for a queen!

Lunch:

Once you know how to wash lettuce, making a salad is easy! Kids absolutely love using salad spinners, so make sure they get this job.

Be certain to include mom’s favorite vegetables (children can help chop them, supervised), and top the salad with some Grilled Chicken.

If you want to really impress her, make your own Salad Dressing!

Dinner:

Whip up some Pan-Fried Scallops in less than 5 minutes. Kids will enjoy coating the scallops (à la “shake and bake”), and dad can be in charge of the pan.

Think of how good these would be with Roasted Asparagus in Garlic Sauce! Children can help “snap” the asparagus ends off, while dad is in charge of the oven.

Dessert:

You can’t go wrong with simple, fresh, Apple Crisp. Plus, it’ll make the house smell fantastic.

Tip: Don’t forget to make the table look special for mother’s special day!

You will need the following ingredients to make this Marinara Sauce recipe:

• Two 28 ounce cans of whole tomatoes in juice
• 1 bunch of Fresh basil, stemmed
• ½ cup extra-virgin Olive oil
• 2 small onions, finely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

Be sure to get both the onion and garlic chopped before you turn on the stove.

You’ll need about 1 cup of finely chopped onions for this recipe. Two small or one medium onion should do the trick.

Peel and mince 4 cloves of garlic. That’s a lot of garlic, but it does get cooked, so it’s not going to be too strong.

Fresh basil is essential for this recipe. Nowadays, most grocery store carry fresh basil year-round. You can wash it the same way you wash lettuce. Pull the leaves off the stem and throw the stems away.

Put the basil and the canned tomatoes, with their juice, in a blender and puree everything until almost smooth. Set the tomato-basil puree aside.

(As I filled the blender I thought, YIKES, this is way too full! With my hand pressed firmly on the lid of the blender I pressed the puree button. I was very lucky that my kitchen did not end up covered in tomato sauce. Next time I would puree this mixture in two batches!)

Heat ½ cup of olive oil in a large, heavy saucepan over medium heat.

That does sound like a ton of oil, but believe me it works. It gives the sauce a full, rich flavor.

Add the onions and garlic and cook until very tender, about 12 minutes.

The onions should not get browned. This is what they should look like after 12 minutes.

Stir in the tomatoes and basil that you pureed in the blender and 1 teaspoon of oregano plus 1 teaspoon of sugar. (Don’t skip the sugar. It helps balance the acid in the tomatoes.)

Bring the sauce to a simmer over a medium-high heat. Decrease the heat to medium and continue simmering until the sauce thickens slightly, stirring occasionally. This will take about 10 minutes.

Give the sauce a taste. You may need to add about ½ -1 teaspoon of salt and several grinds of fresh pepper.

The sauce can be made 1 day ahead. If you are storing it for future use, cool the sauce, then cover and refrigerate it. Gently re-heat sauce over medium heat before using it.

If you are going to be freezing this sauce, use small containers that would be enough for 1-2 serving.

Be sure to spray your plastic containers with cooking spray first so they don’t get stained by the tomato sauce.

(For more basic pasta sauce recipes, be sure to check out my Tomato Sauce Video or my Turkey Sausage Sauce photo-tutorial.)

Turkey Sausage Sauce

Enjoy!

Before you choose the shape and size of pasta you want to cook, you will need to decide if you are going to buy either dry, fresh or frozen pasta.

Dry Pasta

Dry pasta is the most readily available type and can be found in boxes or bags on the grocery store shelf. It can be stored for up to a year. Some folks think dry pasta is a supermarket invention, but it has actually been preserved and sold this way in Italy for centuries. It takes longer to cook dry pasta (usually 10-12 minutes) than it does to cook fresh pasta. Brands like Ronzoni and Barilla are ones you’ll spot on supermarket shelves, but there are also plenty of gourmet dry pastas, in all kinds of shapes and colors.

Fresh Pasta

Fresh pasta is found in the refrigerator section of the grocery store. It can also be found in many specialty shops, nestled in a protective layer of semolina flour. Fresh pasta is in a semi-dry state, but still considered fresh. In many supermarkets, it is common to see fresh pasta in a clear plastic container. Buitoni is one of the most popular brands out there. Fresh pasta cooks quickly — it usually takes 4-6 minutes to get it al dente. If unopened, a package of fresh pasta can typically be stored in the refrigerator for a few weeks, or in the freezer for a month. Keep in mind that if frozen, it will require a few extra minutes of cooking.

Frozen Pasta

Frozen pasta has been flash-frozen to lock in the flavor. Gourmet shops usually sell it in small cartons offering exotic flavors like lobster ravioli. But these days you can also find frozen pasta at the supermarket. Companies like Bertolli make bagged frozen pasta meals that require 10 minutes of cooking. With chicken or meat, veggies and a sauce, these make a full-fledged meal in minutes.

No matter which pasta you end up going with, the golden rule is not to overcook it. Fresh pasta turns into a mushy mess when overdone; dry pasta gets gummy if it is undercooked — so be sure to watch your pasta as it boils and follow the directions on the package. And make sure to taste test some of the pasta before draining the boiling water.

Be sure to check out startcooking.com's pasta roundup for some great tips and recipes!

Once you have mastered making chicken cutlets, there are just a few extra steps and ingredients needed to make chicken Parmesan.

First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Then make the chicken cutlets according to my video. When the chicken is all cooked take it out of the frying pan.

