How to Make a Protein Shake

A delicious way to get more protein in your diet, protein shakes are simple to make and a healthy alternative to other fat-dense meats. To make a protein shake, you’ll need some basic ingredients you might already have around your kitchen.

Gather Ingredients for Your Shake

To make a fruity protein shake, you’ll need:

• 6 frozen strawberries
• 1 fresh or frozen banana
• 1 cup of skim milk
• 1 heaping tablespoon of protein powder

Combine Ingredients into a Shake

Combine all ingredients in a blender and mix until smooth. Ice is not needed thanks to the frozen fruit added to the recipe, but if the mixture is getting stuck in the bender, consider adding a dash of milk or juice to soften it up again and let it mix correctly.

Enjoy Your Protein Shake

Once the protein shake is mixed properly, enjoy it. It’s fun to serve these sorts of shakes in a special cup or glass, but they can be enjoyed out of anything, of course.

Easy Step By Step Instructions for Making Protein Shakes

• Gather all necessary ingredients including strawberries, milk, bananas and protein powder.
• Blend all of the ingredients together adding juice or milk as needed.
• Enjoy the protein shake as a refreshing, healthy treat.

Warnings, Advice, and Suggestions When Making Protein Shakes

Try adding different frozen fruits to healthy protein shakes to add different flavors. Frozen pineapple or blueberries are easy additions and make a delicious shake.

(1 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5)
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How to Cook a Steak in the Oven

Choosing a high quality steak to broil in the oven is easy. For all other cuts of steak cooked in the oven can be challenging. Making a perfect oven baked steak will be a snap for dinner tonight.

Select the Right Steak

Oven baked steaks need to be ¼ to 1 ½ inches thick and brought to room temperature (marinate during this time) for even cooking.

Marinating the Steaks

High quality cuts like mignon, or rib eye marinating is not necessary but for all other cuts marinating will make the oven baked steak perfect.

Marinate the steak while it is coming to room temperature about 30 minutes.

• Rub smashed garlic generously all over the steak.
• Rub 1 tsp of olive oil over the steak
• Rub steak seasoning (any store bought kind)
• Rub Kosher salt (any salt will work too)
• Sprinkle Worcestershire sauce or Soy Sauce on steak

Tip: If you don’t have steak seasoning, use 1 tsp of each: black pepper, white pepper, onion powder, and your favorite spice (cumin, ground oregano, or ¼ tsp of smoked paprika). Mix together and rub on steaks.

Let the steaks marinate.

Cook the Steak in the Oven

Put oven on broil. Move top rack closest to the broiler. On a baking sheet place marinated steaks under broiler for 4-5 minutes. Do not turn. This broiler method will sear the steaks.

Baking Steaks: Here are several temperatures that will bake the steaks to perfection. You choose which one best meets your dinner needs.

Set oven to bake on 450 degrees will cook steaks to medium done in 10-12 minutes. This is great to bake French fries at the same time.

Set oven to bake on 325 degrees for 25-30 minutes for medium done. This is great with bake potatoes. Medium sized potatoes will be done at the same time the steaks are done.

Set oven to broiler on 350 degrees middle rack for 7-10 minutes for medium rare done.

Remember not to puncture the steaks to check for doneness. Lightly press the steaks with a back of a fork if the steak pushes in and juices run out then it is still rare. It should be slightly firm when pressed.

When steaks reach desires doneness let sit for 5 -10 minutes. Make a tin foil tent to keep steaks warm.

Easy Step By Step Instructions For Cooking Steak in an Oven

• Select the right steak between ¼ inch and 1 ½ inches thick
• Marinade the steak
• Broil the steak in the oven
• Or bake the steak along with other items

Warnings, Advice, and Suggestions When Oven Cooking Steak

Letting the steak sit before cutting into re-distributes the juices back in the steaks. Steaks will continue to cook while sitting.

(2 votes, average: 3.00 out of 5)
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How to Make Chicken Noodle Soup

Whether you are sick or the weather outside is cold or you are craving a little comfort food, chicken noodle soup is a classic favorite and surprisingly easy to make. This savory soup is light enough to serve as an appetizer and delicious enough to serve as a main course.

