Guacamole Recipe

Guacamole. I used to hate it. That was before I tried it :). I use to hate it because I dont like avocados. Guacamole is a dip that is based on avocados but it's taste is a totally different thing. I think it's delicious and here is a simple recipe for this easy to make Mexican appetizer. What do you need?

 

• 3 avocados, peeled, pitted and mashed
• 1 red onion, minced
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 yellow bell pepper, chopped
• 1 fresh jalapeno, chopped
• 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
• 1 lime, juiced

You need all this to make a full blown real Mexican guacamole. I will first explain how to make this one and the I will make one that is the easiest guacamole recipe out there. There is even a site with all the different guacamole recipes you can think of from classic to spicy to recipes with cheese, mayo, salsa etc... Check it out!

OK, the first one goes like this:

Take a bowl and put it mashed avocados, jalapeno peppers and red onion. And stir.

Then take another bowl and cut in green, red and yellow peppers, cover them with lime juice and add this mix to the avocado mix.

Throw in the cilantro and stir. You are done!

If you want a simpler guacamole then do just this:

Peel and mash the avocados.

Mix in minced red onion.

Add some salt, black pepper, and lemon juice. 

Mix and you are done.

Guacamole is best right after it is made. If you won't eat it right away cover it with plastic wrap and put it into the refrigerator. I love it with some tortilla chips but you can easily put it on a piece of bread or use it as a side dish with meat... the choice is yours.

Eco Wash Balls - Can You Say Goodbye To Washing Powder?

To take a break from the usual recipes and food and cooking related post on my blog... I've recently noticed that there are these plastic balls that you can put in your washing machine and will help you wash your clothes without the use of any washing powder. Is this for real? I mean...I've read a bit about how they are supposed to work and I don't quite get it :). I have also found this website about these eco wash balls that explains it all... but what I am more interested in is personal experience from people using these balls. Does any of you use it? Do they work? What about the smell?

Any input would be greatly appreciated :). If you have no idea what I am talking about, there is a picture how your average washing ball looks like.

Anyway...this is it...next time we are back to simple cooking.

The Biggest Waffle Ever Made?

Hm...all this waffle talk made me question myself - what was the biggest waffle ever made? I tried Google but nothing usable came up...does anybody know? :) I guess it would be hard to make a really big waffle since it is much harder to make that a giant pancake for instance. You need a huge waffle iron. For a pancake you would only need a big hot flat surface...

Well... then at least I've foud this: "The world's biggest pancake was cooked in Rochdale England in 1994, it was 15 meters in diameter and weighed three tonnes."

OMFG :)!

Waffle Makers

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Waffles are loved by everyone (AND ME!!).Many people love to make the waffles at home (I DO!!), and then it is a must to have a waffle maker at kitchen. Waffle maker which was earlier known as waffle iron is known to people since the man learnt preparing waffles. Some historians predict the origin of waffles to the ancient times which in general say that waffle makers also date back to the same epoch. As the innovations and tastes of man differed with waffles, waffle makers also have got different shapes and went from being made out of traditional iron to different non stick surfaces. The traditional waffle makers were manufactured of casted iron plates and were heated on gas or the wooden stove. Both sides of the waffle had to be heated one after other. Modern waffle makers are highly technical with auto timer and programmed that run on electricity and beep after the waffle is ready.

Soooo... what do you need to know about waffle makers?

What kind do you want?

Belgian waffle maker differs from the other waffle makers; it is bigger in size and contain a deep grill which gives out a larger waffle with deeep pockets that are just made for different topping. Usualy only one big waffle can be cooked at a time.

And then there are non-belgian waffle makers. How does waffle maker work?

The batter is just poured into the waffle maker and waffles are baked till perfection which takes not more than two to three minutes. That's it, it's very simple :)!

Most of all the waffle makers come with non stick coating. If you are buying a waffle maker you will see there are many different  features available. You need to decide what type suits your kitchen and your style and how much do you want to spend. A great guide that explains all that can bo found here - waffle makers guide or if you are looking more into pro versions then check out the professional waffle maker guide. 

