Living Life Abundantly

Mexican cuisine is known for its colorful presentation and healthy qualities. Home to the Aztecs, Mayans and Zapotecs, Mexico developed a strong agricultural civilization early. They grew many foods like avocados, peppers, beans, corn, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, and squash. They hunted for deer, turkey, rabbit, and quail. Chocolate is grown in Mexico, and was originally served as a drink to Aztec royalty.

When the Spanish discovered Mexico, they brought their own favorite foods. Cream, beef, bread, and cheese were combined with the foods growing in Mexico. They brought over livestock like sheep, pigs, and chickens, as well as crops like wheat and sugarcane. When Spain stopped ruling Mexico three hundred years later, they had made quite an impact on traditional Mexican cuisine.

The most important ingredient in Mexican cuisine is corn. Cornmeal, also known as masa, is made into dough that forms the base for tamales, empanadas, and tortillas. Corn is also added as an ingredient to stews, soups and more. Flour tortillas are more popular in northern Mexico. Chili peppers are frequently used in Mexican dishes. Jalapenos, Serrano and poblano chilies are some of the more popular choices.

Beans also provide a good source of protein in Mexican meals. Pinto beans are found in the north, while black beans are popular in the Yucatan peninsula. There are many different varieties used throughout Mexico to make dishes like frijoles (refried beans).

There are many regional favorites found in the typical Mexican meal. Beef is used frequently in the north, as it is hot and dry, with good grazing grounds. The Pacific coast is known for coffee production and its corn stew. The Gulf coast offers a wide variety of seafood and fish dishes, tropical fruits and vegetables. Central Mexico has the most distinctive Spanish influence, and the Yucatan people commonly eat seafood, shellfish, eggs, corn, and black beans. Herbs are used liberally throughout Mexico.

If you want to try making an authentic Mexican meal at home, there are many recipes online to try. Mexican rice recipe are easy and delicious. They are a good dish to start out with. Once you have tried making rice (arroz in Mexico), you will find yourself adding it to your menu frequently.

Try something new and experiment. Adding a different bean can change the texture or flavor to a dish. Add tortillas or refried beans as a side dish, or throw together some fresh seafood and citrus juice to make a cooling ceviche on a hot day. Mexican food is great for kids to make, too. Let them make their own quesadillas or tacos.

For something different, try a Mexican breakfast. Mix some tropical fruit in a bowl for an easy meal. Scramble some eggs and salsa for heurvos rancheros. Alternatively, you can top a tortilla with an egg and add some bacon or ham, chilies, tomatoes and cheese. Serve it with some refried beans for a traditional breakfast.

If you are like a lot of us, you have noticed your life just seems to get busier and busier. If you are not careful, you will soon find yourself eating out most of the time, or reheating boxed convenience foods in the microwave. After all, when you are short on time or you have had a long day, it is hard to get up the energy to cook.

If you have been feeling unhealthy, gaining weight, or feeling tired and slow, convenience eating might be the culprit. While processed boxed food and takeout are easy and quick, they are not good for us, and they do not set the best example for our families, either.

Thankfully, it is not really all that hard to cook healthy, tasty meals in your own kitchen, without spending a lot of time or effort. Do a little pre cooking when you have spare time, plan your meals with care, and use easy ingredients like boneless chicken. They do not need much prep, and they make eating home cooked meals a lot easier. Instead of having to cook, clean, and debone a whole chicken or deal with frozen bone in chicken pieces, you will be able to start on the meal immediately.

Tips for Using Boneless Chicken in Your Cooking

It is important to know whether you want to use fresh or frozen chicken, so you can plan your meals more easily. Fresh boneless chicken may limit your options by requiring you to use it within a few days, while frozen chicken lasts longer and can be bought in bulk. However, you have to know as early as the night before that, you will use it, so it can be defrosted in time for dinner.

Keep in mind that boneless chicken is often thinner and will cook more quickly than traditional chicken pieces. Cooking times may need some adjustment if you want to avoid overcooking your chicken.

Recipe Ideas for Boneless Chicken

This is a convenience type of meat that works well in almost anything, from salads to fajitas, and even grilled and stirred into Italian dishes.

