Category: Kitchen/Cooking Tips

I know this may seem like a topic that is obvious but I thought that I should go over it just in case. When it comes to handling raw meat you have to be very careful. It is very easy to touch raw meat and then touch something else by accident. Trust me it’s happened to me before and still to this day if I’m in a rush prepping foods I may grab something by accident right after touching raw meat.  Remembering to be very careful when prepping raw meat can be a little difficult at first but as you begin to cook more and more this is something that you will become more aware of.  One of the most important rules is to not mix any raw meats with any food that has already been cooked. This can contaminate the already cooked food and can be harmful to someone’s health if they were to eat that cooked food that was mixed with the raw meat.  It is best to keep everything separate when cooking. One way would be to keep the raw meat on one plate and place the cooked meat on another plate. Another thing to remember is to always wipe down all surfaces where you have been preparing the raw meat. This is where Clorox wipes come in handy to make sure there surfaces have been disinfected. If you do not have any of the wipes you could always use soap and a sponge to clean the surfaces. But if you do use a sponge make sure to wash the sponge afterwards to make sure it is clean. And the biggest rule of them all to remember when handling raw meat is to WASH YOUR HANDS. Like I said before it is easy to go on and touch something else after prepping raw meat so washing your hands in between is a must. One thing that I have learned from other cooks on tv is to have one hand free to add the seasoning and have the other hand moving the meat to make sure the seasonings get all over it. Always remember these tips when handling raw meats.

In this day and age everyone is always on the go and lead very busy lives. I know this all too well, between working, going to classes, doing homework, and studying for tests there’s not enough hours in the day. One thing that I like to do is use store bought foods and tweaking them by adding a personal touch to it.  One way in which I do this is when I make quesadillas. I like to get store bought rotisserie chicken and some store bought tortillas for a quick and easy meal (look for the recipe in the recipe section of the blog). Using the store bought items and adding some ingredients I have at home gives it a personal touch and I have a meal in the matter of minutes without all of the hassle.  Another way that I tweak store bought items is when I make cupcakes. I’m still learning to bake stuff from scratch but for now using the store bought cake mix to make cupcakes will do! Using the box mix allows you to add your own touches to the cupcakes. For example I do this with chocolate cupcakes.  Having a plain cupcake with some store bought frosting can get a little boring but this is your chance to let your creative side out. Try using some different toppings, or even tweaking the frosting its self too (look under the recipe section for the recipe that goes along with this tip).  The possibilities are endless when it comes to tweaking store bought items; this is your chance to see how creative you can get in the kitchen.

Learning how to take care of your non-stick pans is a very important lesson to learn from the start. Trust me! I have learned this lesson first hand.  Damaging your non-stick pans because of not knowing how to take care of them is a disaster, or at least I believe it is lol. But learning how to take care of the pans is a very easy task. There are just two simple things that you have to remember when taking care of your non-stick pans. The first thing to remember is, when washing the pan don’t use any harsh wired sponges to clean the pan. The second thing to keep in mind when taking care of the pans is to use the proper non-stick cooking utensils when cooking. These two things are important to keep in mind because using harsh wired sponges to clean the pans and not using non-stick cooking utensils will damage the non-stick coating of the pans. Once the non-stick coating is damaged anything that you will cook in the pan will stick no matter what you may put in the pan to prevent it.