Best Kitchen Appliances

By Kayla Marie I absolutely adore my Kitchen Aid Hand Mixer! It is one of my all time favorite gifts. The KitchenAid 5 Speed Classic Plus Hand Mixer has been such a great kitchen tool for me. My hand mixer was a gift to me from my grandma one Christmas. I would have never imagined how useful my mixer would have been, and how much I would use it on a regular basis. Take a peek into my kitchen. I want to make a small batch of chocolate cookies. Use the mixer. I would like to make some whipped cream to go with that apple pie. Use the mixer. I need to mix up all my ingredients for that omelet in a jiffy! Use the hand mixer. My Kitchen Aid hand mixer has two beater arms which you insert into the base of the mixer. I like the way the beater snap easily into place with a gentle nudge and then a little click lets you know they are securely locked into place. When you are done with your mixing chores, with only the push of a button, the mixer arms can be removed for easy cleani...

Onions and garlic always add great flavor to most meals. But let me share with you a cooking technique on preparing them that will really enhance the flavor of your dishes. Your guests will rave about your cooking. Many dishes call for onions and garlic in their recipes. You chop them up, saute them for 3 minutes and you are done. This is where, in my opinion, they miss the flavor boat. When I was younger I would watch my husband's Italian Nana, cook spaghetti sauce and a number of other dishes and you know what she would do? She would always, finely chop the onion and slowly saute them in olive oil for about 35 to 40 minutes. It was a fairly slow process, because she would tend to the onions, stirring them frequently as they slowly cooked. Eventually the onion would cook down (to almost half of what she started with) and turn a nice golden brown. When the onion was about done Nana would add fresh minced garlic and saute the whole mixture another 4 or 5 minutes. The...

With so many cutlery brands to choose from deciding which ones to consider can seem daunting. To make it easier, take a look below at three tips to get you heading off in the right direction. 1. For Precision Cutting Consider Japanese Knives Japanese knives are all the rage right now! If you're interested in chopping and slicing with a lightweight (compared to traditional Western knives) knife containing an ultra sharp blade, Japanese knives are for you. Some of the brands to consider are: Global, Kershaw and Hattori. These manufacturers offer a complete selection of cutlery including Santoku knives, paring, cleavers, fillet, boning and more. 2. For Traditional Heft Consider Western Knives If you like cutting with a substantial kitchen knife offering balance as well as heft consider German knives such as Wusthof and Henckels. For the best quality choose from collections that feature fully forged knives. Two other Western cutlery makers include: Sabatier (France) and...

How do you buy a food dehydrator? What are watts on a food dehydrator? More importantly, why own a food dehydrator? Well in this article you'll learn a little more about all 3 questions and why they are important and why you should consider owning a food dehydrator. When looking to select a food dehydrator don't over spend and never buy a enormous food dehydrator unit if you are not going to use it. Buy the size you need most of the time people buy a food dehydrator that is either too cheap or too expensive and both can be equally as bad. If you buy a really expensive food dehydrator thinking its going to be the best it may not suit your needs. Or if you buy one too cheap thinking its more economical it may not have enough power to do what you want or even dry the food all the way. A food dehydrators power is measured in wattage and you can think of this much like a light bulb. If you have a 100 watt light bulb that is bright right? However how bright would a 100...

By Arturo Ronzon Granite is an excellent choice when it comes to choosing the right surface material for the counter tops in your kitchen remodeling project. Nothing surpasses the elegance, functionality, beauty and durability that granite has to offer, not anywhere in the market for kitchen counter top materials. However, you should be informed properly about the highs and lows of using granite as a kitchen counter top surface material before you rush out to make a purchase. Maintaining your Granite Kitchen Counter Top: Granite is the most durable, and the least porous of all the natural stone available for kitchen counter top use. However, granite still has the capability of absorbing liquids, which means that it can stain if it is not sealed properly and often. It is generally recommended by providers of granite kitchen counter top material for home owners to wipe the granite down with a sealer at least once every year. Make sure that you talk about maintenance requir...

