Pauline

When you find a quality pressure cooker, it takes a lot of the work out of making food. The best ones let you throw together a meal inside the pot, put the lid on, set the pressure, and let the appliance do the work. The Power Pressure Cooker XL is a great example of a …

One of the fastest and easiest ways to prepare carrots and to make them soft and tender is to steam them. There are a few ways you can tenderize carrots, and steaming is a very effective way to do that. You can steam the carrots on the stovetop using a steamer or even just a …

Most people don’t know how to use their French press to brew coffee properly. Even though it’s one of the most popular coffee brewing options, a surprising number of people get it wrong, and it doesn’t have to be that way. While the French press is kind of simple, it’s also very easy to use …

Green bell peppers, roasted and stuffed with cheese, ground beef, tomatoes and other foods makes for an incredible dish. It’s probably not enough for a complete meal, though, and I want to share with you some ideas for what goes with stuffed bell peppers. If you are looking for side sides to go well with …

The cheese and sauce smothered Mexican dish enchiladas are delightfully chewy and bursting with flavor. There are a lot of different things you can fill enchiladas with and cover them with, and they are often made with chicken, beef, or pork.  There are traditional sides that are often served with enchiladas as well as less …

Napa cabbage is a sweet vegetable that can be cooked up in a number of ways. You can cook this cabbage (also called Chinese cabbage) just about any way you like. A lot of people will use it in stir fry, mixing it with some meat and veggies with a dash of soy sauce. Others …

There are plenty of quick and easy ways to cook shrimp, but probably the simplest is to broil shrimp. This basically means just to bake the shrimp, and it cooks so quickly this way that you will want to know how to broil shrimp in oven for a quick and easy dish. If you make …

No one wants to eat spoiled food, and no one wants their food to go bad before they have a chance to eat it. Potatoes tend to last for a long time, but how long do potatoes last in the fridge? Is it days or weeks? Does storing them in the fridge help them to …

A London broil is a type of meat that has been marinated first, and then seared and broiled. That makes for a pretty tender dish that is easy to bite into and that is juicy and succulent if prepared properly. A London broil can be any kind of meat, really, but it is usually cut …

Tofu is a great way to get protein into a vegetarian diet and it’s a good substitute for meat, thanks to its chewy texture. If you don’t know how to work with tofu, how long to press tofu, or that tofu needs to be pressed in the first place, you may feel a bit overwhelmed …

What happens if you overcook an artichoke or over-steam it? Parts of the artichoke become mushy and lose their texture when you do this. It won’t taste quite right, and the hearts and leaf tips turn soggy rather than having the crunchy texture they ought to have. This happens with even experienced chefs, and it’s …

Artichokes can take a long time to prepare using conventional methods, but I want to show you how to cook artichokes in Instant Pot and make the process a bit easier on you. The Instant Pot is great at making a lot of foods in a very simple way, taking much of the hassle and …

Sometimes the simple ways are the best way. Today I’m going to show you how to cook asparagus in a pan. I like the crunchy texture of asparagus, and while it’s not my favorite vegetable, I know it’s really good for me. So, I’m always looking for different ways to cook it up and, of …

One of the quickest and simplest ways to cook broccoli is in the microwave. Microwaves are probably the best way to cook your vegetables fast and easy. It works really well, and it steams the broccoli to cook it, resulting in broccoli that is tender and tasty. The broccoli also retains a lot of its …

Carne asada can be used as a dish on its own or can be serve with burritos, tacos, fajitas, and other dishes that require you to fill them with meat. Carne asada just means grilled meat, and the kind of meat it can be may vary. It’s usually beef but can be one of several …

The term “Chinese sausage” refers to a lot of different types of sausage, all of which come from China. This can be a name for sweet or spicy sausage, as well as cured sausage and fresh sausage. When asking how to cook Chinese sausage, you could get a lot of different answers. Not only are …