This kind of chicken stir fries well and is great in almost any Asian cuisine you can think of. A chicken Marsala recipe is an excellent place to use boneless chicken, as is a curry or even an old fashioned chicken soup. Made with canned chicken broth and your choice of frozen vegetables, this is a meal that can go together in a jiffy, but still taste like home cooking.

Boneless chicken is a convenient food that gives you a lot more options. If you want to skip the takeout without adding more into your busy schedule, you will love using this kind of meat. It is a great way to enjoy real home cooking and avoid convenience eating. Look for this, and other quick, easy ingredients in your grocery store.

It is easy to come home to a hot dinner every night when you use your crockpot. Taking the time to fill up the crockpot in the morning will reward you with a delicious meal in the evening with no fuss. When you get home, just dish everyone up, and have a wonderful meal.

Easy Crockpot Tips

There are a few tips that will help your crockpot meals turn out perfect every time. First, never overfill the crockpot. Make sure when you are filling it up that the pot is between half and three-quarters full. Too full, and your food will not cook enough. If the pot is too empty, the food will cook too quickly and you will come home to a dinner that is overdone.

If you are using fresh vegetables, put them on the bottom. They will take longer to cook than your meat. This is a bit hard to believe, but it is true. If you are using frozen vegetables, place them on top of your meat, since they will cook faster.

You may want to try browning your meat before placing it in the crockpot. This renders fat and caramelizes the natural sugars in the meat, creating a delicious flavor. If you wish to deglaze the pan afterwards with broth, water, or wine, you can add these tasty drippings to your crockpot so you can enjoy them later. Removing extra fat and skin will also help your meat cook better.

Ingredients that are tender, such as tomatoes, peas, and other soft foods should be added in the last half hour or so of cooking. Dairy should be added only a short time before you serve as well. When you add dairy products, make sure your temperature is on low so they will not curdle. Thickeners like cornstarch can be added during the last hour of cooking. Place the crockpot on high so their thickening qualities are activated. Rice and pasta should be added during the last 45 minutes or so or they will tend to turn to mush.

While cooking, try not to remove the lid. If you need to add more ingredients, add them all at once if possible to reduce losing heat from the crockpot. Every time you lift the lid, add another half hour to your cooking time.

Crockpot Recipes

These easy tips can help make your crockpot useful and versatile. You can make almost anything in the crockpot. Pulled pork with barbecue sauce is easy in the crockpot, as is Asian chicken. Stew and chili are old standbys for the crockpot, as is chicken soup. Vegetable dishes like creamed corn with cream cheese is delicious for a side dish.

You can even bake breads and cakes in the crockpot! Desserts like apple brown betty, boiled peanuts and many different cakes can easily be made in the crockpot. As you can see, crockpots are even more versatile than most people think.

They say variety is the spice of life, but where would we be without spices? Even a little table salt and pepper makes our food more palatable and tasty. Garlic is another common seasoning that adds a lot of oomph to our dishes. Without spices, food tastes bland and uninteresting. Add a little spice, and it becomes delectable.

With more opportunities to try the foods of other cultures, we are getting more familiar with new spices or spice combinations. Today, it is almost common to eat Chinese on one night and Italian the next. You may try Indian food for lunch and then have Japanese for dinner. Regional spices can be found on the supermarket shelves more than they were ten years ago. As we become more familiar with them, we begin to use them in our own cooking.

Keeping Spices

When was the last time you bought spices? That bottle of cayenne from 1998 is not good anymore, no matter how full the bottle is. Spices fade over time, in both color and flavor. To preserve your spices as long as possible, keep them in a place away from moisture, bright light, heat, and oxygen. While it is convenient to reach into the cupboard and sprinkle some on your food while cooking, try to store them away from your kitchen appliances. Steam can cause dampness and deterioration. Airtight containers such as glass or tin work best to keep moisture at bay and preserve the flavorful oils in the spices.

Each spice can have a different shelf life. Check the ones in your cupboard periodically to check for freshness. Look at the color… is it faded? Is the scent still strong? Remember that whole spices will keep for a longer time span than those that are ground. It also depends on what part of the plant your spice is from.