These chicken salad recipes are delicious. Just check these out and I'm sure you'll be amazingly surprised. So here we go for some chicken salad recipes : >>Walnut Chicken Salad ~1 can premium white chunk chicken -- drained (12 1/2-ounce) ~2 granny smith apples -- cored, peeled and diced ~1/2 cup walnuts -- roughly chopped ~2 tablespoons mayonnaise or reduced-fat mayonnaise ~2 stalks celery -- washed, trimmed and diced, up to 3 1.Combine all ingredients; toss to combine. Presentation: Serve as a main dish salad or as a sandwich on a flaky croissant with alfalfa sprouts, Swiss cheese and tomato. >>Confetti Chicken Salad ~1/4 c fresh lime juice ~3 TB olive oil ~1 clove garlic crushed ~1 ts chili powder ~1/4 ts salt ~2 c chicken cooked and cubed ~1 red bell pepper cut into thin strips ~1/3 c green onions sliced ~2 TB fresh cilantro or parsley, chopped ~2 jalapeno peppers stemmed seeded, min ~3 c cooked rice cooled ~2 avocados seed, peel, cut i...

By Kathryn Beach Chocolate candy molds can lend your homemade confections a festive, distinctive, unique and professional air, so why not try them? They're also inexpensive and easy to use, if you follow a few tips. You may not be aware of the great variety of molds available. There are molds for: Special events: birthday, graduation, wedding, anniversary, babies, bazaars, etc. Holidays: New Year's, Valentine's Day, Easter, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Fourth of July, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, etc. Themes: movies, animals, flowers and fruit, jobs (business cards!), letters and numbers, organizations, patriotism, nautical, seasonal, sports, religious, zodiac, greeting cards, international, landmarks, music, military, transportation, western, etc. Tips for buying molds: Look for strong plastic with deep intricate designs, you'll be surprised at the difference in results from more detailed molds. If you buy molds for hard candy...

I made a whole website dedicated to chocolate. People come here to get websites, learn about chocolate history.. and suddenly, they feel the need to go out there and buy a snickers. Sometimes they search on the internet for chocolatiers. There are hundreds of different chocolate-buying websites on the internet, all of which offer great deals and promotions. So if you're in the mood for chocolate and can hold your sweet tooth for a little while, you can find it online. The trick to buying food online is to look for the best deals and promotions. Some gift websites that offer chocolate can charge you an arm, a leg, and two eyeballs for 4 pieces of chocolate that you won't even get to eat for about 2 weeks! But consider, if you pay too little.. it will taste horrible! Trust me. A good food delivery site will have many important features. First you want to find someone that has been around for a while. I like Hershey's Gifts. com and Richart Chocolates. Most sit...

by Stephanie Foster Food prices have been hit hard by inflation of late, with the worst increases in about 20 years. Meat, milk, bread, eggs, produce all cost more than they used to. It's getting harder and harder to feed a family healthy meals. Fortunately, it's not necessarily impossible, merely more challenging. One of the simplest things you can do to help your food budget is to cut waste. Here in the United States tremendous amounts of food are wasted by most families. If you work harder on using up your leftovers you can save a significant amount of money. For example, pack up dinner leftovers for lunch the next day. You can eat them yourself or send them with an ice pack with the kids to school if it's something that tastes good enough cold. A thermos bottle can help with foods that should be eaten warm. Just make sure you heat the food hot enough that a good thermos will keep it over 140 degrees F. Think also about what you're eating. If you can...

