Welcome to my cooking page!
I started cooking with my step-mother one summer when I was home from college. We traded off days on who would cook. I would find delicious recipes and prepare them for my family with great anticipation. Now out of college and in a home of my own I cook for my husband. My husband is not originally from America. He is from Morocco and it has allowed me to expand my cooking interests to international dishes. I hope that you enjoy the recipes and experiences that I will share with you!
I've been trying to come up with all sorts of different ways to save money. With my love of cooking one small way to do this is to make your own bread at home. The cost of a loaf of bread is upwards of $2. By making your own bread you can save because the cost of the ingredients for bread are inexpensive plus you can buy them in bulk and save lots of money. In my household this helps out a lot because we eat bread with most of our meals. Eating fresh baked bread everyday is definitely a lot healthier than the processed breads you buy from the grocery store plus for us cooks it gives up purpose throughout our days!
I was very nervous the first time I made bread because I was unsure of how it would turn out. Although the first loaf turned out good, each loaf got successively better and better. Make sure you follow the recipe as it directs. Do not substitute anything. At first I tried using Pam spray instead of grease. It worked but the grease worked much better and allowed the bread loaves to double in size when they needed to. Each loaf I make has been better than the last and I will continue to make my own bread daily!
Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups water
1 packet of instant yeast
2 3/4-3 cups of bread flour
1 teaspoon salt
baking grease
corn meal
Combine water with instant yeast and stir together. Let stand for 5 minutes. Add salt and 1 1/4 cups flour and combine. Add the rest of the flour and knead the dough thoroughly for about 10 minutes. If you need to flour a counter top surface or cutting board and roll dough out combine. Once light and fluffy grease a bowl and flip the dough in the grease a few times. Leave the dough in the bowl and cover it for 1-2 hours until the dough has doubled in size. Flour a cutting board or counter top surface again and roll out dough about 8 inches by 12 inches long. Roll the dough along the longer edge creasing the edges together. Grease baking sheet and sprinkle with corn meal. Place bread roll on baking sheet and cover for 45 minutes to allow bread to increase in size once again. Heat oven to 425 degrees. Cut three slits evenly into the top of the loaf. Bake for 20-30 minutes unto bread is brown and hardened on the outside.
Bread is best when warm but can be stored in a bread box up to a week.
Enjoy!
Save Money by Cooking with a Crock-pot
First introduced in 1971, the Crock-Pot revolutionized the way we cook meals. The word Crock-Pot is actually trademarked by Rival Industries, but is used in every day conversations instead of the term slow cooker. Many recipes for the crock-pot require little preparation. The slow cooker can then safely be left to run unattended, making it a convenient cooking method.
Crock-pot meals can not only save you time in the kitchen, but they can also save you money as well. The reasons are as follows:
1. It keeps you out of the fast food line. If you had not loading up the crock-pot with the ingredients this morning you’d likely be in the drive through line at the local fast food restaurant this afternoon after work, grabbing a meal for your family. The average fast food meal for a family of four rings up over $20.
2. Stretches your dollar. Most crock-pot recipes and meals can truly stretch your food dollar. Because you can put a whole chicken in the crock-pot to cook then cut it up for several meals, you can stretch your budget with the use your leftovers.
3. Cuts your grocery budget. You can save money at the butcher since the slow cooking process is especially useful to tenderize cheaper cuts of meat.
4. Saves on your energy bill. Instead of running a larger appliance like the stove you are running one small energy conservative appliance, the crock-pot, saving on your energy costs.
The convenience of the slow cooker not only saves you time, but will also save you money. Don't you think it's time to take it out of your closet (or wherever you have it packed away collecting dust) and make a Crock-Pot meal today?
About the Author:Cara Mirabella is a WAHM with one toddler from New Jersey. She owns and manages TheHouseholdHelper.com - a site dedicated to saving your time, money and sanity when managing your household. She has written several articles, reports and e-books including
http://wahmcart.com/x.php?adminid=1826&id=6133&pid=1993"Recipes For Every Occassion: 470 Crock Pot Recipes".
