Who would know how to organize recipes better than someone who cooks for a living? Here are some tips from top chefs around the country on organizing recipes and tips to keep your kitchen in tip top shape.

Martha Stewart recommends keeping recipes safe by placing them in laminated cards and then storing them in a loose leaf binder. The laminated surface keeps the recipe card clean and dry and the binder keeps it securely in place when you need it.

Paula Deen, the cooking dynamo from the South, says to keep the kitchen clean and organized with those things you use most often close at hand, like a recipe box for recipe cards or a book stand on the kitchen counter so you can follow your favorite recipe without losing your place. If you are short of counter space why not look for a stand that is mounted under your upper cabinet.

Then there is the ever popular recipe organizing suggestion voiced by several celebrity chefs over the years.  Gather the recipes that are special to you and your family and then compile a family cookbook filled with recipes for the foods that bring comfort and a sense of well-being to the ones you love.

And while you are collecting those favorite recipes take a hint from Food Network Chef Melissa D’Arabian and figure the cost of your family’s favorite meals. This will help identify the more expensive ingredients so that you can save money by getting organized and stocking up when they’re on sale.

You may not have their experience but lucky for you they are willing to share the lessons they’ve learned over the years. Recipes on cards, in binders or file boxes are only a few examples of how to organize recipes given by some of the most famous TV celebrity chefs of our generation. Don’t forget you could also save on clutter and use an online recipe organizer.

Of course, such wonderful pleasures are nothing without the Keurig My K Cup Reusable Coffee Filter in Keurig home brewers B40 Elite, B50 Ultra, and B60 Special Edition. Nescafé Dolce Gusto Cup emits its fullest flavors only when you use the perfect home brewing system with it.

When drinking coffee, we always wish to have the best cup at hand which is why coffee shops have emerged and flourished in almost all cities world wide. Drinking coffee every morning along the years, have become a tradition to a great number of people all over the earth which is why Nescafe Dolce Gusto and Keurig home brewers have created the ultimate products for all coffee enthusiasts.

Nescafe Dolce Gusto cups have different varieties and every single choice is the perfect one. For the coffee lovers, it will be a joy to have a collection of the numerous Nescafe Dolce Gusto cups to come along with you is your B40 Elite Keurig brewer with Keurig My K Cup Reusable Coffee Filter. All coffee goodness will come to you any time with this powerful coffee brewing combination.

Awesome varieties of Nescafe Dolce Gusto cups include the traditional espresso, latte macchiato, cappuccino ice, café Americano, café grande, and chococino. There are other delicious coffee varieties as well so check out the Nescafe Dolce Gusto Cups site to complete your coffee collection.

Never forget that the Nescafe Dolcge Gusto Cups are better brewed and served when using Keurig My K Cup Reusable Coffee Filter attached to any of the Keurig home brewers previously mentioned above.

Salsa Verde Recipe

Salsa verde or green sauce is one of the basic salsas in the Mexican kitchen. It is a tangy combination of tomatillos, which are similar to green tomatoes, green chilis, onion, cilantro and garlic.

Ingredients:
2 pounds of tomatillos
1 large white onion
4 serrano chilis
4 cloves of garlic
1 handful of cilantro

How to Prepare:
Remove the papery husks from the tomatillos and rinse them under cold water to remove the stickiness. With the tip of a knife remove where the woody part of the tomatillo where the stem attaches. Quarter the onion.

In a large skillet over medium high heat, grill the tomatillos, onion, and garlic until they are blackened.

Put the blackened vegetables and cilantro in a large in a large pot and add just enough water to cover them. Bring to a boil them lower to a simmer and simmer for 30 minutes.

In batches, blend the cooked salsa until smooth but not liquified. You want the salsa to retain some texture.

Return the blended salsa to your pot and simmer for another 30 minutes. Add salt to taste. If the salsa becomes too thick add water 1/2 cup at a time until it has the desired consistency.

