Master professional cooking techniques like slow-cooking a ribeye roast or pressure-cooking dried chickpeas. From ingenious hacks like making onion rings with pancake mix to reheating Chinese food, improve your kitchen efficiency.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that as many as 72 million Americans are classified as obese as of time of publication. Unfortunately, obesity dramatically increases your risks for health problems ranging from diabetes to cancer.
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Typically associated with Thanksgiving Day stuffing, gizzards are a much more versatile ingredient than you might assume. Located in the upper portion of a bird's stomach, gizzards are responsible for grinding up ingested food. Consequently, they're tough and fibrous and not very flavorful on their own.
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Chicken -- the ubiquitous white meat -- is delicious, nutritious and easy to prepare. However, while there may be a flock of ways to cook a chicken, many recipes call for simply baking or boiling the bird. Both methods produce moist, tender meat with a slight variation in the flavor and nutritional makeup.
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Full-flavored and lean, beef top round roasts lack fat and marbling. This makes these roasts moderately tough, especially when cooked too quickly in a dry heat. Cooking them for hours in a slow cooker causes the collagen in the meat to break down, tenderizing the roast.
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Most lasagna recipes are for a pan serving 8 to 10 people. Lasagna is a bit tricky because of the many layers to warm and the outer cheese might get burnt or coagulate if you aren't careful.
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Shoulder cuts of pork are used for a number of preparations, from fork-tender pulled pork to ham-like smoked shoulders. One unusual form of pork shoulder is the so-called "cottage roll," common in Canada and Britain but seldom seen in American meat cases.
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The question, when slow cooking mushrooms, is how slow can you go. A long cooking time will give you tender and rich mushrooms, perfect to serve with steak, or over pasta or potatoes.
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Approximately 34 percent of Americans make a special meal on St. Patrick's Day, and by far the most popular choice -- although it isn't authentically Irish -- is corned beef. Traditional corned beef recipes call for boiling the meat in a large stock pot along with vegetables like carrots, potatoes and cabbage.
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A 1-cup serving of fresh squid -- also known as calamari -- is low in fat, rich in protein and an excellent source of essential nutrients like copper, selenium and vitamin B-12.
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Some cook it fast and high. Some cook it slow and low. Some do it both ways. Roasting meat at a high temperature is best done if the cut of meat is small and the meat itself is of good quality. Tenderloin, top loin or sirloin are excellent choices.
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Edamame is the name given to young, immature green soybeans. They're quick-cooking, nutritious and versatile, notes "The New York Times" food columnist Mark Bittman. Edamame is available fresh or frozen, either shelled or still in the pod.
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Whole hams are a cinch to prepare and perfect for special occasions. Since the ham is smoked, it only needs to be heated before serving. Simply toss the ham in the oven and you're free to prepare any side dishes for your meal.
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If you have a home-grown supply of wax beans, consider yourself lucky. Wax beans -- which are commonly yellow but can also be purple or green -- are low in fat, high in dietary fiber and rich in nutrients like vitamin A.
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If beans and legumes like black-eyed peas aren't a regular part of your diet, they should be, says the Harvard School of Public Health. Unlike animal-based foods, beans and legumes are naturally low in fat, have no cholesterol and contain enough nutrients for the U.S.
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Cleaning up your diet can easily lead you to try exotic foods as you search for healthier alternatives to your usual favorites. Sometimes you come across things like Greek yogurt, which is a versatile and valuable addition to any nutritional plan.
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Chilean sea bass, also known as the Patagonian toothfish, is a large, white-fleshed fish primarily found in the deep water between Antarctica and the tip of South America. Although it shares the name, this fish does not belong to the bass family and is not the same as sea bass fished in the United States.
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With their fiery kick, jalapenos will add a spicy flavor to your favorite recipes. If you can stand the heat, the small peppers also taste good on their own. Cooking jalapenos deepens and enhances their flavor all for just a few calories and a negligible amount of fat, as well as a boost of vitamin C and potassium.
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Wahoo is a lean, firm fish with a mild flavor and is versatile enough to be cooked in a variety of ways. The fish is found primarily in the tropical Pacific waters, especially off the shores of the Hawaiian islands, where it is more commonly referred to as "ono."
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Before the 1960s, taste was described using four words: sweet, sour, salty and bitter. Today, thanks in part to the shiitake mushroom, we use a fifth: umami. This sensation is caused by a chemical called guanosine monophosphate, which is found in large amounts in shiitake mushrooms.
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Andouille sausage is a smoked meat typically prepared from seasoned pork and fat. Cajun andouille sausage, one of the two main andouille varieties, is a common ingredient in Louisiana Cajun specialty dishes such as gumbo and jambalaya.
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