Garlic Bread on Texas Toast Recipe

 By Becca Knight 

Photo: 4.bp.blogspot.com
 
Popular in Texas and the states surrounding it, Texas toast is generally served toasted as a side. Texas toast is a type of pre-sliced bread packed in bags, not sold toasted as the name implies. What sets it apart from other bread is that it is that the thickness of the slices is double the thickness of typical sliced bread. It is especially useful for dishes in which the bread is used to soak up liquid ingredients. Extra thickness can improve the finished product, such as in French toast.

Texas toast was reportedly first served at The Pig Stand drive-in restaurant in Beaumont, Texas, after a bakery order for thicker slices of bread resulted in slices too thick for the toaster and the cook suggested buttering and grilling them as a remedy in 1941. Although The Pig Stand's story is not contended, they failed to patent this invention. Producers of Texas toast in the United States include Wonder Bread, Mrs. Baird's, Franz Bakery, and Safeway's Lucerne foods.

In this recipe, you may use margarine or butter, whipped or not, as long as it is spreadable. The main detail to adhere to is the proper technique for producing the garlic bread on Texas toast.

Ingredients
Texas toast bread, unfrozen
Butter or margarine, softened
Granulated garlic powder
Paprika powder
Dried parsley

Directions
Heat oven to 400º F

Select the desired number of slices from the loaf - or loaves if you are doing a large quantity. The most important thing you need to know about making Texas toast right is you need to butter both sides. Using plain, unseasoned butter or margarine coat each side of each slice of bread evenly paying attention to cover the edges so that they do not burn. Place on an un-greased shallow baking sheet as you go.
Next sprinkle as much granulated garlic as you wish onto the upward facing side of the buttered bread and follow with paprika and parsley. The paprika and parsley have a mild flavor so that the garlic will stand out, and are mainly used for the added colors. Red paprika, green parsley and white bread together represent the colors in the Italian flag. So here we have a marriage of Italy and Texas, time to "toast" the newlyweds.
Put the toast into the pre-heated oven or broiler. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until butter is melted and bread is golden brown. This will be a richer toast than a garlic toast on a French loaf with warm buttery goodness top and bottom.

Place the toast on a plate or basket and serve warm.

Becca Knight lives in Texas and writes about it on her blog "Don't Know Much About Texas"

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Simple Tips For Making The Perfect Smoothie

By Tracy J Elmore

Photo: http://tnt802.files.wordpress.com

Smoothies are seen as a perfect way of maintaining good health. Making a smoothie can be pretty easy but there are certain tricks that one needs to keep in mind to in order obtain the best smoothie. Some of the tips used in making the best smoothies include:

Use Yoghurt as your Base

Making a smoothie normally requires a semi liquid. Normally milk is usually used or sometimes soy. Yoghurt is seen to be the best base as it contains certain beneficial bacteria. Yoghurt is also good because it is low in calories.

Freeze Your Fruits

Frozen fruits are the best when it comes to making smoothies. Frozen fruits normally make your smoothie to be extra thick and cold. Large fruits like melons normally need to be chopped before being placed in the freezer.

Healthy All the way

If you intend to lower the content of calories in your smoothie, you can either use skimmed milk or soy milk. You can also increase the nutrition of your smoothie by using protein powder, brewer's yeast or wheat germ.

Cocoa is normally packed with lots of flavanols. These are the compounds used in making chocolates. Unlike chocolates cocoa is seen to be virtually fat free and low in calories. Adding just one teaspoon of cocoa will go a long way in boosting the health of your heart. Cocoa powder is good for butter and banana smoothies.

Extra Tips

It can be really irritating when you make a smoothie and realize that's its not thick enough. If your smoothie is coming out extra thin you can make it thicker by adding ice cubes.

When blending, it is necessary that you add the liquids first. This prevents the fruits from binding up with the liquids. Blend everything on high until it is highly blended. If the smoothie is too thick it means that you've used too much ice cubes or frozen fruits. Thinning can be done by using water, a splash of coffee or green tea. Coffee perfectly matches with smoothies made of butter, cocoa powder and bananas. Green tea on the other hand particularly goes well with peaches and strawberries. In addition, coffee and tea are seen to have beneficial antioxidants which have numerous health benefits.