Set the cooked cutlets in a baking dish big enough to lay them flat in a single layer.

Using a spoon put about 1 cup of your favorite spaghetti sauce around the cutlets.   You can make your own spaghetti sauce from scratch or use a jar of spaghetti sauce.  I don't like to drown the cutlets in sauce. You can always add more later if you want.

Top with 8 ounces of shredded mozzarella cheese.

You can buy pre shredded Mozzarella...

Or fresh Mozzarella and shred it yourself.

Sprinkle 1/4 cup of parmesan on the top.

The Chicken Parmesan is now ready to pop it into a 350 degree preheated oven for about 25 minutes.

When the cheese is all melted and bubbly it's ready to serve with some spaghetti.

Enjoy!

P.S.

Vegetarians might like to try Eggplant Parmesan instead!

Cheers!
Kathy

Crumb toppings or coatings can actually be made from a variety of foods. Does anyone remember (from their childhood days) tuna-noodle casserole with crunched up cornflakes on the top? Then, of course, along came “Shake and Bake” and the pork chop never looked or tasted better!

Ritz crackers also make a great topping for vegetable casseroles! (See what I mean about turning healthy into sinful?)

If you’re reading a recipe, watch out for whether it calls for “dry” or “fresh” breadcrumbs; the two are not interchangeable! You can buy dry bread crumbs at the grocery store but you have to make your own fresh bread crumbs.

I always have a box of dry breadcrumbs in the cupboard. I particularly like the seasoned variety.

I never bother to make my own dry bread crumbs. (That falls into the category of “life’s too short”.)

On the other hand, fresh bread crumbs are a snap to make! You can use any bread you have in the house.

There are basically three ways to make bread crumbs; with a knife, a food processor, or a blender. As you would expect, the food processor and the blender make really fine, uniform crumbs that are just perfect. But if you don’t own either of these pieces of equipment, a knife will work just fine.

Fresh bread crumbs made from slices of white bread need the crusts trimmed off first. (By the way, Pepperidge Farms bread makes really tasty fresh bread crumbs.)

Then with a bread knife, cut the bread up into crumbs. If the bread is really soft just let it sit on the counter to dry out for a bit, and it should then be easy to cut into crumbs. Try to cut the bread as fine as possible.

Approximately 4 slices of bread will make one cup of crumbs.

Onion rolls make great, already seasoned, fresh bread crumbs! One big roll will make about 2 cups of fresh crumbs. A food processor makes perfect fresh bread crumbs in about 30 seconds.

You can also use a blender to make fresh breadcrumbs. While the motor is running add small chunks of the bread through the hole in the cover of the blender. Don’t over-fill the blender!

“Panko” bread crumbs are a Japanese version of dry bread crumbs that were once only available in Asian markets but you can now get them at the grocery store.

These (trendy) dry bread crumbs are very light and SUPER crunchy. The Whole Foods grocery store in my neighborhood sells spinach flavored ones as well.

You can flavor your own dry or fresh unseasoned bread crumbs with different spices and herbs as well as cheese. The recipe below is one of my favorites that I have used for a topping over baked fish. (But that’s another day!) Cheers!

Seasoned panko bread crumbs:
Makes 1 1/3 cups

• 1 cup plain panko crumbs
• 1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
• 2 teaspoons of minced garlic
• 2 Tablespoons chopped parsley
• 2 Tablespoons fresh basil

I’m going to show you how to fry onions two ways. First, we’ll fry (or “sauté”) the onions very quickly on a high heat. Second, we’ll “caramelize” the onions, which means frying them very slowly on a very low heat.

Sauteed Onions & Caramelized Onions

Sautéed onions have a slightly crispy outside and a very soft center. Caramelized onions are very soft and very sweet. You don’t need to add anything to make them sweet, since the natural sweetness of the onion develops through the slow cooking process.

This post is going to be a slightly longer than normal, since I am going to be showing you two different techniques.

Both approaches to cooking the onions require the same ingredients to start: - onions, butter, olive oil and salt and pepper.

For 2-to-4 servings of the sautéed onions you will need:

• 2 Tablespoons of olive oil, butter, or a combination of both
• 4 medium onions
• Salt and Pepper

I have already discussed how to peel an onion, as well as how to slice an onion. Because we are slicing so many onions you may want to stick them in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes before you start peeling and slicing them. That way, they won’t bother your eyes as much.

Using a sharp knife, slice the onions into ¼ inch, or smaller, slices.

Melt the olive oil or the olive oil & butter combination, in a very large fry pan over medium high heat. Be careful not to burn the butter! If it starts to smoke, turn down the heat!

Add the onions.

Quickly cook the onions, moving them around the pan with a wooden spoon or spatula. It should take no more than 10 minutes at the most for the onions to get nicely browned.

These onions are great on hamburgers, steaks, mashed potatoes or just as a delicious side dish.

How to Make Caramelized Onions

To make caramelized onions you will need time but not a tremendous amount of cooking skill. You will also need:

• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 2 Tablespoons of olive oil
• 3 pounds of onions
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ cup of dry white wine or water
• Grated Parmesan Cheese

By the time you finish caramelizing the onions they will have cooked down to about half their size. 

Peel and slice the onions.

In a really large fry pan melt the butter and olive oil over really low heat. Add the onions to the pan

Sprinkle on 1 teaspoon of salt.

