Who doesn’t love comfort food? Comfort food makes you feel great, but why? Maybe, it reminds you of your childhood and eating delicious meals with your family after an afternoon of playing with your friends.

What are the nations top comfort foods? Here is a list of the Top 25 Comfort Foods: Apple Pie, Baked Beans, Banana Pudding, Beef Stew, Brisket Pot Roast, Chicken & Dumplings, Chicken Pot Pie, Chicken Soup, Chili, Chocolate Chip Cookies, Corn on the Cob, Fried Chicken, Gelatin, Green Bean Casserole, Hot Dogs, Ice Cream, Macaroni & Cheese, Mashed Potatoes, Meatloaf, Potato Salad, Pumpkin Pie, Shepherd’s Pie, Spaghetti, Tomato Soup, and Tuna Casserole.

Now, this list contains a lot of foods that I’d never eat, but it is a good list of comfort foods. The one comfort food that seems to be missing is: Meat Lasagna. I don’t know anybody that dislikes a good meat lasagna. The ingredients are so delicious individually and when combined in a meat lasagna, it’s the ultimate comfort food.

Served with a slice of garlic bread, you’ll be full and happy in no time. You can substitute ground beef with ground turkey and you can add more cheese or less depending on what you prefer. You can also add red pepper flakes to give your meat lasagna a nice kick.

If you like eating leftovers for lunch the next day, lasagna is a great dinner. The great thing about lasagnas is that you can eat it for lunch the next day and it seems to just get better because the lasagna squares come together and the ingredients combine nicely.

If you are short on time, it is surprisingly easy and quick to make and it looks like you’ve been in the kitchen for hours. Also, with 1 large meat lasagna you can feed a family of 6, easily. And you’ll have plenty to spare for the next day.

So, what are you waiting for? Grab your ingredients and get in the kitchen, immediately!

Tags : Cooking

Each year, many people celebrate a lot of special occasions which can be really amazing, but the problem is, it can be sometimes hard to create a unique party that people will remember. You may wonder as to how you can achieve in making a party worthy of praise. Well, one great way is by having a fresh lobster on your list of meals to be served.

There are countless of reasons why a fresh lobster is the answer to your problem. First of all, it is considered as one of the most interesting delicacies available in the market. Lobsters are one of the worlds most well-known and favorite treats because it is the finest in terms of taste in all the seafood out there.

Every feature of lobsters is the perfect focus for all the special events that you can think of. From holidays to birthdays to anniversaries to family or personal gatherings to any other event that you may wish to celebrate, it can be emphasized with fresh lobster. You can be assured that your party will be a hit.

With a fresh lobster, you can transform a simple mealtime into a wonderful event and through this, you can make memories worth reminiscing. Whatever event that you are about to plan, that can be something enjoyable and can be considered as a cherished moment. Simply put, there is something about this delicacy which is hard to explain, but is certainly beyond compare.

Furthermore, even if there are no future events lined up in your itinerary, a fresh lobster can still be enjoyed any day of the week since it has always been the most excellent way to indulge your appetite. Every mouth-watering bite will definitely make you happy and be considered your finest delicacy, regardless if you are dining on your own or with your family or friends.

Even if you are making preparations for a huge event or just a small, private candle-lit dinner with your loved one, fresh lobster will definitely make it a truly memorable day. The mood that fresh lobster can create and bring is only second to the pleasure that your taste buds will experience.

Are you still curious about a fresh lobster? Then why not try it and see for yourself? You will be surprised at how this delectable treat is going to be the main attraction at the party you are hosting. As stated earlier, parties should always make memories that are worth reminiscing. It would be nice to see your family and friends savoring the moment and enjoying the fresh lobsters extremely delicious taste, right?

Tags : Cooking

There are many great waffle makers on the market today, but there are also many different price ranges. Depending on how much you want to spend and your intentions for use, different models will come out as your top picks. Consider the following tips as guidance on picking one that will suite your needs and deliver perfectly golden waffles for years to come.

Watts of Power: Any kitchen appliance with a heating element will have more capabilities with more power. Lower priced models tend to have lower watts of power, which limits their cooking abilities. For a small household or someone who makes waffles only occasionally, these lower watt models may be perfect.

For those who want to make larger batches of waffles or who will use the machine all the time, a higher watt model will be more suitable.

Capacity of the model is another concern. You can find very small models that only make a couple waffles at a time as well as very large professional models that will make large batches at a time. The size of your family or number of people you will often be serving at one time will determine which capacity you need.

Shape: Are you looking for a particular shaped waffle? If so, then make sure to look around and see all of your options before making a final purchase. Most models today come in a standard square shape, but you can find round models and even a traditional heart shaped waffle.

Price: You can go into a local store and pick up a very basic waffle maker for less than twenty bucks or you can purchase them online for well over a hundred bucks. Most consumers will go for something that falls in the mid-range, around thirty to fifty bucks.

There is one good old rule of shopping that applies here: you get what you pay for. If you spring for a top of the line professional quality waffle machine, you are guaranteed to produce more waffles and better waffles than you would with a twenty buck machine you bought down the street. Yet, do you really need that level of an appliance in you home?

