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Let's Dish: How Do You Organize Your Recipes?

YumSugar — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 08:00:13 -0700

From recipe card filing systems to customized innovations like the tastebook, there are many ways to organize recipes. Still, if you own more than a dozen cookbooks, keep some of your family's recipes on record, and have limited kitchen space, maintaining an organized cooking library can be tough.

I've always struggled to arrange my kitchen paperwork - treasured family recipes, cookbooks, personal creations, recipes I've come across online, and appliance instruction manuals - all in one place. The closest thing I have to a solution is a binder full of sheet protectors that are sorted by course, so that I can insert any printout, clip, handwritten recipe, or manual. It sits next to a shelf full of cookbooks with recipes that have been tabbed.

How about you? Have you found a recipe organizing solution that works for you? I'd love to hear about it!

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Do You Have Your Family Recipes?

YumSugar — Mon, 19 May 2008 07:45:31 -0700

Last week a few of us were talking about how difficult it is to get our parents' recipes. My mom and dad both tend to eyeball things, and when I ask them how much they usually say, "Eh, just a little, not too much."

Each time I go home, I watch my mom prepare dishes and take notes, sometimes even video. It's tedious, but I know that I now have those recipes in hand.

The family recipes mean a lot to me, and I was wondering how you felt about them. Are yours written down somewhere?

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Healthy Ways to Deal With Thanksgiving Leftovers

FitSugar — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 07:00:37 -0800

Thanksgiving never seems to be a one-day affair, at least not the food part. Properly stored, leftovers can last up to four days, beckoning you to eat more, more, and then some! This Thanksgiving, resist the urge to overindulge by finding healthier alternatives for your T-day leftovers. Here are a few of our ideas - share your own in the comments section below.

Get rid of them. Buy some inexpensive containers before your meal to pack up leftovers for guests and send friends and family home with the most decadent dishes.
Make a healthy salad. Turkey is packed full of protein and tastes great on a salad. Use leftover cranberry sauce to make a healthy dressing - mix a dab with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
Make a turkey curry. Turkey is great in a curry because it easily soaks up the flavors of a sauce. Try using turkey instead of the tofu in our Indian-Spiced Chard recipe.

For more healthy leftover ideas, read more.

Make turkey stock. I always like to have broth or stock on hand because it adds a ton of flavor to my cooking and can be the base of a variety of dishes. Storebought broth usually has a ton of added salt, so I think it's best to make your own. Save the carcass of the bird and break it up into a large stock pot, then add mirepoix, garlic, and savory herbs. Cover the entire mixture by at least two inches of water and let simmer for five hours. If the water level falls below the ingredients, add more liquid to the mix. Cool quickly, store in the refrigerator, or freeze.
Use turkey stock to make a delicious soup. Cut up any extra veggies you have leftover from your T-day meal or ingredients, add some barley or brown rice, throw it in your stock, and you've got a simple, tasty soup.
Puree leftover vegetables. Healthy vegetable side dishes are great to have after Thanksgiving, but give them new life and puree them. A veggie puree can be the base of a soup or pasta sauce. Veggie purees can also add moisture to baked goods.
Make an open-faced sandwich. Everybody loves the day after Thanksgiving sandwich. Make your sandwich healthier by only using one slice of bread.

Don't Forget to Share Your Thanksgiving Meal With Us!

YumSugar — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 15:00:32 -0800

Thanksgiving is only a heartbeat away and whether you're hosting a low-key, intimate gathering with close family or a giant fiesta with 100 of your friends, be sure to snap a few photos to share with us in the Savory Sights group in the YumSugar Community! From mobile-blogging to galleries, there's lots of ways to share pictures. If you end up with an amazingly good dish from an unbelievable recipe, please share that in the Kitchen Goddess group. Hope everyone has a successful day of cooking!

Will the Children Give Thanks at a Kiddie Table?

LilSugar — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 04:00:17 -0800

The children's table is a time honored holiday tradition for many families, born from the notion that adults will enjoy more stimulating dinner conversation and space with the children tucked away, and the lil ones will bond with their cousins and other wee folks at their own kiddie table. Will your children enjoy Turkey Day at a tot table?

Share the your holiday recipes for children at The Children's Table group over in the LilSugar Community. Your dishes could be featured on LilSugar!

Do Tell: What Are Your Favorite Thanksgiving Traditions?

TresSugar — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 08:00:13 -0800

Thanksgiving is almost here, and it might just be my favorite holiday. Every year my family gets together for a big party at my aunt's house. I always look forward to the classic food like turkey and mashed potatoes, but I also love the dishes specific to my family, like my mom's spicy jalapeno cranberry sauce or the creamed onions made according to my grandma's recipe. After dinner, we all head to the living room hoping to beat our food comas with a spirited game of charades.

These are the traditions that I will be looking forward to all week. What Thanksgiving traditions do you enjoy?

