Taco Bell's in the news for umpteenth time, and today the controversy is over their infamous beef taco meat. Gizmodo leaked a picture of Taco Bell's "Taco Meat Filling" and surprise, surprise— it's missing a lot of the "meat" that it claims in its advertisements. Taco Meat Fil ...more
This is a great quick and easy recipe and a great healthy alternative to store-bought frosting. My husband and children love this frosting, and it's also a hit at my PTA meetings. It goes great on cakes, cupcakes, cookies, or anything you desire to put frosting on. I made thi ...more
Frozen fruit is always in season at your local grocery store, so you don't have to wait until the farmers market starts again to enjoy delicious baked fruit desserts. Peach pie, blueberry muffins, raspberry scones... all of these delicious baked goods can be just as delectable ...more
Though you may scrub every inch of your kitchen, there are plenty of trouble areas that are nearly impossible to get clean: gunked-up tile grout, rust in the sink, and caked-on burners and grates on the stove. As far as burners and grates go, you're in luck, because there's a ...more
Whether you call it chicken-fried steak, country-fried steak, Milanese, wiener schnitzel, or breaded cutlet, there's something irresistible about a piece of meat that's been treated until it's thin and tender, dredged in beaten egg and flavorful bread crumbs, then fried until ...more
Minecraft was first released just a few years ago, but when a paradigm-shifting piece of media comes along the rest of the world is quick to take inspiration from it. The absolutely terrible XBLA knock-off FortressCraft was the first, and last month a much more interesting gam ...more
Chances are that you've been using your microwave just to nuke leftovers, but they can do so much more than heat up last night's dinner—microwaves can help you peel garlic more quickly, get more juice out of lemons, disinfect your kitchen, dry out herbs, give beauty products n ...more
Chances are you've got a bunch of wooden takeout chopsticks doing nothing but cluttering up your utensils drawer. That's a darned shame, considering that chopsticks aren't just for shoveling food into your mouth—they're actually the best cooking tools a cook can have (plus the ...more
Last week, I showed you why your refrigerator is one of the best tools in the kitchen when it comes to saving money and preserving food at its tastiest. But did you know your freezer is another underutilized ally in the cooking game? Chances are, you've been using your freeze ...more
Caramel is delicious, but it can be a tricky flavor to incorporate into baking. Traditionally, caramel is a liquid, and that doesn't always suit dessert preparation since adding extra liquid to baked goods can ruin them. So how do you get that buttery, toffee-like flavor? Ent ...more
Dulce de leche is a beautiful, caramel-like spread that you can slather onto bread or use to flavor cakes, cookies, or flan. You can also use it as a drizzle for ice cream, chocolate candies, and pastries. It tastes like heavenly toffee, translates roughly to "milk candy," and ...more
Most home bakers rely on vanilla extract as a flavor component to their cakes and cookies, but little do they know what they are missing until they trade in their extract for whole vanilla beans. The rich complexity and different notes of flavor of a true vanilla bean are ofte ...more
Lemon peels have long been known for their ability to be home remedies for cleaning and medicinal needs. In the kitchen, they are equally as useful and can transform many common dishes and drinks into more memorable ones with just a hint of citrus. To give you some ideas, belo ...more
Angry Birds might be the most visible video game franchise in the world today. It has sold 100 million units, as many as all the Sims games put together. It has been incorporated into board games, birthday cakes, and Israeli sketch comedy shows. And yet, this piece of seeming ...more
The original Kit Kat was a mutton pie served at a political club in London during the 18th century, which is quite different than the chocolatey version we're familiar with today. Kit Kat bars have been around since 1911, are produced in 13 countries, and have been sold in ove ...more
What's the best way to clean an iron? It is inevitable that it will eventually need a good cleaning. Your dress shirts look crisp, but over time your iron might look the worse for wear. This simple technique gets rid of mineral spots on the iron's plate and cleans out caked st ...more
I have a thing for black foods, whether it's mysterious, lovely black garlic (the secret to its color: fermentation) or adding charcoal powder with its reputed health benefits to cookies, cakes, and breads. Now add one more ingredient to the list: squid ink. It goes by many o ...more
Fall is a time of change. The leaves change color, the weather changes from warm to cool, and we change our clocks to fall back an hour. This last change means that many of us will get home from work in pitch-black darkness; for me, the early onset of night makes me less inter ...more
While I frown upon any form of uneaten cookie, sometimes we overestimate our late-night cravings for baked goods leaving us with extra cookie dough at 4 a.m. If you're in the privileged dilemma of not having enough excess dough to make another batch of cookies but just enough ...more
Great news: you don't have to give up grains if you're avoiding gluten. Whether you've got celiac disease, gluten sensitivity, or simply choose to avoid gluten, you probably keep a wide berth between your diet and grains. But not a lot of people are familiar with the fact tha ...more
These are way better than normal potato chips, big chunky cassava chips is one of the simplest recipes you can do with the cassava root. This is a delicious and simple to make Brazilian Cuisine recipe. Cassavacan be used as a replacement for potatoes, into the dough of several ...more