Every once in a while, a homeowner will go in their kitchen and not like what they are looking at. If you don't not like the way your kitchen looks or works, it's probably about that time to take action and remodel. It might even be time for a huge kitchen changing project. When it comes to kitchen remodeling, you will notice that, as a homeowner, you will have an enormous amount of options. If you wanted to you could remodel everything, the floors, countertops and even the kitchen sink. So in regard to kitchen sinks, are you unhappy with your kitchen or sink? You might want to buy and replace the old kitchen sink. If that is the case, you will want to find one that looks and feels to your kitchen. When you are looking for a new kitchen sink, you should go take a peek in one of your local home improvement stores. There is a good possibility that there will be some kitchen sinks that interest you. Even though there is a good possibility to find the kitchen items y...

Ever consider all the gas that's spent over time chasing a product or item only to find out they sold out or the shipment did not come in? I'm sure I'm not alone when I say I've been there, too many times. Face it, with today's gas prices reaching an all time high and increased global awareness, shopping online has become very convenient. More and more people are converting to this method of shopping every day. In this day of cyber space it's only natural to see the volumes of online businesses rising daily. What it comes down to is WHO, WHERE and HOW, to choose a good online shopping site that you can trust. Here are a few pointers on what to look for: 1) Check the site for security. The letters SSL with a little lock should be visible on the browser page. This lets you know that all confidential information given is scrambled before leaving the site to insure your privacy. 2) Make sure a return policy is given. Read the terms to protect your i...

By Paul Yates Last year I wrote an article entitled "How To Have The Perfect Barbecue" in which I lambasted most of my friends for burning food on the BBQ and shared my top tips for ensuring a perfect BBQ every time. An alternative way to put it is "How to BBQ without flames" because the secret to charcoal cooking (and indeed gas barbecuing) is sizzle and not flames. The fat in the food is mobilised in the heat, drips onto the charcoal which creates the smoke to flavour the food. What we want is to hear the sizzle but no flames because flames will char the outside of the food leaving us at best eating something semi raw and at worst in bed with food poisoning. Easy huh? Well it is quite easy if you've got a barbecue grill with adjustable rack height or gas burners but if you're the true outdoor type travelling light you may well have a disposable charcoal barbecue tray. If you're not familiar with the disposable barbecue grill it's ess...

By Kim Morgan Moss Here is my quick version for the cure-all whether it's the cold, flu, or you're just not feeling up to snuff.  Homemade Chicken Soup is the kind of comfort food that makes the worst go away and sends you on the mend as it is just Feel Good Food . HOMEMADE CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP 2 quarts chicken stock 4-6 chicken breasts  small bag baby carrots  3 stalks celery 1/2  pound good wide egg noodle 3 tablespoons fresh parsley chopped salt & pepper to taste I always keep homemade stock in the freezer, but should you be out of this or find such a thing foreign to you, buy a good organic chicken stock at your grocery store.  I happened to already have  roasted chicken breasts in the refrigerator, so I diced them up.  If you don't, then lay your chicken breasts on a baking sheet sprinkle with salt & pepper, drizzle olive oil on top and pop into the oven 35-40 minutes or till juices run clean. Let the chicken cool when ...

Decorating your Italian restaurant is nearly as important as what is on your menu. When people dine out they are doing so for a couple of different reasons. Often they don't want to cook and clean but still desire a delicious meal, and they want a pleasant atmosphere. Creating an atmosphere is one of the main elements of decorating. The atmosphere that you create will greatly depend on what type of food you will be serving. If your main specialty is pizza, and your target patron is that of the younger generation and families, you would probably decorate your restaurant differently than you would if you were going to be opening a very upscale café. Restaurants with themes are becoming increasingly popular. For an Italian restaurant you may want to have a street café theme, or an old world theme. Both of these are wonderful for setting the atmosphere in an Italian eatery. Once you have a general idea of what theme or atmosphere you hope to create, start from the groun...