Chicken Noodle Soup – Ingredients

The key to great soup is fresh ingredients. You will need one carton of chicken broth, about 4 sticks of celery, 2 chicken breasts (thawed and cubed), garlic salt, 2 carrot sticks and 2 cups uncooked eggs noodles. Part of what makes chicken noodle soup so easy is that you can individually cook all the ingredients, throw them together and still have a great meal, or you can throw everything into a crockpot or sauce pan depending on how much time you have during the day.

Preparation Your Soup

Soup that is slow cooked, like stew, comes out with a better flavor and texture. If using a crockpot, place the chicken and broth in the crock pot and set to medium heat. Allow to cook for 3-4 hours until the meat is cooked through. Add carrots, celery, 1 tsp of garlic salt and the egg noodles and let cook until the noodles are soft. To prepare chicken noodle soup on a stovetop, cook the cubed chicken seasoned with 1 tsp of garlic salt. Place the cooked chicken, broth, celery and carrots in a large sauce pan and allow to cook until ingredient are tender.

Easy Step By Step Instructions For Making Chicken Noodle Soup

• Use fresh ingredients for the best soup.
• You will need chicken broth, cubed chicken breasts, 1 tsp of garlic salt for flavor, 2 cups of uncooked egg noodles and 2 sticks of carrots and celery.
• Combine the ingredients and allow the soup to cook in a crock pot to allow time for the chicken and vegetables to absorb all the flavors and individually cooking ingredients will cut your cook time in half.

Warnings, Advice, and Suggestions When Making Chicken Noodle Soup

Be sure to stir the soup often to avoid ingredients sticking to the bottom of the pan and burning. Don’t be afraid to add salt and pepper for a little extra flavor. Be sure the chicken is cooked through to 350 degrees to avoid dangerous bacteria.

(2 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5)
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How to Roast a Chicken

Roasted chicken is a delicious way to bring your family together for a meal. Most poultry can be prepared this way including turkey and the recipe can be modified for small hens to larger sized Thanksgiving turkeys.

How to prepare the chicken

Start with a small sized hen. Most hens come already cleaned and ready to put in the oven but be sure to remove the giblet bag from the inside of the hen. Take one small lemon and poke several holes in the lemon using a fork. Be sure to stab the lemon in different areas to allow the juices to escape and keep the fruit from exploding. Place the whole lemon (unpeeled) inside the cavity of the bird.

Next select fresh herbs from your local market such as rosemary and thyme. Wash the herbs thoroughly and stuff the herbs inside the bird around the lemon. Coat the skin of the hen lightly with fresh melted butter. The butter with give the hen a golden color when its done and will add flavor. Place the whole bird into a large baking pan and cover the pan with aluminum foil to keep the meat moist. Cook for about 40 minutes at 325 degrees.

How to Brown the outside of the bird

When the bird is completely cooked, remove the foil. Recoat the chicken with melted butter and cook for an additional 15 minutes at 400 degrees to brown the skin. Remember to keep an eye on the chicken during this step to avoid overcooking the inside or burning the outside.

Easy Step By Step Instructions For Roasting a Chicken

• Clean and thaw the chicken completely through.
• Using a fork, stab holes around the outside of a lemon through the skin.
• Place the lemon and your choice of fresh herbs inside the cavity of the chicken.
• Coat the skin of the chicken with butter and place breast side up into a baking or roasting pan. Wrap with aluminum foil before placing in the oven at 325 degrees.
• Allow to cook to about 40 minutes or to 180 degrees.
• When the chicken is cooked, recoat the skin with butter and place back in the oven at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes.

Warnings, Advice, and Suggestions When Roasting a Chicken

Chicken dries out very quickly so be sure to keep a close eye on the bird as it is cooking. Along the same lines, undercooked chicken is very dangerous and can make you and your family very ill. Make sure the poultry is completely thawed before you start cooking and use a thermometer to determine when the meat is cooked (180 is the government standard for cooked chicken).