For whole spices like nutmegs or peppercorns, remember the following life spans: Leaves and flowers last about a year. Seeds and barks can last for longer than two years. Roots can last for over two years. For ground spices, leaves are good for about six months. Seeds and barks are also good for about six months. Roots will last about one year.

Ethnic Cooking

Special spices give ethnic recipes their unique flavors, and you may end up buying some you are not familiar with. For example, if you want to make a chicken spaghetti recipe. You may need some cayenne or seasoned salt to give it a flavorful boost.

If you wanted to make something from Morocco, you may need allspice, cumin, coriander, or cinnamon. If you want to try Cajun, you would need both hot and sweet paprika, and both white and black pepper. If you want to try your hand at something Japanese, you may need chili flakes, mustard seeds, or furikake.

Have fun exploring the vast world of spices. You are sure to find something new that you really like. Keep an open mind when trying spices. For example, you may find that Afghani food is really good, while maybe; Thai food is not your favorite. Unless you give them a try, you will never know.

When the leaves begin to fall, comfort food is what we all crave. Soup is a popular form of comfort food the world over. Each culture has their own version of soup as comfort food, and most use chicken stock as their base.

Every kitchen should have chicken stock. It can be used in so many different dishes that you need to keep some on hand, either homemade or store-bought. Stock and broth are not the same thing, although most people use whichever one they have on hand when cooking. Stock is made from bones, while broth is made from meat. Bony parts of the chicken like wingtips, necks, and backbones make the best stock.

You really notice the difference between broth and stock when you cook with them. Since stock is made from bones, it contains natural gelatin, also called gelee that makes foods taste richer. When stock is used in deglazing a pan, for instance, it helps bind the drippings better than broth. Stock that has been reduced has more gelatin than stock that has not.

Easier Than Pie

It is very easy to make your own flavorful stock. Take a large pot and fill it with water. Add the leftover bones from a roast chicken or just plop in a whole raw chicken. Warm the water slowly and let it simmer for at least three hours. Strain out the bones and add some traditional vegetables like celery or carrots to add more flavor. Simmer the vegetables until they have given all they have and then remove them. Cool your stock in the refrigerator overnight. In the morning, remove the layer of fat that has formed on the top. Use the stock immediately or freeze it for later.

Top Stock Recommendations

The first thing most people think of when using stock is making soup. Make anything from a vegetable chicken soup to an easy chicken tortilla soup. Simply add the ingredients you want to create the flavors you love.

Rice tastes great when made with stock. While it makes terrific risotto, even plain rice will be tender and full of flavor when made with stock. Try making couscous with stock for a dish full of flavor.

Take an ice cube tray and freeze some small cubes of stock. This lets you use just a little when you need a bit of flavor and moisture when heating leftover casseroles, vegetables, or stir-fries. Take one and use it to baste your roasted chicken, pork, or beef. The stock adds moisture and flavor to the meal.

You can also use stock to saut. Instead of adding oil, add the same amount of stock. Watch the pan carefully since the stock will evaporate during cooking. Stock also makes a great choice when deglazing a pan after frying. The results will make an incredible sauce or gravy. Stock is one of the most versatile ingredients you can have in your kitchen.

As winter approaches, we crave warm, comforting food. Soup is a comfort food that can be found all over the world. Each country has their own variation of soup that uses chicken stock, so there are lots of varieties to play with.

Every cook should familiar with chicken stock. It does not matter if you use homemade or store-bought stock, both are very versatile. Many cooks use stock and broth interchangeably, but actually stock is made from the bones of an animal, while broth is made from the meat. Parts of the chicken without a lot of meat like the wingtips, necks, and backbones are the best for making stock.

You see the true difference between stock and broth by how it reacts in a dish. Since stock is made from bones, it contains gelatin. Broth does not. These gelatins make a richer flavor and can help bind ingredients together in a recipe. The amount of gelatin you find in a stock will depend greatly on how much the liquid has been reduced.

