Cooking - for a new lifestyle (Our Test Kitchen)

We've been making this quick and easy salad for over 10 years now. 1 pound of ground beef Taco seasoning (optional) 1 pepper (can be green, red, orange, yellow or maybe a little bit of each)-chopped 1/2 onion-chopped 2 pieces of celery-chopped 1/2-1 Tbsp of butter 1 head of lettuce-shredded 450g of cheddar cheese-shredded 1/2 large bottle of Russian salad dressing (or 1 full small bottle) 1 Bag of crushed up tortilla chips Sour cream to top. 1. Cook up the ground beef and drain the grease. If you'd like a little bit of flavor, add in one of those small packets of Taco seasoning. 2. After chopping the pepper, onion and celery, saute them together in the butter before adding them in with the ground beef. Set aside. 3. Shred the lettuce and the cheese. 4. In a large bowl, add ground beef and vegetable mix, shredded cheese and lettuce. Mix. 5. While mixing, add in handfuls at a time of the tortilla chips to crush with the spoon. Also start adding the Russian dressing. 6. When finis

Mum and I took this to a Cow Pow Wow last night... not much left by the time we went home. 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk 1 1/2 cups cold water 1 (1 ounce) package sugar-free instant vanilla pudding mix 1 (8 ounce) container frozen reduced-fat frozen whipped topping, thawed 1 (9 inch) prepared angel food cake 4 cups sliced fresh strawberries 3 whole fresh strawberries In a bowl, whisk the milk and water. Whisk in the pudding mix for 2 minutes. Let stand for 2 minutes or until soft-set; fold in the whipped topping. Cut cake into 1/2-in. cubes. Spoon a third of the pudding mixture into a 4-qt. trifle or glass bowl. Top with half of the cake cubes and sliced strawberries. Repeat layers once. Top with remaining pudding mixture. Garnish with whole strawberries.

I picked up some okra at the Horton Market on the weekend. I've never tried okra before so I was curious. I found a stir-fried okra recipe on about.com and decided to give it a try. Here is the original recipe: 2 cups fresh okra, washed, trimmed, thinly sliced 1 large tomato, peeled and sliced into 8 thin wedges 1/4 cup green onions, sliced, white and green 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice 1/4 teaspoon leaf thyme, crushed 1 teaspoon salt dash pepper 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 2 tablespoons butter Prepare all vegetables as indicated and have ready for cooking. In a small bowl, combine lemon juice, thyme, salt, and pepper. Heat oil and butter in a wok or large skillet. Add vegetables and seasoning mixture all at once. Toss and cook for 5 to 8 minutes. Serves 4 Now here is what I did: I prepared the okra as directed. I didn't peel the tomato. I used diced red onion. I have all kinds of herbs and spices but couldn't find thyme anywhere. I have a funny feeling

When my kids were little I often made hot chocolate using a homemade mix. As the kids got older and life got busier it was just one of the lovely things that went by the wayside, replaced by the convenient. The other day I had a craving for chocolate but it was really humid out and I just didn't crave it bad enough to make me want to walk to the store. Then I remembered the tin of cocoa in the cupboard. I had forgotten just how delicious homemade hot chocolate is. Here's the recipe I used . . . Serves 2 2 tbsp and 2 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder 1/4 cup and 2 tbsp white sugar 1/2 pinch salt 2 tbsp and 2 tsp boiling water 1-3/4 cups milk 1/4 tsp vanilla extract 1/4 cup half-and-half cream Combine the cocoa, sugar and salt in a saucepan. Blend in the boiling water. Bring this mixture to an easy boil while you stir. Simmer and stir for about 2 minutes. Watch that it doesn't scorch. Stir in milk and heat until very hot, but do not boil. Remove from heat

4 servings 1 tsp canola oil 1-1/2 slices whole wheat bread, stale or day-old 2 cups My Mother's Tomato Sauce (below) 40 g mortadella sausage or ham, finely chopped 1 tbsp marjoram, fresh, finely chopped 1 large egg 400 g lean ground beef salt and pepper to taste 3 tbsp bread crumbs These meatballs can be either baked in the oven or fried.  If using baking method preheat the oven to 400F and lightly oil a baking dish.  If frying, prehead peanut oil to 350F in an electric fryer or large skillet. But the bread slices in a small bowl then cover them with water.  Let soak 20-30 minutes. Meanwhile, make tomato sauce. Drain the bread well in a sieve, then squeeze it to remove most of the liquid.  Finely chop the bread and add it to a bowl.  Finely chop the mortadella and marjoram, then add them to the bowl.  Add the egg and ground beef, followed by salt and pepper. Using your hands, blend the mixture together until it is just combined well.  Form the mixture into small