Cook the onions over the lowest heat possible for about 1 hour. (Yikes! That’s a long time!) Don’t be tempted to increase the heat. You can not speed up this process. Over the course of 1 hour they should not turn brown. Be sure to give them an occasional stir. This is what they will look like after 15 minutes of cooking.

This is after 30 minutes of cooking.

This is after 45 minutes of cooking.

After about one hour increase the heat to medium and cook, stirring constantly, until the onions are well browned. That could take another 25 minutes. There will be a lot of brown bits stuck on the bottom of the pan. Those bits are full of flavor. To get them off the bottom of the pan and incorporated into the onions turn off the stove and pour ½ cup of dry white wine (or water) into the pan.

After the wine is added turn the stove back on. This will ensure the alcohol doesn't catch fire and flame up.

The wine will dissolve all the bits and make the onions even darker.

Now remove them from the heat. Add salt and ground pepper and even a sprinkle of grated Parmesan cheese.

Caramelized onions are great on their own or can be added to stews and sauces.

Enjoy!

Adapted from: Joy of Cooking

Sauté Onions Ingredients:

(2-4 Servings)

• 2 Tablespoons of olive oil, butter, or a combination of both
• 4 medium onions
• Salt and Pepper

Caramelized Onions Ingredients

(makes about 4 cups)

• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 2 Tablespoons of olive oil
• 3 pounds of onions
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ cup of dry white wine or water
• Grated parmesan cheese

When I’m making deviled eggs for a buffet table, I sometimes think perhaps they are a bit old-fashioned and outdated. Then, when the party is over, the deviled egg platter is always empty.

To make deviled eggs, in addition to the eggs, you will need mayonnaise, mustard, salt and pepper, and green olives stuffed with pimentos for flavor as well as garnish.

The first step is to hard-cook (what some people call 'boil') six eggs.

If you are unsure of how to boil an egg, check out my 30 second video for a quick review!

If you’ve just cooked the eggs, let them cool to room temperature before peeling them. Actually, cold, hard boiled eggs, just out of the refrigerator, are much easier to peel than just cooked eggs. If you are having trouble peeling the eggs, crack the shell at the ends of each egg and put them in a bowl of ice cold water. Let the eggs sit in the cold water about 10 minutes. This allows the water to seep in and make peeling much easier.

Once all the eggs are peeled, slice them in half lengthwise.

Using a spoon or a fork, gently remove the yolks from the whites and place the all the yolks in a bowl. Set the whites on your serving dish.

I'm using my deviled egg dish which has grooves in it to hold the eggs in place for serving. If you do not have a deviled eggs dish you could put them on a bed of washed parsley so they not only look festive but the parsley will also prevent the eggs from sliding all over the place.

To make the filling, mix together the 6 yolks, add ¼ cup of mayonnaise, 1 ½ Tablespoons of mustard, and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. 

(There are many variations to making deviled eggs including skipping the mustard and using horseradish OR curry powder OR even sweet relish.)

With a fork, mix all of this together until it’s smooth. Taste it to make sure it doesn’t need more salt.

Using two small spoons, fill the egg white shells with the yolk mixture. You’ll need one spoon to scoop up some yolk and the other to slide it off the spoon.  (Or as Bill suggested in the "Comments", put the mixture into a small Ziploc bag, cut off a corner, and pipe it back into the whites.)

Sliced olives with red pimentos are a traditional garnish for deviled eggs - plus it's a great flavor combination.  A sprinkle of paprika, if you have some in your spice cupboard, is also a lovely garnish on deviled eggs!

Deviled eggs make a great appetizer and a perfect party dish.

Enjoy!

P.S. Once you have mastered making hard boiled eggs you might want to give an egg salad sandwich a try!

Today's post is a little bit longer than normal, because I'm going to talk about three things - buying, storing, as well as how to boil an egg. If you just want to know about the boiling part, skip ahead.

Eggs are a staple food all over the world. Apparently, the average American eats about 250 eggs per person, per year, and the average hen lays about 250 eggs per year. So somewhere out there, there is one hen whose sole purpose is to provide you with your eggs. Fortunately, the grocery store acts as the middle man.

Buying Eggs

When buying eggs you get to choose which size and color you want. Size matters, color doesn't. White, brown, or South American light blue and green eggs are all the same on the inside. Official sizes are Peewee, Small, Medium, Large, Extra Large, and Jumbo. It is rare to see Peewee and Small eggs in grocery stores here in the USA.

Sometimes when you open a box of eggs one or two seem smaller than the rest. The cartons of eggs are actually sold by the total weight of the carton, not each individual egg. Most recipes nowadays use large eggs as the standard size.

Before putting a carton of eggs in your grocery cart, open the carton and make sure there are no cracked eggs. Move each egg slightly to make sure none are stuck to the carton. If any are stuck, choose a different carton.

Always buy eggs before the sell-by date on the carton. If stored properly in the refrigerator they should keep 3-5 weeks from the time you bring them home from the grocery store.

Here's what to look for when you crack open an egg: If the sticky stuff surrounding the yellow yolk in the center, (known as "the white"), is somewhat cloudy, that means it's a very fresh egg. A clear white means the egg is ageing, but still fine to use. If the white is pink or "iridescent" then the egg has probably gone off and should be thrown out.

Storing Eggs

Sometimes, no matter how hard you try, by the time you get home from the grocery store, you end up with a cracked egg. It may have been cracked from the very beginning, and you just didn't notice when you were checking them in the first place.

For whatever reason, just throw the cracked egg away. There is no point eating an egg that may have an unwelcome history of germs!