Easier Than Pie

Making your own stock is actually very easy. Just add the chicken bones from last night’s roast chicken or add a whole raw chicken to a large pot of water. Let it slowly warm to a simmer and keep it going for about three hours. Strain the liquid and add some vegetables like carrots and celery to add some depth. Simmer for another hour or so, and then remove them. Your stock should be ready to cool. Let it sit overnight in the refrigerator. In the morning, skim off the layer of fat that has solidified on the top. The

Using Stock

The first thing most people think of when using stock is making soup. Make anything from a vegetable chicken soup to an easy chicken tortilla soup. Simply add the ingredients you want to create the flavors you love.

Rice tastes great when made with stock. While it makes terrific risotto, even plain rice will be tender and full of flavor when made with stock. Try making couscous with stock for a dish full of flavor.

Take an ice cube tray and freeze some small cubes of stock. This lets you use just a little when you need a bit of flavor and moisture when heating leftover casseroles, vegetables, or stir-fries. Take one and use it to baste your roasted chicken, pork, or beef. The stock adds moisture and flavor to the meal.

You can even saut with stock. Instead of oil, add the same measurement of stock to your pan. Watch carefully so your food does not burn, since stock will evaporate during cooking. Use it to make a tasty sauce or gravy by deglazing a pan. The stock will pick up all the good bits. This versatile ingredient should be used whenever possible.

It seems like just about everyone loves fried chicken. Many cultures have their own recipe for the tender, crisp taste sensation that we all want. From the Far East to the United States, this delicious meal tempts almost everyone to take a bite.

One of the latest recipes for fried chicken to become popular in the US is Korean fried chicken. They cook their chicken in small pieces with a light, delicate batter. When fully cooked, the chicken is lightly coated with sauce. While it takes some practice to prepare this recipe properly, once you have tasted it you will be amazed. To compensate for the large chickens here in America, cut up some boneless chicken or use wings when you make this delectable treat.

Chinese and Japanese chicken are similar, only the spices are different. Both use boneless chicken. Chinese may use five-spice powder to impart its unique flavor, while Japanese may rely on ginger and sake. These crunchy yet tender nuggets may be served as is or with a sauce. Orange chicken, lemon chicken, and almond chicken all use a breaded fried chicken as the base to the recipe.

In India, you can come across fried chicken seasoned with fennel, turmeric, mustard seeds, and udad dal. Each piece can then be dipped in beaten egg white, rolled in breadcrumbs, and fried until crisp.

As this shows, people all over the world like their fried chicken! Just by changing the ingredients in the marinade or the breading, you can come up with quite a world tour of chicken.

If you like South American cuisine, look for recipes that contain limejuice, hot sauce, garlic and corn meal or flour. If your tastes run more toward Italy, try adding oregano, chili powder, onion powder, garlic, dry mustard and crushed red pepper. Salt to taste and cook in olive oil.

Other ways to make this dish different include varying your cooking method. Try oven frying if you are looking for a method that is lower in fat. You can still get that crunchy, flavorful chicken in the oven. Be sure to marinate your skinless chicken for several hours in buttermilk to maintain the juiciness of the chicken. A coating of flour and seasonings will provide the crunch and help seal in the flavor. You will be happily surprised with a low fat chicken dish that is as good cold as it was on the dinner table the night before.

You can also use the tried and true method of putting oil in a cast iron skillet for frying chicken. This method can make the simplest of breading tasty and keep the chicken moist. There is something about cooking the chicken in a cast iron skillet that makes it incredibly crisp and delicious while still cooking the interior completely. This is the traditional way used for generations of cooks before the advent of deep-frying.

En papillote, or cooking in parchment packets, is a French technique that is quick and easy. The food is steamed inside the pouch during baking, keeping its moisture intact. The natural sweetness of the foods comes out in this cooking method. If you have never tried it before, you will find it is fun, too. In the oven, the packets fill up like a balloon. Your family and friends will not know what is for dinner until they open their packets, engulfing them in the delicious scents of herbs, sauce, and food.