The ingredients used in making smoothies are never sweet for the tongue. One can sweeten the smoothie a little bit by adding maple syrup or honey. Keep this sweeteners at a minimum in order to keep the calories level down.

Some of the ingredients used in making a punchy smoothie include:

• 1 cup of milk

• 1 cup spinach

• 1 teaspoon of honey

• A quarter cup of frozen peaches

• A quarter cup of frozen strawberries

Finally just because your smoothie has ingredients like spinach, peaches and soymilk doesn't mean that it's healthy. A healthy smoothie is one that has a low count in calorie. You need to keep an eye on the calories level of your smoothie. This will help you understand how your smoothie fits perfectly in to your diet plan. To learn more about how to make the perfect smoothie, visit http://www.mainstreetclinton.com.

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A Delicious Honey Bee Cocktail Recipe

 By Laurel P Abell 

Photo: honeybeesrecipes.com
 
Honey can be easily used in many different ways without making too many efforts. It is not only a natural sweetener, but also has many other benefits. According to numerous studies and researches, honey protects your body against infections and also prevents many diseases. Usually, natural honey bee food contains royal jelly, bee propolis and bee pollen.

Daily intake in an appropriate amount means good health. Moreover, it can be easily incorporated into your diet via simple and delicious recipes. To start with, you can simply eat one tablespoon of honey with your morning tea. In the afternoon, iced tea can also be a good choice. At night, a honey bee cocktail will completely relax your mind and body. While making food for your family, you can add taste as well as health by adding just a few drops of honey.
Honey is quite healthy for your body. However, you should consider a few things while using it in home recipes.

You should not heat raw honey over 160 degrees Fahrenheit. This is because excessive heat causes honey to lose its medicinal properties. Honey is a natural sweetener. Therefore, you should use it in less quantity than sugar. In other words, one cup of sugar is equivalent to half or three-fourth cup of honey. Moreover, honey turns food into brown color quickly. Therefore, cooking temperature should also be low.

As mentioned earlier, natural honey has many benefits. It affects your health as well as beauty. Moreover, it can be consumed by everyone. Honey can be easily used for a lot of home remedies, home recipes and many other purposes. In fact, it can be easily bought at affordable rates. Honey also acts as a good cure for many different types of skin problems.

A Delicious Cocktail Recipe

Almost all of us attend parties or even host them on a regular basis. Most of the time, guests just want to sit back and relax. For many people, relaxation means having a few drinks and enjoying themselves. However, people are usually confused about the choice of drink to be kept in a party. As a host, a person has to keep in mind different preferences, likes and dislikes. A cocktail is often a good choice when you are confused in such circumstances. Let us tell you about the recipe of a delicious and easy-to-make cocktail:

Honey Bee cocktail.
Preparation Time - Approximately 15 Minutes
Ingredients
¾ oz lemon juice
1 Bottle non alcohol champagne
½ oz Honey
½ water
Lemon twist to garnish
Ice Cubes to add to the drink

First of all, you have to take a saucepan and fill it with honey and water. Heat them for some time until the mixture thickens. Once the mixture has thickened, let it cool for some time. After this, add honey syrup, lemon juice, bottle non alcohol champagne to a punch bowel. You should also add ice. Mix. Pour the drink in a cocktail glasses with ice. Garnish it with a lemon twist. Your Honey Bee cocktail is ready to be served. It will taste as sweet as honey, with some sourness from lemon and just a hint of champagne.

http://www.hiveandhoneyapiary.com

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A Simple Meal For Garlic And Asparagus Lovers

 By Dan Lefevre 

Photo: mommyaloha.com
 
Anyone who knows me knows that I love garlic. I usually eat four or five cloves a day. And not little ones either! I crush medium to large sized cloves and find a way to include them with at least one meal. And before you ask, the answer is NO: despite all the garlic that I eat, I don't smell like garlic! I guess I'm lucky that way.

Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. I love fried potatoes and over-medium eggs served alongside sausage patties or a pile of crispy bacon. Yum! There's no better way to start the day than breakfast at a local, greasy-spoon diner. However, the problem with breakfast at the diner is there aren't any breakfast dishes that contain garlic. Not a single one. And there's never anything on the menu that contains asparagus either (another one of my favorite foods). So, I took it upon myself to dream up a very simple meal that uses garlic, potatoes, asparagus, and fried eggs. After preparing this meal several times, I finally figured out how to make it perfect for my taste buds. I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I do!

First, wash a medium sized potato and cut it into small cubes. I prefer to leave the skin on, but you're welcome to peel it. Drop a tablespoon of butter into a frying pan, set the heat on medium, and throw the potato cubes in there.

When the potatoes are nearly cooked, it's time to crush your garlic. I use two to three medium sized cloves but that might be too much for the average person, so maybe start with just one small clove the first time you cook this meal. Crush the garlic and dump it into a small bowl. Very important: let the crushed garlic sit for at least ten minutes all by itself before you mix it with anything. Use an egg timer if you have to (I have three in my kitchen!).

Next, wash and cut eight stalks of asparagus into 1/4 inch pieces. I generally use the top six inches from each piece and toss the lower portion into the trash. In another pan, sauté the asparagus in a tablespoon of butter, and remember to keep stirring them so they don't burn.
By now, your potatoes should be done. I'll usually crank the heat up for at least three to four minutes in order to brown them and make them crispy, and then I'll turn the heat off altogether. Cook the potatoes to your liking, and then turn the heat off.

I prefer to cook the asparagus until they almost lose their crispiness, and then I pour the asparagus into the pan containing the potatoes and mix them together (remember to turn the heat off!).
In the same pan that you cooked the asparagus, fry a couple of eggs. Flip them once and cook to your liking. I prefer over-medium eggs: fluid yolks but thoroughly cooked whites.
The last couple of steps are pretty simple: add the crushed garlic to the pan of potatoes and asparagus, and mix together. Then pour the potatoes and asparagus and garlic mix onto a large plate. Sprinkle a little salt across everything, and then plop the fried eggs on top.

I eat this meal at least three or four times a week, and I love it every time. I like the texture of the egg yolk mixing in with the crispy potatoes and asparagus. Although you can certainly add a sauce to the top of this, I don't think you need to. The blend of flavors and textures makes this meal perfect the way it is.

Some day, somewhere, a restaurant will start serving this meal for breakfast, and when they do, I'll be there!

The listed ingredients will serve one person:

1 medium sized potato
3 medium sized cloves of garlic, crushed (use less if you're new to garlic)
6 spears of asparagus cut into 1/4 inch pieces (use the top 6 inches; discard the rest)
2 eggs
2 tablespoons of butter (add more butter if necessary)
Salt

Red Shell Foods offers a variety of delicious salad dressings that can be ordered straight from their website. Please visit their site at: http://www.RedShell.com.

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Three Changes to Make Your French Dip Sandwich Special

 By Harriet Hodgson 

Photo: images.media-allrecipes.com
 
French Dip sandwiches have been around for years. It's a basic sandwich made with roast beef, crusty bread, and thin gravy called "au jus." But some restaurants are adding onions, green peppers, and cheese -- changes that are far cry from the original.

Search the Internet and you'll find dozens of recipes for the lunchtime and dinnertime favorites. Some recipes use leftover beef roast, and others use meat cooked in a slow cooker. I made these sandwiches the other night and used leftover beef. Personally, I think the flavor of the sandwich has lots to do with how you season the meat.

While the oven pre-heated I rubbed the meat with olive oil. Then I sprinkled it with crushed rosemary, smoked paprika, garlic powder, thyme, freshly ground pepper, and a little salt. Thanks to the olive oil, the seasoning stays on the meat. To seal the outside of the roast I cooked it at 450 degrees for a half hour. I lowered the heat to 325 and continued cooking until the meat thermometer read 150 degrees -- rare to medium.

Be aware that when you cook a roast and take it out of the oven, it continues to cook for a few minutes. I made a thin sauce with water, au ju mix, and gravy flour. Some of the seasoning had fallen to the bottom of the pan, which added flavor to the sauce. This sauce became my dipping sauce later.
Rachael Ray has posted a recipe for this favorite sandwich on her website. Instead of gravy, she makes a sauce with butter, chopped shallot, dry sherry (optional), canned beef stock, and a little flour. A similar recipe from Georgia Downard is posted on the Food Network website. It, too, uses butter, shallot, garlic, beef broth, and a little white wine for extra flavor.