The only time it really is OK to eat a cracked egg is if it cracked while you were cooking the egg. That should present no problem.

Refrigerating Eggs:

Although virtually all refrigerators in the USA have egg-holders on the door, that's not really the best place to store eggs. There is too much temperature fluctuation on the door shelves. Consequently, the best place to store eggs is in the original carton that you bought them in.

Buying and storing eggs is different through-out the world. My post “Born in the USA” explains why.

(Briefly “In the USA, government standards say all eggs must be washed and stored at temperatures no higher than 45 degrees Fahrenheit. Washing the eggs is a good thing but it does leave the eggs without an outer coating and very susceptible to invasion by bacteria. Hence refrigeration of washed eggs is absolutely necessary." Unwashed eggs do not need to be refrigerated)

Can Eggs be Frozen?

You can freeze eggs BUT it can be a bit more complicated than just popping them in an ice-cube tray. PLUS both the taste and texture will be compromised.

There are several very good sites that describe how to freeze eggs (if you must!) including oChef, the National Center for Home Preservation, What's Cooking America.

Also the USDA has a great general information page on eggs.

Cooking Eggs

Very few cooks (or cookbooks) agree on how to cook an egg. In fact, the BBC News announced a foolproof way to cook eggs. A temperature-sensitive ink stamped on an egg lets you know if the egg is cooked by changing color as you cook the egg!

I don't know why everyone uses the term soft boiled or hard boiled eggs. One should never ever boil an egg. In fact, you know when a "cooked" egg is overcooked by that green ring that you sometimes see around the yolk. It is perfectly fine to eat, but it doesn't look great.

When hard cooking eggs it is best to use eggs that are at least one week old. You will find that they are much easier to peel.

OK, here we go!

Place the eggs tightly in a single layer in a saucepan. (One egg or 10 eggs will all take the same time to cook, as long as they are in a single layer.) Add one Tablespoon of salt to the water. (This will prevent the eggs from cracking.)

Then cover the eggs with water.

Place it on your stovetop on high heat.

Cover the pan.

Bring the water to a boil.

A lot of recipes will ask you to gently place the eggs in boiling water but I don't like to do it that way. Too often while placing the egg in the water it has slipped, cracked and ...well...hello poached egg!

After the water comes to a boil, immediately shut off the stove and let the pot of eggs just sit on the stove, covered, for 15 minutes for large eggs. Some people say to remove the pan from the stove top to avoid over cooking. All pans hold heat differently. Once you make the perfect hard cooked egg, try to use the same pan and timing to make all future hard cooked eggs.

After 3-5 minutes you will have a soft cooked egg.

A hard cooked extra large egg should sit for 18 minutes.

Drain the hot water from the saucepan and let cold water run over the eggs.

It's best to peel the eggs right before you use them.

I know two ways to make the peeling easier. One is to crack the shell at the ends of each egg and return them to cold water. This allows the water to seep in.

Or after the eggs have cooled just put them in the refrigerator for a few hours. Cold eggs are much easier to peel.

A hard cooked egg should be put in the refrigerator within two hours of cooking and will keep in the refrigerator, unpeeled, about 1 week.

That's it for eggs!

Cheers!

***

More startcooking.com egg posts:

• Cracking and Separating and Egg (video)
• How to Boil an Egg (video)
• How to Fry an Egg (video)
• Scrambled Eggs
• Omelet with Cheese (video)
• Dating an Egg with a Laser
• Egg Origins – Does it Really Matter
• Born in the USA
• Quiche With Ham And Cheese (video)
• Sausage and Egg Casserole (video)
• Pancakes – Chocolate Chip (video)
• French Toast
• 5 Ways to Make a Frittata
• How To Make Deviled Eggs
• Rice Salad Plate
• How To Make Egg Salad
• Vegetable and Chef Salad (video)
• Make Ahead Layered Salad
• Salad Nicoise

But there's no shame in going instant, especially if you jazz it up with different flavors.

Just follow the package instructions for making the hot chocolate, and then try one of these 12 twists - topped off with marshmallows or whipped cream, of course.

1. Caramel: A tablespoon of caramel sauce can do wonders for hot chocolate. Spoon in your favorite brand and give it a good stir right before you take your first sip.
2. Ice cream: It may sound weird to put something cold in your hot cocoa, but a scoop of ice cream makes it really creamy and thick. Make sure your hot chocolate is as hot as you can get it without allowing it to boil, and pop in a scoop of your favorite ice cream.
3. Cinnamon, Nutmeg or Vanilla extract: A 1/4 teaspoon of any of these always adds zip.
4. Orange Zest: Carve three 2-inch long strips of orange rind (the skin) and let them steep in your drink for a while before tasting. That citrus flavor is a delight.
5. Espresso or Coffee: You can either add a tablespoon of fresh brewed coffee or espresso, or you can use the instant stuff.
6. Peppermint Stick: Drop a peppermint stick or even one of those peppermint candies you picked up at your last restaurant visit. It adds great flavor, and a great smell. This version is nice if you've got a cold.
7. Dark or White Chocolate Shavings: Dig that Hershey bar out of your bag and grab a grater. Sprinkling a few shreds of the real deal into your drink - or on the whipped cream on top of it - can only make things more heavenly.
8. Peanut Butter: If you're crazy for peanut butter , take a tablespoon or two and mix it into your cocoa. Just be sure to mix really well until it melts.
9. Habanero Pepper or a Shot of Hot Sauce: Got a hankering for something hot and spicy? A dash of your favorite hot sauce kicks a hot chocolate into high gear. You can even drop in 2 fresh slices of a fresh Habanero pepper into your cocoa and stir the flavor in.
10. Hot Cherries: Nearly everyone has that jar of maraschino cherries sitting in the fridge, so drop two or three teaspoons of the juice into your drink, along with a cherry. Tastes like drinking a chocolate cordial.
11. Coconut Milk: Put a tropical spin on your hot chocolate by substituting some of the milk required with a 1/4 cup of coconut milk.
12. Maple Syrup: It's not just for waffles and pancakes! A squirt of the unique taste of maple syrup livens up ordinary old hot chocolate.