While parchment paper is the traditional paper used for this method of cooking, you can also try brown lunch bags in a pinch. To make a pouch, fold a large sheet of parchment in half. Cut along the fold, making a large Valentine heart. Make enough so there is one pouch per person. Open the heart. Position your food in the center of one half of the heart. Add your salt and pepper, vegetables and any sauce or marinade the recipe calls for. Top it off with lemon slices or herbs. Seal up your packets by folding the empty half of the paper over the food. Beginning at the top of the heart, make small folds towards the food. Continue making the folds along the entire edge, folding the last one over a few times to make sure it stays. Put the finished packets on a baking sheet and bake according to your recipe.

Benefits of Cooking in Packets

Besides the fun of opening your food like a Christmas present and practically no clean up, parchment cooking is also healthy. Steaming the food in your packets is low fat and great for those watching what they eat. You do not need to use as much butter or oil as you might in other cooking methods. It is also a gentle way to cook delicate foods such as fish.

You can find the parchment paper at the grocery store along with waxed paper and foil. If your store does not carry parchment, foil will work for packets too.

What Can I Make?

Parchment packets are so versatile you can cook just about anything in them. Fish works well, and chicken and pork also does well. Almost an entire meal can be prepared in a packet. Just use layers for your meat, sauce, and vegetables to get a wonderful entre. Pasta can even be cooked to perfection!

Tasty meals like sole, vegetables or perch turn out well in parchment. You can even use some easy chicken parmesan recipes to get a tender, flavorful meal. Try some fun combinations like ramen noodles and vegetables or sausage, potatoes and corn for a comforting change of pace.

Do your food prep thoroughly for the best results. Make sure your vegetables are julienned or sliced in small pieces for even cooking. You may want to include celery, shallots, zucchini, carrots, or mushrooms with aromatic herbs.

Use a baking sheet to hold your packets and bake in a 400-degree oven for about ten minutes. Dinner will be ready in a flash!

Many people regularly enjoy chicken stew because it is a tasty, warming meal. Chicken stew recipes are easy to make and there are many varieties of this dish. Chicken stew has a very interesting history and it has been enjoyed around the world for a long time.

A stew is a combination of two or more foods simmered in a liquid. Coq au vin, Hungarian goulash, beef bourguignon, and beef stroganoff are all examples of stews.

The oldest cookbook to survive, the “Apicius de re Coquinaria”, features lamb and fish stew recipes. It is not known who penned the book but there were three Romans with that name living between 1 BC and 2AD and the book is believed to date from that time.

You can actually go back even further because primitive tribes used to boil foods together, which is what a stew essentially is. Amazonian tribes uses turtle shells as pans and would boil the turtle entrails with some other ingredients. Other cultures used large shells, such as clamshells, instead of pans. Archeological evidence points to this type of cookery going back seven or eight thousand years. The invention of pottery, about ten thousand years ago, made cooking stews easier.

Fowl such as chicken has been domesticated for thousands of years and chicken stew has been a longstanding popular dish. Different cultures have different chicken stews, such as the peanut butter chicken stew preferred in parts of Africa and the spicy chicken stew made in Morocco.

Different Kinds of Chicken Stew Recipes

Chicken booyah is a very flavorful chicken recipe. It is like a thick soup or a thin stew and is very popular in northeast Wisconsin. The first Belgian immigrants arrived in Wisconsin in 1853 and they spoke Walloon rather than English or French. It is thought that the word booyah derived from the word bouillon and a Belgian who did not know how to spell bouillon just wrote down how the word sounded to him.

What is Southern Chicken Stew?

You might have tried southern chicken stew, which is a traditional North Carolina dish. This stew contains a parboiled whole chicken in a milk or cream based broth, butter, salt, and pepper, amongst other ingredients. Southern chicken stew varies in color from white to yellow, depending how much butter has been used. It varies from thin in consistency to creamy and thick. It is common to serve saltine crackers with this dish.

Southern chicken stew is often served in the coolest months of the year and the phrase “chicken stew” can refer to the gathering itself rather than the food. A chicken stew recipe is usually thought of as a comfort food because these recipes are cheap to make, enjoyed by nearly everybody and they are warming and flavorful. This is a common dish served at social gatherings such as church fellowships, family reunions, and community fundraisers.

At these events, the chicken stew will often be prepared in a big stainless steel or cast iron cooking pot, perhaps outdoors over an open fire. You might get rice, coleslaw or grilled cheese sandwiches served on the side.