This is a hot salsa. You can adjust the spiciness of the salsa by reducing the number of chilis that you put in. You can even omit them if you don’t care for them. The salsa will still taste great.

This is a salsa that you can make in large batches and freeze for later use. Freezing it doesn’t harm the taste or texture in fact it probably makes it even better because the flavors have more time to marry.

This is another excellent salsa verde recipe that you will enjoy making. Salsa verde is great on enchiladas, chilaquiles, tacos, and homemade tortilla chips.

There are many ways to enjoy coffee, be it brewed, instant, or bought in popular coffee shops. Then there is also the increasingly popular K Cups, which is a single serve brewing system. It is probably made popular by the large coffee company Keurig. It is designed for quickly brewing a single cup of coffee, in whatever flavor the drinker might want it. The system is perfect for the individual drinker who wants to have his coffee fast and hot off the coffee making machine. And adding to all of that is the availability in many different flavors of K Cups. The
best tasting K Cups are probably left to the individual tastes of the coffee drinkers, but such popular flavors as Jamaican Blue Mountain and Café La Semeuse are in high demand.

I have been writing over the Internet for the past six years about a variety of topics, but mostly about the home and women’s lifestyle. My first online article was about wedding hairstyles half up, and since then I have written continuously for my personal blog and different sites across the web.

It may surprise you to know that the wrong choice of smoothie maker could end up actually causing illness.

When you want a new smoothie maker you will more than likely be looking for one that is shatter proof, durable and transparent – all things we associate with plastics rather than glass. Plastics need to be made this way by chemical processing including softening.

The plastics used to make jars and containers for foods are often brittle and hard to begin so manufacturers soften them during production to make them durable, pliable and less likely to shatter or break during use. A very useful set of often-used chemicals is a group called phthalates. They are also used to make your blender jars transparent so you can see the contents clearly.

Bisphenol A otherwise known as BPA is another chemical commonly used in making plastics. In this case it is used for creating plastic resins for making baby bottles, lining food containers, and making plastic jars, plastic lenses and dental and medical equipment.

These chemicals are obviously very useful; unfortunately they tend to break down into other substances that have been found to leak from the plastic product into whatever content they are holding. So if they were used to make your smoothie blender they will most likely contaminate your smoothies; with harmful results especially to children. Some of these harmful effects include Diabetes, hormonal changes, autism and birth defects as well as late onset diabetes.

Many countries have chosen to safeguard their citizens by banning the use of BPA in plastic manufacture. You may therefore want to keep your family and especially your children safe by exchanging your smoothie blender for a BPA free one.

Several manufacturers now make both BPA produced and BPA free smoothie makers. You may want to consider buying one of the latter or replacing your current blender with an excellent BPA free one such as the Cuisinart CBT-1000 if you wish to ensure your family are kept safe and healthy.

My favorite flavor is the Mighty Leaf Orange Dulce Tea.  It is just such a tasty treat for the late afternoon.  Orange Dulce means sweet orange and that’s exactly what this blend of high quality tea tastes like.  Add a little bit of milk and sugar and you have yourself a nice little slice of heaven.  The silk tea pouches really allow the flavor of this tea to live a little more than out of a standard tea bag.  Another flavor you may enjoy (and that I definitely enjoy) is the Bombay Chai.  In India, the word Chai simply means “tea,” which shows you how basic this black tea can seem to be.  But the Mighty Leaf Tea Bombay Chai is definitely not simple.  It is a black tea with a lot of exotic spice and flavor.  Add a little honey to taste and some cream and you are on your way.

A third flavor I really enjoy is the Mighty Leaf Ginger Twist.  As the name implies, this tea is slightly potent and citrusy.  It has the strong taste of ginger, but only in moderation (which really is the name of the game with Mighty Leaf).  This is an interesting tasting tea that is good for late evening.  It’s flavored with lemongrass, mint, tropical fruits, and a little bit of ginseng.

