Cooking Tips: How to Caramelize Onions

This is the correct way of making caramelize onions. Easy but takes time.

Tuna Scone Pizza

Ingredients:

Scone Dough

25g Flora 59% vegetable fat spread
125g self-raising flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon dry mustard
½ teaspoon dried oregano
1 medium egg
1 tablespoon semi skimmed milk

Topping
55g Flora 59% vegetable fat spread
2 tablespoons tomato pasta sauce
200g can tuna in brine, drained
85g mushrooms
85g grated Cheddar and mozzarella cheese
4 cherry tomatoes, halved

Method:
1. Preheat oven 200° C, 400° F, Gas No.6.
2. Mix all scone base ingredients together in mixing bowl with a wooden spoon and knead lightly.
3. Shape into a flat round and spread with tomato sauce then top with remaining ingredients.
4. Bake in hot oven for 15 - 20 minutes until golden brown.
(Good for Lunch Boxes)

Tip to peel potatoes or veggies

Image by andreasnilsson1976 via Flickr

Place a colander in the sink first and then peel them inside the colander. When you have finished the colander can be lifted out with all the peelings inside. No fiddling around lifting the peelings out from the plughole.

Easy Tomatoe Pasta

Image via Wikipedia

Ingredients:

350g pasta shapes
1 medium onion, diced
25g Flora Buttery
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 red pepper, diced
1 courgette, diced
400g canned chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp fresh basil, plus more for garnish
Black pepper

Method:

1. Heat the Flora Buttery in a large saucepan.
2. Add the onions, crushed garlic, red pepper and courgette and sauté until soft.
3. Stir occasionally so they do not stick to the pan.
4. Add the chopped tomatoes to the pan.
5. Add the basil and black pepper and stir.
6. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat so the sauce can simmer for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
7. The sauce will reduce and thicken.
8. Whilst the sauce is reducing, boil the pasta.
9. Drain the pasta and return to the pan.
10. Add in the sauce and stir so all the pasta is covered in the juicy tomato sauce.
11. Serve and enjoy!

(Quick holiday meal for kids)

How to prevent lumps in powdered gravy

Image via Wikipedia

When making gravy from powder, first mix a small amount of cold water to make a paste, then add hot water. You can use this method with any powder you mix.

Whole-Meal Pita Bread Filling

Image by jakub_hla via Flickr

Ingredients:

1 whole-meal pitta bread
7g Flora Light
50g reduced fat cheddar cheese
2 lettuce leaves
1 tomato
1 small carrot
½ red pepper
5cm piece of cucumber

Method:

1. Wash all vegetables.
2. Cut the pitta bread in half.
3. Grate the cheese and carrot.
4. Cut the pepper, cucumber, tomato and lettuce into small thin slices.
5. Open the pitta bread so it looks like an open pocket.
6. Spread a thin covering of Flora on the inside.
7. Fill the pockets with the lettuce, pepper, cucumber, carrot and tomato.
8. Sprinkle the grated cheese inside.
9. Put the pocket on a plate with a little lettuce garnish if desired.

(Nice for lunchboxes)

Tip for cabbage leaves

Image by landotter via Flickr

When making stuffed cabbage, the leaves rips very easily. So all you have to do is freeze the whole head of cabbage for a day or so and then thaw it out. The leaves will be limpy and easier to roll with no ripping.

Fruit Salad

Ingredients:

350g favourite fresh berries ( strawberries, raspberries etc.)
1 banana, sliced
1 apple or pear, diced
Juice of 1 orange and ½ lemon

Method:

1. Wash the berries and hull the strawberries.
2. Place in serving dish with the other fruits.
3. Pour over the fruit juices and serve.

Did you know.

Image by posixeleni via Flickr

If you have a recipe for cake flour, and you only have all purpose flour in the home, you can still use it in the place of cake flour by sifting it about 5 times, then you will have cake flour.

Strawberry Smoothie

Ingredients:

100 g strawberries
300 ml milk
1 small pot of yoghurt (low-fat yoghurt)

Method:

1. Remove the stalks from the strawberries.
2. Rinse the strawberries under the cold tap and cut them into slices.
3. Put the strawberries into a blender.
4. Add the milk and the yoghurt.
5. Put the lid onto the blender and blend for 10-15 seconds - until the mixture is smooth
6. Pour into glasses and serve

(You can use bananas, peaches or mangos)

Apricot Biscuits

Ingredients:

50g Flora Original
50g caster sugar
1 small egg yolk
115g plain flour
25g dried apricots

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4.
2. Chop the apricots into small cubes.
3. Grease a baking tray.
4. In a bowl, add the Flora Original and sugar.
5. Mix together until creamy.
6. Add in the egg yolk, a bit at a time.
7. Next add the sieved flour and chopped apricots into the creamy mixture.
8. Mix everything together until it forms a firm dough.
9. Using a biscuit cutter, cut the dough into shapes.
10. Place the apricot biscuits onto a greased baking tray.
11. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes.
12. Carefully take out of the oven when golden and leave to cool.

