How to Find Microwave Oven Recipes

Cooking in a microwave oven is a fast, easy way to prepare a large number of foods. Microwave cooking requires less oil and water than many other methods of cooking, and you'll keep more of the nutrients, too. For instance, spinach that's been cooked in a microwave oven keeps almost all the folate that was originally present.

Folate is a vital nutrient, also known as vitamin B9. It prevents anemia in pregnant women, and it helps us with cell division and correct DNA division. If you cook spinach on the stove, it could lose almost eighty percent of this nutrient. Foods that may develop carcinogenic materials than cooked on the stove, like bacon, develop many fewer of these substances when cooked in the microwave, too.

Cooking Recipes Dinner

However, finding good microwave cooking recipes can be challenging. There are lots of recipes out there, but they won't all work for your oven, or turn out well. It takes some work to collect a set of high quality microwave oven recipes that taste good and are good for you. Fortunately, there are ways to sift through the vast number of microwave recipes out there and find the good ones. Here are some tips.

How to Find Microwave Oven Recipes

There are a number of different places you can start looking for microwave oven recipes. There are lots to be found online, or you could check cooking magazines and microwave cooking books from your library or bookstore. If you've never done much more than heat up a TV dinner in your microwave, start with a relatively simple recipe. Different microwaves require different things while cooking, so you'll have to learn yours. If you have the manual available, that will help a lot.

Once you've found a recipe that you think you'd like to try, examine it closely. See if you can find out what oven wattage the recipe is intended for. Many microwave oven recipes are made for a seven hundred watt oven. However, microwave ovens vary between around three hundred and fourteen hundred watts. Cooking a recipe meant for a different wattage could result in an under or over cooked food item.

If your recipe is meant for a different oven, look online for a conversion chart that'll tell you what kind of cooking time changes to make in order to prevent problems. If you don't know what your oven wattage is, there are charts to help you find that, too. They're based on how long it takes to boil water. Once you know your oven's power, you'll have a lot more control over cooking.

Oven features can be important when it comes to finding microwave oven recipes that'll work with your machine, too. For instance, while many microwaves now come with turntables that let food cook evenly, not all models have these. If your oven doesn't turn food automatically, you'll need to stop at various points during the cooking process to rotate it. That will keep your food from having some spots that are overcooked and others that are underdone or even cold.

Remember that while cooking in your microwave requires a lot less oil or water, these agents can affect the flavor and texture of food. Be prepared for a very low fat or low moisture microwave recipe to taste or feel a little different than a conventionally cooked one. You may wish to adjust recipes after you've tried them initially. The more experience you get with microwave cooking, the better you'll get at deciding the best way to change a recipe.

How to Find Microwave Oven Recipes

Dinner Menu Featuring an Amish Beef & Cabbage Casserole

Here is a good dinner menu that is very economical and satisfying. Featured is Amish Beef-Cabbage Casserole that I received from an Amish acquaintance. You will notice that I did not change the recipe but left it authentic with diabetic recommendations in parenthesis. This casserole has meat, vegetables, and rice which is a grain all incorporated into the dish. For our diabetics, skip bread with this meal since there is rice in the casserole. Add three bean salad and finish your meal with chocolate cake.

AMISH BEEF & CABBAGE CASSEROLE

Cooking Recipes Dinner

1 lb ground beef, browned and drained

Dinner Menu Featuring an Amish Beef & Cabbage Casserole

3 cups fresh cabbage, shredded

3/4 cup onion, diced

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1 can tomato soup

1 soup can of water

1 cup cooked rice (brown rice is recommended for diabetics)

1 tbsp brown sugar (can be omitted or use 1 tsp Splenda brown sugar blend)

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease (for health purposes, it is better to use a non-stick vegetable spray) a 2-quart casserole dish. Placed cabbage in dish. Stir in the hamburger and onion. Add remaining ingredients, except cheese, and mix all together. Cover casserole dish and bake for 1 hour. Remove from oven and sprinkle cheese over the top. Ready to serve.

THREE-BEAN SALAD

1 can cut green beans, drained & rinsed

1 can yellow wax beans, drained & rinsed

1 can kidney beans, drained & rinsed

1/2 cup bell pepper, chopped fine

1/2 cup minced onion

Dressing: 3/4 cup Splenda or Equal Sugar Lite

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 cup cider vinegar OR 1/4 cup each cider and balsmic vinegars

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

In a large bowl, combine beans, bell pepper and onion.

Make dressing: Using a glass jar with a screw-on lid, combine sugar substitute, oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. Secure lid and shake jar well to blend ingredients. Pour dressing over bean mixture and mix well to blend. Cover and refrigerate for about 24 hours. Remove from refrigerator and let come to room temperature before serving.