I checked my cookbook collection and found more recipes, only these had soy sauce in them. Since I'm trying to avoid salt I avoided these recipes. As good as all these recipes are, simple is often better. Three things make my French Dip sandwiches special, the seasoning on the meat, toasting the rolls ahead of time, and making the dipping sauce with leftover gravy. If your mouth isn't watering yet, it will be when you take your first bite of this sandwich.

Ingredients

1 cup leftover beef gravy (plain or mushroom)
1 cup water
2 rounded teaspoons of low-salt au jus mix (available in the soup aisle)
1 ciabatta roll per person (white or wheat)
Soft butter
4 thin slices of roast beef per person

Method

In a small saucepan, whisk leftover gravy, water, and au jus mix together. Cover and cook over medium heat until steaming. Cut each roll in half and butter both halves. Toast rolls in a skillet over low heat, until the buttered side is a golden brown. (Do not over-toast.) Layer meat onto bottom half of each roll and top with remaining half. Ladle dipping sauce into individual bowls. Serve dipping sauce with sandwiches, a salad, or mixed fresh fruit.
Copyright 2013 by Harriet Hodgson

http://www.harriethodgson.com
Harriet Hodgson has been a freelancer for 35+ years and is the author of 32 published books. Her latest releases are "Happy Again! Your New and Meaningful Life After Loss" and "Help! I'm Rasing My Grandkids." Please visit her website and learn more about this busy writer.

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Light Salad Meals for Summer

By Laura Cockerell  

Photo: assets.eatingwell.com
 
Light salad meals are a great idea for hot weather menu planning. With just a few fresh ingredients you can make a meal quickly and easily. I like having a few standby recipes for those warm summer-like days. Here are a few of my favorite easy salad meals.
These easy salad recipes can be served in a variety of ways so you can always have a variety of meal ideas that are simple to make.

I love the creaminess of cottage cheese and here is a really simple salad with just four ingredients. This is a great salad to serve as a wrap sandwich or even a cold pasta topper. This recipe make 3 to 4 servings.

Ingredients:
cottage cheese - 1 (16oz) container
marinated artichoke hearts - 1 cup chopped
sun-dried tomatoes in oil - 1/4 cup chopped
pitted oil-cured black olives - 1/4 cup finely diced
(you can use regular black pitted olives if you prefer)

Directions:

- Simply place all the ingredients in a bowl and toss to combine completely.
Easy Salad Meal Ideas:

• Layered Wrap Sandwich: Serve this cheese salad as a layered wrap sandwich. Take a soft tortilla shell and layer it with washed spinach or lettuce leaves. Next place the cottage cheese salad on top of the greens. Then place any of the following on top of the cheese salad; strips of thinly sliced avocado sections, deli ham, chicken or roast beef slices. Roll up the wrap and enjoy.


• Stuffed Potatoes: Make a quick salad meal by using this creamy salad as a topping for baked potatoes. Serve along with steamed and chilled asparagus drizzled with olive oil and lemon juice.


• Pasta Topper: Another idea for a light salad meal is to serve this cheese salad recipe over whole grain cooked and chilled pasta such as rotini, elbow macaroni or farfalle. I like to serve this with warm garlic bread slices on the side.

Here is another four ingredient recipe that make a delicious light salad meal. It is a refreshing crab salad that is packed with flavor. This recipe makes two servings but you can simply double the ingredients to make four servings.

Ingredients:

cooked crabmeat - 2 cups (flaked or lump - broken into pieces)
dressing of your choice - 3 to 4 tbsp (Italian, French, or Caesar are good choices)
marinated artichoke hearts - 1 jar (7.5 oz) (drained and cut into small chunks)
fresh watercress - 2 cups (washed and chopped)

Directions:

- Break the crabmeat into pieces and marinate in a bowl with the salad dressing for one hour.
- After one hour, add all the other ingredients and toss seafood salad well to coat.

