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Make the Most of a Roast, Part II
Something else that roasting offers is it allows the meat you pick to be stuffed with your choice of veggies or spices. Many meats are knotted up using a knot called the packers knot. This keeps the meat in a tight ball keeping those hidden surprises intact and ensuring your food is getting cooked evenly all the way around.
Roasting isn’t the healthiest way to cook your foods as it does take a lot away from what you cook. When roasting meat there’s a spicier taste, so if you like your taste buds to tingle then roasting is perfect way to go.
Another cool fact about roasting is that in most instances the meat comes out of the oven before it’s all the way done. The internal meat is still cooking and gives us that slow cooked touch. It allows for all the juices to sink in and help make your mouth water
Facts for Better Roasting
There are some tricks you should know to making your roast better. Make sure to soak the meat in butter or some sort of oil. This allows for moisture to remain in the meat rather than losing all of it in the air while cooking. Another good tip is to put your meat into a plastic bag while being roasted. This allows for the cooking time to be cut in half and also helps keep juices in the meat.
If you remember that the heat in baking and roasting will dry out food if you are not careful, you can learn to work with your oven to get the most of out of to bake in nutrition and taste and be sure that no food in your house goes to waste.
Making the Most of Your Microwave to Save Time, Part 1
The great invention called the microwave!
Suddenly dinner doesn’t seem like such a task when you can just pop a meal in and snatch it out. Microwave cooking can me a faster and easier way to cook. But is it always healthy and affordable? Let’s find out.
IS FAST ALWAYS HEALTHY?
Everybody loves those quick fixes at the end of a hectic day but is that always healthy for you and your loved ones? The answer is yes and no. There are some microwavable meals that have the vegetables and fruits included while other meals may only have the meat.
Though the fruit and veggies might not be there another plus of microwavable meals is that they are extremely easy to add sides to. Throw in a favorite fruit cup or grab a banana. The main goal of a micro waved meal is finding a healthy quick way to make that rumble in your stomach go away. Though there are meals that are healthy there are also ones you might want to watch out for. That quick little Hot Pocket probably isn’t going to give you the nutrients you might need. When out shopping, pay attention to the picture on the front of the box or container. If you see green beans, mashed potatoes and roast then chances are it’s going to be a pretty balanced meal.
Only the veggies, in their original state are the best. They have food enzymes that help your metabolism and keep you full of energy to tackle those tasks you have planned for the day. You don’t even necessarily have to microwave or cook them. Just eat them raw that’s when there in their best form and the healthiest. Add fresh vegetables or fruits to a microwave meat for a healthier addition.
Continued in Part 2.
Making the Most of a Roast, Part 1
Making the Most of a Roast, Part 1
The delicious roast beef that comes out of the oven a deep dark brown is something most people enjoy as a special meal, but they do not eat it very often, not when there is so much takeaway and fast food to be had.
But is roast beef the only kind of roast you can enjoy? Of course not.
Is roasting difficult? No. So why don’t we do it more often?
Usually you roast large pieces of meat such as beef, pork or maybe even lamb. Yet there are so many other options and choices when roasting. You can create a colorful meal with many variables by just roasting. It enhances the flavors and brings out the best in your meat products!
Roasting 101
In order to know what foods to roast you have to understand what roasting does to the food. Roasting uses dry heat to cook food, much like the oven. When you roast meat it causes what is called caramelization or to put it simpler it makes the meat a beautiful appetizing golden brown color. Meat isn’t the only thing that you can roast. Most vegetables can be roasted. Here is a list of great ideas for healthy roasting:
*Potatoes- When roasted it is going to change the texture and taste of the potatoes skin
*Zucchini- Gives it a juicy yet crunchy taste
*Pumpkin- Boy does roasting really bring out the best in pumpkin with enhanced flavor
*Turnips- Makes for a healthy treat
*Cauliflower- Lets you add a zesty flavor to any meat
*Squash- A great side dish to that main course
*Peppers- Livens your food up and gives it a spicier taste
In the second part of this article, we will look at other ways to make the most of any roast.
Engagement Party Games
The engagement party is a time when the families of the couple will be together to get to know one another. In some cases, this might be the first meeting between the two families or groups of friends, and any icebreaker activity will be a welcome event.
In that light, whoever plans the engagement party (likely the bride’s family, but it can be the engaged couple or anyone else who wants to plan the party) should plan a few games and activities designed to help everyone get to know everyone else.
First up is a trivia game. Create a “Trivial Pursuit” type game with questions about the bride and groom’s lives. You might contain the questions to just facts and events relating to both the bride and groom (such as how long did it take her to say “yes” when he asked, where did he propose, where did they meet, etc).
Or you can include questions pertaining to their lives outside of each other and before they met each other. Not only can this be fun, but also it’s an entertaining way for people to get to know each other and the engaged couple better.
One popular icebreaker that’s used at corporate functions and company parties can also work really well at engagement parties. Tape a large lined card to each person’s back and encourage him or her to work the room, mingle with everyone and particularly try to get to know someone they have never met before.
Before moving on to someone else, be sure to make a comment about the person on the card on his or her back. The engagement party guest can write a polite impression of that person, such as “she seems sweet” or “he knows a lot about the weather”.
This icebreaker ends when the mingling session is over. The cards are then read by the owner of the card, sharing it with the people around them, who have to untape it from their back! People not only get to know each other better, but enjoy hearing all the comments people made about them. It is also a little keepsake of the special day.
Try to ensure that comments are complimentary or somehow presented in a positive light. Hurtful comments, obviously, are not appropriate. Not unless you want a war between the families, that is!
If this is truly the first time many of the guests have met, then another fun game involving the wearing of cards might be in order. In this game, each guest wears a card on their front that has their name on the front and a number on the back. They don’t share with anyone what their number is. Guests mingle and chat and get to know each other over the course of the evening.
Toward the end of the evening, the cards are flipped over and the number side is shown. Everyone gets a piece of paper and writes the numbers on the paper, then tries to correspond the name of someone with their number. This fun game can be hard for people who are bad with names, but it’s fun nonetheless.
For an activity that doesn’t put people on the spot quite so much, consider letting the already marrieds help out the to-be marrieds. Place two pieces of posterboard on the wall and mark them “advice from women” and “advice from men”.
Now is the time to offer advice about wedding planning, not about being married. That advice can come later. There will certainly be plenty of it!
Encourage guests to offer their own wedding planning advice. The advice from older people at the party could be decidedly different from the younger couples in the group, making for an enlightening group of comments which can also be useful for the couple and help them plan for their big day.