Make Rice Pudding Tonight With These Simple Recipes

February 3, 2015 by francis

Rice pudding brings to mind cozy winter days in front of the fireplace, enjoying its sweet and creamy taste with friends and family. The old-fashioned dessert favorite takes on new life through a few simple and unique recipes, and it's incredibly easy to make at home. Here are a few of the best rice pudding recipes from around the web.

Rice Pudding [Simply Recipes]
Unlike the heavy cream and other fattening ingredients in traditional rice pudding recipes, this one offers a lighter take on the dessert dish. Combine whole milk, white rice, one egg, and a few sweet spices to create this simple treat.

Baked Rice Pudding [Food Network]
While most rice pudding is boiled, Paula Deen's recipe bakes the rice mixture for a thicker consistency. The result is rich, fluffy, and lightly browned on top.

Gingered Crème Caramel Rice Pudding [Fine Cooking]
If you want to add a gourmet flair to your usual rice pudding, this is the recipe for you. It features a sticky caramel coating and fresh ginger to add an extra spicy kick.

Joy of Cooking Rice Pudding [Joy of Baking]
For the visual learner, this rice pudding recipe includes a video tutorial that will help you to perfect each technique involved.

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Filed Under: Lifestyle Tagged With: Dessert, Food, Recipes, Rice Pudding

How to Make Your Own Potato Chips

January 6, 2015 by francis

It’s no secret that kids love to snack on potato chips, but they certainly aren’t the healthiest food in the world. Making potato chips at home cuts down on a great deal of saturated fat and sodium, and it’s much easier than you might think. Here are three delicious homemade potato chip recipes that your kids (and you!) will love.

Sweet Potato Chips [preschoolers.about.com]
Add a bit of sweet flavor to the usual potato chips by using nutritious sweet potatoes instead of white potatoes. This recipe takes only three ingredients and 25 minutes to make, and you can season it however you prefer.

Oven-fried Potato Chips [simplyrecipes.com]
If your little ones love the crispy, fried flavor of store-bought potato chips, this recipe will help you to mimic that in a healthier manner. Use them as a side dish or pack them in their lunch boxes for a delicious, homemade surprise.

Oven Baked Potato Chips with Sour Cream and Onion Dip [pbs.org]
The classic combination of chips and dip gets a nutritious (and still kid-friendly) makeover in this simple recipe. By using reduced fat sour cream in the onion dip you get all of the flavor with half of the fat and calories.

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Filed Under: Lifestyle Tagged With: Chips, Cooking, Food, Recipes

Try These Rustic Apple Tart Recipes This Weekend

December 2, 2014 by francis

Instead of making your tried-and-true apple pie recipe for your next fall gathering, you may want to get a bit creative and experiment with an elegant apple tart instead. Although this dessert looks fancy, there are a number of different ways to cater it to all different levels of baking expertise. Here are three tasty tarts to try this weekend.

French Apple Tart [foodnetwork.com]
Nothing compares to the art of French baking, and this gorgeous apple tart is proof of just that. Ina Garten tops her usual light, fluffy pastry crust with a layer of Granny Smith apples and bakes it to perfection to create a simple tart with a truly unique flavor.

Rustic Apple Tart [foodandwine.com]
If you want to create a tasty tart but don’t have much patience when it comes to baking, this is the tart for you. The crust is perfectly flaky and doesn’t require hours of chilling like many pie crusts do, and the layer of apricot preserves creates an unexpected flavor to complement the apples.

Apple Tart with Caramel Sauce [epicurious.com]
Although many tarts are light and simple, this recipe uses warm caramel and a sturdy pie crust to create a more dense, filling dessert. Browning the apples in the oven also gives it a caramelized flavor that is ideal for fall.

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Filed Under: Lifestyle Tagged With: Autumn, Fall, Recipes, Seasonal

Fete the Fall Season With These Sweet Apple Recipes

November 4, 2014 by francis

Give your tried-and-true apple pie recipe a rest and experiment with some new apple recipes this fall season. These three creative culinary ideas offer just as much sweet apple flavor as a traditional pie, but they come in a variety of different forms to last you all season long.

