Tuesday 24 June 2014

Sunday Brunch And Grilled Pork Chops Are Perfect For This Summer Season

Summer is already knocking on the door and my family has already taken out their surfing board, swimming costumes, BBQ grills etc. Every weekend we plan for something and go out. I think this is the perfect season to get yourself indulge in some outdoor activities.

This is also the perfect season to hold backyard family Sunday brunches. My husband has a huge family. I mean like 5 brothers and 3 sisters so, whenever we have a backyard Sunday lunch the house becomes so noisy which is actually fun.

We really like to spend some time with the family and that is the reason we pick the dishes which can be cooked in the garden. We marinate and prepare the seasoning the night before, so that we have enough time to spend with our loved once.

Grilled pork chop is our family favorite. Everyone in my family likes this recipe and hence, I am sharing this recipe with you all today. My family likes some extra sauce to go with the chop, you can create the amount of sauce as per your requirement. Let’s start grilling. 


Ingredients-
  • 2 large bone-in pork chops
  • ½ a cup balsamic vinegar
  • 2 garlic gloves (finely chopped)
  • 2 tbsp. of olive oil
  • Salt to taste

Monday 16 June 2014

Five Different Variants of Our Humble Pumpkin Soup

Pumpkin soup is one of the dishes which can be served in any occasion. I mean it is hit for the party and for a nice quite family dinner. What more, pumpkin soup is a hero during Halloween time. There is no hard and fast rule for making pumpkin soup however, so many variants of pumpkin soup are available online and otherwise.

I like to experiment with my pumpkin soup and over a period of time, I have got a great understanding of the flavour which go well with pumpkin. Cold and hot, both the variants are available in this soup. You can pick as per the season. I mean, hot-creamy pumpkin soup can be delight to have in a harsh winter evening. 

Friday 13 June 2014

Easy Chilli Recipe - Beginners Can Also Cook This Easily

Everyone likes to eat chilli but most of us gets overwhelm when we read the recipe of this dish or when we see it online. However, it is actually easy to cook this dish. All you have to do is to find some easy alternatives to cook this dish and you are good to go.

In this post, I will be sharing a very easy chilli recipe which even a beginner can cook without any help and hassle. Let’s do all the talking later and start cooking. I hope you all are wearing your aprons.


Ingredients-
  1. 500 grams ground beef (minced)
  2. 2 big onions (red)
  3. 2 bell peppers (these are optional however, they give amazing flavor to the dish. Any color)
  4. 1 tin of kidney beans
  5. 2 tbsp. of tomato ketchup
  6. Cooking oil (any vegetable oil)
  7. 1 tin of tomatoes
  8. Salt & pepper as per taste
  9. Beef stock cube
  10. 1 tbsp. of chilli paste
  11. Coriander and cheese (for garnishing)
Method-
  1. Take a heavy base pan and heat oil in that. Once the oil is heated, put the beef in the pan and cook it for about 10 minutes on the medium heat. Stir continuously and keep breaking the beef.
  2. Drain the excess fat from the cooked beef and now add chopped onions and peppers in the same pan and keep cooking.
  3. Now add the tomatoes with the sauce and kidney beans (drained) in the pan. Make sure that you are stirring the mixture continuously and cooking it in a medium heat.
  4. After 5-10 minutes, add the stock cube to the pan and if needed add some water as well.
  5. Season this well with chilli paste & pepper (my stock cube has salt and that’s why I don’t put salt, you can check your stock cube for the same)
  6. Cook this mixture for about 30-40 minutes. Keep checking the pan for the right consistency as burns.
  7. Garnish them with coriander, cheese or just with green chilies.
  8. Serve it hot!!
So, you see it’s actually not very difficult to cook this dish. All you have to do is to make sure that you are using all your ingredients effectively. It is true that this dish takes about an hour and a half to cook but once it is cooked, no one can resist the taste of this dish.

I cook this dish in abundance because I also like to have this as a leftover for the next day. You can also adjust the hotness of this dish as per your liking. I do not like my dish too hot and hence, I do not use any chilli flakes etc. You are free to use all of them. Happy cooking!!