There is something universal about fried chicken. Most cultures have their own version of the tender yet crunchy goodness that we all crave. From the traditional chicken of the American South to Vietnamese chicken, this delectable dish appeals to almost everyone.

One of the latest versions to hit the States is Korean fried chicken. This lightly battered, delicately cooked treat is very different from the chicken you probably had as Sunday dinner. Cooked to perfection and then lightly painted with sauce, Korean chicken is quickly catching on. Most Korean chicken recipes are suited for the small chickens in Korea, not the large American birds. To compensate, either cut up boneless chicken meat into small pieces or just use wings.

Japanese and Chinese chicken are prepared in a similar fashion, but they use different herbs and spices. Both cuisines prefer to use boneless chicken. For a Chinese flavor, use soy sauce or five-spice powder. For a Japanese flavor, you can use wasabi, sake, or ginger. You can choose to serve these crispy chicken bits plain or with a sauce, which can either be poured over the top or used for dipping. Orange chicken, almond chicken, and lemon chicken all use breaded fried chicken as the basis of the recipe.

Fried chicken in India is made by rubbing spices like turmeric, fennel and mustard seeds, black pepper and udad dal into the chicken and letting it marinate. Then each piece is dipped in egg white, rolled in breadcrumbs, and fried in hot oil until crisp and golden.

People all over the world have their own version of southern fried chicken. By changing the spices and herbs, you can make a simple dish into one that reflects almost any cuisine.

South American recipes feature ingredients like lime juice, corn flour or corn meal, hot sauce and garlic. To make it more Italian, use crushed red pepper, oregano, garlic, chili powder, onion powder, dry mustard and add salt and pepper to taste. Cook it in olive oil.

You can also try varying your cooking method to get a different result. Oven frying is lower in fat than deep-frying. You can still get tasty chicken with a crunch in the oven. If you use skinless chicken, be sure to marinate it beforehand in buttermilk to help maintain the juiciness. Add a coating of seasoned flour and you will get a nice crunchy coating that helps seal in the goodness. You will end up with a delicious low fat chicken dish that holds up well cold for a picnic as well as being wonderful right out of the oven.

Alternatively, you can try the traditional method of frying in a cast iron skillet. This method can make a simple breading of flour, pepper and salt into an amazing dining experience. Cast iron has the ability to cook the chicken through while creating a thick, crisp crust on the outside. This method was used by many generations of cooks as the preferred method of preparing chicken.

They say variety is the spice of life, but where would we be without spices? Even a little table salt and pepper makes our food more palatable and tasty. Garlic is another common seasoning that adds a lot of oomph to our dishes. Without spices, food tastes bland and uninteresting. Add a little spice, and it becomes delectable.

With more opportunities to try the foods of other cultures, we are getting more familiar with new spices or spice combinations. Today, it is almost common to eat Chinese on one night and Italian the next. You may try Indian food for lunch and then have Japanese for dinner. Regional spices can be found on the supermarket shelves more than they were ten years ago. As we become more familiar with them, we begin to use them in our own cooking.

Keeping Spices

Can you remember the last time you bought spices? They do not have an indefinite shelf life. As time goes by, they lose color and flavor. To keep your spices as fresh as possible, store them someplace away from oxygen, heat, moisture, and bright light. As convenient as it may be to keep them near your stove, try to keep them away from your kitchen appliances. Heat and steam can cause dampness, which will shorten their shelf life. Airtight containers made of glass or tin will help preserve the volatile oils in the spice, keeping their flavor intact.

Did you know that not all spices are created equal? Each spice has a different life span. Be sure to go through the spices in your cupboard occasionally to check their quality. Examine the color and aroma. Has either of them faded? Whole spices will keep longer than ground spices. It also depends on which plant part the spice comes from.

Whole spices like peppercorns or cinnamon sticks belong to the following guidelines: Flowers and leaves are good for a year. Barks, roots and seeds can remain in your cupboard for two years or more. For spices that have been, ground, leaves, seeds and barks last about six months. Roots will hold out for a year.

