Foodenator

A perfect recipe to make for your love this Valentine’s Day. These cookies are pretty simple and you can decorate them however you see fit. Your special someone will thank you!

Chocolate Sugar Cookies:

2 3/4 cups all purpose flour

3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch processed cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 3/4 cups granulated white sugar

2 large eggs 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Royal Icing Using Egg Whites:

2 large egg whites 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice 3 cups (330 grams) confectioners (powdered or icing) sugar, sifted

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking powder.

In the bowl of your electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla extract and beat until combined. Add the flour mixture and beat until you have a smooth dough.>

Divide the dough in half and wrap each half in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for about one hour or until firm enough to roll.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and place rack in the center of the oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Remove one half of the chilled dough from the refrigerator and, on a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a thickness of 1/4 inch (1 cm). (Keep turning the dough as you roll, making sure the dough does not stick to the counter.) Cut out desired shapes using a lightly floured cookie cutter and transfer cookies to the prepared baking sheet. Place the baking sheets with the unbaked cookies in the refrigerator for 10 to 15 minutes to chill the dough which prevents the cookies from spreading and losing their shape while baking.

Note: If you are not going to frost the baked cookies, you may want to sprinkle the unbaked cookies with crystal or sparkling sugar.

Bake cookies for about 10 – 12 minutes (depending on size) or until they are firm around the edges. Remove from oven and let cookies cool on baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling. Frost with royal icing, if desired. Be sure that the frosting on the cookies dries completely before storing. (This may take several hours.) Frosted cookies will keep several days in an airtight container. Store between layers of parchment paper or wax paper.

Makes about 36 – 4 inch (10 cm) cookies.

Looking for a warm snack to feast on while watching the U.S. Snowboarding team during the Winter Olympics?

US Olympics Recipe

Follow this simple steps:

1. Take a fresh or frozen dough and roll it out flat.

2. Cut the dough into 1 inch by 1 inch squares and coat with olive oil on each side and place in a large bowl.

3. Add 1 cup of cheddar cheese and one packet of hidden valley ranch dressing mix.

4. Add 12 strips of crushed up cooked bacon.

5. Mix together so the bread is evenly coated with all ingredients and form into a ball/mound on a baking tray.

6. Bake @ 350 degree for 15 minutes, take out and cover with foil then return to oven for another 10-15 minutes, until the cheese is bubbling and bread is a nice golden brown.

For an easy snack idea, check out the video below! Great for those with high cholesterol, blood pressure, at risk of stroke, heart attack or IBS.

Comment and tell us what your favorite fried food is!

With the inception of 2010, many people have jumped on the eat healthy and exercise bandwagon of New Years resolutions. Eating healthy doesn’t have to be a negative experience and often there are ways a person can integrate healthy food into their normal diets. For instance, the Morningstar Farms brand makes Veggie Bacon strips which are actually created using soy beans. This is a great substitute for bacon bits on your salad. Simply follow the directions to cook the veggie bacon in the microwave and then crumble the strips onto a salad and enjoy!

Using soy products has many health benefits and no longer means that you have to sacrifice the taste of the food just to have a healthier lifestyle. Experts believe soy products can help to ward off certain types of cancer such as breast and prostate when consumed starting at an early age. It has also been proven to reduce the risk of coronary heart disease and lower cholesterol. Soy based products contains vitamins, minerals, fiber and protein and it comes in a variety of foods that kids like, such as chocolate soy milk, frozen pizza, taco “meat” and “chicken” nuggets.

You are going to be a fat slob and eat everything, we know. But the key here is MODERATION.

Keeping things in moderation is a major key to the Christmas overeating issue. It is easy to say “eat and drink in moderation”, but not quiet so easy to carry out so here are some ideas for moderating what you eat this festive season.

- Use a smaller plate ~ your mind will consider it a full plate regardless of its size!

- Where there are choices, take a little of many things rather than lots of one thing. This ensures you are getting a balanced meal and not overloading on a fatty food.

- For every glass of alcohol or soft drink, have a glass of water. Water fills you up, has no calories or side effects, is cheap and will help wash out the excesses.

- Help clear the table as soon as everyone finished eating rather than sitting and picking at leftovers.

- Make your own mixed drinks with real fruit juice instead of canned drink.

- Don’t be afraid to take things home for later – especially fruit cake as it will keep for ages!

- Only put out some of the available food so people don’t over serve themselves. More can always come out as required.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM FOODENATOR!

Mr Bean has nothing to do with food, most of the time. Today, bean puts hits nuts on the line and makes a sandwich.

Coke Blak from Blak in the Day

In case you miss that stuff Coke was peddling a couple of years ago, Foodenator chemists have been working on reverse engineering (also known as revenging) the formula. After spending hundreds of thousands of dollars and 11 months, it turns out the solution is quite simple.

1. Take one can of coke, drink or pour about half of it off.
2. Add one package of Crystal Light tea-to-go mixture. Let it fizz and foam so that you don’t overflow on the next step.
3. Pour in some cold coffee to top off the can.

Walla! You know have Coke Blak and don’t need to search of it on the Black Market or order it from suspicious Chinese websites.

Swedish meatballs may be the mainstay at the Ikea cafeteria, but the flat-pack furniture chain is branching out.

Next month, Ikea will hold five free cooking classes with well-known chefs as part of a marketing campaign with Family Circle, Mediaweek reports.

Food University Presented by Family Circle will stop at Ikeas in Seattle (Oct. 20, Caprial Pence), Costa Mesa, Calif. (Oct. 22, Katie Chin), Tempe, Ariz. (Oct. 28, Claudine Pepin), Sunrise, Fla. (Nov. 3, Oliver Saucy) and College Park, Md. (Nov. 5, Mary Ann Esposito) for two-hour seminars that promise an introduction to ingredients, tips on entertaining and spicing up a menu as well as healthy family recipes.

The seminars are free and open to the public.

via Ikea Offers Free Cooking Classes – Slashfood.