In order to determine the best waffle makers for your needs, keep all of the above factors in mind. Give your own answers according to your own needs, and then look online for models that meet all of those needs. For most people, there will be suitable models from a variety of different price ranges, which makes it easy to pick one according to your price range.

Tags : Cooking

Having an organic herbal garden is a pleasant way to have an always-ready, fresh supply of delicious kitchen supplies at the ready. Your guests and family will be impressed by the fresh herbs, as well as the beautiful effect of the plants growing on your balcony or in your kitchen.

By growing organic herbs indoors, you will be able to enjoy out-of-season delicacies and not worry about a sudden spell of cold ruining your crop. Another great advantage is that you won’t need a huge amount of space; just a few pots will allow you to improve your cooking with fresh and free produce.

There are very few herbs that cannot be grown organically indoors, so rather than thinking about herbs to avoid you should focus on the plants that will go well together. It is great to have an organic garden theme!

If you like Italian herbs, go for rosemary, chives, capers, oregano, fennel and basil. Burnished earthen pots will make your garden look authentically Italian. If on the other hand you are a fan of French and Provencal aromas plant lots of parsley, sage, lemon basil, marjoram.

As for the pots, you need to make sure that the ones you get are right for the herbs you want. Not all herbs are suitable to all kinds of containers. Specifically, for some plants you need a pot with a minimum size.

It is generally better to choose slightly larger pots, since as a result you will end up with more of the same herb and will thus be able to use it more often. Forget about any tiny pots you may find in a supermarket, and start on the right footing with dome decent containers acquired from a specialist gardening shop.

Bigger pots will give your plants room to grow, and will mean that you will have more herbs at your disposal. The result? Healthier and more flavorsome dishes! And when a herb outgrows its pot, transplant it.

Of course, organic herbal gardening indoors calls for using organic soil. Your soil should have a pH of about 7, as herbs prefer a more alkaline soil. If yours is too acid, you can add some calcified seaweed. Make sure that only organic fertilizers make it into your soil.

In most cases, available natural lighting will be enough, although some growers may want to try out electric growing bulbs. But in normal circumstances, these won’t be needed. Check if your chosen plants prefer sun or shade, and then place the sun-lovers on a south-facing window. The others should go where there is plenty indirect sunlight.

Make it a habit to regularly tend your organic herbal garden, and you will find that your food will improve much at little expense, and also that you will have brought a piece of nature to your home.

Tags : Cooking

Every pantry is stocked full of non-perishable staple items that do not go bad that we buy for those rare occasions when we need them in a recipe. For most people, the pantry is full of non-perishable items, canned goods and other food stuffs, and those food stuffs go mostly unused and dormant. Don’t let your pantry food staples go to waste. Cupboard kitchen staples are inexpensive and delicious and don’t deserve to stand idle in culinary purgatory. Kitchen staples can have some unique culinary applications. Follow these tips to learn how to add new and interesting touches to your meals with everyday kitchen staples.

Peanut Butter: In almost every pantry is a half-eaten jar of peanut butter. This cupboard staple is creamy and delicious, but most people only use peanut butter for sandwiches and dessert. The rich creaminess of peanut butter is also great in savory applications. Try using peanut butter to your next stir fry to give it a Thai-inspired flavor. Use peanut butter to make a peanut sauce that tastes great with pasta and vegetables.

Soy Sauce: Almost every East Asian dish calls for soy sauce. Soy sauce adds a nutty, salty taste to any dish, but most people only cook with soy sauce when cooking an Asian-style dish. However, soy sauce is a versatile ingredient that can work well in many recipes. Experiment and use soy sauce instead of salt in your favorite recipes to add some depth to the dish. In particular, soy sauce tastes great in barbecue sauces.

Almonds: As with most other nuts, most people only get almonds to snack on or for a dessert recipe. Almonds can be ground up into almond flour, a protein-rich and gluten-free alternative to regular flour. You can also blend up almonds with water to create almond milk, a delicious beverage that is a fantastic alternative to regular milk.

Bisquick: Originally intended for biscuits, Bisquick is used by many home cooks as the base to make pancakes. Bisquick has a wide variety of uses outside of just pancakes and biscuits. Use Bisquick as part of the dry ingredients for a wide variety of dessert recipes, from cakes and pies to muffins and tarts. Bisquick works great in casseroles too.

Cashews: As is the case with almonds and other nuts, cashews have a wide array of uses, but most only use them in the occasional dessert. Besides being a delicious out-of-hand snack, cashews add a nice crunchiness to vegetable dishes like a stir fry, a pasta dish or a casserole. Additionally, you can blend cashews in a food processor to create cashew butter, a spread similar to peanut butter.

Cocoa Powder: This rich chocolate powder only gets used in most kitchens to add a bit of flavor to the occasional dessert. Do not let the powerful chocolate flavor cocoa powder provides to go to waste. Use cocoa powder as part of a homemade hot chocolate mix. It also works particularly well in spicy applications, lending a bittersweet note to spicy recipes. Use cocoa powder to make an authentic mole sauce. Add cocoa powder to your favorite chili recipe.

Tags : Cooking