Purple yams are prevalent in many Asian cultures, and they are regularly turned into pastes or cooked and eaten whole for their sweet, delicate flavor. Purple yams are becoming widely available in the United States, and they can be cooked in much the same way as the more traditional yam or sweet potato.

Available in your grocer's freezer section, toaster strudels combine the delectable taste of a flaky, buttery crust, paired with fruit flavoring, all finished off with a drizzle of sweet icing. Hot out of the oven, enjoying a toaster strudel is a perfect way to start your morning routine.

Spaghetti is one of the easiest meals to make. Even though it’s one of the quicker meals to throw together, sometimes the extra 20-minute wait to boil water is time you simply don’t have the patience to endure. Solve the problem by preparing noodles a day or so in advance to reheat at your convenience.

Whether you grow and harvest corn from your garden or purchase it in bulk from a vendor, corn freezes nicely to be enjoyed later in the year. With numerous uses as an accompaniment or addition to meals, corn is an extremely versatile vegetable.

A beef tenderloin is one of the most popular cuts of meat because it is boneless and can be cooked into a very tender piece of beef. A marinade made of equal parts oil and acid, such as vinegar or citrus juice, adds tenderness to your beef tenderloin, as well as a strong burst of flavor.

Legend has it that Henry VIII was so smitten with a spit-roasted double sirloin of beef that he dubbed it Sir Loin, the Baron of Beef. In England, the large joint of beef that included the loins and both legs acquired the moniker of baron of beef.

Instant rice is pre-cooked rice that has been dehydrated. When you cook instant rice, you are really reconstituting it and warming it.

Prepared crab cakes have to keep their shape during cooking to heat through evenly. If you brown the outside of the crab cakes properly, you know the interior has heated through because the inside steams during searing.

Fish can easily be prepared in the oven by baking. Typical baking temperature is between 200 and 350 degrees Fahrenheit, while temperatures higher than this are used for roasting fish. Baking allows more flexible cooking times and is more suitable to prepare moist fish, according to the "Joy of Cooking."

Pierogies are a type of Eastern European -- Polish, Russian and Ukrainian -- dumpling stuffed with potatoes, cheese, sauerkraut, meat and even fruit. They often make an appearance at European Orthodox churches at Christmas Eve, yet many grocery stores carry frozen varieties that you can cook at home.

Whether you are ordering a salad out or creating a salad at home, one dressing you may enjoy is the classic balsamic vinaigrette. When you are following a low-calorie diet, though, this dressing may not be your best bet. A traditional vinegar and oil dressing contains approximately 200 calories per 2-tbsp.

Caramel frosting adds a tasty, sweet topping to cake flavors such as chocolate and yellow cake. With just a few ingredients, you can develop deep caramel flavor and the attractive light-brown color. A key ingredient is condensed milk.