(2 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5)
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How to Cook Ribs in the Oven

With summer fast approaching and the weather getting warmer and warmer, ribs are a perfect dinner. Ribs are a perfect dinner, if you have a grill and a lot of time and have nothing to do other than stand over that grill watching meat cook. Some of us however, are in a hurry and live in apartments. For all those people, there is hope. Ribs can be made in the oven and with very little effort involved.

How to prepare the meat

Cooking ribs in the oven is a very delicate balance of timing and ingredients. Because the ribs are sitting in a hot environment for a period of time, there is a danger of overcooking them resulting in dry ribs. To avoid this problem, start with defrosted meat. Put the ribs in your refrigerator the night before you plan to prepare them and allow them to defrost overnight and into the following day.

How to cook the ribs

Place the ribs in a glass or metal baking pan and preheat the oven to 300. Spray the pan with non-stick cooking spray to make cleanup easier. Baste the ribs with a healthy serving of your favorite BBQ sauce and place them side-by-side in the baking pan. Cover the pan with Aluminum foil to keep the heat in the pan circulating and the juices in the meat and bake for about 2 hours. The longer you bake the ribs, the more tender they will be.

The only ingredient that will burn in this recipe is the BBQ sauce so check every 30 minutes or so to make sure the sauce isn’t burning. The low temperature will allow the meat to slowly cook and make the ribs more tender without drying them out too much. About twenty minutes before serving, sprinkle the ribs with seasoning like Webber Chicago Steak.

Easy Step By Step Instructions For Cooking Ribs

• Allow meat to thaw overnight.
• Cover the ribs in BBQ sauce of your choice and place in the oven covered at 300 degrees for about 2 hours.
• When the ribs are almost completely cooked through, sprinkle with spices for extra flavor.

Warnings, Advice, and Suggestions When Cooking Ribs

Walmart and most chain grocery stores carry what are called Country Style Boneless Ribs. These cuts are tender, thick slices of meat without the hassle of bones and are fairly inexpensive to purchase. Although a little fatty, these ribs are ideal for cooking in the stove and if trimmed after cooking, come out tasting great.

(3 votes, average: 3.67 out of 5)
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How To Throw a Dinner Party for Less

There is something satisfying about being surrounded by friends and family after a long week and being able to enjoy a meal and good conversation. In the real world however, budgets are tight and time is short.

How To Spend Less on food

The easiest way to cut down on the cost of food is to have everyone contribute some part of the meal. If one guest brings fresh veggies and another dip, both will feel as if they have contributed for very little money and will save you the trouble. Allowing guests to bring food also saves you from having to cater to certain tastes and gives them some control over what they are eating.

Depending on the number of guests, you can divide the meal into courses or have everyone bring one ingredient for a special dish that you can make for them like lasagna or spaghetti. Trying serving snacks or a light lunch instead of dinner. Cold cuts and cheese with baby pickles are perfect and light on a hot summer day.

How To Save on Decorations

Creative as she may be, Martha Stewart has never really been tied to a budget in her life. If you feel the urge to decorate your table, stick to inexpensive decorations like candles and natural items such as dried leaves in the fall or honeysuckle in the summertime. Even rocks from a garden can be artfully arranged to create a mood around the table. Using oversized dishes to arrange food will also make a table look full and decorated. Most party stores also have disposable serving plates and bowls that add color and texture but cost around $10.

How To Serve Inexpensive Beverages

A simple glass container of water with a little fresh lemon is a refreshing, formal drink that won’t create a hole in your wallet. If serving cold beverages, dress them up a little with fancy ice. Freeze ice cubes with fruit in the middle or mint leaves. Alcohol can be very expensive so try for less expensive drinks that will still refresh your guests. If you choose to serve alcohol, opt for less expensive mixers such as (bottom rack) rum and cokes.

Easy Step By Step Instructions For Hosting a Dinner Party

• Invite your guests to all bring their own dishes to the party to cut costs
• Be creative and use outdoor items for decorations at the party
• Dress up your drinks with creative ice cubes or serve inexpensive mixers

Warnings, Advice, and Suggestions When Throwing a Dinner Party

Remember that the most important element of throwing a dinner party for less is the good company and chance to spend time with people you enjoy. Don’t get so caught up with impressing your guests that you forget to interact with them. Even if the food is burnt and your home a mess, everyone will remember how much they enjoyed the chance to let someone else plan a meal.