Using Ethnic Spices

Special spices give ethnic recipes their unique flavors, and you may end up buying some you are not familiar with. For example, if you want to make a chicken spaghetti recipe. You may need some cayenne or seasoned salt to give it a flavorful boost.

Likewise, for a Moroccan dish, you may require spices such as cinnamon, allspice, coriander, and cumin. For a Cajun dish, you would want to keep sweet paprika, hot paprika (yes, they are different), and both black and white pepper on hand. Japanese spices may include shiso, chili flakes, and mustard seeds.

Have fun exploring the vast world of spices. You are sure to find something new that you really like. Keep an open mind when trying spices. For example, you may find that Afghani food is really good, while maybe; Thai food is not your favorite. Unless you give them a try, you will never know.

You might have already tried making a chicken stew recipe or something similar and, if you did, the odds are that you used a saucepan on the stove. This is the most common way of making chicken stew but you can use a dutch oven or a slow cooker for stew recipes too.

Dutch Oven Cooking Tips for Stew

A dutch oven, which is also sometimes called a french oven, casserole or stockpot, is a useful thing to have. Dutch ovens are heavier and thicker than stockpots, which means they can conduct heat deeper and more effectively. They are great for making stews, pot roasts, braised meals and more. A dutch oven can go on the stove to sear food and in the oven to finish the dish off. You can deep fry in dutch ovens because of their high sides and you can also use them to boil rice or pasta.

To make a stew in a dutch oven, you can brown the meat or poultry in batches in the dutch oven on the stove. Meat browns easily in a dutch oven and you can brown a lot more at once than if; you were using a smaller pan. You can continue the stew either on the stove or in the oven.

Cast iron dutch ovens are popular but iron does react with some foods. Sometimes dutch ovens are preseasoned which means the manufacturer coats the inside with oil and bakes it on. It is possible for the preseasoning to erode or wear away so an enamel coated cast iron dutch oven is usually a better choice if you can find one.

Stew in a Slow Cooker – Cooking Tips

Using a crockpot, sometimes called a slow cooker, is a cooking method that can work well with a lot of stew recipes. If you want to make a crockpot stew, it is very simple. You just need to brown your meat or poultry, add all the other ingredients, and let it cook on a low setting for about eight hours. You can also make it on a higher setting for five or six hours.

A slow cooker is great for cooking stews because the flavors have plenty of time to mingle well and the meat or chicken will be extremely tender.

If you are out working all day, why not use a slow cooker for making your dinner? You might like your chicken stew spicy or mild but whichever type of stew you prefer, a crockpot is the ideal way to make sure your dinner is ready for you when you get home. It might only take an hour or two to make a stew in a normal pan but, when you are ready to eat, a slow cooker delivers the goods instantly.

A lot of people have discovered that slow cooker stew recipes are easy to make, crockpots come with basic cooking tips, and instructions for use, making them simple to master, even for the novice cook.

Mexican kids are lucky in that they have a large range of candies to choose from both sweet and spicy. Mexican candy is delicious but a lot of it is quite different from American candy because it is spicy! Mexicans like to add chili to a lot of their food and candy is no exception. You can also get chewing gum, Mexican milk candy, chocolate candies, and gummy candies, Mexican candy recipes, which cater to every taste and type of sweet tooth. The Mexicans are not scared of spiciness. Perhaps their motto is, if you can eat it, put some chili in it! If you want to have a go at making your own, there are plenty of recipes for traditional Mexican candy online.

Something quite new in Mexico, which is popular right now, is called Salsaghetti. This is a packet of watermelon straws that resemble pasta. They are spicy and you also get a pouring sauce, which is called gusano tamarind. Tamarind is an Asian fruit which is also widely grown in Mexico and gusano means worm! A lot of Mexican candy contains tamarind. Salsaghetti looks a lot like a meal but you do not get candy meatballs with it.

Popsicles in Mexico are different to what you might find in other places. A lot of Mexican popsicles are spicy hot, even jalapeo hot. American kids might like cinnamon candies but Mexican kids like chili powder on the outside of their candies. The inside can be different flavors and some examples include chili, mango, watermelon, cherry, strawberry, and pineapple.