I’ve been learning about the sorts of interesting ways to make homemade ice cream, many of them fairly quick and easy. I learned about a homemade peanut butter ice cream recipe recently that I felt would be perfect to share here on this site with my readers. It uses just a few ingredients that most …

While most people will cook their pasta in a pot of water on the stove, you can use the microwave to cook pasta too. When I found out how to cook pasta in the microwave, I was really amazed I had never learned this method before. I thought it was so cool that I wanted …

The pomegranate isn’t the most common fruit, so it’s not unexpected that most people aren’t sure how to cut it open or how to eat it. It looks kind of like an apple from the outside, and inside, there’s tons of seeds filling up what looks kind of like a honeycomb. People who have never …

One of the highlights of visiting an Outback Steakhouse is having a blooming onion brought out to you, drenching that in sauce, and biting into it. The crispy exterior and tender cooked onion underneath make for a lovely combination. This is usually a dish that’s been fried, but I want to show you how to …

You can make a delicious caramel Frappuccino at home using just a handful of ingredients and it can come out tasting just as good as if you got it from your favorite coffee shops. You will pay a lot less for it by making a frappe at home. Of course, if you make it yourself, …

I love a good gumbo, but I’ll be one of the first to admit that it can be a little tricky to make. The most difficult part for most people is the roux. This is a mixture of flour and milk that needs to be prepared just right to give the gumbo its texture.   …

Have you ever tried to make pasta at home on your own? Homemade pasta may seem intimidating at first, but once I break down the process for you and give you step-by-step instructions, it might not seem as difficult anymore. I will show you how to make lasagna noodles from scratch using a basic recipe. …

While some sauces are quick and easy to make and just require mixing up a few ingredients with a whisk, others require a little more effort. Pesto falls into that latter category. Lot of pesto recipes will call for you to use a food processor to make it. Not everyone has one of those, and …

There are some great accessories you can buy for the Instant Pot, like steamer baskets and other inserts that add functionality and help you to cook food just the way you want it. I’ve taken a look at the best steamer basket for Instant Pot and provided the list here for you on the top …

The rib eye steak can be a few different cuts of meat. It always comes from the ribs of the cow, but it can be pulled from the sixth rib all the way to the twelfth rib. Any one of these could be a ribeye cut of meat. What you find most commonly is a …

Brisket cooking times and brisket temperature guides How would you like to make a brisket taste like authentic smoked brisket while using your oven? You can get that savoury, crispy flavour and texture with just oven cooking the brisket, but let’s take a look at how to cook brisket in oven. With a few tips …

Do you want your homemade lobster to look like a gourmet dish? The secret is learning how to butterfly a lobster tail. This is simply a method of cutting the hard shell of the lobster tail so that we meat spreads out in two equal halves. If you do that then when you cook the …

If you’re looking for a cheap cut of beef, top round roast is the way to go. What makes it cheap is that it is tough and lean. That means it’s not very flavourful and it can be kind of chewy, unless it is prepared properly. However, top round roast can be somewhat flavourful compared …

Tofu is one of those foods that most people either love or hate. I think the reason some people dislike tofu is not because of the food itself but because they just haven’t had it cooked properly. The spongy, chewy tofu that most people are used to is not my preferred way to have it. …

There are a number of different ways to cook meat by heating. You can deep fry it, bake it, steam it, grill it, and pan sear it. It might be easy to understand how flames from a grill could lick up at the meat in cause it to char and cook. It might be a …

I have tried making and cooking meatballs a few different ways, and my consensus is that cooking them in the oven is the best way to cook them. I think it’s the simplest method and offers the least hassle and mess. These are all important points for me, because when I cook, I keep a …

Sausage gumbo is integral part of Louisiana Cajun cuisine. It’s one of those foods that people immediately think of when you talk about Cajun dishes. Gumbo can be served on its own as a soup or with rice mixed in or on the side. Most gumbo is made using a very strongly flavored stock, like …

