Cooking Basics

Cooking pasta is a very simple task that many home cooks, plain and simple, mess up every time. Use these tips to cook perfect pasta.

Olive oil is a healthier alternative to vegetable oil when cooking your favorite meals. You can cook most foods with olive oil and still have it taste good. Olive oil can be used as a additive to...

Pasta comes in a variety of shapes and colors. The wide variety of pastas includes spaghetti, vermicelli, fettuccini, macaroni, rigatoni, noodles and won tons. In Italian, pasta means paste. The...

The holiday season is one of your busiest times of the year, and one of the most expensive. With all of the holiday shopping, wrapping presents, visiting friends and holiday parties, finding time...

Meal planning on a budget isn't all that difficult. Planning balanced meals on a budget however can be difficult and frustrating. It's easy to buy in quantity on a budget but who wants mac n'...

Here’s how to make easy pasta dough by hand.

How often have you tried to make noodles or pasta for dinner and it came up in clumps or in the worst case scenario - one large ball of noodles when removing it from the colander? Despite my best...

Pasta has become one of the staples of diets all over the world. Not only is it filling and delicious, certain types of pasta, particularly wholegrain, add fiber to the diet, making the dish...

This recipe for homemade spaghetti sauce is easy to make and so delicious, that you will never want to eat pasta sauce out of a jar again! The recipe makes a fairly large batch - which is great...

Whether you are single, a widow/widower, or a recent college graduate, you have probably experience that cooking for yourself can be lonely, challenging, and expensive. It can be difficult to size...

You can quickly and easily make fresh pasta dough in your home. With a few ingredients and simple steps, you'll be on your way to beautiful handmade pasta. Practice your technique to consistently...

These days, many people consider pasta a bad carbohydrate. However, eaten in moderation and choosing whole wheat and vegetable-based varieties, you can enjoy the perfect pasta dish on...

You've had a long day at the office. The last thing you feel like doing is cooking, but the kids are hungry. Have no fear! There are plenty of easy midweek meal ideas. Here are a few ideas.

How many times do you try to cook a pasta based meal and turn your back and the noodles stick to the bottom of the pan or each other?

Making your own homemade pasta from scratch may be easier than you would have imagined. Just using a few simple ingredients and putting a little elbow grease into it can produce a delicious meal...

When garlic is roasted, it becomes milder, sweeter and much easier to peel. Roasted garlic has a creamy, spreadable consistency and a delicious, earthy flavor that can be used in a variety of dishes.

Sunflower oil is a healthy, easy alternative to fattier oils, including canola and vegetable oil, because it contains no saturated or trans-fat. For consumers who have never cooked with sunflower...

There are many simple meals kids can prepare by themselves or with assistance from adults that make a good dinner for the whole family. Older children can make an easy meal without too much adult...

A colander is a metal, plastic or ceramic bowl with a perforated bottom and sides. It is used straining liquids from solid foods, and a colander comes in handy when you need to rinse a number of...

If your in a rush for a great quick dinner, this meal is for you.

Pasta is a food that everyone loves, but most diets forbid it. As long as it is eaten in moderation, pasta is a nutritious food that can be made at home with wheat in order to be low in...

When my family is hungry, they want to eat right away! I do love to cook meals for my husband and kids, but they are just so impatient. When I don’t have time to really get into the kitchen and...

Here are some tips to help you prepare healthy meals during the week when you are very busy.

Italians are known for their delicious food. Household favorites like spaghetti and lasagna are easily enjoyed by everyone. But going beyond spaghetti and cooking your own signature dish is fun...

Grilled chicken is not just for dieters. It is a healthy and tasty choice that goes well with many different side dishes.

I have ruined my diet more times than I can count, simply because I thought I didn't have enough time to cook at home. After all, the drive through only takes a few minutes. If you are short on...

There is no end to the amount of times I have let the water boil over or over cooked pasta when I got to answer the phone or check on my small child. This will bring a end to standing at the...

Do you want to cook life a gourmet? Are you limited on time and money? Here are a few tips on how to "fake it" and make great meals in very little time.

Ever wondered what it would be like to make your own pasta sauce but thought it was too hard? After you try this recipe for basic marinara sauce you'll be asking yourself why you ever bought...

Leftovers are one of the biggest culprits of wasted food. You're done eating a meal, you seal the leftovers in a container and throw it in the fridge. Before you know it the leftovers have been...

There is just something about eating out that mesmerizes people. Perhaps it’s the effort the goes into making a home-cooked meal or the thought of doing dishes afterwards. Whatever it is,...

Cooking pasta is easy. But there are a few pitfalls to avoid. Sticking pasta, over cooked pasta and pasta that just doesn't taste good.

Are you tired of spending to much time in the kitchen? Here are a few steps that might help you.

Feeding a family is a big challenge. Feeding a family on a budget? Well, that’s an even bigger one. Preparing healthy nutritious meals on a budget? Today, that can be almost impossible. Take...

Ever wonder how pasta was made before the supermarket variety? Ever wish you could make your own wholesome food from scratch? Well then this is the article for you - this quick and easy way to...

When you are done using your pasta maker to craft a certain shape of pasta, you may decide you want to move on and make another. To change shapes using a standard electric pasta maker with a...

This article will show you how to boil spaghetti to perfection.

There is nothing more wonderful than serving homemade pasta noodles along with your favorite meal. The light and chewy texture of a pasta noodle made from scratch are far superior to the dry...

So, you're a pasta fiend. You'd never make it on the Atkins diet, but there are certainly other ways to lighten up and make your meals more healthy. Believe it or not, given the right ingredients,...

If you need to spend less money, you can experiment with cooking and eating less expensively. Groceries make up a big part of most people's budgets, and with the cost of food going up, up, up;...

One of the first steps in making fettuccine is to boil the pasta.

Rice Pilaf sounds fancy but is so simple when you know the basic combo. Rice Pilaf is a rice dish that always begins by browning the rice in butter or oil before cooking it in stock. Pilafs can...

If you want to have a delicious homemade spaghetti dinner, you have to know how to cook the spaghetti pasta. It will turn out perfectly every time, if you follow these easy steps.

Making meals from basic ingredients is a lost art because many of us have believed the Madison Avenue spin doctors who tell us that we can save time by buying delicious pre-fabricated food from...

Many times there are leftovers from Pasta and the best way to use this pasta is by making a delicious Omelette.

With "carb" becoming a dirty word, it may surprise people in this country to know that in Italy, millions of people eat pasta - either for lunch or for dinner - every day. Naturally,...

Pasta can clump together in one big mess if left too long before serving. Returning the pasta to hot water may soften it beyond the desirable point of al dente (firm "to the tooth"), but it's the...

Boil some pasta, open a jar of spaghetti sauce, and you have the quintessential meal for an American 20-year-old.

Perfectly cooked pasta is called "al dente," which in Italian means "to the tooth." Al dente pasta is cooked just enough to retain a firm texture while being fully pliable.

Reheated pasta is never as good as freshly cooked - reheating inevitably overcooks the pasta. But if you've got some left over, here's how to freshen it up.