I have made this pie with regular lime juice and it is great. I have found another trick to make this recipe even better, by using key limes. You can find them at most grocery stores year round depending on which state you live in. However, if they are not available year round you can still use the regular limes and it will be a good recipe still. I have found if there is an item that I need if I ask the manager of the fruit and vegetable department they can sometimes bring in the items I need. Ingredients you will need: Crust: 1 1/4 cups of fine crushed Graham Crackers 1/2 cup of butter, melted 1/4 cup of sugar Filling: 14 ounces of sweetened condensed milk 1-2 teaspoons of lime zest - grated lime peel- use a zest-er if you have one 1/2 cup of key lime juice, regular will work if key limes are not available to you 8 ounces of sweetened whipped heavy cream(add 3 teaspoons of sugar to the heavy cream), or cool whip topping, or another brand if you prefer. I use swee...

By NJ Brighton Whilst putting together this list of foods low in carbs I thought to myself, "this might take some time..." because the beauty of low carb diets is the fact that they are so flexible and broad. This is great news for us low carbers, as knowing what foods we can incorporate into our own customized plans allows us total freedom with our low carb food diets from day to day, week to week! This freedom of course, will ensure that those of us who are committed to losing weight and staying healthy through a sensible low carb diet will find the variation enough to keep us "excited" about our next meal (and therefore able to actually stick to our low carb diet. Finally having this overview type of knowledge allows us to get a better understanding of the low carb diet as a whole. However, I must tell you that the following list of low carb foods is NOT exhaustive, as there are literally thousands more options available. I have merely attempted to...

Japanese food, once little more than a niche occupant in the greater scope of American cuisine, has become increasingly popular in recent years. The harmony of flavors and lightness emphasized in the typical Japanese dish appeals to the palettes of many in the United States, where heavy and often deep fried foods have long dominated the market. Many people remain reluctant about exploring this aspect of ethnic cuisine, however, for fear that they'll find something on their plate which appears as though it came from the Iron Chef. This is far from the truth! The intent of this article is to introduce readers to a variety of different Japanese dishes, that they might go out and try something new without fear of what they'll be eating. Domburi: This dish is quite simply a bowl of rice adorned with some sort of topping. A variety of toppings are popular in Japan, many of which have successfully migrated across the Pacific and into American restaurants. One example of...

Waitress is about a woman named Jenna who is depressed from her marriage to a terrible husband, as well as her lifelong loneliness. Again and again, she finds herself trapped in the abusive relationship, partly due to financial struggles. To her further dismay, she finds out she is pregnant with her husband's child. The only outlet through which she feels comfortable sharing her emotions is by baking pies. She even names pies after her feelings while inventing them. After a series of life-changing events, she eventually finds exactly what she has been looking for in the baby she resented all along. She cuts off ties from everything in her old life and "starts fresh," keeping only one thing the same: her love and passion for making pies. Here are five of her wonderful pie recipes: Marshmallow Mermaid Pie 9 graham crackers 1/2 C. sweetened, flaked coconut, toasted 5 Tbs. butter or margarine, melted 34 lg. marshmallows (8 oz.) 1/2 C. whole milk 1 1/2 C. heavy...

By David Karlson Do you think you could get away with a simple kitchen sink faucet? These days a kitchen sink faucet is not just a necessity, but also a style statement. The amazing array of designs available in the market for kitchen faucets can make one's head spin. For example, the Delta kitchen sink faucets offer faucets that are casual, contemporary, stately and traditional. Therefore, your kitchen's designs will be perfectly matched by the stylish kitchen sink faucets. In addition, they are made to suit every one's needs. Many well trained sales consultants are at hand to help you understand the functionalities and versatility of them before you decide to buy one. Whether your kitchen has the classic finishes of the Victorian look or the clean lines of a modern one, Delta kitchen sink faucets can fit into all kinds of décor. Apart from the faucet used in the kitchen sink, you could also buy a range of other products like pot filler faucet or a water fil...