Thursday 12 June 2014

A to Z- Information about Margarine

Lots of people talks about the benefits of healthy margarine, some talks about the ill-effects of margarine but no one really knows about how the margarine was invented and how it became the household name of twentieth century.

To begin with, the production of margarine was started in 1860’s when napoleon asked the people to find the substitute for butter as during the war time it was impossible for the soldiers to produce the butter but it was necessary for them in terms of nutrition. Margarine is made from the vegetable oil unlike the butter which is churned out of milk.

Margarine is the combination of 2 or more oils churned together. The most common type of oils are corn and soybean oil which are used in margarine production. The best benefit of margarine is that it has less fat and carbohydrates. It is rich is good cholesterol which is required by the human body in order to function properly.

Surprisingly, one ounce of margarine can fulfil up to 35% of your body’s daily Vitamin K’s requirement along with the 20% of your daily requirement of vitamin A. most of the margarines have 80% of fat. It is the combination of saturated and unsaturated fats. The margarines which are made from coconut and palm oil have higher saturated fats in comparison to the margarines made from canola and sunflower oils.

Margarine contains omega-3 acids, these acids have proven results in lowering the cholesterol level in human body. They also reduce the inflammation. Some of the margarine companies also add flax seed oil and fish oil while production in order to increase the amount of omega-3 acids.

These days market is filled with different different types of margarine and one can purchase the margarine tub as per their choice and body requirement. There are so many people who are now convinced with the fact that margarine is better than butter as it contains less fats and higher omega-3 acids.

People are now openly accepting margarine as part of their recipes because it does not only provide better taste to the food but it is also little and less fatty in comparison to the butter. For baking, no other oil or spread can beat margarine because it brings that golden and crispy texture to the food which is to die for.

Lots of bakers are swearing these days by the magic of margarine. The margarine provide the puffiness to the food without making it too heavy and dense. Even internet these days are filled with the amazing recipes which can be created with margarine.

I sincerely hope that through this article, I will be able to bust some of the myths which are revolving around margarine.

Tuesday 3 June 2014

Summer Chicken Salad – Simple Chicken Pasta Salad Recipe

Summer and salads always goes hand in hand. They are cold, easy to digest and more importantly- healthy. But personally we all avoid salads even kids don’t like it. However, when it comes to pasta salads, the picture changes completely to its new horizon. Everyone loves it.

If we talk about Italian cuisines, pasta recipes are most accepted recipe after pizzas. There are plenty of pasta recipes. Amongst this, pasta salads are the favorite summer food of many of the people. And when it is served with barbecued meat and vegetables, you have always seen people going for the second serving too. Typically it got legumes, vegetables, seafood, chicken, nuts, herbs and spices etc. There are so many types of recipes that you can try with this salad recipe. However, Chicken Pasta Salad is the one which is loved by all from kids to adults.

Chicken pasta salad is a complete meal by itself. It got chicken, veggies and pasta. But traditionally, pasta salads are served cold. So, if you like to eat chilled food than you can have a bowlful of this recipe and can stay satisfied for long. This salad is often tossed in a vinegar, oil or mayonnaise-based dressing. And it can be served as both as an appetizer and a main course. 

You can also give this to your kids in their lunch and they don’t even need to reheat the stuff as it’s absolutely scrumptious even if it’s cold. You can also store this recipe for few days in the refrigerator. Stocking such easy recipes always save time and energy. And it is helpful when you just don’t feel like cooking at all. Just take it out from the refrigerator and dig in to. 

One should remember, the main elements of a pasta salad should be oily in character, not vinegary. This is important because most deli pasta salads have an edgy quality that only comes from a bland vinaigrette. One of the most important tip one should remember while boiling the pasta noodles that it should not be over cooked, always refer the directions given over the package. When you start making the pasta salads always start with dried pasta (not fresh). If you are using fresh pasta, cook them off quickly after rinsing them in cold water in a colander and toss noodles in olive oil and lay them in a single layer on a sheet pan, and cool them in the fridge.