Freezing your asparagus gives you a way to make fresh asparagus last for much longer. It can store for months in your freezer. Did you also know that asparagus can be cooked from frozen, without the need to defrost it? I will show you how to cook frozen asparagus in the oven and with other …

Shishito Peppers are small green peppers with very thin skin. Because they are small and thin, they will cook very quickly. I’m going to show you a few methods for how to cook shishito peppers so you have a few ideas on what you can do with them and how they can be served. This …

Tamales are probably not as difficult to make as you might think. I know when I first tried them, I was surprised how easy they were to make, and of course I was so glad to have made them myself because they are so delicious. If you’ve never made tamales before, you may find them …

Any kind of dressing or sauce is something you can make at home, and you can make it taste better than the store bought version, as long as you know the right ingredients and method. I’m going to show you a honey mustard salad dressing recipe you can make on your own and that tastes …

Did you know that you can make chocolate chip cookies without using chocolate chips at all? This can be useful to know if you want something that’s not as sweet as chocolate chips or if you want the cookie to have a different flavour. Knowing how to make chocolate chip cookies without chocolate chips can …

Birria is a Mexican stew made using either lamb or beef and with a number of spices. It is usually served with onion and cilantro in a consommé broth. How can a stew be a taco? I am going to show you how to make birria tacos in a traditional way so that you can …

Because there are lots of ways to use bell peppers, I’m going to show you a few different methods for how to cut a bell pepper. You will need to know different techniques depending on how you’re going to use your bell peppers in cooking.  How to Cut a Bell Pepper There are few important …

I definitely prefer baking chicken to frying it because of how much healthier it is and the fact that it doesn’t make for greasy chicken. I’ve learned that baking the chicken at different temperatures can give you differently textured chicken. So, if you cook chicken at 350 degrees, that’s going to give you a different …

Before you start preparing your chicken kabobs for the grill, you might want to know how long it will take to cook them. I would put an estimated cooking time at somewhere between 10 and 15 minutes, but keep in mind that how long it takes to cook will depend on the meat you are …

What goes best with a large helping of corn chips? I think the answer to that is spinach artichoke dip. It’s especially good if you make it yourself, modifying the recipe to fit your own taste. Another benefit is the sense of accomplishment and pride you get from making a homemade dip. I make this …

Silicone mats are usually placed between baking sheets or whatever you’re cooking. They can be used as a substitute for greasing a pan or baking sheet. If you’re baking something that is messy or sticky, knowing how to use baking silicone mat can really help. The mat can prevent your baking sheet from getting very …

Tomatoes might not be the first food you think of when you want to make homemade juice, but the are some benefits to making tomato for yourself. Tomatoes are rich in antioxidants and have a high acidity level that is really good for staving off infections. Tomatoes are packed with all sorts of nutrients, so …

Most people see salad spinners one of two ways. Either they think it’s an essential tool to have in the kitchen or they wonder why anyone would bother to have one. If you’re in the group of people who would be wondering what does a salad spinner do, then I want to share with you …

I’ve noticed that a lot of people these days are finding their own food in the wild, like herbs and wild mushrooms. There is a growing interest in trying to source natural foods as much as possible, which is why places like Whole Foods and green grocers markets have done so well in recent years. …

Would you like to be able to cook your turkey breast quickly and easily in the air fryer and be sure that it comes out tasty and perfectly cooked every time? Cooking turkey breast in air fryer means cooking it in far less time than it takes to cook in the oven. You do not …

You can learn how to cook ribs in the oven at 350 degrees and other temperatures to make sure they come out perfect every time. It’s important that you don’t overcook your ribs or undercook them, because using a proper cooking time helps to ensure that they are cooked thoroughly and prevents them from drying …

You can make grilled boneless chicken thighs that are tender and succulent and that everybody in the family will enjoy. This is a great meat to cook up on the grill when you’re having cookout, and it’s not too difficult to make. I want to share with you some important tips and directions on how …