Cooking tip for the day

Image by flit via Flickr

To get the real flavor come out in cooking carrots, peas or beets all you have to do is add a teaspoon of sugar while its cooking. The sugar allows the flavor of the veggies to come out aswell as being tasty

How to thicken gravy

Image via Wikipedia

If you find your gravy is a little thin before you serve your dinner, just add a few flakes of instant mashed potatoes. You wont get lumps and your gravy will thicken faster and give added flavour

Lamb cutlets with green beans

Ingredients:

8 lamb cutlets
1 red pepper, cut lengthways into 2cm strips
1 large white potato
1 aubergine
1 tin of peeled plum tomatoes
1 onion
2 sprigs fresh thyme
2 cloves fresh garlic, sliced
5tbsp olive oil
1tbsp tomato puree
1 chicken stock cube
Salt and pepper
1 packet green beans

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
2. For the vegetable medley, peel and cut the potato into 2cm rounds.
3. Heat 1tbsp of olive oil in a large frying pan and fry the potatoes over a medium heat, turning occasionally until golden brown or for 15/20 mins.
4. Season with salt and pepper and reserve on kitchen towel.
5. Place the red pepper in the same pan with 1tbsp of olive oil. Fry the peppers, turning occasionally for 15-20 mins until slightly coloured and soft. Reserve the peppers on kitchen towel.
6. Slice the aubergine into 2cm rounds and repeat the same process as above and reserve on kitchen towel.
7. Peel and finely dice the onion and one clove of garlic.
8. Fry the onion for 5 mins over a medium heat, then add the garlic and fry for a further 2 mins. 9. Add the tomatoes and thyme and simmer gently for 25 mins.
10. Meanwhile, lightly oil an ovenproof dish. Create one layer of potatoes in the bottom of the dish.
11. Then layer the peppers and aubergines on top.
12. Pour the tomato mixture over the layered vegetables and reserve until needed.
13. Place in the oven for 15 mins.
14 . Season the cutlets with salt and pepper.
15. Heat a griddle pan with 1tbsp olive oil over a high heat.
16. Cook the cutlets for 2 mins each side, remove from the heat and allow to rest somewhere warm.
17. Dissolve the stock cube and create ½ pint of stock, having removed the cutlets from the griddle pan add the stock and reduce over a low/medium heat until the required consistency, approximately 5-10 mins.
18. Meanwhile, blanche the green beans in boiling water for 5 mins and cool in cold water and then pat them dry.
19. Heat 1tbsp olive oil in a frying pan and fry the beans with the remainder of the garlic. Heat through for 2 mins turning the beans.
20. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

Tip for the day

Image by LizMarie via Flickr

If you want to keep your frosting moist and to stop it from cracking just add a pinch of baking soda to the frosting.

Fluffy Mash Potatoes

Image by ulterior epicure via Flickr

To make your mash potatoes nice and fluffy - just add one teaspoon of baking powder.

Heart Healthy Apple Spice Muffins

Ingredients:

175g oatmeal
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
175g whole-wheat flour
470g jar unsweetened/homemade apple puree
1 eating apple, diced
4 egg whites, lightly beaten
150ml low fat natural yoghurt
Flora Original for greasing
200ml honey

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4.
2. Sieve dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl.
3. Add the apple puree, diced apple, egg whites, honey and yoghurt.
4. Stir gently until all the flour is incorporated.
5. Pour the batter into 24 greased mini muffin tins.
6. Bake for 15-20 minutes and carefully take out of the oven when golden.
7. Leave the hot muffins to cool for a while and enjoy the muffins warm or cold!

N.B. Also tasty with raisins.

Banana Milkshake

Ingredients:

1 ripe banana
100ml real orange juice or the juice of one fresh orange
300ml milk
1 125–150g of unsweetened yoghurt or low-fat yoghurt

Method:

1. Peel and chop the banana.
2. Put the banana into a blender.
3. Add the milk, orange juice and yoghurt to the blender.
4. Add ice if you want to make it a chilled drink for summer.
5. Put the lid onto the blender and blend for 5–10 seconds – until the mixture is smooth.
6. Pour into two glasses
7. Serve.

How to separate eggs and beat them

Image via Wikipedia

When beating eggs separately for a recipe, beat whites first and add a little to yolks before beating them. Yolks thicken quicker and will not stick to dish as they do when beaten alone.

How to freeze parsely

Image by DRB62 via Flickr

Wrap parsley in foil first, then freeze.
Shave off as much as needed, rewrap and return to the freezer.
It will retain its flavor and freshness.

5-A-Day Fruit Sticks

Ingredients:

115g strawberries and raspberries
1 banana
50g grapes
1 orange
50g melon
1 apple or pear
Wooden kebab sticks

Method:
1. Carefully prepare the fruit by chopping into small chunks big enough to thread onto kebab sticks.
2. Thread the different chunks of fruit onto the sticks.
3. Once all fruit kebabs are made, eat and enjoy!
This is good for lunch boxes