.It's Monday Again!

It is again time for Monday's Recipe Challenge! Submit YOUR best recipes to the comments section and have a chance to earn a spot on our VIP page! Your recipe, picture, and a bio of you will be posted for everyone to admire (pic and bio is optional). Remember... ALL submissions must be original recipes or you will earn an unfortunate spot on our PLAGIARIZERS page!!! 

Chicken Recipes are Simple and Versatile

Chicken is one of those unique meats that can be created in so many different, delicious ways. You can try a variety of easy chicken recipes every single night of the week and have a completely different meal each night. Your kids will love eating homemade nuggets for dinner paired with macaroni and cheese and chunky applesauce. You can really melt your husband’s heart with a mouth watering piece of parmesan Dijon chicken, a delicious twice baked potato, and a side of steamed sugar snap peas.  And you can even stick to your healthy eating habits by boiling a chicken breast in highly seasoned water and placing the pieces on top of a nice green, veggie filled salad. And don’t forget to fire up the grill on the weekend for some grilled chicken that the whole family can enjoy together on a Saturday afternoon.  The possibilities are endless with this versatile meat. 

Beef Recipes

It is getting to be dinner time and I am about to scroll through and find one of my mother's excellent beef  Recipes. Every night my mom would have dinner waiting for me, my sister, and my dad. Every night it was a wonderful dinner, always made to perfection and always original. I miss those nights. Back then I was young and dumb. I took for granted the fact that my mom wouldn't always be there to cook dinner for me. I wish so badly that I could once again have her in the kitchen, creating a great beef recipe dinner or any of the other fantastic foods she would create. I must not dwell on the past though. I must only remember the good times as they were.

We all should try to do what my mother did. I am instituting a new challenge! Come up with a great beef recipe and post it in the comments section below. Once this page has a larger following and these challenges are actually met we will have more awesome recipes every day from people around the world than  you can shake a stick at!

Monday Recipe Challenge!

Every Monday is the  Recipe Challenge! Submit your own creations to our website for a chance to win the honor of being named this week's Recipe Challenger! Your picture will be posted (you may opt out if desired) on our website along side of your Recipe  for one full week! You will gain  Worldwide exposure for your brilliant culinary design. You and your recipe will also be forever glorified and remembered on our V.I.P page! To submit recipes copy and paste into the comments area!
(Please no cheating! All plagiarists will also gain national exposure by being outed as such on the internet!!!)
"Bamboo Recipe Box in Natural" 

Outdoor Cooking

The summer is almost over. The kids have all gone back to school. Those wonderful afternoon barbecues are now relegated to weekend events only. So what about this winter when the temperatures put your love of grilling on the back-burner? There is an alternative to outdoor barbecuing! Check out this "Stainless Steel Removable Plate Indoor Grill" and don't let your summertime enjoyment end. Indoor grills eliminate the need for fair weather. You have the ability to have a summer barbecue anytime. I will tell you, from personal experience, these grill are fantastic!

If the grill mentioned above is a little out of your price range you can always check out the "Cool Touch Electric Indoor Grill" .  This particular grill is child friendly and affordable. 

Cooking With the Proper Equipment

My mother always used to tell  me that you should never buy cheap equipment because the equipment you use will directly effect the quality of your product. We have all heard the saying, "you get what you pay for." She lived by that quote and firmly instilled it in my head. We have all used those cheap, thin metal Skillets and Pots to cook with. The food rarely, if ever, comes out right. Those cheap  Skillets  ultimately make all of your meats stick and destroy your chances of producing high-quality Meals.

I have used all manners of  Pots  and  Skillet. My favorite by far has got to be the Calphalon Hard-Anodized ones I bought at Kohls last year. I really have had great experiences with these skillets and have yet to be disappointed in my purchase. The heat distribution and conductivity is absolutely superb. I definitely recommend them to everyone who wants to produce high-quality foods.

Great Recipes Are Not Always Easy To Create.

Wusthof Classic PEtec Chef's Knife, 10" (Google Affiliate Ad)

Entering into the world of culinary experimentation can be a mind boggling ordeal.  Inventing great recipes can seem difficult at times but if you follow your intuition, coming up with the right combination of ingredients can be exciting and will always fill you with a great sense of pride and accomplishment. The main thing one must remember when designing and preparing a new dish is: would you want to eat it? I know that this question seems pretty basic and a person would think that it is just common sense but we have all been served that dish that just tasted awful. In our minds we wonder, “How in the world did this person mess up such a potentially awesome creation?” It just goes to show you that not everyone realizes how to follow their taste buds when attempting to cook a great meal. It is one thing to mess up a few times when experimenting at home, it is quite another to serve someone a terrible dish.

Le Creuset 7-Piece Utensil Set with Enameled Stoneware Crock - Cherry (Google Affiliate Ad)

So what exactly constitutes a great recipe? A good chef never needs to measure their ingredients. When you have been inventing recipes for long enough, you begin to develop an eye for how much of each ingredient is necessary for each dish. You will eventually figure out how to eyeball all of your ingredients. For now I would stick to the basics of measurements. If you are just beginning to create your own recipes, I would suggest you find foods you enjoy and learn what ingredients are necessary for each. Start experimenting with different variations of the ingredients and keep a written record of your efforts until you find that one great recipe that you can truly be proud of.

The Recipe of the Week

Batinni is one of those dishes that makes you wonder ‘out from under what rock did I just crawl?!’ It is a fabulous culinary experience, great for any occasion. 

Batinni (from the Philippines)
Serves 5-6               *Cook chicken and pork the day before or the morning of the dinner to remove fat.
pork chops	4 medium-size	Cook together with just enough water to cover, until meat falls from bones. Refrigerate broth to allow fat to congeal. Chop pork and chicken finely. Mix well.
whole chicken breasts	3, including skin
lemon	for 3 tbsp juice	Combine. Add to chopped meats and blend well. Set aside.
soy sauce	3 Tbsp
rice sticks	1 pound	Remove fat from broth. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Add rice sticks. Allow to stand so rice will absorb broth.
medium onion	1, chopped	Sauté vegetables in large hot pan, stirring constantly, until just tender. Add broth as needed to prevent sticking. Add carrot, primarily for color. When vegetables are tender, **season. Add meat and toss lightly to combine. Add rice sticks and toss gently with 2 forks. Keep in pan just long enough to heat. Transfer to a warm serving dish.
celery	2 stalks, chopped
cabbage	3 pounds, sliced fine
carrot	1, grated
**salt/pepper	to taste
Serve with soy sauce and fresh lemon wedges on the table. A complete meal with a salad and fruit added. *You may use skinless chicken and remove all fat from chops if you can’t prepare the broth one day ahead, or the morning of the day the dish will be served.  **Add red pepper flakes and/or other spices (ex: cinnamon, nutmeg) according to your taste.

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