If you're a child of the '70s, then you'll probably remember Pop Rocks, those fizzy little candies that created such a buzz. They went out of style in the States for a while, but now they're back with retro status. I was surprised to see them in my kids' Halloween bags a few y ...more
To make lip gloss look like fake blood you will need a tub of red eyeshadow, clear lip gloss, black eyeliner and red lip liner pencil. First dab a little bit of lip gloss onto your hand. Color red lip liner around the lip gloss blob. Then, flake the red eye shadow into the mix ...more
Via WonderHowTo World, CAKES! CAKES! CAKES!: Amy Sedaris is one multi-talented lady. Nude-frosting-sprinkle model. Star and co-creator of beloved cult classic Strangers With Candy (see her in character as Jerri Blank below), sister of famed author David Sedaris, and best of ...more
Ah, turducken. The fondest of all portmanteau words and the tastiest of all Thanksgiving day meals. Turducken is a turkey stuffed with a duck stuffed with a chicken—three glorious poultry meats molded into one marvelous, boneless hunk of flesh that any sane carnivore wouldn't ...more
Piping cones are indispensible when applying flowers, leaves, and frilly trims on cupcakes and cakes, and cones with particularly fine points can be used to apply henna in intricate patterns. But you shouldn't waste your money by purchasing a huge variety of these piping cone ...more
Dissolve yeast and 1 1/2 teaspoonful of white sugar in lukewarm water. Mix until bubbly then set aside. Mix everything together until blended well and smooth. Transfer dough into a greased bowl, let rise for one hour, then form into a log, flatten out and fill with cheese or ...more
If you happen to have a bunch of empty glass jars lying around your home, the gift-giving possibilities are endless. Love to bake? You can bake pies, cupcakes, cakes, and bread directly into the jar. Or you can mix the dry ingredients in the jar and include recipe instruction ...more
Use this quick and easy tip for chopping sticky dried fruit. The dried fruit can often stick to itself and become very difficult to chop into distinct pieces. This is important for baking cakes or other dessert recipes that require the ingredient.
Ah, the sensation of that first bite of sorbet in the heat of summertime: icy, refreshing, decadent in flavor and texture. We love sorbet almost as much as we love ice cream, and making it at home is actually pretty simple. Most recipes call for just water, sugar, and a base f ...more
Decorate your cookies, cakes and pastries with these deliciously gorgeous miniature roses, from icing!
I'll bet this scenario will sound familiar to you: you're in the middle of making a spectacular dessert that will knock the socks off of your guests, and you've almost finished gathering all of your ingredients to create your mise en place. The last ingredient listed is powder ...more
The oven is arguably our most essential kitchen appliance (right alongside the fridge, freezer, and yes, even the microwave). But even though we've been using them for a few millennia, many of us know so little about our ovens that our cooking or baking can feel like a roll of ...more
Brining is magic. All you have to do is make a mild saline solution, toss in your protein of choice, let it soak, and cook. You end up with incredibly tender, flavorful meat or tofu for very little effort. So why aren't more of us doing it? Pork chops soaking in a brine of sug ...more
When you have a parent who cooks—and has you act as sous chef—the kitchen automatically becomes a less intimidating place. In other words, kids who know their way around the kitchen will most likely become adults who cook for themselves, which also means that they'll eat more ...more
This video shows you how to create a tartan pattern on sugarpaste or fondant. Great for decorating cakes - cool sugar art video!
Mushrooms are glorious: they're nutritional powerhouses, add meaty savor to just about any dish, and are cheap and plentiful (mostly). But just when you thought you knew best how to use edible fungi (in gravies, as portobello burgers, stewed and served over pasta, just to name ...more
The world of spices can be bewildering. They promise to make your food more flavorful if you know how to make the most of them. Unless you know a couple of essential tricks, however, it just seems like you're adding bits of colored powder to your food. Most cooks buy a few bo ...more
Applying foundation is one of the most basic and most important makeup skills a girl needs to know, yet for many women this is the hardest step. Problems with application, such as not matching the foundation color with your skin color, not choosing the right formulation, and n ...more
Using breadcrumbs in the kitchen is the perfect way to add crisp and crunch to the usual salad, entrée, or dessert. As chef and media personality Mario Batali once said, "There's almost nothing I wouldn't put homemade breadcrumbs on." Making crumbs themselves is just plain ea ...more
So many things can go wrong when you cook or bake for yourself. Mushy veggies, overcooked pasta, dry meat, crumbly cakes—not to mention too spicy, too acidic, and the ever-dreaded too salty. Thankfully, you don't have to completely throw your food out when things go awry. Kno ...more
Is caramel one of your favorite condiments ever? Then you should definitely teach yourself how to prepare a homemade caramel sauce for two reasons: 1. To save money since you eat caramel often, and 2. To eat fresh and healthy, since most stores carry caramel sauce in jars that ...more
This is a quick baking tip to increase your amount of icing. Does the can of frosting you bought at the store not have enough to frost your cakes or cupcakes? Use this quick tip to easily double the amount of canned frosting you have for your desserts! Video: .