Some Features are:

- brushed stainless steel

- insulated handles

- light and a timer that tells you after waffle is ready

- waffle makers shapes like round, square, rectangular, heart shaped or even texas shaped waffle maker :) and so on.

- trip tray that catches the overflowing batter and helps the kitchen and your stove be clean and tidy.

The modern waffle makers are light a really simple to use. Get a waffle maker and start waffling - here is a cool recipe for waffles with waffle maker.

So this is it. Some tips fow what to look for and some useful links to other resources and in no time you will know everything you need to know about waffle makers.

Enjoy your homemade waffles!

Making Banana Bread...

Hi Kids! Again I am making some nice homemade banana bread. Some flour, few bananas, one egg, baking powder, vanilla sugar, some melted butter, a little bit of cinnamon, and a few spoons oof honey. Mix it and bake it. It should be done in about 45minutes. Add so typos and this recipe is done:-))

Thanksgiving Dinner

My thanksgiving dinner garlic mashed potatoes were a big hit :). There is one more tip that I would like to share, again it's connected to making mashed potatoes. As I've said - less water, better mashed potatoes. This is why one of the tips is to cut potatoes in BIG chunks instead of small ones. This way the suck in less water. But a step further is not tu cut them at all. Don't even peel them. Wash them really good and then cook them with their skin on. When they are done drain them and cover them with cold water so that you dont burn yourslef and peel them... the skins will come of easy...just watch it, they're hot! :)

That's it. Tata...

Another Mashed Potatoes Tip

Actually, there is a bunch of tips how to improve your mashed potatoes on a website that I have found :). I suggest you check them out, there are also all sorts of recipes for mashed potatoes that will turn them in something more than just a side dish... like garlic, onion, bacon, cheddar cheese etc...

Still to sum it up, the main mashed potatoes recipe secrets:

1. Cut potatoes in BIG chunks!

2. Put them in COLD water.

3. When done drain the water and put them back on the stove for more water to EVAPORATE.

4. If you use an electric mashed/mixer don't overdo it!!

5. Add spices... garlic, cloves, onions, and things like bacon, cheddar cheese etc.. go crazy.

Mashed potatoes season is just around the corner :) happy mashing!

Healthy Anti Aging Foods

Lately I have been thinking about age, life... things like that. It's kind of not something I like to think about since I am don't have quite the average expectations from life. Not to get to depressing here :)... the point is that I decided that I will try to include more healthy foods into my diet. That doesn't mean that I'll stop with simple recipes, these things can go hand in hand. Actually I try to make most of my waffles, banana breads, pancakes, muffins etc... using healthy ingredients, whole wheat flour etc...

Then I have found a cool little website dedicated to anti ageing nutrition. It lists the main healthy foods that you should include in your diet and the reasons why each of them is good for you body. I specially like this superfood list, because there are things on it that I..we eat every day. I just didn't know they are superfoods :)... have to use them more often. Things like beans, avocados, green tea, yogurt, broccoli and my favourite - chocolate (I would prefer if it would be without black infront but still... :).

Anyway, check it out...and I will be soon back with another tip for mashed potatoes.

A spoon full of mashed potatoes...

I just wanted to share this from my phone to test if it works and post one more mashed potatoes tip - when your potatoes are cooked and drained put them back on the stove to get a little more moisture out of them. Just make sure you dont burn them. Remember - less water more taste.

 

 

Mashed Potatoes Season

Thanksgiving is slowly approaching and all about turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy. So expect a few cool tips on how to make good mashed potatoes in the next few posts. Lets start with tip no.1 right now!

TIP No.1 For Good Mashed Potatoes

Cook potatoes whole or cut them in really big chunks. This way the will cook longer (which is bad) but they won't soak up so much water as they would if you cut them in small pieces (which is good). Water means less taste in your mashed potatoes.

 

Till next time..ta ta.