Voila!

In preparing the patties, I have tried all sorts of “add-ins” to mix with the beef - everything from dried onion soup mix, to eggs, to bacon fat, to grated cheese . The absolute best to add is...nothing at all! Why dilute that pure beefy taste?

When making your own hamburgers, start with 1 ¼ pounds of ground beef with 20% fat content. This will be enough for four patties.

Normally I buy a lesser fat content, but for really tasty burgers, get the 20%.

(Using clean hands!)  Divide the beef into four sections. Gently form each section into a round “patty” shape. It’s not necessary to tightly pack the beef into shape. In fact, you should try to handle the beef as little as possible.

Each patty should measure approximately ¾ inches thick and 4 ½ inches across.

Wrap the extra patties in plastic wrap and freeze them for next week’s dinner.

Before you start cooking the hamburgers, toast the cut side of the rolls. (Untoasted rolls get soggy very quickly.) Lay the rolls out on a baking sheet with sides and put them under the broiler.

It will only take a minute or two, so don’t do anything but stand there with pot holder in your hand, ready to remove the rolls from the oven. (They go from beautifully toasted to burnt in the blink of an eye. Then the smoke alarm goes off and ....you know the rest!)

Preheat your fry pan (on medium- high temperature) by putting a few drops of water in the pan. By the time they have evaporated, your pan will be hot.

Make sure the fry pan you are using is large enough to hold your hamburgers without squishing them together.

Cook the hamburgers (on medium-high) on one side then flip them once, and then cook them on the other side.

Cooking times on each side:

• 3 minutes for RARE (caution-see note below!)
  
• 4 minutes for MEDIUM
• 5 minutes for WELL DONE

If you want to make a cheeseburger, place a slice of cheese on the flip side about 1 minute before the burgers are done cooking. The heat from the hamburgers will melt the cheese.

Serve your hamburgers with sliced tomatoes, lettuce, a dollop of mayonnaise and some salt and pepper.

Enjoy!

****

Note:

Rare, medium or well done Hamburgers?

The USDA recommends that you always cook hamburgers so that the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees which is well done.

A friend from Canada describes why:

"...one thing I've learned from working in the food service industry (McDonald's in Canada, in my case) for over 15 years is that the only safe way to cook hamburgers is to make sure they are fully cooked, not rare.  This eliminates the possibility of there being any harmful bacteria in the burger - in particular, E. coli.In fact, it is standard practice at McDonald's in Canada to verify a safe internal temperature with the first run of the products from the grill, before anything gets served to the customers.  In my area, the minimum safe temperature for cooked beef patties is 156 degrees F.  It may vary in other locations - in some areas, the safe temperature is 160 degrees, for example."

Tex-Mex Cheeseburgers,  Chili, English Muffin Pizzas, and Beef With Bow Ties and Beans are just a few of the recipes here that start with ground beef.

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Chili Anyone?

Buying Ground Beef

The first thing you will notice when you go to the meat section of your grocery store is that there are a wide variety of different packages of what all looks like ground beef, but with different prices. In most cases, the pricing is directly related to different levels of fat content. Generally, the lower the fat content, the higher the cost will be per pound. The fat content is indicated by the numbers on the package.

I usually buy what’s called 85/15, which is the ratio of beef — in this case, 85 percent — to fat, which is 15 percent here. This ratio gives me the taste and texture I like when I’m cooking.

Many people who are watching their fat intake buy 90/10. I find that ratio to be a bit dry, but each to his own! (My trick is to use the 85/15 beef, but drain off the fat after I have browned the beef.)

You should use or freeze ground beef within 2 days of buying it. If you are going to freeze the beef, put an extra layer of plastic wrap around the package to protect it from “freezer burn.”

If meat (or bread or even ice cream) has been in the freezer too long, the food gets very dried out and develops white edges. It not only looks awful but the taste and texture will be pretty bad as well.

Another “must” before freezing, is to label and date the package. You’d be amazed at how long unmarked packages take up residence in the freezer!

Frozen ground beef should be used within four months of purchase. After that, I’d definitely recommend throwing it away!

Be sure to check out my video on How to Brown Ground Beef and How to Thaw Ground Beef.

Guinness Stout Beef Stew is rich and hearty and a perfect meal to serve on a cold day. Of course, it’s a must for St Patrick’s Day, which here in Boston is a huge celebration!

You can serve this stew for Sunday lunch and then, late in the day, try some of startcooking.com’s Irish Bread with Irish Coffee.

The fresh ingredients you will need to make this stew are garlic, onion, carrots, stew beef and parsley for the garnish (decoration.) Buy the most tender stew beef you can afford. (Ask the butcher!) This stew takes only 1 and 1/2 hours to cook so you need a tender stew beef. (For stews that take 3-4 hours to cook, it’s OK to use a less tender cut of beef.)

