Leftovers Are Actually Good For

Your Leftovers Are Actually Good For

Tossing things prematurely happens more often than you might think (the USDA says almost a pound of food is wasted per person per day). Are you jumping the gun?

Egg, Tuna or Chicken Salads

We were surprised to learn that homemade egg, tuna or chicken salad can last up to seven days in the refrigerator. Just remember that your fridge should be set to 40 degrees or colder, says Jen Tong, global managing director of integrity and process excellence for a division of the public health and safety organization NSF.

Cooked Meats

Poached chicken, grilled steak and roast pork tenderloin all keep well for three to four days in the fridge, says Tong. She recommends putting the items in the refrigerator within two hours, since the less time the food spends at room temperature, the better (and safer).

Pizza

Just as with cooked meats, pizza is usually good for three or four days in the refrigerator. (Wrap it tightly to keep it tasting fresh.)

Soups and Chilies

Whether you've made a pot of minestrone, chicken noodle or chili, when it comes to soups and chilies, there are almost always leftovers (and often, the meals taste even better after a day). You can keep enjoying them for three to four days once refrigerated, says Tong. The important thing is to get the temperature down quickly to keep the food in a safe temperature zone (below 40 degrees, or above 140).

Everything—and We Mean Everything—Else

While three to four days is a good rule of thumb for most leftovers, there are exceptions (for instance, leftover raw shellfish, such as ceviche or sushi, has a lifespan of just one to two days). For an easy way to determine whether to toss something, there are a number of free apps that can help; one is Is My Food Safe? (a collaboration between the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and ConAgra Foods), where you can scroll through by category, say, desserts, and go from cakes to puddings. Another is USDA's new FoodKeeper app; among other features, it lets you enter the date you made something and then receive notifications when the food is nearing the end of its recommended storage time.

How-to…Cook an Egg

You think it’s such a simple thing, but a perfectly cooked egg is actually kind of an achievement, particularly when you’re trying to get a specific result. Anyone who has served their share of rubbery scrambled eggs knows that well. That said, they’re also awesome. They’re cheap, they’re packed with protein and healthy fat, and throwing one on top of pretty much anything makes pretty much anything better. Here’s a goop tutorial, along with some really important information about buying eggs, including what those labels on the cartons actually mean.

Boiled

1 egg
water

Fill a small saucepan three-quarters full with water and bring to a boil.
Using a spoon, gently slide in the egg and set your timer.
Keep an eye on the water while the egg cooks, and try to maintain a soft boil.

• For a soft-boiled egg with set whites and a liquid yolk set for six minutes.
• For a perfectly hard-boiled egg with a slightly soft center set for nine minutes.
• For a completely cooked through yolk set for ten minutes.

When the timer goes off, remove the egg to an ice water bath for one minute to stop the cooking.
Crack, peel, and enjoy.

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Quick Conversion Chart

Here is a quick measurement conversion chart that every home cook needs.

Kosher Salt and Table Salt whats the difference

Kosher Salt and Table Salt whats the difference

There are significant similarities and only minor differences between everyday table salt and kosher salt. A misconception of kosher salt is that it is consumed by only those that follow the Jewish food laws (that allow only kosher foods to be eaten). In fact, kosher salt is not named after those guidelines, and practice and does not conform to those standards. Instead, it got this name because it is used to cure meat in order to make the meat kosher.

Kosher salt is comprised of larger and courser grains than table salt. Table salt is a more refined salt with very small grain size. Due to the larger grain size, kosher salt is easier to pinch and measuring with your fingers, which is why it is a favorite for many chefs.

Table salt and kosher salt taste fairly similar to one another. However, table salt has a slightly metallic flavor due to the iodine that is added. Kosher salt, which does not contain any iodine additives, therefore tastes lighter and cleaner than table salt. Kosher salt tends to be less salty overall than table salt.

Kosher salt, as opposed to table salt, has no additives. Table salt, or iodized salt, often contains additives. Some common additives in common table salt include potassium iodide, sodium iodide and sodium iodate. Also, sodium silicoaluminate or sodium ferrocyanide is commonly added to table salt as an anti-caking agent and occasionally added to kosher salt.

There are no major nutritional differences between table salt and kosher salt. Too much of either salt can cause problems in the body, such as high blood pressure. Not enough salt can also be detrimental, as the body needs salt in order to regulate the cell's electrolyte balance.