 

Simple Waffle Recipe And Waffles For Dessert

Yeah. Today I went totally into waffles. To be more specific - into dessert waffles. But first let's learn a little bit about waffles and how to make them! Waffles are very tasty meal for people who really love crispy and light stuffs. Making waffles is easy and it does not require any hard to come by ingredients. Waffles are to make at home and homemade waffles are much better that commercially prepared and sold ones.

Just follow this easy recipe. All you need is:

• 2 cups of all purpose flour, 
• 2 teaspoons of baking powder(cooking soda), 
• 1/2 tea spoon of salt, 
• 2 teaspoons of sugar, 
• 2 cups of milk with your preferred amount, also take 
• 2 eggs that are separated which are very important in the waffle recipe and 
• one full tablespoon full of melted butter. 

These are the easy ingredients that are always available in all the homes.

And now to making waffles:

1. Preheat the iron waffle maker.
2. Shift all the dry ingredients to a bowl. 
3. Beat the egg white properly until it is stiff in a small separate bowl. 
4. Add the separated egg yolk to the dry ingredients together with melted butter and the milk and mix well until you feel it is completely lump free. 
5. After it is lump free pour some of the stiff egg white on the batter and leave it for a while. 
6. Put one cup of batter in the preheated iron waffle and close it. 
7. Remove the waffle after 2 minutes and leave it out on a tray to cool and then 
8. enjoy, serve it with your favorite toppings on it. My favourite waffle toppings are mango waffle topping and peaches and cream waffle topping. Just follow the links to find out how to prepare them.

This amount of ingredients will give you around 12 waffles.

 

Also easy to make are butter milk waffles.

 

For this all you have to do is arrange the same ingredients and use butter milk instead of ordinary milk.

 

Follow the same procedure for the preparations.

 

This waffle will be good for the people who never like milk flavor and never want to use milk.

 

One tip: if you have left over batter you can store it in refrigerator. If it has gone thick then add some milk or buttermilk and stir well to get it back the normal. Other really cool waffle recipes are blueberry waffle recipe and strawberry, blueberry or raspberry waffle recipe. I love waffles with fruit in them. If you are more of a chocolate fan then try chocolate chip waffles.

 

Waffles make an interesting breakfast in the winter especially, though people enjoy them any season. In winters home made waffles will hit the right spot. And you may quickly run out of them and have to make more. Children will be your fans:)!

 

Well that's it.

 

Actually...one more recipe - when I was talking about children - I have also found these two recipes that I am sure will be kinds favourites - waffle ice cream sandwich recipe and banana split waffle recipe.

 

Uh....this waffle post has turned out to be much longer than planed :).

Orange Apple Carrot Juice

How to make orange apple carrot juice?

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It's really easy :). But you do need a juicer to make natural juices. You could make juice also with a mixer but then they are much thicker and harder to drink. On the other hand if you use a mixer you use the whole fruit, if you use a juice you only get the juice. Then you have to figure out what to do with the dry parts...

OK, just peel the oranges, wash the apples and wash the carrots. I also use a potato peeler to peel the carrots.

Then just throw everything into a juicer and your juice is done.

A few tips:

1. Make a lot of juice! The biggest problem for me is to clean up the mess after making juice. So if you do it, do it proper. Make a gallon. The clean up is the same.
2. How much apples, how much oranges, how much carrots? I use something like 40% oranges, 35% apples, 25% carrots. 
3. Add some lemon juice at the end to prevent oxidation.

That's is, healthy and delicious orange apple carrot juice is done.

But there is no need to stop here. Once you have a juicer you can make all sorts of juices. You can either choose them by taste or by the benefits of drinking them. Here are a few pages the will tell you a few things about the benefits of drinking different juices... health benefits of aloe vera juice, another page with health benefits of aloe vera juice, then there is apple juice that also does many many good things to your body. Remember an apple a day keeps the doctor away? So these are the health benefits of apple juice. 

Oh..one more thing, it is not just fruits that you can use when making juices. You can also use vegetables! We already  used carrots in this recipes but there are many other fruits that you can use. So far I have tried broccoli, cucumbers, carrots, rhubarb. The next on the list are tomatoes. There are also quite a few health benefits of drinking tomato juice.