DIABETICS MOIST CHOCOLATE CAKE

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

2 tsp baking soda

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa

2 cups Splenda granular

1 cup vegetable oil

1 cup hot coffee

1 cup milk

2 eggs

1 tbsp mayonnaise

1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, sift together all the dry ingredients. Add oil, coffee and milk to dry ingredients; mix with electric mixer on low speed for two minutes. Add eggs, mayonnaise and vanilla extract then beat two minutes more. Spray a 13" x 9" x 2" baking pan with non-stick cooking spray. Pour batter into pan and bake at 325 degrees for 25-30 minutes until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Lightly dust with powdered sugar (see how to make sugar-free powdered sugar on this website) if desired or drizzle with sugar-free chocolate sauce.

Enjoy!

Dinner Menu Featuring an Amish Beef & Cabbage Casserole

Recipes For Romance - Ideas to Make a Romantic Dinner Extra Special

Whether it is a special occasion like Valentines Day or a Birthday, or you just want to dazzle a new love with your culinary genius there comes a time in every relationship when nothing will do but to cook your sweetie a romantic dinner. By careful advance planning you can come up with some great romantic dinner ideas that will make your evening most memorable and special, even if your culinary genius is less than dazzling. But when ordering a pizza or Chinese take-out for an evening in front of the TV just won't do, you can explore recipes for romance that will leave him wanting more.

Your romantic dinner ideas need not be expensive but they should be in line with your partner's taste. If he hates fish this isn't the time to try out your aunt's recipe for broiled salmon. If you do not know his favorite foods take the time to find out. Slip it in casual conversation or if feasible, get on the phone and call his mom. The time you spend to make the evening about him makes it all the more exciting for you both.

Cooking Recipes Dinner

That being said use your imagination. Catch him by surprise whenever possible. It needn't be elaborate but it should be spontaneous and fun. You can make a picnic in your living room or out on the balcony if that is to your taste. If he likes the beach, you can create the beach in your house in the middle of January. Coming home to see you in your teeny weeny bikini on a blanket in your living room could get him in the mood in short order. Think outside the box. Remember, romantic dinner ideas should be geared not necessarily as a way to impress your date as expressing your true feelings. Besides, romance is supposed to be fun, even if you have been married for 15 years.

Recipes For Romance - Ideas to Make a Romantic Dinner Extra Special

Just make sure the kids are at the grandparents for the night.

Candlelight and soft music is standard romance and you can't go wrong with the classics. Whatever you decide is on the menu, make sure that it is attractive. Break out the fine china and napkins. What were you saving them for anyway? The menu should be something that he loves but doesn't get every day. It needn't be expensive - although filet mignon is a nice touch. But many pasta dishes like lasagna are delicious and do not require a huge expense or a lot of time to prepare. If you are a great chef you are miles ahead of the game, but even if your culinary expertise consists of macaroni and cheese, presentation is everything. If you took the time to make it special for him, he will appreciate it. Remember, everything is better with wine. Music will go far to set the mood. Nothing is more romantic than a sexy slow dance. Think the last dance at the senior prom.

Dessert is a nice touch. If you are a master baker then by all means break out the black forest cake. However, after a satisfying meal it may be best to keep it light. A big chocolate sundae with 2 spoons is probably fine.

These days when people are way too rushed with jobs, kids and everything else, it isn't always easy to plan a special evening in. However, with a little planning and some imagination, romantic dinner ideas can be a wonderful way to get the sparks flying in a new romance or ignite new passion in a long time love. One thing is for certain, you will be cleaning up with a great big smile that you just cannot seem to wipe off your face.

Recipes For Romance - Ideas to Make a Romantic Dinner Extra Special

Filipino Recipes - Pork Binagoongan - Pinoy Food

Another all-time favorite recipe of Filipinos, especially in the Tagalog region of Luzon is the binagoongang baboy or pork with shrimp paste. It may contain a lot of calories but the pungent aroma and extremely delicious saltiness of the shrimp paste make this dish simply irresistible. Those who are on a diet should never go anywhere near this dish (unless you have strong self-control) because it is so mouth-watering that just the smell from a distance will drive your stomach rumbling. With mango and atsara on the side of this dish, you won't be able to count how many servings of rice you have already consumed.

Ingredients:

Cooking Recipes Dinner

1 kilo pork with fat (liempo, cut into cubes) 1/2 cup water 1/2 cup vinegar 2 cups bagoong alamang (shrimp paste) 4 tablespoons brown sugar 4 chili peppers (minced) 4 tomatoes (diced) 1 big onion (minced) 1 head of garlic (minced) 

Filipino Recipes - Pork Binagoongan - Pinoy Food

Cooking procedure:

Place the pork and water in a pan and cook under low heat until all of the water has evaporated. Continue cooking until oil starts to ooze from the pork meat and use the oil fry it until the meat has become slightly crispy. Take out the cooked pork from the pan and set aside. Using the same oil from the cooked pork, saute the onion, garlic, tomatoes and chili. Then add the pork cooked earlier and mix well. Add the shrimp paste into the cooking mixture and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the sugar and pour in the vinegar. Stir well then simmer for a few more minutes until everything is thoroughly cooked.

Filipino Recipes - Pork Binagoongan - Pinoy Food