Ginger - A Spice of Many Talents

Ginger is a great herb in so many ways. It does more than just give great flavor to your foods.

Ginger can be used in many ways.
You can buy a ginger root and grate it or chop it.
You can buy dried ginger that is ground.
You can also buy crystallized ginger.

Ginger has preserving properties. If you have ever made gingerbread cookies, you will notice that they keep and taste good for a really long time.

Ginger is also good for your health.
It will help nausea. It also helps your body digest fatty foods.
It also helps get rid of heartburn and the pain of arthritis.
It can also be good for your blood and ultimately your heart- it helps in the same way aspirin does.

So, the next time you add ginger to your yummy stuff know that you are doing something good for yourself.

Skinning That Chicken

Skinning chicken can be a hard thing to accomplish.

Some people hate skin, while others won't go without.

But, it is healthier to eat chicken without the skin. All the fat is right underneath the skin.

Skinning chicken is pretty simple.

A lot of people talk about skinning it when it is partially frozen.
That is fine, but it is awfully cold.
If you have hands that are overly sensitive to the cold, you might want to try another method.

Here is what I do:

Have a few napkins or paper towels handy.

Get your poultry cut how you want.

Grab a paper towel in your hand and use that to skin the chicken.

Now, on one side, loosen the skin away from the meat.

With the paper towel in your hand, grab a hold of the skin and pull it down and off of the bone.

By using the napkin or paper towel, your hand will not get all slick from the chicken fat.
You will have a good grip and be able to pull it off.

When you just use your hands, your hands get really slippery and the skin just doesn't want to pull off the bone.

Works like a charm!

Yummy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate chip cookies are always good. And these are no ordinary chocolate chip cookies.
They are soft and seem to have more semi-sweet chocolate flavor than in most cookies.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
Grease, or line with parchment, some cookie sheets.


Ingredients:

3/4 cup(1-1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
2/3 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons light corn syrup
1 Tablespoon cider or white vinegar
2 eggs
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2-1/4 cups flour
3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, sugars, corn syrup, and vinegar.
Beat in the eggs.
Mix in the vanilla extract, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.
Stir in the flour, than the chocolate chips.
With a tablespoon or medium cookie scoop, drop cookies on the cookie sheets.
Bake for 10 minutes, just til set. The centers may look soft.
Take them out of the oven and remove to racks to cool.

Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

Creole Rub/Seasoning

Creole rub seasoning is great for using as a rub for meat and poultry. It also is great to add to recipes.
It isn't very spicy, but it does have a bit of warmth to it.

I use this in Tuna Creole. I also love to rub it on ribs or chicken before I put the meat on the grill.

Ingredients:
3 Tablespoons paprika
2 Tablespoons salt
1 Tablespoon garlic powder
1 Tablespoon ground black pepper
1 Tablespoon onion powder
1 Tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 Tablespoon dried oregano
1 Tablespoon dried thyme

Combine all the spices in a jar with a lid.
Screw on the lid tightly and shake to mix.
Will keep fresh for 6 months.
 Makes about 3/4 cup.

Good tip- when you empty a spice jar, wash it out and save it for storing your homemade seasonings.

Tuna Creole

I love this stuff. Tuna Creole is a good simple meal that is equally easy on your pocketbook.
In the time it takes to cook the rice, you can have the creole done. Super quick!

Ingredients:

1/4 cup chopped mild green chili pepper
2 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/3 cup milk
1-3/4 to 2 cups chopped tomatoes, canned(15oz can) or fresh
1(6 oz) can tuna, drained
1 teaspoon creole seasoning

3 cups hot cooked rice, for serving

Melt the butter in a large saucepan.
Add the chopped pepper and cook until tender.
Stir in the flour, sugar, salt, and pepper.
Gradually add the milk, stirring constantly. Add the tomatoes and bring to a boil.
Continue to stir and cook for 2 minutes.
It will thicken up slightly.
Add the tuna and the creole seasoning.
Stir in and heat through.
Serve over the rice.