(2 votes, average: 3.50 out of 5)
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How to Make Easy Lasagna

Every now and then I find myself craving a real Italian dinner. Unfortunately, these cravings are usually followed by the realization that I am a horrible cook and a quick call to the nearest pizza restaurant in my area still delivering. A friend taught me a simple, quick way to make lasagna despite my shortcomings as a cook and the recipe really is user friendly.

Lasagna Supplies

I really love this recipe because you can add and individualize as much or as little as you like. The basics you will need are: lasagna noodles, ricotta or cottage cheese, a small can of tomatoes and a can of tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese and browned ground sausage or beef.

Mix and Go

In a large mixing bowl, mix together the ricotta or cottage cheese, sauce, tomatoes and meat. In a baking pan, layer the mixture of ingredients first followed by a layer of noodles. Make sure that the noodles overlap slightly. Over the noodles spoon another layer of the sauce mixture, mozzarella cheese and repeat until the lasagna fills the pan.

Easy Step By Step Instructions For Making Lasagna

• Gather together you ingredients. The great thing about this recipe is that is can be as authentic or as inexpensive as you want it to be.
• Mix everything but the cheese and noodles together in a bowl. The mixture should be a little watery but remember the noodles will absorb most of the water.
• Layer the ingredients. You can make a small lasagna or enough to feed the whole family.
• Once you have finished layering, add about 1/3 of a cup of water over the lasagna to keep it from drying out and cook the noodles.
• Cover the entire pan with tin foil and bake at 350 until the noodles are soft. Everything in the lasagna is already cooked so there is no need to worry about overcooking.

Warnings, Advice, and Suggestions When Making Lasagna

Oregano and basil are the basic Italian spices and can be added to the meat as you are browning it for a little extra flavor. If really short on time, brown the meat in your microwave. Place the meat in a microwave safe container and cook for about 10 minutes. Fresh garlic or garlic powder can also be added to the sauce mixture for a little extra Italian kick. Remember, practice makes perfect.

(3 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5)
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How to Plan a Dinner Party

Looking to entertain friends and family without going too far out of your comfort zone? Why not invite them over for a dinner party? A dinner party can be as formal or as casual as you like, and you set the tone with your invitations and menu. Planning a dinner party is relatively straightforward.

Plan Your Dinner Party Guest List

The guest list sets the tone for the entire event. Are you planning to invite just a handful of close friends? That will be an intimate affair. You can also expand your gathering to six other couples or more to have a large party. Prepare your guest lists and then work on delivering invitations. Casual dinner parties can be arranged using email or online invitations, but formal dinner parties require a formal invitation, preferably mailed.

Arrange the Menu

When hosting a dinner party, the food is important. The menu sets the tone of the meal and the more formal the affair the more formal the menu items should be. A casual dinner party might start off with a salad, an entrée and finish with dessert while a formal party can easily have five or more courses.

If you plan to use a caterer, you have more options on the menu, but cooking the meal yourself makes the dinner party a much more meaningful event, although it might be a bit more work to clean up at the end of the day.

Prepare Seating

Unless it is very small, you should arrange seating for the party. Think carefully about who you’re placing beside whom and also the importance of guests. Those seated directly beside the head position are in the positions of honor, for example. This matters much more in large, formal gatherings.

If you need more seating, you can rent tables and chairs, but they will likely be too casual for a nice party. You might arrange the party in the garden rather than the dining room to make the casual seating more acceptable.

Arrange Party Decorations

To have a party, you’ll need decorations. Order centerpieces from the florist and find candles and other decorations. If your party will be outdoors, twinkle lights and Japanese lanterns add ambiance. Indoor parties might benefit from a few choice decorations.

Set the Table

Well before pulling out your chicken recipes to begin cooking, set the table. You’ll need to be sure that your silver doesn’t need polishing and that your flatware is all present and accounted for. You might also decide you need to arrange extra serving dishes or buffet style service once you see how much room is available on the table.

