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How to make perfect hard boiled eggs

1. Make sure that you use eggs that are several days old. Hard boiling farm fresh eggs will lead to eggs that are difficult to peel. If you have that problem, try putting them in the refrigerator for a few days; they should be easier to peel then.

2. Place the eggs in a single layer in a saucepan, covered by at least an inch or two of cold water. When you start with cold water and gently bring the eggs to a boil it will help keep them from cracking. You can add a tablespoon of vinegar to the water will help keep the egg whites from running out of any eggs that happen to crack while cooking (the vinegar could affect the taste). Adding a half teaspoon of salt could help both with the prevention of cracking and making the eggs easier to peel. Put the heat on high and bring the eggs to a boil. As soon as the water starts to boil, remove the pan from the heat for a few seconds.

3. Reduce the heat to low, return the pan to the burner. Let simmer for one minute.

4. After a minute, remove the pan from the heat, cover, and let sit for 12 minutes.

5. Remove the eggs with a slotted spoon and place them into a bowl of ice water or strain out the water from the pan, fill the pan with cold water, strain again, fill again, until the eggs cool down a bit. Once the eggs are cooled, strain the water from the eggs. Store the eggs in a covered container in the refrigerator. They should be eaten within 5 days.

ps.. Eggs used to be bad for you because of the cholesterol they contain but it’s been found that eggs also help the good cholesterol.

ps2.. You still shouldn’t eat them everyday. A couple times a week is good.

ps3.. Try not to use too much salt on them. Too much sodium is never good for you.

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My favorite way to make a steak

I take a steak or two and brush with Kitchen Bouquet on both sides. Then I add a little bit of butter, garlic powder, onion powder and a little salt and pepper. Put the steaks in a broiler pan and put under the broiler until nice and brown then turn over and add more butter, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper and broil until done on that side.

That’s how I used to make them. I have an older gas stove where the broiler is on the bottom and I don’t use it because I would have to sit on the floor to make the steaks. It’s just not worth the pain and aggravation so I use my little George Forman grill to make them and they turn out just as good!

Bread and Butter pickles

If you haven’t done canning you should. Canning will save you a lot of money. Below is my favorite canning recipe for bread and butter pickles.

10 cups sliced pickling cucumbers (1/4-inch slices)
4 medium onions, sliced thin
1/2 cup pickling or canning salt
3 cups white vinegar
2 cups granulated sugar
2 tbsp. mustard seed
1 tsp. celery seed
1 tsp. ground turmeric

1. In a glass or stainless steel bowl, combine cucumbers, onions and salt. Mix well, cover with cold water and let stand at room temperature for 2 hours. Transfer to a colander placed over a sink; rinse with cool running water and drain thoroughly.

2. Meanwhile, prepare canner, jars and lids.

3. In a large stainless steel saucepan, combine vinegar, sugar, mustard seeds, celery seeds and turmeric. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Stir in vegetables and return to a boil.

4. Pack vegetables into hot jars to within a generous 1/2-inch of top of jar. Ladle hot pickling liquid into jar to cover vegetables leaving 1/2 inch of headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace, if necessary, by adding hot pickling liquid. Wipe rim. Center lid on jar. Screw band down until resistance is met, then increase to fingertip-tight.

5. Place in jars in canner, ensuring they are completely covered with water. Bring to a boil and process for 10 minutes. Remove canner lid. Wait 5 minutes, then remove jars, cool and store.

Makes about 5 pint jars.

Let stand 4-6 weeks before serving.

These are more healthy than store bought pickles because no preservatives are used and your health insurance will thank you for that.

Fudgy Saucepan Brownies

Dark and chewy brownies.

3/4 cup of butter or margarine
4 (1 ounce) squares of unsweetened chocolate
2 cups of sugar
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups of unsifted flour
1/2 tsp of salt
1 1/2 tsps of vanilla
1 3/4 cups coarsely chopped pecans

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Melt the butter and chocolate in a large, heavy saucepan over the lowest heat.

Remove from heat and mix in the remaining ingredients in the order listed, beating well after each addition.

Pour the batter into a greased 9x9x2 inch pan and bake for 40 minutes until brownies just begin to pull away from the sides of the pan.

Cool the pan of brownies upright on a wire rack until they are room temperature then cut in 16 squares.

They are about 350 calories per brownie.

*These are nothing like Alice’s Restaurant brownies.. you won’t need to go to drug rehab after eating them! :)