Delicious Crockpot Recipes For The Family

For the working family these recipes work a wonder. Come home, relax, and enjoy a meal you only slaved 10 to 20 min prep in the morning.

Recipe #1:

To Die For Pot Roast

3 1/2 to 4 LB Rump Roast

1 Bag Of Baby Cut Carrots

3 Large Onions

5 Potatoes

1 Can Of Cream Of Mushroom Soup

1 Packet Of French Onion Soup Mix

1/4 Cup Water

Tips Cake Decorating For Buttercream Frosting

Buttercream frosting is probably the most popular cake decorating ingredient. It is light and fluffy, and with a modest amount of practice is easy to use with basic kitchen tools, a decorator's bag, and a variety of tips. Following are ten basic buttercream cake decorating tips:

1.    Use the right icing consistency. For example, stiff icing works for roses and carnations; medium icing works for covering the cake, borders, and stars; and thin icing is good for writing and making leaves.
2.    Remember the undercoat - spread a thin layer of icing onto the cake to seal in the freshness and to prevent crumbs from mixing into the main layer of icing.

3.   Cover the bowl with a damp towel to keep the icing moist.
    Always refrigerate leftover icing as it is perishable. It will keep for up to two weeks if well sealed. Rewhip any icing that has been stored before trying to put it on the cake.
4.    Shop for cake decorating supplies at a major craft store or a cake decorating supply store for the best selection of colors and other supplies.
5.    Items to include in your starter tool kit: pastry bags, couplers, icing spatula, serrated scraper and a variety of icing tips. With the correct tips you can create decorations such as twisted ropes and leaves, stars, swirls, scrolls, embroidery, shells, dots, and zigzags.
6.    Never color icing with liquid food color as it will alter icing consistency - try a gel or paste.
7.    Add color carefully, gradually mixing in very small amounts at a time - stop when the color is almost the shade you want - the color will get darker with time.
8.    Purchase tubes of pre-colored icing - handy when you make multi-colored decorations. You can even purchase ready-made icing for the whole cake when you are pressed for time.
 9.   Buttercream will melt if the temperature is too hot - something to keep in mind if you are planning a summer garden party.


Bonus Cake Decorating Tip - How to Learn More

The main skill needed for decorating with buttercream frosting is knowing how to use a decorator's bag - knowing what pressure to apply and the angle to hold the bag is crucial, as is becoming familiar with the many different tips for creating different effects. Another skill that will help you make impressive cakes is transferring patterns to a cake by tracing them with piping gel.

The best way to acquire cake decorating skills is to attend classes in the community or online. Some people can learn from books, but this approach isn't for everyone. The advantage of courses is that you connect to an instructor and other students - you'll find that over time you will share many cake decorating tips and ideas with your new friends.

Quintessential Foods of New Orleans

At mid-day, how about a sandwich? Po' boys were created as a serious meal of a sandwich for "poor boys" with little money. Fillings vary from roast beef, alligator sausage, ham, shrimp, or french fries with gravy; but the bread is always crunchy crusted New Orleans French bread with a lighter than air center. On the other hand, the mighty muffuletta sandwich uses Italian muffuletta bread, smeared with marinated olive spread; it's densely packed, in submarine fashion, with tempting Italian meats and cheeses.

Feeling peckish? Try praline candy: pecans, brown sugar, cream and butter fused in a delightfully crunchy, sweet way.

Evening meals could be boiled crawfish, étouffée, jambalaya, shrimp creole or gumbo. If it's Monday, the time honored tradition is red beans and rice.

Quinoa Recipes - Simple Guidelines For Cooking Quinoa

Quinoa isn't actually a newly discovered health grain that is revolutionising the health industry, but a very ancient staple crop that was cultivated some 5000 years ago by the ancient Incas. They understood its nutritional value even then and actually worshipped the grain in their culture. The correct way to pronounce it is 'keen-wah' and has been recognised quite recently as one of the healthiest foods there is, which is why people are now beginning to include it in every-day meals.

Today many people categorize it as a grain, but in actual fact it is a seed that is part of the swiss-chard and spinach family. Because it is a seed and not a grain means that it has an outer waxy coating called 'saponin', which if not removed prior to cooking can result in your meal tasting very bitter? It is highly recommended to pre-soak the grain for about 7-8 hours or over-night, then wash it and rinse off, this will ensure the coating is removed correctly, it also allows the grain to become a little softer which makes it easier for cooking.