Mom Cooking Tip 111

if you need something cooled-off quickly, put it in the freezer for 30 minutes.  However, don’t make a habit of this because you don’t want your frozen foods to start defrosting.

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I Can Make That Too: Chicken Tikka in Mom’s Kitchen vs. the Restaurant Version

Mom's Chicken Tikka

Chicken Tikka is basically an Indian shish kebab with lots of spices.  Traditionally these kebabs are cooked in a tandoor oven, which can heat up to nearly 1,000 degrees.  Indian restaurants have such ovens.  I don’t.  I researched online and found one for $600+. Not worth it.  I decided to use my own oven, which will heat to 545 degrees and makes perfectly respectable Chicken Tikka.

Mom Cooking Tip 110

To help bacon slices separate from each other, roll the package of bacon into a cylinder and squeeze it a few times before opening it.

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Revisiting Old Favorites

Ground Turkey Stroganoff

My tastes have changed.  I began to realize this when leafing through a collection of old recipes, looking for something different to cook. 

I stumbled on Hamburger Stroganoff, a dish I made regularly when I was first out of college.  When I read the list of ingredients, though, I began having second thoughts.  I don’t eat ground beef any more, and I stopped using canned cream of anything soup years ago.

Argentine Red Shrimp: What Are They and How Do I Cook Them?

Argentine Red Shrimp, also called crustacean shellfish, are wild caught in the Southern Atlantic and have much more flavor than the average shrimp.  They are usually sold frozen in bags, 16-to-20 per pound.  Most likely they will be raw, and their tough shells, which are red, will still be attached.

Mom Money-Saving Tip 83

If you live where lemons are plentiful only part of the year, freeze freshly squeezed lemon juice into ice cube trays.  Once the cubes have frozen, transfer them to a freezer bag and use as needed.

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Yikes! Not Chicken Again!

Moroccan Chicken

Sometimes I go overboard when I see a sale on boneless chicken breasts.  When I’m loading a 4-pound package into my cart, all I can think about is “What a great bargain this is.”  Only when I’m starring at it in my refrigerator do I actually think about having to cook it and eat it.

I knew that freezing half of what I bought would solve the immediate problem, but experience has taught me that chicken tastes better when it’s freshly cooked.