Serves 4

Cooking Rice

Rice is always a good staple to have in your pantry. It is pretty versatile.

You can just have it as a side or use it in a casserole. You can even make a salad with it.

But, it all starts with cooking it first. Which is pretty easy. You don't need a fancy rice cooker. Just a pan with a tight fitting lid.

How long it takes to cook the rice depends on the kind you buy.

Minute rice is the fastest rice to make. It is already precooked so you just have to bring it to a boil and it's pretty much ready.

Brown rice, on the other hand, takes the longest. But, it is healthier.

Regular white rice, that you buy in the bag takes about twice the time as minute rice and a little less than half the time of brown rice.

Cooking rice is pretty simple. And you can vary the taste by the liquid and seasonings you cook it in or anything you add in when it's done.

The basic method of cooking rice is using 2 parts liquid to 1 part rice.

Start off by deciding what flavor you want to give to your rice.
You can just use plain water with nothing added. Or, if you want to add a bit of flavor, add some salt and a little butter to the water before adding the rice.

You can also cook the rice in chicken broth.

Add different spices to the water or chicken broth. Use parsley or curry powder. Maybe lemon pepper seasoning.

After deciding how you want your rice to taste, get out a medium sized saucepan and add your broth or water to it. Add any seasonings you are using.
Turn the heat to medium high and bring to a boil.

While the cooking liquid is heating up, rinse the rice in a strainer and make sure to drain it well.

When the liquid is boil, add the rice quickly.

Let the water come back to a boil.
Cover.
Turn the heat down to low and let cook undisturbed.

For white rice, it takes about 15 minutes.
For brown rice, it takes about 40 minutes.

The rice is done when the water has all absorbed into the rice.

It's time to serve, add in things such as cheese or salsa, or use it as an ingredient in another dish.

Overnight Carmel Apple Rolls

These are very good rolls. They are very light and a little different from your usual cinnamon or caramel rolls.
They are also great for mornings. You make them up the night before and stick them in the fridge. In the morning, just pop them in the oven for a yummy breakfast.

You will need a 9"x13" baking pan.
A larger rectangular pan or platter for serving.
You will also need a rolling pin.

Ingredients:

Rolls-
3 to 3-1/2 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup applesauce
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup(1/2 stick) butter
1 egg

Caramel topping-
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup applesauce
6 Tablespoons butter, melted

Filling-
4 Tablespoons(1/2 stick)butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon

Combine 1 cup flour, the sugar, salt, and yeast. Set aside.
In a small saucepan warm the applesauce, milk, and butter. Heat just until butter almost melts.
Add to the flour mixture with the egg.
With a spoon or mixer stir in until everything is moistened.
Add another 1-1/2 cups flour and mix in until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
Turn out the dough onto a floured surface and knead in the remaining flour. The dough should be smooth and elastic.
If you have a mixer with a dough hook, use that and knead til dough is smooth and elastic.
The dough will be soft.
Put the dough into a greased bowl and cover. Put into a warm spot and let rise for about 45 minutes until double.
Grease the 9"x13" pan. Combine the topping ingredients in the bottom and spread it out evenly.
When the dough has risen, roll it out on a floured surface into a 15"x12" rectangle.
Spread the butter evenly over the dough.
Sprinkle the sugar and the cinnamon over the butter.
Working from the long side, roll up the dough and pinch to seal. You want to roll tight enough that the sugar and cinnamon won't come out. But you don't want it too tight so that the middle of the roll pops out while it bakes.
Cut the rolls into 12 even slices. Lay over the topping.
Cover the pan with buttered foil and stick in the fridge. Buttering is just in case they rise too high and hit the foil. This way they won't stick.

Take the rolls out of the fridge 30 minutes before baking. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Uncover the rolls and bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.
Remove from oven and let stand for 1 minute.

Take your larger pan or platter and lay it top side down over the pan of rolls.
Quickly flip both pans at once so the pan of rolls is bottom side down over the other pan.
Carefully lift the baking pan off the rolls.
Scrape any remaining topping out of the pan onto the rolls.