Caramel Apple Cupcakes [southernliving.com]
Caramel apples are delicious, but they’re not exactly practical to bring to social gatherings. This adorable cupcake recipe combines the classic combination of caramel and apples in a handheld form, and they’re topped with toasted pecans and miniature crab apples to give them an extra special appearance.

Mile-High Apple Pie [marthastewart.com]
Most baking enthusiasts are loyal to one apple pie recipe, but this one might just give your usual recipe a run for its money. The deep-dish crust makes the pie incredibly dense, and best of all, it tastes even better the next day.

Apple Squares [allrecipes.com]
All of the flavors of apple pie are packed into conveniently cake-like squares in this simple recipe. Apples and nuts make each bar taste hearty and rustic, while the vanilla and cinnamon will fill your home with a mouthwatering aroma while they’re baking. Slice them into oversized portions and pack them in the kids’ lunches, eat them for breakfast, or serve them as a dessert at your next holiday party.

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Filed Under: Lifestyle Tagged With: Apples, Fall, Recipes, Seasonal

Make Salsa 4 Ways With These Spicy Recipes

May 6, 2014 by francis

Whether you eat it with tortilla chips or use it as a topping on your favorite Southwestern dish, salsa is a healthy and flavorful dip with a variety of different uses. These simple salsa recipes are welcome alternatives to your usual store-bought jar, and they come in a number of unique flavors that you may not have ever experienced.

Restaurant Style Salsa [Pioneer Woman]
No matter which brands you buy at the grocery store, salsa just never tastes as good at home as it does at a restaurant. This expert recipe will show you just how your favorite Mexican restaurant creates their crave-worthy salsa.

Crunchy Tomatillo-Avocado Salsa [Rick Bayless]
Combining the cool taste of avocado with flavorful tomatillos, this authentic salsa recipe is one for the books. It’s ideal for those who love spicy foods because it is simply full of hot green chilies, but this recipe can also be toned down to become more family-friendly.

Mango-Tomato Salsa [Food and Wine]
Perfect for pairing with crunchy fish tacos or other summer dishes, this sweet salsa incorporates mangos for a unique flavor. It’s truly simple to make, and it even looks just as good as it tastes.

Tomatillo Salsa Verde [Simply Recipes]
Give the traditional red salsa a rest in favor of something greener and uniquely flavorful. The tomatillo gives this sauce its green color, and a dash of lime juice adds a juicy flavor that’s truly refreshing.

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Filed Under: Lifestyle Tagged With: Cooking, Food, Recipes, Salsa

Plan Tonight’s Dinner With These 3 Nutritious Pork Recipes

March 4, 2014 by francis

While we’ve all had a classic pork chop, most people aren’t aware of the many other recipes involving pork. If you want to expand your at-home culinary creations without ruining your healthy diet, these delicious and nutritious pork recipes from the NIH will help you do just that:

Pork Chops in Warm Cherry Sauce
Add a sweet, tangy update to the usual pork chop with this simple recipe. By cooking the meat in red wine, cherries and a few common spices, this dish is both elegant and quick enough to prepare after a long day at work.

Pork Mignons With French Applesauce
Continuing the fruity flavor trend, this pork dish uses applesauce to add taste without adding fat and calories. These pork mignons add up to only 250 calories and a full 26 grams of healthy protein, with a cinnamon and apple flavor that’s perfect for fall or winter dinners.

Grilled Pork Tenderloin
The lean pork tenderloin has a texture similar to chicken, which makes it simple and quick to prepare. Seasoning with garlic, soy sauce and fish sauce helps the dish take on an Asian flavor that tastes much more complex than it actually is. At only 8 grams of fat, you really can’t go wrong with this unique pork recipe.

For more pork recipes and other healthy eating tips, visit the NIH website.