Mexico gave the world chocolate several centuries ago, when the Aztecs shared the recipe with the Spanish. Does this mean that Mexicans eat a lot of chocolate? Actually no, they do not. They prefer to use it in drinks or in traditional Mexican recipes such as mole poblano, which is a sauce containing chili, chocolate, onion, spices and garlic amongst other ingredients. You might find some sweet chocolate treats in Mexico, such as a chocolate patty candy with ground almonds, sugar and cinnamon, but Mexicans rarely purchase chocolate candies.

Dulce de leche is a much-loved Mexican treat. Meaning “milk candy,” dulce de leche is like caramel in taste and appearance. It can be eaten alone or as a topping for dishes such as Mexican ice cream or grilled bananas. If you want to know how to make dulce de leche, it is very straightforward. You need to boil sweetened condensed milk for several hours or make your own with sugar and goat’s milk or cow’s milk. It keeps well in the refrigerator but you will need to heat it up again so you can pour it. Once you have made some, you might want to use it in dulce de leche flan, dulce de leche cheesecake or in a dulce de leche sauce recipe. Dulce de leche cake is very popular with Mexicans.

It is even well liked outside Mexico. Starbucks serve a dulce de leche flavored latte and you can get dulce de leche ice cream throughout America’s southwest states.

Mexican candies can be found at local Mexican grocers. Let your taste buds try some new treats. If you cannot find any stores close to where you live, many online stores sell Mexican candies. If hot is not the type of candy you would enjoy, there is also different chocolate, and caramel candies. Give it a try today! You might just enjoy a new sensation.

When it comes to Mexican deserts there are many to choose from and you will not be disappointed by any. Flan is a common and popular dessert. It is caramel custard. The dessert includes rich custard with a layer of soft caramel on top. The dish is known as flan in most of the world, even though it is a French word. Flan is simple to make and usually consists of vanilla flavored custard. You may be able to find them made in other flavors such as coconut, lemon, and other fruits.

Another popular Mexican dessert is empanadas. These are stuffed pastries with different fillings. Savory empanadas contain fillings such as ham and cheese, beef and vegetables or tuna. Sweet empanadas might contain fruits, pumpkin, or cream. Empanadas can be served as a snack, a breakfast food, or a dessert, depending on the contents.

Chocolate has a rich history in Mexico. The Aztecs adopted the use of chocolate from earlier Mayan culture. Chocolate played an important role for the Aztecs. They used it both as a food and as currency. One of the items that the Spaniards acquired from the Aztecs was chocolate. The Spaniards took the chocolate back to Spain where it became the King’s official drink.

There were different chocolate-based drinks the Aztecs favored. They often added seeds, nuts or honey to their concoctions. Champurrado is a well-loved chocolate drink, which is warm and thick. It is usually served at breakfast time, perhaps with churros, and also as a dessert. Mexicans often buy this champurrado Mexican drink from street vendors in the morning. Why not have a look at a champurrado recipe and make your own?

Sapotes dulces is a very famous dish originating from the Yucatan. Sapotes are fruits grown locally. It is difficult to find it in America. A sapote has orange flesh and is both creamy and juicy. It can be compared in flavor to coconuts and vanilla but it has a slightly tart flavor too. Sapotes dulces is made by combining the sapote flesh with rum, sugar and orange juice. It is served cold. It is quite easy to make and tastes delicious.

Cajeta is syrup made in Mexico that’s main ingredient is caramelized milk. The process of making the syrup consists of slowly cooking down the sweetened liquid until it is thick. Sweetened milk is the most common ingredient of the syrup. Cajeta is eaten by itself, on pastries, and even as a topping on ice cream. The Hershey Company introduced their own cajeta targeted for Mexican food lovers that live in the United States.

There are plenty of Mexican desserts to satisfy your sweet tooth, including cakes, chocolates, candies, and cookies. You can research and experiment with Mexican dessert recipes. If you want to try out some of these Mexican delicacies for yourself before making them, you can visit an authentic Mexican restaurant. You might find them at a Mexican grocer. Once you have tried these Mexican treats, you will definitely want to make your own!