Table salt is the most common form of salt for everyday consumption and is what most people use to season their dishes. Table salt is commonly used to add flavor to many various dishes and foods. Kosher salt is sometimes used by cooks as a replacement for table salt because of its particular taste. Kosher salt is great for curing meat because of its large surface area which allows it to absorb more moisture than other salts. Kosher salt is wonderful for bringing out other food's natural flavor and is also sometimes used as salt around the rim of a margarita glass. However, kosher salt is not an ideal ingredient for baking because of its absorbency traits.

In order to substitute table salt for kosher salt in a recipe, you need to make sure there is enough liquid to do so. Because kosher salt absorbs more water as compared to table salt, you will likely need to add additional water or other liquid to the recipe if you substitute. Also, because different brands of kosher salt come in many different sizes of grains, it is often hard to pinpoint the exact amount, such as a teaspoon, for a recipe. However, you will begin to get a feel for the correct amount if you use one brand consistently through trial and error.

Margarine or butter whats the difference

Margarine or butter whats the difference

Both have the same amount of calories. 
Butter is slightly higher in saturated fats at 8 grams; compared to 5 grams for margarine.

Eating margarine can increase heart disease in women by 53% over eating the same amount of butter, according to a recent Harvard Medical Study.

Eating butter increases the absorption of many other nutrients in other foods.
Butter has many nutritional benefits where margarine has a few and only because they are added!

Butter tastes much better than margarine and it can enhance the flavours of other foods.

Butter has been around for centuries where margarine has been around for less than 100 years .

And now, for Margarine..

Very High in Trans fatty acids.

Triples risk of coronary heart disease ...

Increases total cholesterol and LDL (this is the bad cholesterol) and lowers HDL cholesterol, (the good cholesterol)

Inceases the risk of cancers up to five times..

Lowers quality of breast milk

Decreases immune response.

Decreases insulin response.

And here's the most disturbing fact... HERE IS THE PART THAT IS VERY INTERESTING!

Margarine is but ONE MOLECULE away from being PLASTIC... and shares 27 ingredients with PAINT.

These facts alone were enough to have me avoiding margarine for life and anything else that is hydrogenated (this means hydrogen is added).

Country Gravey

Nothing taste better on a cold morning then biscuits with Country Gravy. With the gravy taking less then 15 minutes to make its easy for getting your morning started.



Country Gravey

Ingredients

1 can - Grands Biscuit (8 count)
1/2 lb - Ground sausage
1 tbs - Vegetable oil or butter
2 tbs - Gold Medal™ all-purpose flour  
1 cup - milk  
1/4 tsp - Salt   (to taste)
1/4 tsp - Pepper   (to taste)

 Directions

1 Cook sausage until done

2 After removing cooked meat from skillet or pan, add oil to drippings in skillet. Stir in flour, scraping up brown particles. Cook over medium-high heat 2 to 3 minutes, stirring constantly, until mixture is light golden brown.

3 Stir in milk. Heat over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is boiling and thickened. If gravy is too thick, stir in more milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, until desired consistency. Stir in salt and pepper.


(to increase amount just double, triple amounts as needed)

Houston Barbecue Festival

Tickets to go on sale for third edition of Houston Barbecue Festival

Featuring a who's who of local pitmasters, the third annual Houston Barbecue Festival will be April 26 at NRG Park.

The event includes four barbecue joints featured in Alison Cook's Top 100 Restaurants. Among them: Brooks' Place, CorkScrew, Gatlin's and Killen's.

Other confirmed participants include Blake's BBQ, the Brisket House, El Burro & the Bull, Fainmous, Feges BBQ, Gerardo's, Lenox, Oak Leaf Smokehouse, Pappa Charlie's, Pizzitola's, Ray's BBQ Shack, Roegels Barbecue Co., Spring Creek and The Wooden Spoke.

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Party Portion

Here is simple chart that will help you know how much to serve

The Zero Calorie Myth

The Zero Calorie Myth


Zero in on this: If a food has 5 calories or less per serving, the FDA allows the manufacturer to say that the food has no calories on its label. Not a huge deal, right? Maybe, but if you sweeten your coffee, tea, or yogurt with Splenda or ever use zero-calorie butter or oil sprays, those stray calories can add up fast. For example, a 1.2-pound bag of Splenda No-Calorie Sweetener has 1,100 1-teaspoon servings for a grand total of 2,200 calories, or 96 calories per cup. True, it's nowhere near the 774 calories in a cup of real sugar, but it's also not zero.