Easy Salad Meal Ideas:

• Crab Salad with Roasted Veggies: Serve this quick crab salad recipe on top of romaine lettuce with a side of roasted vegetables.


• Crab Stuffed Avocados: Another easy idea is to serve this delicious salad scooped into an avocado half and serve along with rye toast with melted cheese on top for a quick meal.


• Layered Crab Salad: You can also serve this as a layered salad by layering the crab salad into parfait glasses alternating between layers of peeled orange segments and the crab salad.

Try this simple chicken salad that is filled with great depth of flavor created with chicken, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes and more.

Ingredients:

chicken - 2 cups cooked, cooled and cubed
garlic - 2 cloves finely chopped
sun-dried tomatoes in oil - 1/3 cup chopped (use oil for dressing)
broccoli - 1 1/2 cups chopped (raw or steamed)
fresh squeezed lime juice - 1 tbsp

Note: If you do not like raw broccoli, you may steam it lightly before adding to salad.
Directions:

- In a mixing bowl, add the chicken, garlic, tomatoes, broccoli, lime juice and the oil from the tomatoes. Toss well to combine.

Easy Salad Meals:

• Chicken Salad with Udon Noodles: Serve this easy chicken salad over udon noodles with peach and cucumber slices on the side.


• Easy Garlic Chicken Salad: Serve chicken salad over a bed of spinach leaves and shredded cabbage with a bowl of cold tomato soup and whole grain crackers.


• Chicken Salad with Rolls: Another quick light summer meal recipe is to serve this garlic lime chicken salad with whole grain rolls or corn muffins.

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Healthy Pizza, Low Carb, Low Fat, High Protein

 By J. Atkinson 

Photo: jimshealthandmuscle.com

Healthy Pizza! Low carb, low fat, high protein
Most people like to get stuck into a pizza with extra toppings once in a while. But what if you are on a weight loss (Fat loss diet)?
Do you cut out your favorite foods all together? Or do you find an alternative?
Here is a healthy alternative to greasy pizza that you can eat on more than the odd occasion during your diet.

What You Will Need

Chicken breast
Tomato puree
Peppers
Olives
Spinach
Onion
Cheese
Mushroom
Sweetcorn
Oregano or mixed Italian herbs
Garlic powder or crushed garlic

You can add other favorite ingredients also, but be aware of this if you are dieting as all those extras can add up.

Putting Your Healthy Pizza Together

1. First off, wash and flatten the chicken breast. Place the chicken breast on a flat surface and cover with cling film.Grab something heavy, a chair leg, bible, shoe... But a rolling pin would be ideal! Gently tap the chicken until it is about 1 cm thick all over. Take care not to damage the chicken breast too much as this will serve as our pizza base.


2. Put a good helping of tomato puree into a bowl and mix in the garlic powder or crushed garlic to taste. (If you are not a garlic lover, you may want to skip the garlic, it is not essential but will really add to the taste)


3. Go back to the chicken breast. I find that this method works better if you use the "underside" of the chicken breast i.e. not the smooth side. With the chicken breast flat on a surface, (Smooth side down), spread the tomato puree evenly over the full surface and put into a fridge while you prep the rest of the toppings. By doing this it gives the chicken breast chance to absorb some of the flavor.


4. Slice the peppers, olives, onions and mushrooms and tear the spinach up into small pieces


5. Take the chicken breast that you prepared earlier out of the fridge and sprinkle with oregano or Italian seasoning (This gives it a "Pizza" flavor)


6. layer on the toppings. I find it best to layer on the spinach then peppers first. Then the rest of the topping on in any order.


7. sprinkle with low fat grated cheese, this will bind the topping together. (You can put a small layer of cheese after the spinach and peppers but be aware of the amount of cheese you put on if you are on a fat loss diet.


8. Cook in the oven on 180c for 30-35 mins or until the chicken is cooked thoroughly ( make sure that the chicken breast is cooked thoroughly before serving).


9. I would serve this with a Jacket potato if I was not being "Carb conscious" but served on its own, this is low fat, low carb and high protein!

Enjoy!
As always, I'm happy to get feedback on how these recipes worked out for you. Let me know how you got on.
Good luck
By James Atkinson

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