Most people think that cheap and healthy recipes do not go hand in hand. Fortunately they are wrong. You can find all kinds of ways to make easy low carb chicken recipes that are healthy and cheap. Most people reach for boneless skinless chicken breasts at the grocery store, which are the most expensive part of the chicken, instead if you reach for the whole chicken, which is usually cheaper per pound, you get more meat out of the chicken then you would just the chicken breast.

Now when you think of a whole chicken that means skin and all but to make it healthier you need to remove the skin before serving it.  That maybe a little harder on some areas than others but if you are really trying to watch your waistline and your budget this would be the best thing to do. A good tip: try removing the skin while the chicken is still hot. Do not wait until the next day to do it as the skin has shrunk and not as moveable as it was when the chicken is hot.

The great thing about a whole chicken is there are many recipes you can make using it by either roasting it or grilling the chicken. I like to make a couple of roast chickens on Sunday that way I have dinner and then lunch for a couple of days at work which saves me money and time. If you really want to save money keep an eye on your local grocery ads. When the whole chicken is on sale, stock up and remember to freeze your chicken so it will not go bad in the fridge. Chicken can last into the freezer for up to 9 months so pack that sucker full for quick and easy dinners with your chicken.

Just because I own a Boston Hair salon, and perfected hair extensions installation doesn’t mean I can’t cook. How can something so simple be so hard to make? My friends and family rave over my meatballs and sauce. They are very easy and practice makes perfect. I am first generation Italian and learned this recipe in Naples, Italy years ago.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. ground sirloin preferably 20% fat
• 2 eggs per pound of ground sirloin
• fresh chopped parsley
• 3 handfulls of Italian Seasoned breadcrumbs
• 3 handfulls of pecorino romano cheese
• 1/4 cup milk
• Salt and pepper to taste.
• 1. cup olive oil
• 5 cloves garlic

Preparation

In a large bowl place your ground sirloin and add your milk. Carefully mix. In a separate bowl combine your eggs, fresh parsley, pecorino romano cheese, salt and pepper. Beat with a fork or egg beater (mix until fluffy).

Pour the egg mixture into the ground sirloin. With both hands, mix thoroughly until the meat and mixture are fully mixed together. Add your breadcrumbs. Continue to mix with both hands. Now the mixture should feel a little sticky, but light. Take mixture into your hand approximately the size of your hand. If you prefer larger or smaller you can adjust size. Roll the meat and be sure that you roll enough to form a perfect ball.

In a skillet heat the olive oil under med. high heat. My family does not like the garlic (even finely chopped) in the meatballs so I saute the garlic in the olive oil until the garlic is blonde in color. Remove garlic.

Carefully place the meatball in the skillet and do not over load the skillet (you may need to do this in a few rounds). Just saute the meatballs so the outside is golden brown. Do not cook all the way through if you plan to put them into tomato sauce.

Carefully remove the meatballs and set aside.

Tomato Sauce

• chopped onions
• 4 cans of Pastene Kitchen Ready canned tomatoes or tomatoes of your choice
• fresh basil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• toothpicks
• 1/2 cup raisins – Take the raisins and apply them onto the toothpicks. Prepare at least 5 toothpicks with raisins

Take the flavorful olive oil that you sauteed the meatballs. Strain with a fine strainer into a sauce pan. Add a bit more olive oil to cover the bottom of the sauce pan approx. 1/2 to 1 inch. On medium Heat add Onions. Cook onions until they are clear approx. 10 minutes. I remove the onion, but you can leave them in. Turn up the heat to medium high and add your canned tomatoes. You must have hot oil in order to infuse the flavored olive oil into the tomatoes. As you add the tomatoes be sure to stir with a wooden spoon. If the sauce appears too thick, add one to two cans of water. Add salt, fresh basil and raisins on toothpicks. The raisins will infuse a bit of sweetness to the sauce without being too sugary. Stir constantly and bring sauce to a boil at medium to high heat. Let the sauce boil and you will see the tomatoes plop. Boil for 1/2 hour or so.