Further proof: A woman in Nebraska recently filed a lawsuit against Parkay Spray butter for false advertising. Even though Parkay markets its spray as fat- and calorie-free, an 8-ounce bottle canister contains 832 calories and 93 grams of fat—not what you'd expect if you're pouring the spray over your steamed veggies, which is what the Nebraskan woman copped to doing, admitting that she went through two bottles a week until she realized the truth about her favorite "calorie-free" spray.

Why the deception? Within certain legal bounds, food manufacturers are able to determine the serving size for its products, allowing Parkay to list five meager sprays—not enough to coat a kitchen skillet—as an appropriate amount of spray to use. Most companies are also tight-lipped about how many calories are actually in "zero-calorie" foods. Some opt for a disclaimer on the packaging like, "Adds a trivial amount of fat" or "Adds trace calories." Splenda does score points for transparency by providing true calorie counts on its website.

But even if you can't get the whole truth, you can ballpark a food's caloric punch. "If it says zero calories, we know it's going to have somewhere between zero and five calories per serving," says Wendy Bazilian, DrPH, author of The SuperFoodsRx Diet. "Just look at how many servings it has and multiply by 5. That would be the maximum, and that way you can at least get an idea of the full calorie potential."
But the bad news for dieters still remains: There's no such thing as calorie-free food.

Salt intake and how to lower it

Your body does need some salt, also called sodium. But you really need only about 200 milligrams (mg) a day, according to the American Heart Association (AHA). A teaspoon of salt has about 2,300 mg of sodium. That’s more than 10 times the amount you need in a day. Most Americans consume 3,000 to 3,600 mg of salt every day. The AHA suggests that most people should cut their daily salt intake to no more than 1,500 mg. 


Too much salt in your diet can cause you to retain water. That extra fluid can be hard on your heart and blood vessels. It can cause high blood pressure, which can lead to heart disease or stroke. High amounts of salt also raise your risk of kidney stones and bone loss. 

In the Kitchen

• Cut the amount of salt in half when cooking from a recipe. Better yet, leave it out altogether. Instead, use herbs and spices. Seasonings that do not have sodium are the best choices. For example, garlic powder or minced garlic is better than garlic salt. Some spice blends come in a salt-free version. 
• Don’t add salt to water when cooking rice or pasta or preparing hot cereal.  
• Buy fresh vegetables. Plain frozen vegetables are good too. If you buy canned, look for those labeled “no salt added.” On the other hand, fresh fruit and canned fruits have very little sodium. One note: Watch out for pickles. They are usually high in salt.  
• Rinse tuna, beans, shellfish and other canned foods with cold water before using. 
• Skip or use sparingly: soy sauce (both regular and light), teriyaki sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and taco sauce.  

When Grocery Shopping

• Learn to read labels. Foods that are low in sodium will have less than 140 mg per serving, or less than 5% of the daily value. Salt also can be hidden in other ingredients: monosodium glutamate (MSG), baking soda, baking powder, disodium phosphate and any other compound that has “sodium” or the chemical symbol “Na” in its name.  
• Avoid canned soups or broths. Avoid flavored rice and pastas. These are typically higher in salt. Try low-sodium versions instead.  
• Look for cheese and other foods that are labeled “low sodium,” “reduced sodium” or “no salt added.” Other options: “unsalted” or “sodium free.”  
• Avoid salty snacks like potato chips, peanuts and pretzels. If you want chips, nuts and pretzels, choose the unsalted versions.  
• Avoid or limit these foods in your diet because they’re very high in salt: bacon, bologna, frozen breaded meats, deli meats, hot dogs, sardines, and smoked fish.  

At the Table 

• Keep the salt shaker off the kitchen table. If you are used to salting your food, gradually reduce the amount of salt you add to your meals. Within 6 to 8 weeks, you may find you don’t even miss the salt.  
• Sprinkle vinegar or lemon juice on your vegetables in place of salt.  
• Watch your portions. If you want something salty as a treat now and then, it’s OK. Just eat a little bit. And leave other salty items off your plate.  
• When dining out, ask your server to please tell the chef you’re watching your sodium and not to add any salt to your order.