Cooking Articles Article:
Perfect Picnics - Frugal Food Safety Tips
Summer is finally here and for a lot of us that means heading out to the lake or to the park for a picnic with friends or family.
Unfortunately, if we're not careful when we plan, transport and serve that picnic, our outing might not end up happily.
Here are some tips to remember when planning an outdoor meal:
1. Keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold. Bacteria multiply quickly at temperatures between 40 and 140 degrees. Foods that have been kept at unsafe temperatures are a prime source of foodborne illnesses.
2. Plan ahead and try to take foods that don't spoil so quickly. At any rate, don't eat anything that's been sitting out for more than an hour, especially if the temperature is over 80.
3. Try to take only the amount of food that will be eaten, so there will be no leftovers.
4. Pack your food with ice or cold packs in an insulated cooler. Place foods that will be eaten last in the bottom. You can make your own blocks of ice by freezing water in milk cartons or other plastic containers.
Place ice blocks or cold packs between containers of food, never just place containers of food on top of ice.
5. You might want to bring 2 coolers -- 1 for drinks, because it will be opened more often, and 1 for the food, that can be set in the shade and kept closed until needed.
6. If you're planning to cook hamburgers at the picnic site, shape your meat into patties and freeze before putting into the cooler. Take along a meat thermometer to be sure you cook the meat to an internal temperature of at least 160 degrees.
7. An extra zip-top bag full of ice can be placed in the top of the cooler. The extra ice will come in handy for the trip home. If your day is a long one, and the ice melts the cold water can come in handy, also.
8. Carry your cooler inside your car, instead of in your hot trunk and be sure to place it in a shady spot and maybe even cover it with a blanket when you reach your destination. Open it only when necessary.
9. Instead of bringing whole jars of condiments, pack what you will need into smaller plastic containers.
10. Bring lots of clean utensils for serving as well as eating. Pack pre-moistened towelettes and paper towels for easy cleanup.
11. And remember this rule from the U.S. Department of Agriculture regarding leftovers: When in doubt, throw it out!
About The Author
Cyndi Roberts has been happily married to her best friend for 34 years and is a proud mother of 3. In her newsletter, "1 Frugal Friend 2 Another" she uses her years of experience as a wife, mother and chief budget officer to help others learn how to "live the good life...on a budget!" To subscribe, visit her online at http://www.cynroberts.com
Related Perfect Cooking News and Articles From ezinearticles.com
For best result, food is stacked accordingly in the tajine; food requiring more cooking time is placed first followed by other ingredients. Oil is optional when cooking with a tajine, but for best result use good quality olive oil. Place one or two tablespoons just enough to thinly coat the base of the tajine.
Your grilling machine needs to be maintained regularly. Learn some tips on how to keep your grilling machine in top condition all the time.
The spiralizer, also known as the spiral slicer, is a cool tool that you can use to make angel hair type noodles out of hard root vegetables. Typically the spiralizer is used with zucchini to make an alternative to wheat pasta, but it also works great with carrots and beets. Kids love the bright colors and the silly texture of spiralized beets and carrots. You can simply just put spiralized carrots and beets in a salad or try these two interesting recipes below.
Grilling is a popular form of cooking that is commonly employed during the weekends when the different members of the family get the opportunity to gather outside the house for some barbecue and other great dishes. This type of cooking makes use of the concept of dry heat. In this cooking method, dry heat is channeled onto the surface of the different food items that are being cooked.
Grilling is a cooking method that has long been employed all over the world because of the distinct type of flavor that it gives different food items. Grills used during grilling make use of different systems. Some of these include gas, propane gas, natural gas, charcoal, and electric systems.
You can serve your family healthy, nutritious, and delicious meals every time you cook if you prepare those meals in surgical stainless steel cookware. There are numerous benefits to cooking with this type of cookware. Benefits of waterless cookware. When you cook vegetables in a pot of water, many of the vitamins and minerals are lost.
Cooking healthy for kids really isn't all that difficult. By adding variety and substituting fresh fruits and vegetables, for the unhealthy junk foods, your kids will enjoy eating healthier.
Kitchen knives are one of the most important tools in the home, but are often the most neglected. Keep them sharp and you will be safer and have less of a chore cutting vegetables and meat to prepare for meals. A sharp knife will glide through the work with you easily able to control it.
It is true that food shopping and cooking takes time. Time is the most valuable aspect we have and most of us can not afford to invest it in these activities. The results is that we end up eating poorly and spending too much money on ready meals and take-away. If you want to improve the quality of your nutrition and at the same time reduce the amount of money spend on food, you can apply the following practical methods that will allow you to cook healthy nutritious meals fast and easy. The idea is to cook quick and easy recipes which a healthy and tasty at the same time. These following 6 steps can help you enjoy your own recipes even if your time is very limited.
This specific piece examines Lodge dutch ovens. It features guidelines for how to uncover the right dutch oven for you. After digesting it, you will be in a position to make a much far more informed, intelligent purchasing selection.