Reader Recipe: Powderhorn Potatoes

Yum Community — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 12:50:11 -0800

This story was written by member b1uebunn and comes from the Kitchen Goddess group in the YumSugar Community.Check out her family's Thanksgiving recipe when you read more

Thanksgiving Side Dish: Apple Squash

FitSugar — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 03:47:08 -0800

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays because I love all the warm, savory dishes. This one has been in my family for years and it's sweet, creamy, and has a crunchy topping that reminds me of homemade mac and cheese. It's easy to prepare ahead of time, and is a great alternative to mashed potatoes or stuffing.

To see the recipe and find out how many calories are in one serving read more.

Recipe for Apple Squash
a family recipe

Ingredients

Bottom layer:
4 Cortland apples, peeled and sliced
1 1/2 tablespoons Smart Balance margarine

Middle layer:
8 cups butternut squash (about two whole), peeled, de-seeded, and diced
2 tablespoons Smart Balance margarine
2 teaspoons brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Top layer:
2 cups fruit juice sweetened corn flakes, crushed
1/2 cup chopped pecans
2 teaspoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons Smart Balance margarine, melted

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350° F.
Heat two tablespoons of Smart Balance in a skillet and add the sliced apples. Cover and simmer for five minutes. Spread in bottom of a casserole dish.
Boil the butternut squash for 15 minutes.
Mash the squash with two tablespoons Smart Balance, two teaspoons brown sugar, salt, and pepper. Spread it on top of the apples.
Mix the two tablespoons of melted Smart Balance with the crushed corn flakes, two teaspoons brown sugar, and chopped pecans. Sprinkle on top of the squash.
Bake uncovered for 15 minutes. Serve warm and enjoy.

Makes 10 servings.

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Here's the nutritional info for this Thanksgiving apple squash.

Serving Size	1/10 of the dish
Calories	159.6
Total Fat	5.9 g
Saturated Fat	.6 g
Cholesterol	0 mg
Sodium	182.1 mg
Carbs	28.2 g
Fiber	3.9 g
Sugars	10.7 g
Protein	2.2 g

If you have a healthy recipe to share, please post it in the Healthy Recipe community group.

Fast & Easy Dinner: Hawaiian Skillet Chicken

partysugar — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 06:45:50 -0700

Make midweek meals more exciting by using ingredients that take your family on a culinary vacation. Unlike other exotic recipes, this one utilizes familiar, everyday components like brown sugar and soy sauce. You'll travel to the tropical paradise of Hawaii with this simple chicken dinner. The chicken is seared and topped with a flavorful pineapple sauce. To find the recipe please read more.

Hawaiian Skillet Chicken
From Mary King

Ingredients

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 1/2 pounds)
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup flour
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (canola, corn, peanut)
Hawaiian Sauce:
1 (8 ounce) can pineapple chunks, with juice
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon flour
rice, for serving

Directions

Remove tenderloin from chicken breast to allow it to cook evenly. Salt and pepper all of the chicken. Place flour on a plate and coat the chicken (including the tenderloins) on both sides with flour, pressing to make sure it adheres. Shake off excess flour.
In a large, heavy skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the chicken pieces to the skillet, without crowding the pan, work in batches and add more oil if necessary. Sauté chicken for 4 minutes, without moving, it will become nicely brown. Adjust the heat--up or down if needed. Turn the cutlets and continue to sauté for an additional 2 to 3 minutes until chicken is evenly browned and cooked throughout, (tenderloin pieces take less time, 2 minutes per side) Transfer the chicken to a plate and remove the skillet from the heat.
Add the pineapple with the juice, brown sugar, soy sauce, ginger, cloves, paprika and salt to the pan. Return the skillet to medium heat and stir for a minute. Add the tablespoon of flour and continue to heat the sauce, stirring to collect any remaining juices and brown bits from pan, and allowing it to thicken slightly (about 2 minutes). Pour the sauce over the chicken and serve with white rice.

Serves 4.

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Good Vegan Recipes/Products?

Yum Community — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 10:15:16 -0800

This story was written by member notinthemood and comes from the Kitchen Goddess group in the YumSugar Community.

I have somewhat recently become totally lactose intolerant - as in, no butter, no cheese, no yogurt, and nothing dairy. I'm totally opposed to relying on drugs to allow me to eat something my body clearly doesn't want to digest, so I've been experimenting with vegan cooking. It's been great thus far, but as the holidays approach, I've realized that I can't eat most of what everyone else in my family can because it relies so heavily on butter, cheese, and cream for flavoring. I'm old enough to bring a dish to pass, so I was wondering if anyone knew of any good vegan substitutes or recipes? I say good because I've tried some very bad vegan food substitutes, and don't want to venture down that road again. I've found a good vegan butter substitute in Earth Balance margarine, and I've heard you can use coconut milk for creams (but I haven't confirmed this). If you have a suggestion for a cookbook, even, I'm all ears. So ladies, any suggestions?

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