Add meatballs and lower heat to a medium to low setting – look for a gentle rolling boil. Do not cover sauce because it will create a stew! Let the sauce cook for approximately 2 hours stirring occasionly.

Now you are ready to boil a pasta of your choice. I assure you the sauce will be flavorful, bold in color and a big hit

There are two types of coconut milk – thick and thin. Thick coconut milk is the first liquid that comes from squeezing coconut meat through cheesecloth. The meat is then soaked in warm water and squeezed again to produce thin coconut milk. Thick coconut milk is like cream and can be used for dry sauces and for desserts. Thin coconut milk is used for such savory dishes as soups and wet curries.

Unlike milk and other dairy products coconut milk does not go off quickly. It contains antioxidants that prevent it going rancid. These antioxidants are also useful for the body to prevent the formation of free radicals that cause aging.

Coconut milk has a saturated fat content of about 17%. This saturated fat, however, is not bad for you because it is composed of lauric acid, a medium chain fatty acid. Medium chain fatty acids are easier for the body to break down and convert to energy. Coconut milk can be used as an energy drink and also as a medicine to keep the balance of cholesterol in the body correct and avoid hyperlipidemia – a lipid disorder that causes heart disease and strokes.

Moreover, lauric acid is also antimicrobial and anti-protozoal. Coconut milk can be used as a health supplement to protect the body against viruses and infections.

Finally, coconut milk can be used in the same way as cream, milk and yoghurt. It is a delicious substitute for dairy products for those with allergies. It contains high levels of vitamins and minerals especially calcium and is great for growing children.

Coconut milk is an inexpensive, natural product that can be used in a number of ways for cooking and for staying healthy. For this reason it is sometimes described as a ‘functional food’.

He had always used a charcoal grill but figured it was time to modernize by sorting through the huge number of grill choices available and choosing a good fit for his needs – simple, adequate, efficient and portable.

If you are looking for something similar, this may help you make up your mind. After evaluating several, he finally decided to buy the Weber Propane Q100 portable gas grill.

He could have purchased one with more features (and for lots more money) but felt this one had the best balance between features, cost and overall value.

So what made us choose the Weber Q100 Gas Grill? Actually, he hadn’t quite made up his mind to go for a gas grill to start with, but as we went on he was easily convinced that compared to charcoal grills, they are easier to use, quicker to start and easy to operate. Once warm, with gas grills you get consistent heat production without as much attention to the flame and your food ends up more evenly grilled. Apart from this there is much less pollution and little or no smoke.

The Weber Q100 has just two controls; first is a simple push-button ignition – one push and the flame is on. The other is its burner valve control which you simply turn in fine steps to control exactly how much gas is supplied and how high the flames get. This model is an 8,500 BTU model so it certainly produces enough heat to make your barbecues a blast.

Regarding fuel, this gas grill uses propane fuel. It has the advantage that when you are out camping you can attach disposable liquid propane cylinders to it,  while when  you are home you can easily attach it to a 20lb propane tank using an adapter.

How durable is the Weber Q100? Well, it’s not completely made of stainless steel which we found the most expensive models are, but then who wants to lug lots of weight about while out camping? The Weber Q100’s burner is made of stainless steel but its attractive cooking grate is made of porcelain enameled cast-iron. This ensures that the heat from the burner radiates evenly and your food is evenly grilled.

With retractable handles on each side, moving it around is no trouble. You can get yourself a carrying case for traveling and a stand for when you want to set up your barbecue at home. The gas grill also features a removable drip pan below the unit so you don’t have much to clean when finished. It is certainly one piece of camping gear you wont want to forget on your next camping trip.

In terms of size, when open, the Weber Q100 portable propane grill has a cooking area of 189 sq.in., so it is sufficient to grill for a small gathering of people. It is also fairly portable at about 2ft high and 2.25ft. wide.

Essentially, this portable gas grill is an excellent, simple to use, portable and durable choice for both camping and home grilling without you having to pay a premium.