Holiday Cheer in a Glass

Want to drink some holiday cheer? Try eggnog with bourbon!

Add a little nutmeg and cinnamon and it is good to go.  You don't even need to make homemade eggnog. Using the nutmeg and cinnamon will help to give it that homemade taste.  I'll be honest, I've never been much of an eggnog fan.  However, you will love this combination when curling up on the sofa or in front of a fire.

I've used Land O' Lakes Eggnog and loved it. There are many types of bourbon but a middle of the road bourbon should do just fine.

Cheers!

Ingredient Modifications for Sweet Treats

If you are going to be doing a lot of holiday baking, you may consider some of these ingredient modifications and substitutions to keep cookies, breads, and muffins from having quite as big of an impact on your waistline. I use these substitutions on a daily basis, and very rarely do my pickiest eaters even notice!

Breads:

- Substitute all-purpose (AP) flour with 1/2 100% Stone Ground Whole Wheat Flour and 1/2 100% Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
- Substitute granulated sugar with raw cane sugar

Muffins & Cookies:

- Substitute AP flour with 100% Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
- Substitute granulated sugar with raw cane sugar

Shopping Tips:

- Raw cane sugar is sometimes referred to as "turbinado sugar" or "Sugar in the Raw"
- 100% Stone Ground Whole Wheat Flour can be found in nearly any grocery store, Wal Mart or Target
- 100% Whole Wheat Pastry Flour is a little bit harder to find but can almost always be found at Tom Thumb, Central Market, or Whole Foods

Why can this battle the bulge?

These substitutions are more natural versions of what everyday recipes call for.  They are less processed and refined.  This ultimately means that your body has to do more work to digest them, which usually results in less fat storage in your body.  While cookies will never really be "good" for you, some slight alterations in their make up can make an impact, especially if these habits are incorporated for the long term.

For more information on these and other healthy substitutions, I recommend a book called "Sugar Busters!" Sugar Busters! isn't so much a diet as it is a lifestyle.  

"Sugar Busters! Cut Sugar to Trim Fat"

Enjoy!

Cooking for One

Ever ask yourself, "what's the point in cooking?  It's too hard to cook for one person."  Cooking for one person can seem like a lonely and daunting task, but when you really look at it, it's more of a planning challenge than anything else.

I have done a lot of "cooking for one" and I have found that the best way to do this is to make casseroles, lasagna, and sauces that you can freeze as single servings in air-tight containers.  Freezing in single servings allows you to have very quick and healthy meals by popping them in the microwave to defrost.

Tip - make sure these items cool completely before freezing them. Otherwise you'll end up with lots of ice crystals on top of your food when you pull it out of the freezer to defrost.

Some of my favorites to make and freeze in single servings are:

- Chicken Tetrazini
- Lasagna (Beef or turkey)
- Eggplant Parmesan
- Chicken Florentine Lasagna
- Spaghetti Sauce

These are much better and so much less expensive than TV dinners.  You'll get lots more nutrition, stay full  for longer, and keep more money in your wallet.

Keeping flash frozen veggies on hand and spicing them up by sauteing them in onion and olive oil is also very easy and makes for a nice complement to any of these dishes.  Using the flash frozen veggies keeps you from having to throw out veggies that go bad because you can't eat them fast enough, or keeps you from going to the grocery store 3 times per week.

These frozen servings are also very easy to take to work for lunch.  Ziploc and Glad make steam bags that you can take to throw in some veggies as a side.  I did this for a couple of years because I couldn't make it home for lunch and back to work within an hour.  It saves lots of money and keeps you healthy. You always know what's in your food when you make it!

If you would like recipes for any of these, just let me know and I would be happy to provide them.

Enjoy!  And next time you find yourself thinking, "one is the loneliest number..." think again!

Hot off the press!

Craving comfort food in Fort Worth? Check out the latest cover story from Fort Worth, Texas Magazine!

http://www.virtualonlineeditions.com/publication/?i=24924&p=155

Great job to our local restaurant critic - check out Camille Torres' monthly Restaurant Review in the FW Mag!

Kickin' Quick Eggs Benedict

Here's a quick and easy modified eggs benedict recipe from my own kitchen. It is highly delicious and has a Southwestern kick!

INGREDIENTS:
- One (1) 100% Whole Wheat English Muffin (Pepperidge Farm or Nature's Own are the best!)
- Two (2) Eggs
- Philadelphia Light Cream Cheese
- Valentina Extra Hot Sauce
- S&P
- Fat free cooking spray (such as Pam or Crisco)

DIRECTIONS:
- Toast muffin
- "Fry" two eggs in cooking spray being careful not to break the yolks (you want them to be almost cooked through but not completely)
- Mix 1 part cream cheese (one spoonful for two muffin halves) and 1 part Valentina
- Spread cream cheese mix over toasted muffin halves
- Top with one egg per half
- S&P to taste

Easy enough to do on a weekday, tasty enough for a weekend!

Enjoy!!

Cowtown Kitchen Tip

Here's a tip compliments of Good Eats.

To save leftover wine for cooking, pour into ice cube trays and freeze.  Once frozen solid, you can move the "wine cubes" to freezer bags for long term storage.

Now you don't have to worry about wasting wine.  Especially if you're notorious for never finishing a bottle.  Not usually my problem, but a great tip nonetheless!

Thanks, Alton!

Stock your freezer!

There is nothing more important than having basic staples to work with.  Especially in your freezer. Today's technology allows you to easily freeze and save meats and fish for months on end with out worrying about spoilage.

I prefer Ziploc freezer bags, but there are many companies that make good ones.  One important thing to remember is that buying meat in the standard packages from the grocery store and simply throwing it in the freezer is not a good plan!  In my experience, it has lead to freezer burn and a bland end result.

Buy in bulk! I like to buy chicken, clean the chicken, and then freeze in serving sizes.  Do you often cook for one?  Do you cook for two?  Do you cook for an army?  Freeze accordingly.

The inspiration behind this post is the dreaded feeling that it's time to make dinner and you've either avoided going to the grocery store, or you've been out of town so often you haven't made time yet.  Having basics in the freezer makes your life so much easier!! You can build a meal from a well stocked freezer.

Tonight's example:
- Filet mignon (previously frozen, thawed in the sink in a hot water bath)
- Roasted tomatoes topped with parmesan cheese
- Steamed asparagus
- Wild rice

Happy stocking!

Welcome!

Welcome to Cowtown Kitchen!

Thank you all for visiting.  My hope is that each of you will visit this blog to stayed tuned with simple cooking solutions and ideas.  For me, seeing and smelling one thing or another often inspires me to jump into the kitchen and experiment.  That isn't everyone's story.

For many people it's a chore, not often greeted with confidence and enthusiasm.  I hope that through reading these posts and the comments of others, that each of you will be inspired and excited to try something new, and dress the dinner table with something from a fresh perspective.

Please feel free to comment and offer tips and solutions of things that have worked for you in the past!  Every cook is a work in progress.

Cheers!