Uf...this juice post turned out to be much longer then intended :)

Anyway - make fruit and vegetable juices at home and take care!

Banana Walnut Muffins

Yesterday my gf made some delicious banana walnut muffins. I didn't find time to snap a few pictures because she was finished soooo fast :). There really are easy to make, I have to convince her to post her recipe here. After that we made some absolutely excellent natural fruit juice from apples, carrots and oranges. You can like feel the nature flowing through your body and all the vitamins and antioxidants... :) Cool stuff. Maybe this deserves another post, a recipe for this juice?

 

Health Benefits of Drinking Different Natural Juices

Hello kids :). There comes a time in a hectic life of a webmaster when you have to start thinking about your health. Usually and unfortunately this happens when it is kind of to late, when something bad already happens. Or at least when you get older and you see that you are not invincible. So.... recently I have tried to work on my health by exercising and by improving my diet.

Now what better way to get those vitamins and antioxidants into your body than by drinking juices:)? No other better way that I know of. Being a person that makes websites I also made a few pages about the juices that I want to try out.
Health Benefits of Aloe Vera Juice
Health Benefits Of Aloe Vera Juice
Health Benefits Of Apple Juice
Health Benefits Of Drinking Tomato Juice

I must say that the tomato juice is the most yucky one. Aloe vera nad apple juice a delicious but you have to do something with tomato juice. Mix it up with some other fruits ets...

Anyway... drink your healthy juices and enjoy life!

Apple Crisp

This is something I haven't done yet, I always eat apple crisp in this restaurant we often go to with my girlfriend and in my mind I always complain why the portion is so small because apple crisp is sooo go. Then it hit me, just make it yourself dummy :)!

So far all I have done is browsed around for a few recipes and this site looks like it has some cool recipes, you can even make apple crisp without oatmeal :) - if you hate it, then try apple crisp recipe without oatmeal. Next weekend it's on and the baking starts!

How To Make Banana Bread? Use This Recipe!

OK, now we know what kind of bananas we should use for banana bread. What else do we need? 4-5 bananas, 2 cups all purpose flour, 1/2 cup sugar, 2 eggs, 1/2 cup melted butter, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon vanilla. That's it.

Now about that sugar... originally you should add 1 cup of sugar. I cut that down to 1/2 cup, but usually when I'm making banana bread I use honey. 2-3 really full spoons of honey and that's it.

The banana bread recipe itself is really simple.

There are some optional steps, how to mix the ingredients together, but if you want to keep it really simple you can just mix everything together so you get a nice even mixture and pour the dough into a loaf pan. And that's it! You can even make banana bread muffins if you like. Believe me, it is really that simple and it works. If you want a little bit more detailed instructions on how to make banana bread then check thi recipe.

Now all there is left to do is to bake it.

Turn the oven to 180C / 360F and bake for an hour or so. Use the toothpick test to see if it's ready and you are good to go. Oh, and if you are making muffins then around 20 minutes is usually more than enough to bake them. They are smaller and the bake faster.

Enjoy!

What Kind Of Bananas Do You Use For Banana Bread

And now to the second part of the Sunday baking extravaganza :). Banana bread! First - one question that you may or may not ask. What kind of bananas should you use for banana bread. The answer is simple - it almost doesnt matter :)! It is better to use bananas that are really really ripe, overripe. A litle dark brown and mushy. These are easier to mash and give out a litle bit more moisture maybe.

But even fresh, normal bananas will do just fine.

How Make Homemade Chocolate Chips?

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Hello folks and delicious food lovers. Today we are going to look at the next step of the triple chocolate chip muffins making and baking process.  Why is this taking so long :)? Because I fell like it! 

The next step is getting chocolate chips. You can of course buy chocolate chips in a store. But you can also make chocolate chips right at home. Why? I think they really taste better if you make them from the chocolate of you own choice. You can use any chocolate you want! This is the greatest thing!

And secondly the look better when they are all different sized and shaped, they look more natural. and biting into an oversized chocolate chip piece is also a treat. 

