Recipes and Food Preparation Ideas from the Kitchen

Americans have gotten used to the kind of busy lifestyle that leaves little to no time for basics such as a home cooked meal. The fact that great healthy recipes for home cooked meals are also challenging to find and follow makes people opt for takeout. However, with the right kitchen books and a little creativity, it is possible to bring back the magic to the dinner table.

Tips that can help you manage cooking at home

Less than 33 percent of American households sit down for a meal more than twice a week. If you want to get a chance to catch up on what your kids are up to and also your better half, you have to plan home cooked meals. The benefits of eating food prepared in the home include:

• The entire family will eat healthier food with less processed sugars and will be happy and healthy.
• Home cooked meals are much cheaper than taking out or eating out. They are also friendly to the environment as they do not lead to a lot of wastage.
• When children eat at home more, their exposure to behaviors such as drinking and drugs, in general, reduces significantly.
• Healthy home-cooked meals will increase the chances of longevity.

Making time for home cooking

While it is true that most people spend more than 35 hours per week out of the home, it is possible to create time to prepare family meals. The first step involves planning. Make lists of meals that you want to cook a week ahead of time and shop in time. You can set aside a certain day for food preparation and then refrigerate everything. These will come in handy for the days that you just don't have the time to make a meal from scratch. Meals prepared beforehand also make great lunches.

Planting a garden is another activity that can give you the motivation to prepare home cooked meals. Having fresh and organic ingredients in the backyard is enough inspiration to cook. Also, remember to cook what everyone in your home likes to eat. This will ensure complete support from the family members.

Cooking large meals and freezing for later

When planning to cook large meals to freeze, there are a few guidelines which will help you keep it fresh:

• Always make sure the food has cooled down to room temperature before freezing it.
• You can either thaw food in the refrigerator or the microwave if you want to avoid excessive growth of bacteria.
• Rotate food such that older food sits at the front of the freezer to be used first.
• While thawed food can be frozen again, the quality will suffer.

Recipes featured on The Kitchen

The kitchen is one of the most informative and interactive cook shows on TV. Dozens of great chefs have been featured and thousands of amazing the kitchen recipes shared. A few of the kitchen recipes that have been shared on the site are as follows:

1. Colorful veggie pasta salad. This is a great recipe for a barbecue or house parties and a side for barbecue parties.
2. Cauliflower pizza crust. This is the ideal type of crust for anyone who is trying a gluten free diet. It is both delicious and healthy.
3. Bacon and ranch potato salad. This recipe is perfect for summer lunches and holiday family meals.

Top 5 Routes for "The Kitchen (TV Show)"

1. Foodnetwork.com Hundreds of chefs share their recipes on this sites. It has everything from the family dinner recipes to holiday meals, desserts, salads, drinks, and many more.
2. Delish.com. This is the perfect website to visit if you have a sweet tooth. They have hundreds of dessert and other comfort food recipes to suit your needs.
3. Countryliving.com. This website contains more than 100 recipes for dinners, salads, and drinks.
4. Food.com. This is a list of 51 all-time best recipes for dinner. It features main dishes, sides, and salads.
5. Allrecipes.com. The great thing about this site is that the best recipes are listed in the hall of fame and you can just pick any of the top rated and try it at home.