Food Tips and Talk

This video blew my mind. Can’t wait to try it as soon as I have to peel garlic.

How to Peel A Head of Garlic

I will likely modify this by only using as many cloves as needed and using smaller bowls.

I love to cook from scratch however, there are times when I just don’t feel like cooking or I’m too busy or not available to prepare a meal for my family. That’s when I rely on Trader Joe’s amazing frozen food section. What I especially love is that Trader Joe’s is fanatical about ensuring organic and quality ingredients in their frozen fare.

Most of their prepared foods can be heated in the microwave for even more convenience. I recommend cooking everything in the oven or on the stove for best results, except where indicated.

Some of you are lucky enough to have a Trader Joe’s in your city. This list is for you.

what I’ve found to be delicious heat & serve food from Trader Joes:

– Chicken and Turkey Pot Pies (the best ever!)
– Orange chicken (in a bag)
– Chicken Quesadillas
– Macaroni & Cheese – Good microwaved
– Apple Pie and pretty much all their frozen desserts
– Fettuccini Alfredo (in a bag) – Good microwaved
– Fettuccini with mushroom sauce (in a bag) Good microwaved
– Ham & Cheese Pastry Puffs
– Caramelized Onion Pastry Puffs
– Reduced guilt Baked Ziti – good microwaved
– All their frozen pizzas are delicious.

Other Trader Joe’s finds (not frozen) worth trying:

– Supreme Brie (Always delicious)
– Delice de Borgonion (sp?!) soft cheese (OMG good!)
– Steel Cut Organic Oatmeal
– 3 Pack of Sweet Bell Peppers (Orange, Red and Yellow) – great sliced for snacks or as an easy dinner veggie!
– Plastic container of organic fresh basil (the exact amount to make pesto for a pound of pasta!)
– Packaged French Green Beans (the only green beans I’ll eat).
– Organic Peanut Butter
– Prosecco (Dry Italian champagne – not Asti Spumanti)

I’ll add new finds as I come across them. Please add your Trader Joe’s favorites to this thread!

De Cecco Pasta

De Cecco Pasta

You will notice that all my pasta recipes call for De Cecco pasta of one type or another. This is because I’ve tried almost every type of pasta available for consumption and De Cecco has always delivered the very best pasta experience, flavor and texture.

Do yourself a favor and use De Cecco pasta when cooking Italian. You’ll notice a difference!

Buy De Cecco pasta online if you can’t find it in your local grocery stores.

Pasta Cooking Tips

– I always use De Cecco pasta. It makes a big difference in texture and taste.

– Use a large pot capable of holding 1 quart of water per 3 1/2 oz of pasta.

– Bring water to a rolling boil, then add salt ( 3 Tbs. salt per 1 quart of water.)

– Add  the pasta to the water plus a few drops of any cooking oil (prevents pasta from sticking together and prevents water from boiling over). Stir pasta right away with a wooden spoon or a pasta fork and also stir occasionally during the cooking process. I typically taste test a piece of pasta close to the cooking time suggested on the package to ensure it is not overcooked which is pure sacrilege in Italian cooking  .

– When the pasta is cooked al dente, drain immediately in a colander. For recipes that indicate adding some pasta water to the sauce, do not drain pasta completely. Otherwise, shake and drain all the water from the cooked pasta and transfer to a serving dish.

– Add sauce immediately and stir to coat all pasta. If the pasta is going to sit for any length of time before adding the sauce or toppings, drizzle with olive oil and mix to coat evenly.

I try to use fresh herbs whenever possible. Fresh garlic is a must and I would never recommend or use bottled  crushed garlic. It’s just not as good as fresh and certainly not as healthy and I use organic whenever I can find it.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil will absolutely make your food taste better – use it

Some of the spices and seasonings I use regularly (other than salt & pepper) and you will need for my recipes:

Seasonings:

Lawry’s Seasoned Salt
Lawry’s Garlic Salt

Fresh garlic
Fresh onions
Fresh basil
Fresh parsley

Essential spices to have on hand

Bay Leaves
Beau Monde
Cayenne
Chili Powder
Cinnamon
Onion Powder
Oregano
Red Pepper Flakes
Rosemary
Tarragon
Thyme

I don’t ever recommend forcing a child to eat anything they find distasteful, whether just because it grosses them out or because they genuinely don’t like the taste.

I do ask that my kids at least try something new so they’ll know for future reference if they like it. Works really well and my kids eat a lot of foods most other kids would shriek about. This has worked with their friends, too.

It’s especially gratifying with the kids who are “picky” eaters … they usually always find something to eat at our home that they’d never dreamed of eating and they like it. They get the same rap as my daughters: “Just try it … you can spit it out and you don’t have to like or eat anything that doesn’t taste good to you …”

Welcome to Cooking with Rexanne!

I’m excited to bring my recipes, food and cooking love to you. Cooking with love really does make a difference. If you have love in your heart while you’re chopping, dicing, mashing, sauteing, frying or whatever you’re doing to the food you’re cooking, it will taste better, I promise.

I love to cook so it’s easy for me to say.

For those of you who don’t love to cook and are here for a recipe or an idea of what to serve your family for breakfast, lunch or dinner, you’ll find plenty of delicious and original recipes on this site. Each recipe is tried and true. All you have to do is follow the instructions and you’ll be fine. Cooking a good meal is just as easy as putting your kid’s first bike together. Easy, with instructions and the proper tools.

Speaking of the proper tools … there are certain kitchen utensils  that will make cooking a whole lot easier. Those will be listed in the “Kitchen Drawer” category on the right. Good pots, pans and bake ware are also an essential part of a good cook’s arsenal. Those you’ll find in the “Kitchen Cabinet” category. If I talk about an item, it will typically be linked to in the post and that link will lead you to the product, its description and uses and a link to buy said item. This will all take some time to put together but I plan on spending a lot of time filling these pages with delicious fabulousness so  bookmark this site, check back often or follow us on Facebook and Twitter for updates on when a new recipe or post is made.

Please feel free to comment, leave me a message, ask a question and generally just make yourself at home.

If I could put out snacks and beverages, I would but I can’t so grab a cuppa whatever you love, a snack to keep you from wanting to eat your screen and happy reading.

With Love and Peace,

Rexanne
Cooking With Rexanne