Sauerkraut Hot Dogs

Grill'em outdoors, stovetop or in the broiler.

Guest Post On Christine’s Pantry!

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Father's Day

Origin of Father's Day... The campaign to celebrate the nation’s fathers did not meet with the same enthusiasm, perhaps because, as one florist explained, “fathers haven’t the same sentimental appeal that mothers have.”

Kitchen Chew ~ Stocking Your Pantry

Rice

Copyright 2011 Christine's Pantry. All rights reserved.

If you are new to the kitchen, it's time to get acquainted. Whether you are a new mom, new wife, or new to your kitchen, you can easily become a good cook at making dinner with some planning ahead.

Always read the recipe, and make sure you have all the ingredients on hand before you start cooking. Learn what foods go together and what to have in your pantry. Cooking dinner will be fun. Don't you want to have fun cooking dinner for your family? I know it can be. If you have your pantry stocked with a few basics and get some tasty and easy recipes (consider me, easy and affordable recipes), dinner will be fun and easy any time of the week. Below you will find a list of what to keep in your pantry. If you keep these few things on hand, a lot of your stress will be eliminated in the kitchen. I would like for you to be happy and have fun in the kitchen and love learning about food.

Pantry:

Cooking oil, extra virgin olive oil, vegetable oil, nonstick cooking spray

Canned fish, tuna, salmon

Canned tomatoes, diced, tomato sauce

Canned beans, black beans, kidney beans, etc

Pasta

Rice

Tomato paste

Worcestershire sauce

Flour, white and or wheat

Bread crumbs

Chicken stock, box

Potatoes

Onions

Garlic

Spice rack, cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, crushed red pepper flakes, thyme, rosemary, basil, oregano, bay leaves, cinnamon, salt, pepper, steak seasoning, dried parsley

Sugar and brown sugar

Baking soda

Baking powder

Vanilla extract

Cornstarch

Cornmeal

Nuts, pecans, walnuts, etc (it's best to store your nuts in the freezer, they will last longer)

Canned corn

Canned green beans

Honey

Liquid smoke

Take this list to your pantry and see what you have in your pantry. Then print out this page and take to the grocery store to pick up what you don't already have on hand. A well stocked pantry will save you time and money at the grocery store.

Enjoy!

Christine

Kitchen Chew

Copyright 2011 Christine's Pantry. All rights reserved.

Have you ever started a dish, and find that you have run out of an ingredient? I have. It's alright. Here is a list of substitutions and food tips.

I am out of self rising flour:

1 cup flour, 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Mix well. There's you self rising flour.

I have no sour cream:

Use plain yogurt.

I have no yogurt:

Use sour cream

I have no confectioner's or powder sugar:

1 cup granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon cornstarch, process in a blender until powdery.

I have no light brown sugar:

Mix together, 1 cup granulated sugar and 1 tablespoon molasses.

I have no molasses:

Mix together, 3/4 cup dark brown suger and 1/4 cup water.

Chocolate chips, nuts, dried fruit settling to the bottom of your pan during baking:

If you have ever had this problem it was probably because your batter was not thick enough to suspend the ingredients during baking. For thin batters, toss these ingredients in a little flour, it may help to prevent them from sinking to the bottom of the pan during baking.

Baking muffins:

For easy clean up, line muffin cups with paper muffin liners. Use ice cream scoop to place muffin batter into muffin cups.

My brown sugar is hard:

Brown sugar should be store in a thick plastic bag in a cool, dry place. From time to time, brown sugar does become hard. If this happens, place a slice of apple in the plastic bag with brown sugar. Seal bag and leave for 2 days, brown sugar softens. Remove apple.

My burgers are dry:

When cooking burger, don't flatten the patties with a spatula. Pressing the patties squeezes out the flavor.

Chicken safety:

Safety first in the kitchen. Always wash your hands with hot soapy water after handling raw chicken.

What is the best way to cool cookies:

Unless a recipe otherwise directs, cool cookies briefly on the cookie sheet, to firm slightly, then transfer to wire racks and cool completely.

My celery looks bad:

Your celery is starting to look droopy, cut off the root end, and stand celery in a large glass of water. Celery will absorbed some of the water and will be good and crunchy again.

Potatoes and onions:

Never store potatoes and onions together, they will spoil faster.

Salad greens:

Salad greens should not be stored near fruits that produce ethylene gases (like apples) as this will increase brown spots on the lettuce leaves and increase spoilage.

I saw this article on freezer basics. Great article. I thought I would pass it along, http://www.pauladeen.com/kitchenbasics/article_view/freezer_basics/

Source: Google

Now you have some tips, be sure to try out some of Christine's recipes:

http://christinespantry.blogspot.com/2011/06/fried-pork-chops.html

http://christinespantry.blogspot.com/2011/08/skillet-mexican-pasta.html

http://christinespantry.blogspot.com/2011/07/after-work-bolognese.html