Ever so often a cultural force grabs America by the neck and does not let go. The chicken noodle soup dance and song could be the next silent assassin in the night, waiting to take the spot. As its popularity grows, chicken noodle soup could become the next big thing on America's pop culture landscape. You may ask what the chicken noodle soup dance is ? The chicken noodle soup dance originated in Harlem, New York and started out as a street dance done by young urbanites. An accompanying song was released and this birthed the dance craze for 2006. The song by Webstar and Young B has placed more attention on the dance as it catchy lyrics and simplified chorus has infected the radio airwaves of America. The chicken noodle soup dance can be done in many different ways as each dancer adds their own personal flair to it. The basic steps in the dance begin with dancers following the initial lyrics from the accompanying song. "Let it rain and clear it out" When this...

By Michael Di Milo Alright vegetarians, avert your eyes and cover those ears. This is a topic that could create nightmares for all the granola crunchers out there. The topic: Omaha Steaks and what cuts make for the best We all hear and know about the different cuts of beef out there but if you are like me, the cuts, whether they are "Prime", "Choice" or "Select" can be confusing. After all, don't they all sound as if they should be good? And wouldn't it be nice if rather than sprucing up the dialog that inadvertently leads to confusion even to the most adept and well read food snobs, they would instead make the difference easy? (Best, good and worst). So here it is, for those of you who are mildly confused about what grades are best..... The first on the docket is USDA Prime. This is the highest grade that you can get. In fact, only 2% of all beef can be labeled USDA Prime. What makes this Grade so good? Well, to put it plainly, it...

- Broccoli - Doing any job is easier when you have the right tools on hand. One of a cook's best tools -- and secret weapons -- is having a well-stocked kitchen pantry. Cooking is much simpler if you know that you have already got what you need on hand, and aren't going to have to run to the corner market every time you want to fix a meal. Having a well-stocked pantry is also the secret weapon especially when unexpected guests drop by. You will be able to make every guest feel special and welcome because, whether it is appetizers for four or dinner for ten, you can handle it with style and panache. In fact, your reputation -- and your sanity -- will be assured, because with these things in your pantry, you can put together beautiful and tasty food that is beautifully presented in just minutes, simply and easily. Here is a list of basic ingredients that should be in any well-stocked pantry. (One great way to stock your pantry is to buy one or two things on the l...

By Christine Steendahl One of the most simple and tasty dishes you can prepare for your loved ones on a weekly basis is Beef Noodle Dishes. Beef noodles are extremely yummy, quick to create and can be cooked in a multitude of to keep every member of your family satisfied at dinner time. Here are some hints. Beef noodle dishes most often consist of pasta noodles and a beef sauce. Beef sauces can come in a variety of styles. Some people create beef sauce using soups. A favorite of mine is to use canned Mushroom soup or if you prefer canned French onion soup mix. Feel free to also use dry beef soup mixes. While I do think the canned mixes generally deliver a better recipe, the difference in taste is generally not that noticeable. For noodles, I generally use wide and flat pasta noodles. However, everybody has a noodle they prefer. Some prefer long thin noodles, others like them long and thick and then you have loved ones that enjoy wide noodles or pasta shapes. Generally s...

As vegetarianism continues to make its way into the mainstream, many companies are entering the meat, dairy and egg substitutes markets to satisfy the growing demand for animal product alternatives. Read these reviews of the best substitutes out there that will make the transition to vegetarianism as painless as possible. For plain meat-free burgers, vegetarians may choose Boca's Original meatless burgers or Morningstar Farms' Grillers veggie burgers. For veggie burgers with more flavor, Boca and Morningstar Farms offer flavored varieties such as Boca's Grilled Vegetable, Roasted Garlic and Roasted Onion burgers or Morningstar Farms' Mushroom Lover's, Philly Cheese Steak and Spicy Black Bean veggie burgers. Boca and Morningstar Farms also sell other meat alternatives. Boca's other products include meatless ground burger, pizza and Chik'n Nuggets. Morningstar Farms also carries meatless corn dogs, Veggie Breakfast Bacon Strips and meatless buf...