From the pantry, you will need white flour, oil, beef broth and bay leaves.

You will also need pitted prunes along with the Guinness Stout.

Before we startcooking, a few words of caution:

First, do not omit the prunes! Without the prunes, the Guinness is going to make the stew taste bitter. The prunes cook down and melt into the stew. If you don’t tell, no one will even be aware that they are in this stew! (Do you see them in the photo below?)

Second, do not replace the “Extra Stout” with “draught” or with those bottles of Guinness with the widgets in them that make the foam. The taste will be all wrong!

****

Begin by getting the carrots, onions, garlic and beef all cut up and ready to cook.

Peel the carrots and cut them into chunky slices about 1/2 inch thick.

(The picture below shows, from left to right, the stages and equipement I use to turn a whole carrot into the slices.)

Chop the onion.

Crush the garlic.

Cut the stew beef into approximately 1 inch chunks.

In a large, heavy, Dutch oven, set on medium high; heat the oil and sauté (fry) the onions for about 3-4 minutes.

Add the garlic and continue cooking for another 30 seconds.

Remove the onions and garlic from the pot.

The meat needs to get "seared" in small batches. It is very tempting to add half the meat thinking “well that fits into a single layer in the pot…so why not?”

The photo below is why not! If you overcrowd the pan the meat will get foamy and bubbly, and not develop a nice rich browned color.

Small batches….

…will guarantee a nicely browned meat.

Remove the meat from the pan….

…and add the next batch.

When all the meat is browned, add it all back to the pot.

Sprinkle on the flour.

Reduce the heat to simmer, stir in the flour until all the meat is coated

Add beef broth……

…and Guinness (Extra Stout only!)

…and stir everything until mixture comes to a simmer.

Now add the onions, garlic, carrots and the bay leaves. (Be sure to remove the bay leaves before you serve the stew. They are there to impart flavor but you do not eat bay leaves.)

Give everything a stir.

The beer/broth should cover all the ingredients. If it does not, you may need to add a bit more broth.

Simmer the stew gently, uncovered, for one hour. (There should only be tiny little bubbles with the occasional waft of steam coming from the stew.) Be sure to give it an occasional stir.

While the stew is simmering, chop the prunes.

Add the prunes….

…and continue cooking the stew for another 1/2 hour.

The prunes will “melt” into the stew and the gravy will develop a wonderful rich flavor and have a nice glossy finish.

Boiled or mashed potatoes garnished with chopped parsley

are perfect to serve with this stew. Don’t forget to remove the bay leaves!

Cheers!

Digg this!

The final taste is affected by the strength of the coffee, the type of whiskey you use, the way you add the cream, whether or not you use brown or white sugar and, of course, the proportions used of each ingredient.

Another choice when making Irish coffee is the type of glass or mug you will use. The “classic” glass is a 6-ounce stemmed glass. Another familiar glass or mug used is an 8-ounce mug with a handle. This type of mug actually seems a bit more practical for holding a hot cup of liquids.

The basics steps to make Irish coffee are

1. Warm the glass
2. Fill the glass 2/3 full of coffee
3. Add 2 teaspoons of sugar and stir (3 teaspoons for the larger glass)
4. Add 1 ounce of whiskey (1 ½ ounce for the larger glass)
5. Top with prepared cream
6. Assign designated driver

If you are making several Irish coffees, do one first and taste it to see if you need to adjust the proportions.

Step 1. Warming the Glass
You can run the glass under hot (or warm) water to warm the glass. Leave the hot water in the glass while you are making the coffee and preparing the cream. The thick mug type of glass is usually made of tempered glass so that it will not crack when you use it for hot liquids. If you are using a stemmed glass, you need to be more careful that is doesn’t shatter from the hot water — use water with a lower temperature.

Step 2. Fill the glass 2/3 full of coffee

Make a pot (or French Press) of fresh coffee. This is not the time to use flavored coffee.

Step 3. Add 2 teaspoons of sugar and stir

Don’t skip this step, even if you don’t normally put sugar in your coffee. The sugar actually helps the cream to float above the coffee. You can use either brown or white sugar.

Step 4. Add 1 ounce of whiskey

This amount can be adjusted according to your taste and the size of the glass you use.

Bartenders may pour straight from the bottle but measuring cups are more accurate for the untrained eye.

Step 5. Top with cream

This is the critical step to get the classic look and drinking experience. You must pour heavy cream over the back of a spoon so that about ½ inch of cream floats on top of the coffee. You actually drink the coffee through the cream. You are not meant to blend the two layers together.

As an option, you can thicken the cream by whipping it with a whisk, ever so slightly.

This will help you to keep these layers separate when you are making your Irish coffee. My first pour of the cream was done using heavy cream which I did not whisk. The photo below is what's not not supposed to happen!

Over in England they sell what’s called “double cream” which is much thicker than our heavy cream and probably doesn’t need to get whisked.

Do not sweeten the cream. You also may be tempted to use a can of whipped cream, but don’t!

Step 6. Assign a designated driver

Of course!

Irish coffee is actually a great drink to serve with dessert or with cookies. There are some who would like to make their Irish coffee look a bit more seasonal by adding a drizzle of green Crème de Menthe over the top. (I cringed when I heard this, then I took a sip of this Irish coffee with Crème de Menthe. It is really delicious!)