Purchase Dinner Party Groceries

Even if your event is being catered, you’ll still need items from the grocery store. Buy wine for the meal and other liquors if you’ll be serving them before and after. Purchase all necessary ingredients including items for appetizers. Don’t forget to arrange as many baking dishes that you might need.

Prepare the Meal

Finally, to finish your planning and start preparing, you’ll open up your cake recipes and begin baking. Dishes that can be prepared ahead of time, such as many sides and desserts should be done as early as possible to make the day of the party as stress-free as possible. Save only the last minute items to be made before the party begins.

Easy Step By Step

• Arrange the guest list
• Plan the menu
• Prepare a seating chart and table arrangements
• Arrange party decorations
• Set the table
• Purchase grocery items
• Prepare the meal

Warnings, Advice, and Suggestions

Don’t overwhelm yourself with details the day of the party. Do as much as possible before hand so that you can enjoy yourself the day of.

(1 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5)
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How to Make an Acai Berry Smoothie

Acai berries are one of nature’s super fruits – a food that has super antioxidants that can help improve your health and boost your energy and levels of alertness as well. Acai can be used in many fashions, but to get the maximum health benefits, the juice and acai berries should be kept cold. When prepared, they should not be cooked making an acai smoothie an excellent choice to enjoy the benefits of acai.

While smoothies aren’t the only way to enjoy the antioxidant powers of acai, they are one of the simplest. In fact, even children are capable of making an acai smoothie by combining ingredients and blending. Invest in a plastic blender, however, if you plan on allowing children to use it a glass blender can be heavy and potentially more dangerous should it slip out of your child’s hands.

Acai Berry Smoothie Recipe

Combine the following ingredients in a blender:

7 Oz (200 grams Acai Juice)
½ Cup Soy Milk or Juice
Fruit (one banana, ½ half apple, or 1 cup of other fruit)

Blend the ingredients until smooth. Banana makes for the smoothest tasting drink, but others might be more suited to your taste and digestion.

Serve the smoothie in a bowl or goblet. Top the smoothie with whipped cream, fruit or granola.

Enjoy!

Easy Step By Step

• Order or buy acai berries or acai juice
• Juice acai berries as necessary
• Combine acai juice, milk and fruit in blender
• Blend the combination together
• Serve and Enjoy! 

Warnings, Advice, and Suggestions

When making smoothies, chilling the glasses you’ll be serving from is one way to keep the smoothie cold longer. If you serve the cold drink in a warm or room temperature glass, it will melt that much faster.

 

(3 votes, average: 3.00 out of 5)
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How To Make a Martini

For the classiest of celebrations, a martini is always a welcome addition. There are many different versions of the typical martini and all you need to get started is the right bar equipment and the right yummy martini recipe. A common favorite among martini drinkers is the dirty martini – a dusty version of the standard martini thanks to the use of olive brine. A dirty martini recipe varies only slightly from the basic mix of alcohol.

Martini Recipe

To make a classic martini pay careful attention to the measurements. After all, there are very few ingredients and it is the quality of the spirits and the blend that make the martini great. To make a classic martini, combine:

• 2 1/2 oz gin
• 1/2 oz dry vermouth

In a mixing glass along with ice. Stir or shake gently for about thirty seconds. Use a strainer to pour the mixture into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a twist of lemon rind or, more commonly, an olive.

Dirty Martini Recipe

A dirty martini simply takes the classic martini and adds a twist of olive brine. To make a dirty martini, combine:

• 2 oz gin
• 1/4 oz dry vermouth
• 1/4 oz olive brine

In a mixing glass and fill the glass with ice. Shake gently or stir. Use a strainer to pour the mixture into the waiting cocktail glass and garnish with an olive. Enjoy!

Easy Step By Step

• Measure out the appropriate amounts of dry vermouth and gin
• Mix over ice in a martini shaker
• Strain into a chilled glass

Warnings, Advice, and Suggestions

Be sure your mixing equipment, glasses and ice are all clean. Lingering odors or previously used alcohols can taint the flavor of the martini.

(2 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
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