Gross out your Halloween guests this year with Andy Oakland's Jell-O glued sliced meat head (ew). Full instructions at Make. You Will Need Big flat pan Knife Plastic wrap Plate to display the skull Plastic skull Red Jell-O Pickled onions Olives Lettuce Previously, Yummy: Mu ...more
I grew up in a household where bacon was considered its own necessary food group. My mom saved the bacon fat in a jar and reused it in other dishes, which my friends considered vile, unless they were also from immigrant families or the American South, where saving bacon fat ha ...more
A no-carb, gluten-free substitute for breadcrumbs. Sounds and probably tastes like cardboard, right? Unless you're talking about Pork Dust. Yes, you read that right. Pork. DUST. Don't Miss: Caul Fat—Is It Better than Bacon? These savory and rich ground-up pork rinds have abs ...more
Even, natural-looking foundation that covers up redness and flaws but doesn't look caked on or fake is the desired basis of any makeup look. But it just so happens that the rudimentary skill of applying foundation evenly is one of the hardest for women to master. So if you've ...more
Amy Sedaris is one multi-talented lady. Nude-frosting-sprinkle model. Star and co-creator of beloved cult classic Strangers With Candy (see her in character as Jerri Blank below), sister of famed author David Sedaris, and best of all (in CAKES! CAKES! CAKES!' humble opinion): ...more
When a craving for crunchy tacos hits, it's undeniable. Don't Miss: Everything You Know About Microwave Ovens Is a Lie Normally, you'd head to the store to get your fix. But store-bought taco shells get stale too quickly, and, more often than not, they're broken when you fi ...more
A cup of ginger tea with lemon first thing in the morning, a pick-me-up cup of green tea (or matcha) to fight off the afternoon slump and a soothing cup of chamomile tea to help me unwind before bed—I would be lying if I said I weren't a major tea enthusiast. Don't Miss: Gree ...more
As a kid, my favorite part of Easter were the days leading up to the holiday, when my family would dye eggs. This became an enormous event in my household, as dozens and dozens of perfectly white eggs would become little oval canvases for arts and crafts. We generally eschewe ...more
Knives are among the most important utensils in any kitchen; it's hard to even conceive of cooking a decent meal without them. However, many different foods can be prepped without a knife, and some are actually better off without one. If you don't believe me, then check out th ...more
Flowers can be just as delicious as they are beautiful—as long as you know which flowers to choose and what to use them for. Nasturtium salads, rose jam, chrysanthemum-sprinkled cakes—the possibilities are as endless as the shapes and colors the flowers come in. Listed below ...more
In many places, May has given way to a surplus of strawberries cluttering the produce aisle. These sweet berries are great in a wide variety of delicious baked goods, from pies to cakes and everything in between. Don't Miss: The Secret to Making Strawberries Taste Like Candy ...more
We are visual animals. So when it comes to food, presentation is everything. In deciding what to eat, certain colors and textures instantly turn us off or on. Think of runny sautéed spinach versus a salad of fresh vibrant spinach. Which one would you reach for first? Restaura ...more
Soft and sexy vampires are a dime a dozen these days. If you're tired of the soft, romanticized Twilight look, go for hardcore, traditional blood and gore. Max Sparber's nasty, blood-caked DIY vampire makeup is a relatively simple process and calls for few supplies. You Will ...more
"Cooking" with liquid nitrogen seems like one of those activities that should be strictly limited to pros who are appearing on Top Chef, but it's the only way you'd ever be able to make Dippin' Dots at home. If that isn't enough of a reason for you to get some LN2 for your kit ...more
Believe it or not, you can put your money to use very efficiently in a new way: your credit or debit card can serve as a blade in desperate situations. (It might even be handier than dental floss as a brilliant substitution for specialized kitchen tools.) While I wouldn't take ...more
The wait is almost over. The sixth season of Game of Thrones kicks off this Sunday, April 24th at 9 p.m. (PT) on HBO, or at 5:57 p.m. (PT) on HBO GO and HBO NOW, with the first episode "The Red Woman." Video: . Whether you're watching GoT with friends or at home by yourself, i ...more
Mona from Cup Cakes Creations demonstrates the use of a Cricut Expression machine to make gift bags. She starts with the smaller gift bag found on page 115 of the instruction book. It gives the option of putting holes in the bag. She sets the machine to cut two 5-1/2" bags out ...more