A slice of my Mom's Irish Bread is perfect with this Irish Coffee!

Cheers!

1. The Box Mix - 2 minutes preparation after cooking the macaroni
2. The Stove-Top Version - 10 Minutes preparation time
3. Oven-Baked - 20 minutes preparation, 45 minutes baking in the oven

The box mix has been around forever and a box will indeed last forever! The intense chemical flavor which allows it sit in your cupboard for generations screams out with every bite.

The stove-top version is made from “real” ingredients and is very tasty. Plus, it’s a snap to prepare.

My favorite is actually the Oven-baked Mac & Cheese made from scratch starting off with a white sauce. It tastes fabulous and, while baking, it develops a crusty top that is to die for.  Today we are going to tackle the Stove-Top Version, which as noted above, is a little quicker to prepare.

You will need eight ingredients:

1. Butter
2. Hot Sauce
3. Eggs
4. Salt
5. Dry Mustard (found in the Spice section of the grocery store)
6. Evaporated Milk (usually found next to Baking supplies like flour and sugar)
7. Elbow Macaroni
8. Mild Cheddar Cheese

Measure out 2 cups of the dry Macaroni

Cook it according to the directions on the package.

Get all your ingredients measured while the macaroni is cooking.

• 4 Tablespoons of butter

• 2/3 cup (5 oz. can) evaporated milk

• 2 large eggs

• ¾ teaspoon of dry mustard

• ½ teaspoon salt

• ½ teaspoon hot sauce

• 2 cups (8 oz.) mild shredded cheddar cheese

Once the macaroni is cooked, drain it in a colander.

Melt the butter in the same pot you cooked the macaroni in.

Remove the pot from the heat and using a whisk or large spoon, mix in the evaporated milk first.

Now mix in the eggs

And the salt

Dry mustard

and the hot pepper sauce

Put the pot back on the stove top on low heat and add the pasta to the pot.

And the cheese

Cook over low heat stirring constantly for about 4 minutes,

or until the cheese is melted

and the mac and cheese is thick and creamy.

Serve the mac and cheese immediately and...Enjoy!

P.S. I served this for dinner last night and at the last minute topped each serving with some fried onion....fantastic!

Adapted from:
Verybestbaking.com

Always keep the blade pointed away from you.

I do not recommend putting large knives in the dishwasher. Small paring knives, with the point down, are fine in the dishwasher, as long as they don't have a wooden handle. (Wooden handles and dishwashers don't mix.)

Large knives in the dishwasher are an accident waiting to happen. They could nick or chip dishes and glassware as well as the dishwashing rack itself. (Once the dishwasher rack gets nicked it may well start to rust. Those racks are REALLY expensive to replace.)

If you wash your dishes in a dishpan of soapy water DO NOT toss the dirty knives in as well! Having to retrieve those knives without being able to see where you're groping is a really scary thought!

Dry off knives with a soft dish towel or paper towel. Remember - with the blade always pointed away from you.

Be sure to check out my video on Three Good Knives!

Why Grill a Sandwich?

Grilling a sandwich makes the outside of the bread (or wrap) toasty and crispy, and makes the filling all warm and gooey.

How do I Grill a Sandwich ?

You can grill a sandwich on your stove top, using a frying pan, a cast iron skillet, a cast iron griddle or a grill pan. Other options are the George Forman Grill, a panini grill or a toaster oven. For more information on these indoor grilling options, scroll down below the recipes.

If you have an outdoor barbecue, fire it up, oil the grate and throw (well, not literally) your sandwich or wrap on the grill. Be careful not to let the filling drip through the grates. Grilling a sandwich on an outdoor grill adds a smoky flavor to an otherwise ordinary sandwich.

A Grilled Monte Cristo Sandwich, courtesy of Kevin Lynch, Closet Cooking

Grilled Sandwich Ideas and Recipes

• This Grilled Monte Cristo Sandwich (shown above) will knock your socks off! It's basically a ham and cheese sandwich, dipped in egg and milk and French toasted. Paired with strawberry jam and mustard, this is a real unique taste treat!
  
• Here's an excellent example of Grilled Vegetable Panini using a panini grill. These step-by-step instructions with photos show techniques and ingredients for a delicious game-time sandwich. These can also be made on the barbecue or a stove top griddle using a weight to flatten the sandwiches.
  
• How about a Grilled Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich. You can make it a bit healthier by using natural peanut butter and all fruit preserves. Want to Reinvent the Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich? This link has some really great ideas, including bacon, bananas (the Elvis sandwich), mayonnaise, potato chips and raisins.

• For an easy breakfast sandwich try slicing a croissant or an English muffin in half and butter the insides, or butter two pieces of your choice of bread. Place it on a hot griddle, or frying pan butter side down and grill until evenly toasted. Remove to a plate. Place a slice of cheese on one side and a slice of cooked Canadian bacon (or another meat of your choice) on the other. Meanwhile, fry two eggs and when they're done, assemble your sandwich with the eggs in the middle. Season to taste. The heat from the hot eggs will melt the cheese and you'll have a tasty breakfast sandwich!

• Grilled Chili Cheese Quesadillas can be put right on the barbecue for a fast outside warm weather lunch.

• Start with your basic delicious Grilled Cheese Sandwich, then dress up your Grilled Cheese for company by using these 9 variations.