So how to make homemade chocolate chip cookies? Just take your favourite chocolate, put it into a refrigerator so its really really hard and crumbly, then take a knife and start hacking the chocolate. Wham, wham,wham... and chocolate chips will fly all over the kitchen... preferably not :). You can use these chips for anything - like this chocolate chip cookies recipe.

Or in triple chocolate chip muffins that we will be making. Hm.. where are we now? Oh, we bought muffin cups and now we are making chocolate chips. OK, moving on.. see you in the next post.

Buy Triple Chocolate Chip Muffins!

LOL. Not really, these muffins are already gone, finished, departed... THEY WERE EATEN IN A FEW HOURS AFTER THEY CAME OUT OF THE OVEN :).

How Long Does It Take To Bake Chocolate Chip Muffins?

Yeah... these are turning out great! We have filled the muffin cups with muffin dough and put them into the oven. Set the oven to.. 180 degrees C, that is about 360 in F.

This is what you should get after like 10-15 minutes. How long does it take to bake chocolate chip muffins? About 20 minutes. You should check them a few times, make sure you don't burn them. You can also make a test - stick a toothpick into the muffin and if it comes out clean they are probably DONE! This goes pretty much for any bread/dessert that you bake in the oven... like normal bread, banana bread, probably even apple crisp.

Cant wait till they are done! :)

Making Muffins

Moving on... today I'm going to be short and will just pop a picture of the filled muffin cups. They are filled with chocolate chip muffin dough and are ready to be baked. We we take a look at the oven next time :)! Ta-ta...

How To Make Melted Butter At Home?

Oh no... do we even need this post? Who on Earth does not know how to make melted butter? :)

I knew a guy like that ages ago, he look familiar :).

OK, just take a pan, a bar of butter and put it into the pan. Put the pan onto the fire and crank it up. At first you can make it really how, but when most of the butter melts you will see that the melted butter can start boiling and this is the time to put the fire on low. Soon you will have a pan ful of melted butter that you can use in your baking recipes. Like the before mentioned banana bread recipe.

Oh... just... if you want to make healthy desserts do not use to much butter. It does miracles to the taste and to your girth :).

Muffin Cups

Sorry for late cooking update, was kind of busy these days... anyway - as I' ve said before we decided to make some muffins and banana bread. To be more exact - triple chocolate chip muffins and two loafs of tasty and healthy banana bread (follow the link for a great recipe). The first thing you will need for this are muffin cups.

There are all sorts of muffin cups, the main difference between them is I think in size. Just make sure the fit into your muffin baker. You can actually make muffins in muffin cups without a muffin baker ot vice versa, you can just use some butter and grease your muffin baker with it and you will not need muffin cups. 

 

But using both is the most elegant solution.

 

Today Is Cooking Time

Today me and my girlfriend are going to do some baking. She wants to bring something sweet and tasty to work and feed her hungry co-workers :). The plan is to make some super chocolate boosted tripple chocolate chip muffins and two loafs of tasty and healthy banana bread. Can't wait! Both a really really easy to make. I might even set a stopwatch and time how long does it take to make muffins and banana bred.

Anyway, if I have time I'll post some photos of the cooking process.

Till later...

 

Pancakes, Pancakes!!

Pancakes are easy to make, this is the original simple recipe. Whereas various mixes can be found within the grocery aisle, pancakes “from scratch” can't be rivaled. But have no worry: fundamental pancakes are surprisingly fast and easy to make, and there are lots of quick and engaging variations. Yeah! If you need more details then check The best homemade pancakes recipe.

 

Just Follow This Pancake Recipe

 

2 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
2 eggs
1-1/2 cups milk *Add more milk for thinner batter if desired, up to 2 cups total.
Butter or oil for cooking

1. Preheat your skillet.

2. Mix flour, baking powder, salt and sugar.

3. Beat the eggs and combine with milk.

4. Add the milk and egg mixture to the dry ingredients, mixing gently. 

5. Ladle batter onto griddle, making any size pancakes you prefer. Each side should take 2 to 4 minutes to cook. Adjust the heat as needed.

6. Serve and enjoy!