• I've had a fascination with  a Cuban Sandwich ever since I had one at a local restaurant. It was grilled to perfection, succulent and full of flavor. It also looked easy to make. Cuban Sandwiches for Beginners is a great place to start for lots of tasty ideas. This simple Grilled Cuban Sandwich uses sliced turkey and ham, cranberry jelly, cheese and a pickle.

• There's no rule in the handbook that says you can't grill a BLT! Although not technically a grilled sandwich, the all-American and beloved BLT would be awesome if you toasted it on a hot griddle.

Stove-Top Grilling Options

• Cast Iron Skillet: This might have been the first grill pan ever to be used! Save some money and dig out your trusty old cast iron pan. It holds the heat, it grills evenly and if it's been well seasoned over the years, it's virtually non-stick!

• Cast Iron Griddle: I have a large rectangular cast iron griddle that is ridged on one side and flat on the other. It lays across 2 burners and uses the heat from the stove for cooking. I've used this not only for sandwiches, but also French toast, pancakes, grilled chicken and much more.

• Grill Pans: Special non-stick grill pans come with either ridged or flat surfaces. The square pan is the perfect shape for square sandwiches! These come in handy when you want to make a quick sandwich and don't want to plug in or buy another appliance. The advantage to these pans? They can be taken camping, too!

Counter-Top Grilling Options

• The George Foreman Grill is probably the most well-known electric grill today. Foreman claims that it "Seals in the flavor and knocks out the fat!" They come in all sizes and prices and are non-stick, making them a good choice for sandwiches.

• Panini grills are not just for restaurants. You can get them in virtually any size and price range. Wise Geek has the best explanation, but it's a counter-top grill that is hinged and grills both sides of the sandwiches, hopefully with those appetizing ridge marks. It's either a great time-saver or a big space-waster, depending on the size of your kitchen and how often you use it.

• Toaster Oven: There's probably a wedding gift sitting on a shelf in your basement covered in dust. Get that toaster oven out and start using it! It keeps the kitchen cool on a hot summer day and does a lot more than make toast! It broils open-faced sandwiches, makes an excellent Tuna Melt, and kids of all ages will love English Muffin Pizzas! Have the best of both worlds with English Muffin Pizzas with Tuna Fish!

Pancakes are eaten all over the world. Here at startcooking.com I have three different recipes which you can choose from to make pancakes:

1. Chocolate Chip Pancakes from Scratch (video)
2. Crepes With Nutella (video) (Crepes are a very thin, flat pancake)
3. From a box mix (today's photo-tutorial)

If you make crepes or pancakes from “scratch” you will need: flour, baking powder, vanilla sugar, salt, milk, butter, eggs, and vegetable oil. If you are just learning how to cook, all of these ingredients are in fact, an important part of a well stocked cupboard.

BUT, given that this is startcooking.com I’m going to show you how to make pancakes with a box mix.

Before buying the box mix, check the ingredients necessary to make that particular box mix. Some require only water. Some want you to add eggs, milk and sometimes vegetable oil to the box mix. Don’t leave the grocery store until you have read the back of the box of your pancake mix!

This particular mix requires only water. (The directions on the back of the box are usually done very well; often including a picture drawing of what to do!)

Using a medium size bowl, measure out the pancake mix into the bowl; be sure to level off the top of the measuring cup.

Now add the water. Use a glass measuring cup with a spout. It will make measuring and pouring the water easier.

Blend it all together with a whisk or a fork until everything is just combined. (No vigorous beating here!)

Preheat a large fry pan on medium heat for about one minute.

You will know when the pan is hot enough when you drop a few drop of water on the fry pan and they dance and sizzle! (There is a good visual of this in my Stir Fry Video)

Once the pan is hot, add 1 ½ tablespoons of vegetable oil.

You could use butter, but butter burns more quickly than vegetable oil so it can get a bit tricky if your pan gets too hot.

Using a ¼ cup measure, scoop up some batter, hold the cup about 2-3 inches from the surface of the pan, and pour the batter into the pan.

Try and make them nice and rounded. You could mush it around a bit with the back of a spoon to try and get them rounder. It may take a little practice! I like to make about 3 or 4 pancakes at a time.

Tempting as it is to make one giant pancake - I wouldn't recommend it: it’s really tricky to flip!

There are lots of different topping you could add at this point.

Chocolate chips, coconut, chopped nuts, raspberries, blueberries, bananas, and raisins are some sweet options. For savory pancakes try shredded cheese or cooked bacon.

All you do is sprinkle your extras onto the uncooked side of the pancake. This way, everything gets evenly distributed. (Some recipes will have you add the extras to the batter but I prefer to sprinkle them on the top.)

Let the pancakes cook until you see all little bubbles on the surface of the pancake.

Using a spatula take a peek on the underside to see if they are ready to flip. They should be beautifully browned.

Now cook the flip side until it is nice and brown. The flip side never gets quite as browned or looks quite as good as the top side. The flip side takes only about half the cooking time of the first side.

Don’t keep flipping the pancakes. Flip once and that’s it!

You can keep your pancakes warm in a 200 degree oven until you have finished cooking them all.

There are of course many different types of syrup you can pour over your pancakes, but my favorite is good old fashioned maple syrup!

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• One box of pancake mix
• Vegetable oil
• Syrup

Optionall Ingredients:

• Blueberries
• Chocolate chips
• Coconut
• Chopped Nuts
• Raspberries
• Bananas
• Raisins
• Shredded Cheese
• Cooked bacon